Netherlands
The Old Masters: Art Treasures of Holland by River
Program No. 19504RJ
Discover the cultural heights of Holland’s Low Lands as you join experts to learn about artistic masterworks, renowned museums, historic architecture and an iconic earthenware factory.
Participant Reviews
Based on 19 Reviews
SHOWING
This deep dive into the Dutch Old Masters delivers on all counts! I was able to see so much in a short period thanks to the excellent itinerary and wonderful guides. A must-do for art lovers!
— Review left June 9, 2025
The art of the Dutch 17th century is unique and particularly special to me. This program gave me a broad look at this period in European art history as well as a familiarization with the contemporary and unique urban, countryside and hydrologic landscape of Holland. Living on a barge for most of this program was a very comfortable, interesting experience. ALL of the program's and barge's staff were very friendly, welcoming and helpful. This program reinforced my appreciation of the quality of Road Scholar programs.
— Review left May 25, 2025
The Netherlands was a great surprise and seeing the country from the small canals was very special! The Lena Maria barge was beautiful, comfortable and clean and the staff were excellent Special mention of the chef, who created fabulous breakfasts, dinners and snacks! Our 2 tour guides for the week were knowledgeable and accommodating throughout, with expert lectures and art historians included as well. A great group of fellow travelers who we got to know due to the intimacy of the barge and small group experience. We highly recommend this trip! Chris and Cheryl
— Review left October 18, 2024
This program provides a unique way to travel through The Netherlands—a floating hotel by barge—and visit several cities along the way. The focus on visiting a variety of museums to learn about Dutch Masters artists and view their paintings offers a rich learning experience. Visits to various cities offers an opportunity to savor their charm and learn about the Dutch way of life. Taking this trip is a wonderful experience, not to be missed!
— Review left October 17, 2024
Excellent experience- lots of learning, very good leaders, small group so an opportunity to get to know the others. I loved being on a barge. I highly recommend this programme
— Review left October 5, 2024
I had such a great experience on "The Old Masters: Art Treasures of Holland. Our leaders Therese and Hans were just great and the captain and crew of the Lena Maria barge were the best! I cannot recommend the trip enough! We had a fun and friendly group who, like me, had a blast!
— Review left October 29, 2023
This was easily one of my very favorites among the 9 tours that I have taken with Road Scholar. Life aboard the Lena Maria was delightful: the several-member crew was responsive, skilled at their various jobs and very friendly yet professional. The group itself was small enough to come to know, and gelled quickly within the first 24 hours into vibrant, caring and social friends. Food aboard the Lena Maria was excellent; the cabins were well-appointed and strategically designed. The Road Scholar guides were expert, and a kick to be with, folks you'd love to have as personal friends. They were quite helpful with suggestions for meals on our own or things to see in our free time. The consultants brought lovely context to the art that we saw on a daily basis in various terrific venues. An unlooked-for pleasure was the barge travel itself, sliding peacefully through the Dutch countryside with an ever-changing vista that varied from urban to verdant rural within an hour. Going through multiple locks and having bridges open up for our passage was fascinating. A GREAT tour, that I highly recommend!
— Review left August 3, 2023
The Dutch Art canal boat trip just in the Netherlands was a great way to see the country and experience the fabulous art at all the major art museums.
— Review left July 4, 2023
Travelling on The Netherlands' canals in a small barge is impossible to appreciate fully until you have experienced it. It is a wonderful way to see this country.
— Review left June 29, 2023
I spoke the language and had been in Nederland before but never on a barge-waterway. Saw my birth country in a new way in a soothing manner.
— Review left June 2, 2023
We chose this trip for the opportunity to view world class art day after day. We were not disappointed. The trip exceeded our expectations. My husband is an engineer and he appreciated the engineering behind the locks and bridges along the barge route and the engineering history depicted at the Cruquius Museum. Traveling with a small group was an advantage as was the professionalism of our leader Lilian and the crew of the Lena Marie.
