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Tulip Time Highlights with 1 Night in Brussels 2025
9 Day River Cruise Brussels to Amsterdam
Tour Description:
Make your visions of tulip season in Holland and Belgium come into view! Begin your vacation your way with a night in Brussels before your cruise. Enjoy superior hotel accommodations with complimentary breakfast, sightseeing with an expert Local Guide, and courtesy hotel-to-ship transfer. You’ll join a guided tour to see the landmark buildings and inviting venues before embarking on your river cruise from Brussels to Amsterdam. Delight in quintessential scenes of windmills, waterways, and rows of blooming color along the way. Embark in Brussels and sail to Ghent—“The Diamond of Flanders.” Visit St. Bavo’s Cathedral with its stunning Flemish artwork. Transfer to Ypres for moving battlefield remembrances, including In Flanders Fields Museum and the Last Post Ceremony. On to Holland for a visit to the former Dutch East India Company trading port of Middelburg. Visit the fascinating Flood Museum to hear and see the stories of the flood of 1953. In Kinderdijk, see 19 windmills built in 1740 for water management, and in Rotterdam the Erasmus Bridge. You’ll see why windmills are a symbol of Holland! Take in the tulips and other flowering bulbs in the flower farm regions of Zaandam and Haarlem, and conclude your river cruise through Belgium and Holland with a visit to Amsterdam. Take a guided canal cruise past bridges and homes of a golden age.
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Destination & Sightseeing
Destination & Sightseeing| Day 1 Brussels: | Welcome to Brussels |
| Day 2 Brussels (Embarkation): | Guided tour, see the town hall; transfer to ship; onboard welcome reception |
| Day 3 Ghent: | Choice of guided tour or bike with your Adventure Host |
| Day 4 Ghent: | Visit to Flanders Field Museum in Ypres; visit to the battlefields; Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate |
| Day 5 Middelburg–Veere: | Guided tour in Middelburg; biking from Middelburg to Veere with your Adventure Host;guided walking tour of Veere |
| Day 6 Kinderdijk–Rotterdam: | Choice of guided tour in Kinderdijk or bike with your Adventure Host; harbor cruise in Rotterdam; choice of guided tour in Rotterdam or bike with your Adventure Host |
| Day 7 Zaandam–Haarlem: | Free time in Zaandam; choice of guided tour in Haarlem or bike with your Adventure Host |
| Day 8 Amsterdam: | Choice of canal cruise, or biking tour or off-the-beaten path walking tour |
| Day 9 Amsterdam (Disembarkation): | Your cruise ends this morning |
Notes:
- In the event of technical or water level issues, it may be necessary to operate the itinerary by motorcoach or alter the program, including hotel overnight when necessary.
- Guided Tours, Optional Excursions, activities, sailing and docking schedules may be contingent on weather conditions or other issues outside of our control and could therefore be subject to change at any time.
- Please check visa requirements with your local consulate(s); responsibility for obtaining visas rests with the traveler.
ITINERARY
ITINERARYDay 1
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM Filling Fare and Fabled Beer
Spend a day at leisure to sample Brussels hearty cuisine and famous beer.
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Day 2
BRUSSELS (EMBARKATION) Ancient Landmarks and New Finds
CLASSIC Join a Guided Tour of Brussels, see the Town Hall with its landmark buildings and discover the many local bars, cafés and shops of the Lower Town Streets.
Your Suite Ship® is now Ready for Boarding. Enjoy dinner on board as you sail for Ghent this evening.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO GHENT
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Day 3
GHENT Medieval Masterpieces and Flemish Finery
Visit the Adventure Center for today’s activities with your Adventure Host.
ACTIVE Explore a different side of Ghent by bike with your Adventure Host, OR:
CLASSIC Explore Ghent—“The Diamond of Flanders”— with a Guided Sightseeing Tour of this showcase of medieval Flemish wealth. You’ll visit St. Bavo’s Cathedral—with its remarkable Flemish artwork.
Alternatively, you may choose to join a full-day Guided Optional Excursion of Bruges to explore its canals, cobbled streets, and medieval buildings. You’ll see its crisscrossed canals, the 13th-century belfry of Market Square, and charming patrician houses.
This evening, enjoy live entertainment onboard.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN GHENT
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BreakfastLunch Dinner
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 4
GHENT Battlefield Remembrances in Flanders
DISCOVERY Visit the In Flanders Field Museum in Ypres—named for the soldier’s famed poem. Learn about the story of the invasion of Belgium, the first months of the mobilization, the four years trench war in the Westhoek, the end of the war, and the lasting remembrance to follow. After your visit, enjoy lunch at the museum’s café.
DISCOVERY Following the museum, visit battlefields, cemeteries, memorials and private collections.
DISCOVERY Experience the Last Post Ceremony, taking place nightly under the arches of the Menin Gate. Enjoy some free time for dinner before the Ceremony starts.
OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO MIDDELBURG
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BreakfastLunch Dinner
BreakfastLunch DinnerDay 5
MIDDELBURG, HOLLAND A Spicy History in Middelburg’s Dutch Harbor Town
CLASSIC Join a Guided Walking Tour through the winding cobblestones and canals of Middelburg. See the 15th-century Gothic Town Halland learn about its important role in the spice trade and Dutch East India trading.
Enjoy lunch on board while cruising to Veere.
ACTIVE Alternatively, bike from Middelburg to Veere with your Adventure Host.
VEERE
History and Scottish Houses
CLASSIC Explore the town of Veere with an expert local guide.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO KINDERDIJK
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BreakfastLunch Dinner
BreakfastLunch DinnerDay 6
KINDERDIJK–ROTTERDAM Harnessing the Wind for 300 Years
Join your Adventure Host for today’s special activities.
ACTIVE See the windmills of Kinderdijk by bike with your Adventure Host, OR:
CLASSIC Join a Guided Tour of Kinderdijk where 19 windmills were built in 1740 as flood prevention and water management. You’ll hear about the windmill’s vital role in the Netherland’s history and why it became a national symbol of Holland.
Enjoy a cruise through Rotterdam harbor.
ACTIVE Experience Rotterdam by bike with your Adventure Host, OR:
CLASSIC Join a Guided Sightseeing Tour of Rotterdam featuring innovative architecture, including the marvelous Erasmus Bridge.
Later, enjoy live entertainment onboard.
OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO ZAANDAM
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BreakfastLunch Dinner
BreakfastLunch DinnerDay 7
ZAANDAM Windmills, Waterways, and Waving Fields of Flowers
Arrive in Zaandam this morning with free time to explore this quintessential Dutch town. During tulip season, you may take a Guided Optional Excursion to Keukenhof gardens. Outside of tulip season, join a Guided Optional Excursion to Zaanse Schans to see historic windmills and charming Dutch houses.
Cruise to Haarlem this afternoon while enjoying lunch onboard.
HAARLEM
Tulips and North Sea Trading Ports
ACTIVE Enjoy an easy bike ride to the beach with your Adventure Host, OR:
CLASSIC Visit Haarlem, a major flower bulbs growing district outside of Amsterdam. Explore the former North Sea trading port with its medieval features, gabled houses, and leafy courtyards.
Enjoy dinner on board your ship this evening as you sail to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AMSTERDAM
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BreakfastLunch Dinner
BreakfastLunch DinnerDay 8
AMSTERDAM Canals of Colorful Amsterdam
ACTIVE Join a Biking Tour through the Dutch countryside past polders, dykes, and quaint centuries-old villages, OR:
DISCOVERY Discover the true beauty of Amsterdam with an off-the-beaten-path Guided Walking Tour through its cobblestone streets for a captivating look at this legendary city, OR:
CLASSIC Explore the iconic waterways of Amsterdam on a Guided Canal Cruise past stately homes of Amsterdam’s “Golden Age”.
This afternoon, you might consider joining one of the Optional Excursions available.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AMSTERDAM
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BreakfastLunch Dinner
BreakfastLunch DinnerDay 9
AMSTERDAM (DISEMBARKATION) Your cruise ends with breakfast this morning.
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Accommodations
Accommodations| Brussels | Amsterdam |
Cardo Brussels, Autograph Collection
First-Class
Hotel as shown or similar
Avenue du Boulevard 14 Brussels Belgium
Located minutes away from the historic center of the city, Cardo Brussels Autograph Collection is a trendy landmark in the neighborhood. Playful artworks, wit and wellbeing are key features in all its 532 fully air-conditioned guest rooms with cracking cityscape views. Guestrooms are equipped with a coffee machine, a safety deposit box, and a flat screen TV with international channels. Fitness center, terrace, a restaurant serving international cuisine and a bar are also available. Complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the property.
First-Class
Hotel as shown or similar
Avenue du Boulevard 14 Brussels Belgium
Located minutes away from the historic center of the city, Cardo Brussels Autograph Collection is a trendy landmark in the neighborhood. Playful artworks, wit and wellbeing are key features in all its 532 fully air-conditioned guest rooms with cracking cityscape views. Guestrooms are equipped with a coffee machine, a safety deposit box, and a flat screen TV with international channels. Fitness center, terrace, a restaurant serving international cuisine and a bar are also available. Complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the property.
Disclaimer: Prices listed are per person, based on double occupancy, and in USD. All promotions are valid for new bookings only, capacity controlled and valid on select dates and departures. Individual Terms and Conditions will apply to all promotions. Any promotion can be withdrawn at any time without notice. Please speak with your Pavlus Travel Planner for complete vendor terms and conditions, including eligible tour and cruise dates.
