Northern Tour

Netherlands Bike + Boat Tour

The peninsula making up the province of North Holland is the focus of this tour, which first introduces Amsterdam and its abundant attractions. Amsterdam's prosperity really grew during the 1600's when it established itself as Europe's foremost trading center. Its vast history and culture continue to exude in the rich architecture and museums, such as the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. Leaving the bustling city center for the countryside, you will ride via Marken, where some of the old houses are built on poles, to the old fishing village of Volendam, where traditional Dutch costumes are still worn. Enkhuizen is a quiet little town with a picturesque harbor and scenic fishermen cottages. It has an interesting Outdoor Museum that offers a unique insight into the town’s rich past as a trading center. The island of Texel is a vacationer's dream with 80 km of foot- and bike-paths and white sandy beaches. It is Holland’s oldest island and often called the Pearl of the Wadden Islands due to its unspoilt landscape that includes rich foliage, thousands of birds and countless sheep. The largest village on the island is Den Burg, where a 15th century church dominates. Next, you'll follow your appetite to the famous cheese town of Alkmaar, where cheese is still regularly weighed and sold in the Waag. Also of interest is the St. Lawrence Church of late-Gothic style that holds Holland's oldest church organ. From here, you will continue on to the Zaanse Schans in Zaandam. This large Open Air Museum authentically depicts Dutch life during the 17th and 18th centuries and includes windmills, a cheese mill, a paint mill and traditional timbered buildings, just to name a few. After a leisure visit, you’ll finish the tour back in Holland’s cosmopolitan capital of Amsterdam. (During Holland’s famous tulip months of April and May, you will cycle alongside endless acres of colorful bulbfields).

Tour Dates

• On board the Anna Antal a Standard Plus class boat : April 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12, June 2 and 30, 2012
• On board the Liza Marleen a Standard Plus class boat : July 21, 2012
• On board the Zwaan a Comfort class boat : July 7, 28, August 4, 11 and 18, 2012
• On board the Angela Esmee a Comfort Plus class boat : Every Saturday from April 21 to September 8, 2012
• **Discounted price available for departures between April 21 and June 2, 2012. See pricing for details!
• On board the Iris a Comfort Plus class boat: Saturday, July 7, 2012 (now being offered at a discounted price)
• The best time to see Tulips is usually early April to early May

Where You’ll Stay

On Standard Plus, Comfort, or Comfort Plus Boats.

What’s Included

• 7 night accommodations on board ship
• Breakfast buffets, packed lunches, 3-course dinners
• Coffee & tea on board
• Tour guide
• 7 to 24-speed hybrid bicycle
• Route information
• Ferry fares en route

What’s Not Included

• Museum entrance fees (approximately €15 per tour)
• Beverages (incl. alcohol), available on board

Skill Level

Easy, guided tours with average daily distances of ± 30 miles on flat terrain and good asphalt roads with little traffic. This is a somewhat lighter and easier rural tour than the other Bike & Boat Holland tours, thus more appropriate for children.

Tour Boats

• Liza Marleen
• Anna Antal
• Zwaan
• Angela Esmee

Day-To-Day Itinerary

Itinerary for Standard Plus and Comfort Boats

1. Boarding in Amsterdam at 4 PM; optional cycling, 12 mi (20 km).
2. Amsterdam - Volendam, 26 mi (42 km).
3. Volendam - Enkhuizen 36 mi (58 km), or disembark in Hoorn 15 mi (25 km).
4. Enkhuizen - Den Oever 33 mi (54 km), or disembark in Medemblik or Oude Zeug 26 mi (42 km), sail to Texel.
5. Texel, roundtrip, 25/31/41 mi (40/50/66 km).
6. Texel - sail to Den Helder – cycle to Alkmaar 36 mi (58 km), or embark in 't Zand/Schagerbrug/St. Maartensvlotbrug, 25/18 mi (40/30 km).
7. Alkmaar – Amsterdam 37 mi (59 km), or disembark in Zaandam, 12 mi (20 km).
8. Disembark at 10 AM.

*All distances are approximate. The above planned itinerary is subject to change due to changing wind and weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances having to do with mooring requirements, etc.

