Where we go and what we do
Zythos Beer Festival Tour – Rescheduled to 2022 - April 17-26, 2022
Tour some very interesting Belgian breweries, visit great bottle shops at stellar beer destinations, travel to a World famous Abbey, enjoy the Night of Great Thirst and visit the Zythos Beer Festival, where 90+ breweries will feature over 500 great Belgian beers. Finish at Cantillon and the Grand Place for the ultimate of Belgian beer tours.
$2999/pp (based on dual occupancy)
Single Occupancy
There is an additional hotel room charge for single occupancy of $75 per night, per person. I will try to match single travelers as roommates, wherever possible to minimize room costs. The best tour rates are achieved with dual occupancy.
Trip Details
Daily Tour Information
Sample Tour Itinerary
Nine days/eight nights, including hotel and round-trip airfare, visiting Ghent, Poperinge, Bruges, Itterbeek, Leuven, and Brussels, in Belgium, with over 4,000 beer choices along the way. The tour visits Itterbeek for the Night of Great Thirst with over 30 European and 3 American breweries and 80+ spontaneous fermentation beers, and Leuven for the ever-growing Zythos Beer Festival, with 90+ breweries serving over 500 different beers. This tour stays at three different hotels.
Travel Day – Depart the USA, Arrive in Belgium
Depart the USA on April 17th and arrive in Belgium the following morning. Make your way to Ghent to check in to the tour hotel, and spend the afternoon and evening touring the city’s beer bars, breweries, and a very cool local restaurant,
Day 1 – Ghent - Orientation and Walking tour of the City and Canals
Attend the Tour Group meeting this morning. We tour Ghent, visit towering cathedrals and stop in for lunch at a popular brewery. After lunch, we continue to tour Ghent’s famous bridges, and sample some brews brought by our tour attendees. We visit a couple of beer bars We’ll have a light early dinner and turn in after sampling a few more Belgian beers.
Day 2 – Train to Poperinge and Local bus to St Sixtus Abbey
We’ll grab an early breakfast and head to Ghent St Pieters train station and take the train to Poperinge, where we’ll take a walk into town and catch the BelBus for St Sixtus Abbey, home of World-famous Westvleteren beers. We’ll have a light lunch and dessert while we enjoy some of the World’s famous beers and then make our way back to Poperinge for a couple of beers and dinner, before catching the train back to Ghent.
Day 3 – Travel to Bruges
We’ll make our way to Ghent St Pieters train station for the 45-minute train ride to Bruges, where we’ll be for several days. Bruges is a city of canals, full of history. We explore Bruges' beer scene and visit some beer cafes and local bottle shops.
Day 4 – Open Day in Bruges
Today we visit a famous local brewery near our hotel with a very unique beer transport system, have lunch, and then the rest of the day is yours to visit local cultural sites and explore more beer cafes throughout the day and evening.
Day 5 – Brewery Tour and The Canals of Bruges
We’ll be visiting a local brewery and sample some great beers again today. Some open time in the afternoon to explore the famous Wall of Beer, then we’ll board a tour boat and travel the canals of Bruges. We’ll finish the evening visiting local beer bars discovered during the previous day’s adventures.
Day 6 – Bruges Brewery Tour and Night of Great Thirst (Tentative, due to rescheduling)
We have a leisurely breakfast and visit one last local brewery for a tour, tasting, and lunch before leaving Bruges and boarding a motorcoach for Leuven. We’ll stop along the way for dinner and then we'll visit the tiny town of Itterbeek, where we'll enjoy some of Europe's best spontaneous fermentation beers. After the Festival, we'll board our motorcoach for Leuven and check in to the tour hotel, where we’ll stay for three nights.
Day 7 – Zythos Beer Festival
Here’s why you came on tour. We’ll board the free city shuttle buses and head out to the Zythos Beer Festival, where we can expect to find 90+ breweries serving nearly 500 different beers. We’ll pace ourselves throughout the day and make our way back to the tour hotel.
Day 8 – Brussels, Cantillon, and the Grand Place
We board a local train in Leuven and head into Brussels where we’ll visit many cafes, beer bars, and bottle shops in the Grand Place – the city’s central square. We’ll also stop at Cantillon Brasserie to sample their excellent spontaneous fermented beers and you may opt to take a self-guided tour of their facility. Upon our return to Leuven, we'll explore the local beer scene this evening at our Farewell dinner.
Day 9 – Travel Day – Depart Belgium for the USA
We board the train in Leuven early this morning and head for the Brussels Zaventum Airport for the trip back to the USA.
Tour Deposit
$700
Due prior to February 1st and fully refundable if travel plans change, up until flight and hotel plans are made. Once flight and hotel plans are complete, tour fees are non-refundable and trip refunds are conducted with the travel company providing, tours, transportation, and lodging, based on their published travel policies.
Air, Hotel, Local Transportation and Bus Tours Fee
$2299 + any single occupancy fee
Due by February 14th. Includes round trip airfare, hotel, local transportation fees, and all motorcoach tours. You have the option to choose your own flight itinerary, and I’ll book your flight, hotel, and the tours, as soon as your tour fee is paid. My booking process is what provides substantial tour savings, and flexibility in your flight schedules.
Travel Insurance
Optional
Travel Insurance is available at an additional cost, by a number of insurance providers, such as travel companies (Expedia, Priceline, etc…) or Berkshire-Hathaway. This can be a very cost-effective option, should anything go awry in the travel process, and I can advise on options to select, once you elect to go on tour.