Welcome onboard

Merlijn is a fully equipped small River-Cruise-Ship, capable of hosting 24 passengers. Built in 1930 as a freighter and converted to a luxurious and authentic cruise ship in 2002. Since then she is without a doubt the most elegant lady on the European rivers.

Cruise in style on a converted vintage barge

What we offer you

  • Bike & Barge trips in Europe
  • Cruise only trips in Europe
  • Individual bookings directly through our website
  • Reserve and pay online
  • Reserve the entire barge for your group
  • Charter the entire barge with your company
  • Large, bright lounge/restaurant
  • Professional kitchen
  • Manned bar service
  • Luxurious, spacious cabins
  • Your own private bathroom

Our 2024 trips can be booked....

Our 2024 cruise program can be booked online

You may well know that we have sold quite a few trips to groups and travel agencies. But the vast majority is bookable through this website!

Where we sail

The no. 1 in bike and barge cruises across Europe

The Merlijn sails on:

  • All rivers & lakes of Holland/Netherlands, including the IJssel, Meuse, IJssel Lake, inland lakes of the Randmeren, the Waddensea, the Groene Hart van Holland (Green Heartlands) commencing in Amsterdam and running via Gouda/Delft to Kinderdijk. 
  • In Germany we sail the Rhine, Moselle, Saar, Main, Main-Danube-canal, Danube, Neckar, Midlandcanal, Havel, Weser, Oder, Peene & more. 
  • In Belgium we sail the Schelde and several canals to Bruges & Brussels, from there to Maastricht.
  • In France we sail the Moselle, as far as to Nancy.
  • In Poland we sail the West-Odra and cross the Lake Stettiner haff, also we dock in the city of Szczecin.
  • The Danube deserves a special mention: from 2022 we will sail on this river through Germany & Austria until we reach Vienna.
  • From 2024 on we add a little more and we also cross Slovakia to sail as far as Budapest in Hungary.

Merlijn's Captain knows all these waters & their natural surroundings well, and knows where the most tranquil spots are to be found. 

The last news

Berlin | Premium Germany & Poland tour ‘Amazone of the North’

Wednesday 15 february 2023

Berlin | Premium Germany & Poland tour ‘Amazone of the North’

Expect the unexpected. Our tour guides consider this as the most interesting & varied tour that Merlijn offers. Bike, Barge and Cruise the Amazon of the North, Germany and Poland.

Explore the cradle of the Prussians during this tour of former Prussia and learn more about the former divided nation of Germany. Command your bike through a variety of surfaces, from tarmac to cobblestones and ride across the sunny isle of Usedom.

Cruise through stunning natural areas of the Havel, Oder & Peene rivers and the Szczecin lagoon. Take a ride in the oldest ship lift in Germany, Niederfinow, and sample the Polish cuisine in Poland’s lively city of Szczecin.

Merlijn - 2024 tours are live!

Wednesday 15 february 2023

Merlijn - 2024 tours are live!

Dear Friends,

We are happy to launch all our trips for 2024!! 

For our new friends: We are Coen & Cristina, Captains, managers, chef and proud owners of the cruise ship 'Merlijn'. With Merlijn you can Bike, Barge, and Cruise your way across Europe.

There is a lot of great things planned for the 2024 season. We have a varied program that spans the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Poland! 

We will traditionally start the season in April in Amsterdam with the successful Holland Tulip tour, due to its popularity we have scheduled more sailings than ever before. After this, we will stay a little longer in the Holland with a few trips to Bruges in Belgium, and then cross the border to Germany via the North of the Netherlands. There we sail through all the nooks and crannies of the country and all possible rivers and canals! Bike & barge cruises on the Rhine, Moselle and Saar are of course not missing!

You will notice that in 2024 we will take more time for our homeland, this is because of the many requests from guests for other routes in the Netherlands. You can now book the Texel-island and Hanseatic route in addition to the Tulip tour.

Last but not least; all routes along the Moselle have also become 9 days instead of 8, more variety and more time to enjoy! We look forward to welcome you aboard!

The tours for 2024 are live now and you can discover more about them on our website. You will see that several trips have already been booked by a group or travel agency, if you would like to charter the entire ship yourself we can look at options for 2025. If your desired trip is already booked by a travel agency, please send us an email so we can see who it is with and if they still have rooms available.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with your friends and family, it will help us a lot. 

Kinds regards, greetings, Coen & Cristina

P.S. Our popular Danube trip will be bookable again in 2025. Enjoy other special routes in2024, such as the routes along Berlin.

We proudly present our 2023 cruise program

Thursday 18 november 2021

We proudly present our 2023 cruise program

Merlijn's 2023 Cruise program is online. Check it out online with up-to-date availability.

Or download an overview of all tours here.

Book your spot now!!

12 may 2019

Amsterdam - Den Bosch

Our tour from Amsterdam to Den Bosch was a trip of a lifetime!!! Coen and his wife Cristina made us feel like family and the accommodations were fabulous!!! Cristina was the Chef and the food was beyond compare. Captain Coen was the most skilled and versatile I have ever sailed with. Lia was our guide and I learned more about the Netherlands in one week than I learned in the four years I lived in Holland forty years ago. This is a small group experience where you come aboard as strangers and leave as life-long friends. Many thanks to Captain Coen and his crew!!! Ernie & Kelly-USA