Nordic Walking in the Netherlands: A Walk-and-Barge Adventure

I loved learning the technique of Nordic Walking and found it to improve my ability to walk farther with less ache. I ordered walking poles and am using them on my daily walks at home. I so enjoyed seeing parts of the Netherlands that are not on the typical tourist route. And life on the Lena Maria for a week was fun and comfortable and a great way to interact with other participants and the outstanding crew. If you enjoy outdoor walking, seeing a stunning countryside, and having a different kind of accommodation, this is the trip for you!

The combined experience of travel by barge, Nordic walking on country roads, dikes, and beaches, visiting lesser-known towns of Noord Holland, all expertly organized by our indefatigable guide and instructor Olga, along with a wonderful group of fellow Road Scholars, made for a very pleasant trip. The crew and staff of the Lena Maria barge were exceptional, including the chef who made the best food I have had on any previous RS trip. I give it five stars for the above but four stars for the walks. Except for one day, the other hikes, although very pleasant, were not as spirited as advertised. As we were a group of twenty participants, a second guide would have been helpful. Olga was wonderful and did an excellent job in making sure everything ran smoothly but it was not fair to her not to have an assistant. Of the five international RS hikes I have completed, this was the only one with a single guide for 20 hikers. Nonetheless, I would highly recommend this trip for learning about Nordic walking and the history and culture of the Netherlands.

This was an excellent trip. The accommodations and the meals on the barge were the best. Our leader, Olga, did a great job training us in Nordic walking and in guiding us on our walks.

I was pleased to learn and practice proper Nordic walking technique in a country I'd wanted to experience in greater depth than on previous European trips. I took the physical training information seriously, and that was critical to my enjoyment/well-being. Some of the distances may have been a bit ambitious for beginners, and I sometimes felt rushed to keep our schedule of walking and cultural activities. The group size (20) was ideal. Life aboard the barge was delightful: The accommodations and amenities were excellent, and the crew was first-rate. This program certainly met my expectations.

Great program, well organized and lots of fun

I had a wonderful experience on this tour. Our barge, the Lena Maria is clean, well appointed, with a relaxing lounge/gathering area. Her crew was wonderful—friendly and quick to serve the participants needs. The chef produced delicious meals while also accommodating various diet needs. Our guides, Olga and Rikko were knowledgeable, helpful, able to quickly adjust to changing situations and time demands, and patient. The tour is well designed with a variety of activities alternating during each day—Nordic walking over varied terrain, visiting museums, walking tours of towns and interesting lectures on board the barge.

Wonderful introduction to Nordic walking and The Netherlands. The barge was a perfect way to travel and understand some of the history of NL and land reclamation that made much of the country today. The crew on the barge was great, food from the onboard galley was amazing. Both our walking guides were very good. Realized they had a bunch of novice Nordic walkers, so they didn’t push the pace. Every place we docked was a little different from the one before and all were interesting. The passages through locks and draw brides were fun to watch too. My only wish was that we had more time to explore some of our ports, but gives me a reason to go back. Five stars to all involved.

Very worthwhile trip — Nordic walking and pace challenging, realized that North Holland is littleknown and somewhat quaint. Very satisfactory barge, delightful staff.

Beautiful countryside for walking, the barge traveled through tulip fields and windmills and later locks. Food was excellent and the crew bent over backwards to accommodate those with special food requests. The materials sent ahead of time delineated the estimated miles per day and cautioned that not all diets could be accommodated. Despite that several people complained about the miles spent walking and about not being served foods they desired. Their attitudes were disappointing given the clarity of the materials sent to us and posted on the website. I found the barge to be clean and charming. Most all of my fellow guests and crew were bright, charming people ready to learn Nordic walking and explore the Netherlands.

I was expecting an introduction to Nordic Walking with instruction and an ease into the walking. What we got was day after day of what felt like forced marches. The daily descriptions bore no resemblance to the actual milage. There was no time to look at the areas we were walking through because the group leader, Frank was out in front fast walking, paying no attention whatsoever to the people behind. If it hadn’t been for Karin, people would have been left behind. Frank also seemed unable to use GPS or IMaps and instead relied on reading paper maps which are not always the most recent, It also would have helped if he would have worn glasses. I feel that we missed so much information about the beautiful areas we went through because of the determination of Frank to put in as much milage as possible. As to the barge, this was problematic, there was the owner and his wife, a cook, and one cleaning person/waitress on board, they did their best, but this was not a comfortable environment. It was musty, power went out quite a lot, very dim in the cabins, and taking a shower was very slippery as no bathmats. The other issue was that it was very noisy at night, the crew was directly overhead, thumping around until very late, we were tied up to the side of the canals where people were out at night having a good time. The food was ok, about what you would expect from a tiny kitchen. I would ask Roadsholar to reconsider using this barge, it is a bare bones accommodation and as I have been on other barge trips, I know what i'm talking about. Roadscholar also needs to be honest about the physical requirements of this trip, it is for people who are in top physical condition, not those who are just used to walking in the city for a full day. I do appreciate that the company refunded a sum of money to everyone, but I was very disappointed in the trip. Wanted to add that the local program director, Karin was just great.

I would recommend this program highly to anyone who is interested in: (1) walking, (2) traveling by barge, and (3) seeing and learning about the Netherlands, in that order. If you can walk up to 5 miles at an easy but steady pace, you'll enjoy the activity level and the beauty of the Dutch countryside. The barge is a great way to travel, and it's a fun and convenient accommodation. The trip is an excellent introduction to the Netherlands, but if you want to see the sights of Amsterdam and any other Dutch cities, consider adding some time on your own.