— Review left November 6, 2022
Wonderful trip. Great lectures and nice blend of activities with barging time. Our leaders and lecturers were excellent. If you are very lucky you will have our cook, Anita (not spelled right). Holland is a beautiful and fascinating country: I highly recommend this trip.
— Review left October 27, 2022
A beautiful country and interesting trip. My wife and I were forced to leave the trip because she contracted COVID on the plane trip over. We had to make all our own arrangements and even though we contacted the Road Scholar COVID desk received no practical help from them. We have been waiting 3.5 months for a response from the insurance company on our $1,600 of expenses we paid for isolating in a hotel and are very frustrated with the insurance process and the connection between Road Scholar and the insurance company about having our missed days credited back by Road Scholar. If travel companies want all of their loyal fans to keep travelling, they need to hold up their part of the bargain and resolve these issues, payments and credits much more quickly and fairly.
— Review left October 5, 2022
My husband and I were impressed by all the trip had to offer. The barge, Lena Marie, was clean, comfortable and the staff friendly and accommodating. We enjoyed everything. The Netherlands is a beautiful country and the people so happy and welcoming. Our group leader was a joy and attended to all the details and unexpected challenges. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this trip.
— Review left June 30, 2022
Shocking that neither customer relations not Covid response team has contacted me about this program. I tested postive on the 4th day aboard the barge and have yet to be contacted by anyone except the strang person who called me on the 13th of June (the day I tested positive) to advise me to head home to the US the next day. How irresponsible! my husband and I quarantined in a hotel in the Hague and then went home 5 days later on the recommendation of my Primary Physician here in Virgina. No one offered medical help, logistics help, or even responded to my husband, Fred Bishopp, when he sent emails a few times. How unprofessional!
— Review left June 22, 2022
This is a wonderful trip, even if you are not keenly interested in the Dutch Golden Age and the primary Dutch artists of that era. The barge, The Lena Maria, is well appointed and quite comfortable. The barge crew of four went out of their way to make our trip extremely enjoyable, entertaining, and educational. The food aboard was excellent and of generous portions - freshly procured and prepared each day of the cruise. Our group leader, not a tour guide Frank, was fun and extremely knowledgeable of our surroundings wherever we went. The expert lecturers, both onboard and ashore, were excellent and provided us a solid base of information for what we were going to see ashore. The docents who led our museum tours were also excellent and extremely knowledgeable of the contents of their respective museums and the artists they were highlighting. The countryside through which we traveled was absolutely beautiful, even though, due to the timing of our trip, we missed seeing the fields of tulips that the area is widely known for. The Dutch society is technologically well advanced, very progressive, very friendly, and very helpful. Most everyone in the Netherlands speaks multiple languages, especially English, so getting around proved to be very easy. It is no stretch at all to rate this program FIVE STARS. I highly recommend it to everyone.
If you want to see much more of Amsterdam than this program affords, please do come in early and/or stay in Amsterdam after the progrm has ended. We did both and consider it well worth it. Since you have made the decision to journey this far please take the extra time to explore magnificinet Amsterdam, its people, its sights, and its food.
— Review left June 12, 2022
This was truly one of the best Road Scholar trips I have participated in. After two years of no travel, I was so ready for a barge art trip---one of my dream trips. People, culture, art and food came together to make many lasting memories!
— Review left May 20, 2022
The Old Masters Tour was wonderful. The experience exceeded my expectations in a number of ways. First of all, the weather was wonderful. And thanks to a fabulous crew, the barge experience, from the clean accommodations to the wonderful meals was fantastic. The Captain Elke and his first mate Dirk made us feel very comfortable and welcome as we navigated the Dutch locks. I greatly appreciate the effort to provide a spectacular itinerary complete with experienced lecturers and of course the fabulous tour director(s) Frank and Liliana who cheerfully responded to all of our requests and emersed us into Dutch history and shared their personal experiences-all of which makes this tour so very special. This is only my 2nd RS tour but I'm hooked and look forward to my next adventure.
— Review left May 19, 2022
Wonderful overview of both the Netherlands and of its art. This is much more than an art appreciation program. I learned about history, cuisine and about this country. Great tour. Thank you.
— Review left October 13, 2019