My name is Jan Timmermans. I am the founder and former director of Boat Bike Tours, currently the world’s leading tour operator for boat and cycling vacations. At the moment, I am mainly focused on developing new tours in new travel destinations and maintaining contacts with tour operators around the world who sell our trips to their customers.
While studying geography, I worked in holiday jobs and as a tour guide on small passenger ships in the Netherlands. After graduating, I started working full time for this small shipping company and ultimately took it over. In the early 1990s, I started developing the concept of combining cycling holidays with travel and accommodation on board small passenger ships, transforming the company into a small niche travel organization: Boat Bike Tours was born.
The idea was to combine the Netherlands’ excellent nautical and cycling infrastructure to design trips through areas where hotel accommodation is scarce. Cyclists cover 30-50 km a day and a cozy ship with an experienced crew, sleeping and dining facilities, sailing from city to city, is their floating hotel for the week. And of course, the boat trips contribute to the slow travel experience, just like cycling.
Following rapid growth, especially since 2010, and thanks to the merger with Islandhopping, we now offer more than 75 different boat and bike tours in 18 countries. In 2025, over 30.000 guests from all over the world (incl. Italy) have enjoyed a tour with Boat Bike Tours.
I am very much looking forward to telling you more about the many aspects of our fantastic boat and bike tour concept. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Italian… Therefore, my TALK will be in English, but simultaneous translation into Italian will be available on stage and I am happy to answer questions. Are you curious?
Then also visit our booth here at the Fiera del Cicloturismo: two of our Italian-speaking tour guides (our experience specialists) will be happy to give you more information and answer all your questions.