Beer is one of the few indulgences monks are permitted, and thus one of the reasons they know how to brew special beers so incredibly well. On this very ambitious tour we will visit seven Trappist abbeys that brew beer (five in Belgium and two just across the border in the Netherlands) and sample their beers. While the theme of this tour will be Trappist ales, you will experience many other styles, too.

The designation of “Trappist” is a legal one and encompasses a range of styles rather than a single distinct one. The five Trappist breweries in Belgium are Westmalle, Westvleteren, Orval, Chimay and Rochefort. The two Trappist Breweries in the Netherlands are LaTrappe and Zundert. We also visit former Trappist Achel in Belgium, which lost its official Trappist designation in 2021, but continues to brew the Certified Belgian Abbey Beers. Other breweries we will visit include de Halve Maan, Bourgogne des Flandres and Huyghe or Van Steenberge. You’ll experience the four corners of Belgium as we traverse the country to visit these abbeys, from the bucolic farmlands of West Flanders to the pristine Ardennes Mountains of Wallonia, to the beautiful countryside of the northern Limburg Province and the Netherlands. As with all our tours, fine cuisine, inviting hotels, camaraderie will be front-and-center, along with sightseeing, shopping and plenty of free time to unwind, explore and discover the beauty of Belgium.

Note, most of the abbey interiors are typically cloistered and off limits to visitors. Many of the Trappist breweries are also off limits to the public, but BBM! does have a few connections that may make visiting some places generally not accessible to the public available to us. What we will do is experience the terroir and see at least the exteriors of the Trappist abbeys and breweries, and get to visit the official and unofficial brewery taps to sample the beers fresh from the brewery. 

Plans call for overnights in Gent, Bruges, Bastogne, Tilburg (Netherlands) and Mechelen. (see map below)

Plan now to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime tour!

• Nine nights accommodations in nice, friendly, centrally-located hotels often in the old town section of the city and some in bucolic rural settings.

• All breakfasts and five lunches with gratuities.

• Beer during brewery tours, taproom visits, festivals and company meals as listed on the itinerary.

• Ground transportation via private luxury coach with professional driver. Leave the driving to us!

• Professional and courteous BBM! guide services.

• All tours and admissions.

• An instant group of interesting and fun, beer-loving friends you haven’t met yet.

• Plenty of unstructured free time to relax, shop and explore on your own.

• Custom BBM! name badges.

• Souvenir BBM! luggage tags

• Flexibility in the event you need to transfer or cancel your tour.

• Airfare

• Airport transfers.

• Some meals and beer on your own.

• Free-time sightseeing. Our guides are available to provide suggestions.

• Fine Print: You are responsible for the costs of your free-time sightseeing. Be sure to read our Terms & Conditions Agreement for important details.

• Gratuities, at your discretion, for brewery tour guides and coach drivers.

Any time of year is the perfect time to visit Belgium.

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Deadline to sign up is one month before departure. Min. of 12 travelers needed to confirm this tour.

2024 price is $3675/per person + Air, $650 single supplement*
* Prices based on double room occupancy.  If you are a solo traveler and would like to have a private room all to yourself there is a single supplement fee of $650 in addition to the base price of $3675 per person.We can also work with you to pair you with other single travelers to avoid the single supplement. Better yet, recruit a friend to come, too! Unless, of course, like Rick Steves says, you prefer to “snore alone.”

We require a minimum number of guests for each tour to be guaranteed to go, so it’s important to sign up ASAP, as opposed to waiting until the deadline. Also, tours can fill rapidly and suddenly, so signing up early ensures that you will go and not be disappointed.

• 2025 price is $3995/per person + Air, $695 single supplement*

Please share  BBM! tours with fellow Belgian beer enthusiasts, your friends in general, and encourage them to join the fun! 

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This tour begins in the lobby of our hotel in Gent and ends at our hotel in Mechelen. We plan to visit many brewery locations, and or taprooms, featuring prominently the seven Trappist ones: Chimay, Orval, Westmalle, Westvleteren, Rochefort, LaTrappe and Zundert. We will also visit Achel, formerly a Trappist brewery, and purchased by a Belgian entrepreneur in 2023. Other breweries we visit are Het Anker, de Halve Maan, Bourgogne des Flanders, Inter-Pol and Huyghe or Van Steenberge. *Note: Sometimes we may rotate in other breweries on this day in Gent instead of Huyghe or Van Steenberge. Other highlights will include, Gent, Bruges and Bastogne.

Included are all brewery visits, hotels, canal boat tour (photo above in Bruges), ground transportation, all breakfasts, some snacks, three lunches and two dinners. Beer is included during group meals and brewery tours, but not informal pub crawls or café visits. The tour does not include airfare or airport transfers. 

Day One • Gent   This incredible tour begins in the afternoon in Gent as we meet at 2 p.m. in the lobby of the historic Hotel Monesterium PoortAckere, tastefully built in a former monastery and very fitting for this tour. We’ll do a short walking tour of Gent, have a bottle share, then meet for our welcome dinner.  (Dinner #1)

Day Two • Gent   Morning is free to explore or just sleep in.  At 10 a.m., we’ll meet to visit a brewery. We’ll visit either Brewery Van Steenberge, home of Gulden Draak and Piraat or Brewery Hughe, home Delirium Tremens and other fine beers. We’ll plan to have a picnic lunch at the brewery with our beer tasting. The rest of the afternoon is free to explore Gent. Dinner is on your own. This evening we’ll meet and visit some of Gents many interesting and cozy beer cafes.  (Breakfast)

