8-day Bike & Barge Tour through Holland's prettiest countryside

Amsterdam:

Embarkation and check-in the crew will welcome you on board from 2pm in the centre of Amsterdam. After unpacking your luggage in your cabin you will still have plenty of time to explore this famous city. Treat yourself to a canal tour, visit museums or simply do some shopping. An introduction to the tour will take place at 5.30pm, during which the crew will be presented and your first dinner on board will be served: your rental bicycles will also be distributed at this time.

Amsterdam – Zaandam | Zaandam – Zaanse Schans – Haarlem 40 km or 55km

After a short cruise on board the barge, you are off and cycling after first visiting the lovely open-air museum ‘Zaanse Schans’ in Zaandam where an authentic 18th and 19th-century Dutch village has been reconstructed. In the museum, you will learn about iconic Dutch traditions such as windmills and cheese and clog making. You will then cycle to Haarlem where celebrated portraitist and genre painter Frans Hals lived and worked in the 16th century. In the evening you can stroll through the lovely city centre and the Grote Markt (market square). If preferred, today’s cycling tour can also be extended with a visit to the sea locks of IJmuiden and the Kennemer Dunes. During this cycling tour you can visit some forts of the Defense Line of Amsterdam (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Haarlem – North Sea coast – Leiden 42km or 50km

After enjoying breakfast with your newfound cycling friends, you will pedal along the North Sea coast through seaside dunes via the resorts of Noordwijk and Katwijk aan Zee to the vibrant university city of Leiden, the birthplace of celebrated artist Rembrandt van Rijn. The city’s picturesque old city centre is crisscrossed with canals lined by beautiful 17th-century buildings and is definitely a must to see. The longer cycling tour leads you from Haarlem to Cruquius (steam engine museum) and Hillegom (several flower nurseries) to Leiden.

Leiden – Delft 35km or 41km

From Leiden you will cycle to Delft, famous for its Blue porcelain (Delftware), where you will have the opportunity to visit a porcelain studio. Another major attraction in the beautiful city centre of Delft is the royal crypt of the House of Orange. The longer cycling tour brings you to the seaside resort, Scheveningen. Onto The Hague, where you can visit the Binnenhof (Parliament) and the Peace Palace (Vredespaleis) continuing to end in Delft.

Delft – Rotterdam – Kinderdijk Kinderdijk – Schoonhoven – Gouda several options from 23km to 66km

This morning you will sail from Delft through the remarkable international port of Rotterdam. From here you can start cycling or you can hop on the “Waterbus”, a fast ferry that will bring you and your bicycle over the river in 30-40 minutes to Alblasserdam. From there you cycle just a few miles to Kinderdijk, world-famous for an impressive row of 19 large windmills. These 19 windmills have a UNESCO cultural heritage listing and are a definite highlight – you will have the opportunity to visit one so don’t forget to bring your camera! From Kinderdijk you will cycle directly to the cheese city of Gouda, or if you prefer, on a longer tour via the silver city of Schoonhoven to Gouda, your destination for the day.

Gouda – Kudelstaart 45km or 55km

The highlight of today’s cycling tour is the naturally idyllic beauty of the South Holland landscape. Your destination for the day is the village of Kudelstaart where the barge will be waiting for you. Along the way, you will cycle along numerous small canals and past picture-perfect farms and small villages. At the mooring place on the banks of the Westeinder Plassen (‘West End’ Lakes), there is a beautiful view to savour while enjoying a wine during or after dinner.

Kudelstaart – Aalsmeer – Amsterdam (30 km/19 mi. or 37 km/23 mi.)

If you are keen for an early start to the day you can visit the largest trade centre for plants and flowers in the world at Aalsmeer (optional extra, not included). The market is a hive of activity. It is guaranteed that you will never have seen so many flowers in the one place. After a late breakfast you can either stay on board the barge as it cruises through the City of Amsterdam to its mooring place or you can cycle into the city through the city park ‘Amsterdamse Bos’ or along the Amstel river. Once you reach Amsterdam take the opportunity during the afternoon and evening to go for a canal cruise, discover Anne Frank’s House, the Rembrandt House Museum, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam and Dam Square, the very center and heart of the city.

Amsterdam

End of your tour: Disembarkation after breakfast until 9.30am.

The tour details are barring changes, a.o. as a result of nautical, technical or meteorological reasons.