SATURDAY: Boarding in Amsterdam at 4 PM; optional cycling, 12 mi (20 km).
Boarding begins at 4 PM. When you arrive on board the boat, you can put your baggage away in your cabin and then enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. It is also a good moment to become acquainted with the guide, skipper, crew, and of course your fellow passengers.
The bicycles are distributed and straight from the moorings of the boat you can have a short bike trip through quiet parts of town. If time permits, you can also bike outside the city.
Amsterdam first saw the light of day as a simple village at the mouth of the Amstel River but expanded rapidly with its famous rings of canals in the Golden Age (18th century). The palace on the Dam Square is sometimes called the 8th wonder of the world because it is built on 13,659 piles. Amsterdam as we know it today is of course famous for being able to cater to all tastes, including lovers of diamonds. In the evening you dine on board. During the meal, the plans for the rest of the week are discussed.

SUNDAY: Amsterdam - Volendam, 26 mi (42 km).
You leave Amsterdam, still peaceful at this time. A ferry brings you to a similarly peaceful part of the city in the north, and quite soon you are cycling through the rural ‘Waterland’ region (in the province of Holland), after which you visit the former island of Marken. Marken was a real island until 1957, which left it with its own special character. As the island flooded several times during the Zuiderzee period, the old houses were built on poles above the ground, putting them about 2.5 meters above street level.
Marken is strictly for pedestrian visitors as cars are prohibited on the island except for those belonging to the population itself. You cycle to Monnickendam, which enjoyed a flourishing wealthy period in the past, as you can see from the many old gables, plaques, churches and towers.
You continue on biking over the dike of the Gouwzee to Volendam, today’s destination. Volendam was originally a small fishing village and was founded by the survivors of a capsized Spanish fleet.

MONDAY: Volendam - Enkhuizen 36 mi (58 km), or disembark in Hoorn 15 mi (25 km).
If you choose to ride the entire route, you fist visit Edam, well-known for its cheese. Here you can taste the atmosphere of a well preserved Old Holland town, although the hustle and bustle of old times is missing.
After Edam, the tour passes through vast grasslands; the stop in Hoorn is a little longer.
Those travelers who preferred to sail on the boat to Hoorn start cycling here. For all tour members, this is the opportunity to gain an impression of this beautiful town with its rich history.
Hoorn was a major trading town in the 17th century. From here ships sailed for the Dutch East Indies, (now Indonesia), America, Scandinavia, and the Mediterranean. The most beautiful gable is in the former town hall; the Statenpoort which houses an interesting museum with paintings and exhibits concerning the V.O.C. The V.O.C. (United East Indies Dutch Trading Company) was a very powerful almost monopolistic trading company in the 17th century.
You cross the dike, with its beautiful view over the Markermeer on one side and West Frisian villages on the other. Today the route finishes in Enkhuizen. This town grew together frrom two closely neighboring villages. Enkhuizen has a number of interesting museums; depending on your time of arrival and their opening hours, you can visit them.

TUESDAY: Enkhuizen - Den Oever 33 mi (54 km), or embark in Medemblik or Oude Zeug 26 mi (42 km), sail to Texel.
The cycling route begins over the dyke of the IJsselmeer, but we leave it to ride through a nature reserve and then some of the characteristic villages of West Friesland. Medemblik comes into view, one of the old Zuiderzee harbors with an illustrious past and a castle dating from the 13th century. You take a break here, and if you wish, you can reboard the boat.
After Medemblik the route goes through a polder, the Wieringermeer, which was created at the same time as the famous Afsluitdijk in 1932. This created new land out of the old Zuiderzee and turned the inland sea (IJsselmeer) into the largest sweet water basin of The Netherlands.
The food crisis resulting from the 1st World War created a need for more agricultural land so in 1927, work on the Wieringermeer commenced. The dikes and pumping stations were built in the open sea. The polder itself was reclaimed during a period of mass unemployment and most of the work for preparing the land for agricultural use was done by hand and horse power.
Halfway over the polder you can step on board again in a work harbor or otherwise ride through a forest to the fishing town of Den Oever. We sail by boat over the Wadden Sea to the harbor of the island of Texel.

WEDNESDAY: Texel, roundtrip, 25/31/41 mi (40/50/66 km).
Today you could if you would like visit the beach or take a bike ride on the island of Texel. There are numerous bicycle paths here. In the north you have the nature reserve ‘de Slufter’, with an open connection to the sea.
The largest village on the island is Den Burg, which could easily be the prototype of the typical Dutch town with its circle of canals around an old church. You will find most of the shops on the island in this village. The local museum is a good representation of island life and is housed in a building dating from 1599. De Koog is the principal bathing resort and is only a stone's throw away from the widest beach on the island. As well as a nature center, which has a lot of information about the flora and fauna to be found on Texel, De Koog has a rescue center for seals.
Cocksdorp is entered through a tunnel of interlocking tree branches, which give it a unique character. If you cycle to the most extreme northerly tip of the island you may be able to see Vlieland, the next island making up the chain of Wadden islands. This part of the island is called the Slufter, a nature reserve open to the sea and the rhythm of the tides.
The villages of Den Doorn, Osterend, and de Waal have escaped modern architectural influences and are now officially protected. In Den Hoorn, some of the old 'Commandeurs' dwellings have been preserved. These were the houses belonging to the captains of the whaling ships that sailed from Texel. Texel's oldest church is situated in Oosterend. In clear weather, you can see the neighboring island Vlieland. Oudeschild, where the boat is moored, was the entrance port of the island until 1962.

