Bike and Barge Holland: 8 days Tulip Tour
This wonderful bike and barge trip that starts and ends in Amsterdam, takes you through the provinces of South- and North Holland while spring flowers are in bloom.
Tulips, cheese and Dutch history
You will spend time in the historical cities of Haarlem, Leiden, Gouda and Alkmaar and learn about the water management of these lowlands at the North Sea. You will also visit the famous Keukenhof gardens, known by the hundreds of thousands of blooming tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other bulb flowers. The world-famous Aalsmeer flower auction is on the program where an astonishing volume of beautiful flowers are being traded daily and exported all over the world the World. One night the barge mooring is at the open air museum ‘the Zaanse Schans’ with its windmills, cheese farm and picturesque wooden houses. You will be surprised by the beautiful, varied scenery and the wonderful bikeways of Holland.
Tour Details Holland: 8-day Tulip Tour | Amsterdam – Amsterdam
Day 1 (Sat): Amsterdam – Spaarndam | Spaarndam – Haarlem (6 km/3 mi. or 14 km/8 mi.)
You are welcome to check in between 1.30 p.m. and 2 p.m. The crew will welcome you with coffee and tea. At 2.30 p.m. the barge leaves the harbor. While the barge sails to Haarlem, your tour leader will tell you about the tour, the cycling and safety. From Spaarndam you have the option to do a little test ride. After dinner on board, the tour leader will take you on a town walk through the beautiful city centre of Haarlem.
Day 2 (Sun): Haarlem – Keukenhof – Leiden. (38 km / 23 mi.)
Today's trip leads you through the oldest tulip fields of Holland, including a visit of the Keukenhof gardens. This is the most beautiful bulb park in the world. Keukenhof is the place where the spring breaks. An overwhelming blaze of colors; seven million flowering tulips in a magnificent 80-acres' background of traditional and modern gardening architecture. You also can admire the various hyacinths, narcisses and many other colorful flowers. In the afternoon you bike to the city of Leiden. Dinner on board and after that you can join the walk through town.
Day 3 (Mon): Leiden – Zoeterwoude | Zoeterwoude – Gouda (31 km/19 mi. or 40 km/24 mi.)
Breakfast while sailing out of Leiden. Your cycling tour starts just outside Leiden and leads through the ‘green heart’ of Holland. Near Zoeterwoude, you will visit a cheese farm where you will learn about the cheese-making process and you will have the opportunity to taste the results. In the afternoon you reach Gouda, famous for the Gouda cheese. Gouda has an attractive compact centre with her pretty market square and Gothic town hall. The main church of Gouda, devoted to Saint John, is world famous for its stained glass windows. After dinner you can join the walk through town.
Day 4 (Tue): Gouda – Alphen a/d Rijn | Alphen a/d Rijn – Kudelstaart (27 km/16 mi. or 44 km/27 mi.)
We stay in Gouda this morning. You have the opportunity to do some shopping and to visit the market square with its cheese weigh house or you can visit the St. Johns church. We leave by barge around noon and have a light lunch on board. From Alphen aan den Rijn you cycle through the ‘green heart’ of South Holland via river Drecht and Amstel-Drecht channel to Kudelstaart.
Day 5 (Wed): Kudelstaart – Flower auction | Aalsmeer – Amsterdam | Amsterdam – Zaanse Schans (32 km/19 mi. or 41 km/25 mi.)
At 6.30 a.m. you can drink an early cup of coffee. After that you cycle to the flower auction of Aalsmeer, the largest of Europe. Here, huge quantities of flowers are trucked in and sold every day, after which they are distributed all over Europe. After your visit you return on board (around 9 a.m.) for a late breakfast while the barge sails to Amsterdam. You will enjoy a nice cruise, right through the city.
Today’s cycling tour takes you from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans, a unique hamlet where people live and work, with original houses and windmills from the river Zaan area. The hamlet is dominated by operating windmills, the oldest built in 1673, for grinding mustard, spices, paint and oil and for sawing wood into planks. As you walk through the village you will see a clock museum, an old-fashioned grocery store, a house with period furniture, a clog maker and a cheese farm.
Day 6 (Thu): Zaanse Schans – Alkmaar (29 km/18 mi. or 40 km/24 mi.)
This morning you cycle to the Hortus Bulborum, a unique garden museum dedicated to the preservation of rare and historic bulbs. More than 4,000 tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other flowers are planted here. Your cycling tour continues to Egmond at the Northsea. The tour goes through the dunes to Alkmaar. This town is known as a Dutch cheese city. As you wander through the streets you’ll be amazed by the beauty of Alkmaar’s Old Town, with its well-preserved 17th century buildings and narrow, winding canals. Dinner in town at your own account.
Day 7 (Fri): Alkmaar – Amsterdam (37 km/22 mi. or 51 km/31 mi.)
After breakfast your cycling tour leads you to the former windmill complex of the Schermer Polder. Here we visit the Schermerhorn Windmill Museum. Your next stop is the beautiful town of De Rijp. Centuries of history are still evident here in De Rijp’s wooden facades, beautiful church, lock and town hall. From here, your ride continues back to Amsterdam. In the late afternoon or evening there is time for a canal tour through the famous canals of the city.
Day 8 (Sat): Amsterdam
End of your tour: Disembarkation after breakfast until 9.30 a.m.
Good to know
- Cycling route distances in the travel program are approximate.
- On some days you can choose between a longer and a shorter cycling route. Please note that on the shorter routes you may not be able to visit all the highlights mentioned.
- If you prefer not to cycle on a particular day, you’re welcome to stay on board and relax while the ship cruises to the next landing place.
- The tour itinerary and route are subject to possible changes due to nautical, technical or meteorological reasons, or other unforeseen events.
- On the arrival day, you can leave your luggage on board the ship from 11.00 am.
- A detailed cycling map and a GPS app are available for guests who wish to cycle individually and at their own pace. The tour guide is always available via cell phone in case of questions, breakdowns or emergencies.