Day Three • Bruges   After breakfast we check out, and to Waregem to visit the Flanders Field American Cemetery and Museum. Here we’ll learn about WWI and the brave soldiers, who helped liberate Belgium. From there, we head to the home of the coveted and revered Trappist Westvleteren beer (near the village of Westvleteren) the Abbey of St. Sixtus and its brewery tap, “In de Vrede” (In the Peace), for lunch and to indulge in their famous, exquisite and rare beers. The Abbey and brewery are not open to the general public, however, we will be able to see the exterior and if we are lucky buy some beer to go in their gift shop. At 2 p.m., we continue on to Bruges (about 1 hour drive).  There, we will spend two nights at the our centrally located hotel.  You’ll have the afternoon to explore the cobblestoned streets of Bruges.  You are on your own for dinner.  Later this evening we meet for an informal tour of some of the most interesting beer cafés in the city. (Breakfast)

Day Four • Bruges   Morning is free, and then we meet at 10:30 in the lobby for a short walking tour followed by a tour and lunch at 11 a.m. at De Halve Maan Brewery & Museum. They are the brewers of Zot and Straffe Hendrik. After lunch, we will take canal boat ride and learn more about the history of Bruges.

This afternoon you have some more free time to take in the many sites of Bruges, rent a bike, take a carriage ride, visit museums, or just people watch, while savoring a Belgian beer in a sidewalk café.  Tonight, dinner is on your own in one of Bruges many romantic and rustic restaurants.  Your guide is available for dinner suggestions.   (Breakfast & lunch)

Day 5 • Bastogne  We depart Bruges to go to Chimay for a tour of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont grounds and the cemetery.  Just around the corner from the Abbey is Chimay brewery tap Auberge de Poteaupre, where we will have an Abbey cheese and Chimay beer tasting. Next we visit Rochefort to see the exterior of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy and visit the chapel. From there we drive to Bastogne, where we will stay for the next two nights in the beautiful Hotel Leo Station in the heart of the Ardennes Mountains. Dinner is on your own in Bastogne (Breakfast ) 

Day 6 • Bastogne  Today is a big day as we head through the Ardennes Mountains to Trappist Orval for a guided tour of the modern Abbey, the Brewery Museum and Abbey ruins and the brewery tour at 10 a.m., and lunch at 1 p.m.. After lunch, we’ll walk down to the pond, see the famous Orval swans and the exterior of the chateau. You’ll also have time to visit the Orval gift shop. We’ll have lunch at the brewery tap l’Ange Gardien (Guardian Angel), located just a block from the Abbey. Afterward, there is an optional visit to the small craft brewery of Inter-Pol, which will surprise and delight. As an option, you may opt out of the Orval visit and you may visit on your own, the Bastogne WWII Museum. As a side note, this museum is included in the Ardennes Mountain Beer Tour.  (Breakfast & lunch) 
 
Day 7 • Tilburg, Netherlands  We head north to the Achel Brewery at the St. Benedictus Abbey for lunch, beers and a tour. There is also a great beer retail store here, where you can stock up on a variety beer for home, including all the Trappists, except Westvleteren.  Next we travel to Tilburg, Netherlands, about 45 minutes away, where we will spend the night and have time to explore and sample some Dutch craft beers.  This afternoon,  we have a beer tasting and tour at the La Trappe Brewery at the Abbey of Our Lady of Koningshoeven.  This is the most accessible and user-friendly Trappist brewery and is set up for visitors.  The tour includes a movie (in English), a first-class tour, food, and of course, beer!  Afterwards, we'll have dinner in their taproom and spend one night in Tilburg. (Breakfast & Dinner)

Day 8 • Mechelen, Belgium   This morning, we depart Tilburg and head to Trappist Zundert (De Kievit Brewery), one of the newest Trappist breweries, to see the exterior of the Abbey Mary Refuge, and taste their beer at the source. Then we head south back into Belgium to visit the Trappist Abbey of  Westmalle brewery tap Café Trappisten and have lunch.  You’ll experience all the Westmalle beers as fresh to the source as possible. They also have a great short film about Westmalle, narrated by a guy, who puts James Earl Jones to shame.  Listen for my favorite line in it, “At Westmalle, time is a reluctant servant...”  Across the street, we will see the beautiful exterior of the Abbey and its spectacular tree-lined driveway. Then it's on to Mechelen, where we’ll be staying at the Hotel Brewery Het Anker right at the Het Anker Brewery. The hotel is built in the former bottling plant. The rest of the day is free to discover Mechelen, have dinner on your own and visit the city's many beer cafes.  (Breakfast & Lunch)

Day 9  • Mechelen, Belgium  Mechelen is the perfect city in which to spend our last nights.  It is an attractive, but much more intimate, historic city than Brussels.  At 11 a.m., we’ll meet in the lobby for a short walking tour to get you acclimated, then you will have most of today to explore it on your own. I suggest packing a couple cold beers and climbing to the top of the belfry.  From the modern observation deck, the view is outstanding and on a clear day you can see both Antwerp and Brussels. This evening, we have our farewell bottle share at the brewery tap Het Anker Café featuring the mind-blowing Goudon Carolus beers.   (Breakfast )

Day 10 • Mechelen, Belgium  Breakfast concludes this most memorable and satisfying Lonely Monks Trappist Tour.  Rail and taxi service between Mechelen and the BRU airport is frequent and takes about 20 min. (Breakfast)

* Itinerary subject to change.

We’ve been producing this tour since 2008 and through the years it has evolved to the epic tour it is today. We’ve got this tour down to provide you the best travel experience possible. Below is a fun video from the 2014 archives. Enjoy it! Stu

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