THURSDAY: Texel - sail to Den Helder – cycle to Alkmaar 36 mi (58 km), or embark in 't Zand/Schagerbrug/St. Maartensvlotbrug, 25/18 mi (40/30 km).
You go by boat to Den Helder, or ‘t Zand, Schagerbrug or St. Maartensvlotbrug.
Today you ride through the dunes (the dunes between Schoorl and Bergen have the highest dunes in The Netherlands) and over the Hondsbosse Zeewering (seawall) with its spectacular view over the North Sea. On your left, you will see the dunes, and on your right, the sweep of a 5 km long dike keeping the sea at bay. On your right where the dike is, were once dunes. However, in 1421, in what is known as the St Elisabeths floods, they were swept away along with th village of Hondsebosse.The dike replacing the dunes is called te Hondsbosse Sea Dike. If the weather allows you to cross to the island of Texel, you will head straight for Den Helder. Otherwise, you will take a leisurely tour around the land bounded by the dikes. This part of the country, known as the Kop van Noord Holland (head of North Holland), is well known for bulb growing with the town of Anna Paulowna at its center. The bulbs bloom in April and May.
The stage ends in Alkmaar, which boasts almost four hundred buildings on the monument list, and typical Old-Dutch canals and harbour. Alkmaar is often called the cheese town as the weighing and selling of cheese in the 'Waag' (weighing house) was a popular activity in the past.

FRIDAY: Alkmaar – Amsterdam 37 mi (59 km), or disembark in Zaandam, 12 mi (20 km).
You can ride the entire route, or sail as far as Zaandam. In Alkmaar the famous Cheese Market is held in the morning. After leaving Alkmaar the bike trip takes you through the ‘impoldering’ with the 17th century villages of Schermerhorn, Graft, and De Rijp. An ‘impoldering’ is a part of a lake or other water around which a dike is built; the water is then pumped out. The water level inside these dikes can be regulated (just like with a polder). A polder is a diked-in piece of land inside which the water level can be regulated. Many polders were first impolderings. At Schermerhorn you can visit a mill that gives you a good picture of how the impoldering worked.
Close to Zaandam you visit the Zaansche Schans, a unique residential/industrial area where authentic houses and mills from this region have been assembled on the banks of the Zaan.
Finally the route takes you through a park-like area called “Het Twiske” and then to Amsterdam.
When you arrive in Amsterdam your bike will be collected. You still have time to visit the city. Amsterdam started as a simple settlement on the Amstel river. The ring of canals dates from the Golden Age. The Palace on the Dam has been called the ‘8th wonder of the world’ because it was built on 13,659 piles. Amsterdam is also inextricably bound up with the diamond-cutting business. Amsterdam has enjoyed much renown since the 17th century because of this industry. In the evening you can enjoy a round trip on the canals and/or a walk in town.

SATURDAY: Amsterdam - Day of departure
Breakfast as usual, and departure around 10 AM.

Itinerary for Comfort Plus Boat: 

1. Boarding in Amsterdam begins at 2 PM
2. Zaandam-Alkmaar 31 miles (50 km)
3. Alkmaar-Den Helder  25-37 miles (40-60 km)** Evening cruise: Den Helder-Texel
4. Island of Texel: Round trip Oudeschild-Oudeschild 6-41 miles (10-65 km)** 
5. Den Oever-Medemblik/Medemblik-Enkhuizen 19-31 miles (30-50 km)**
6. Enkhuizen-Hoom-Volendam 31 miles (50 km)
7. Volendam-Waterland-Amsterdam 22-31 miles (35-50 km)**
8. Amsterdam: End of tour

*All distances are approximate. The above planned itinerary is subject to change due to changing wind and weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances having to do with mooring requirements, etc.

**Both possibilties are offered, guests are free to choose

For a detailed, day to day itinerary for the Angela Esmee, please contact us!

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Questions? Call us! 877-965-2064 or e-mail us