If 'a river runs through it', there's a pretty good chance that someone offers cruises on that…read moreriver, and Maastricht is no exception. The main cruising company is Stiphout, who offer a good selection of cruises , ranging from a 20-minute trip up the river to the St. Pietersberg caves to longer trips to Liege or Vise.
We took the cruise up to the caves, and found the boat well turned out, with the woodwork highly polished. There's a large, comfortable lounge, in which we had a beer, and in which meals can be served on some cruises. A commentary was given in Dutch, French and English, and the whole thing made for a pleasant experience, at a reasonable price.
However, the 'Old Timer' bus tour of Maastricht , also operated by Stiphout was rather disappointing. The bus itself was interesting; either a traditional American school bus, or a very good replica. And, the route took in most of the sights.
However, you don't get a very good view out of the bus, especially if you're in one of the aisle seats. The commentary is given only in Dutch. Now, if you don't speak that language, you're given a 'translation sheet' in your chosen language, but that means you spend a lot of time reading, and trying to marry up the sheet with the commentary with the aid of a map that goes with it, rather than looking around.
But, the sheet is very informative, and the map a good one although even if you speak Dutch, you can't see much out of the bus. Maybe a 'hop on/hop off' service would be a better experience?
