1. Amsterdam, boarding at 4 PM; optional cycling, 12 mi. ( 20 km)
2. Amsterdam - Haarlem, 29 mi. (47 km)
3. Haarlem - via the dunes or the Keukenhof (April/May) - Lieden, 24/30 mi. (38/48 km)
4. Leiden – Delft, 30 mi. (49 km)
5. Delft, The Hague
6. Delft, sailing to Rotterdam, fast ferry to Kinderdijk, cycling to Schoonhoven/Nieuwpoort or Vianen 27/32 mi. (44/52 km)
7. Schoonhoven/Nieuwpoort or Vianen - sailing to Breukelen - cycling to Amsterdam, 27 mi. (43 km)
8. Amsterdam, disembark by 10 AM.

SATURDAY: Amsterdam - Short bike ride, 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 - Haarlem, 28 mi. (47 km)
You leave the boat and take the ferry across the IJ, before cycling through the peaceful streets of Amsterdam-Noord. Quite quickly you are outside the city and riding through the recreational area of ‘t Twiske to the “Zaansche Schans”. This is a unique residential/industrial area with different museums, mills, crafts, restaurants, a visitor center, and boat trips. It gives you an excellent impression of how the Zaans region looked in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Once you have seen all you want, you continue on your way and pass the typical green-painted wooden houses of this area. You cross the IJ again, and then cycle via Spaarndam (where the boy who put his thumb in the dike, Hans Brinker, is said to have lived) to Haarlem. Haarlem offers you many interesting sights from the seventeenth century. Haarlem lent its name to Harlem in New York, while another claim to fame is that Mozart once gave a concert in the St. Bavo church (1390-1520) on the Grote Markt (market place). There are many 17th century monuments: the weighing house, the Town Hall, and the Vleeshal (meat hall), which houses a part of the Frans Hals Museum with its 17th century old masters.
You can find works by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, and many others in the Teylers Museum on the River Spaarne. In the town center, visit the "hofjes" where old folks live out their remaining years. These social and architectural phenomena are a common feature of 17th century towns and give a refreshing feel of peace and quiet in our bustling 21st century.
The boat is moored in the center of town, so you can see the St. Bavo church and take a leisurely stroll to the beautiful market (with sidewalk cafés).

MONDAY: Haarlem - via the dunes or the Keukenhof (April/May) - Lieden, 28 mi. (46 km)
The morning ride brings you through the center of Haarlem to see some of the typical almshouses. Then, if you like, you can visit the “Cruquiusgemaal”, one of the three steam-powered pumping stations that drained the Haarlemmermeer between 1849 and 1852. Now it is a museum and gives a good picture of the Dutch “war against the water”. In the spring, you can ride through the bulb-growing area to the Keukenhof, while in the summer you ride through the dunes to the beach. The boat is expecting you in Leiden. Leiden is an old city with many little courtttyards, facades, and historical buildings built between the 15th and 18th century. Leiden, meaning ‘built on waters’, came into existence around 800 AC as a market place at the confluence of the New Rhine, the Vliet and the Mare. It was a center for the medieval linen industry. For a long time it was second only to Amsterdam in political importance. Leiden was a center for resistance against the Spanish occupation in the 16th century. During the siege in 1574, six thousand of the inhabitants died from starvation and the plague. The Spanish siege was eventually broken by a combination of deliberate inundation and a storm. Shortly afterward the Protestant fleet called the "Geuzenvloot" entered the city with provisions. This fact is still celebrated in October. As a reward for its courage in face of the Spaniards, Leiden was given the right to found a university in 1575. There are 14 museums in the town: The State Museum for Cultural Anthropology with many valuable exotic exhibits; The Municipal Museum (de Lakenhal 1640) which houses works by many famous Dutch painters: - Dou, Steen, Rembrandt and van Goyen; The State Museum of Archaeology with, among other artifacts, a well-stocked Egyptian wing. It is also the birthplace of Rembrandt van Rijn. The famous 400-year-old Hortus Botanicus, with its countless exotic plants and trees, is also well worth a visit. The town center has many shops to browse through and you don’t have to look far for a cup of coffee.

TUESDAY: Leiden - Delft, 30 mi. (49 km)
You head south out of town and cycle along the Vliet canal to cut through to the coast at Voorschoten. At the Wassenaarse slag you can have a rest at the beach.

The route to Delft rides along water again. The painter Johannes Vermeer has made the town famous, but it is also known as the town of William of Orange. The old center is well worth a visit. When the weather is clear the view from the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) is spectacular; a large part of the Southern Tour can be seen from here! This is a well-conserved medieval city with canals, a magnificent town hall and a royal tomb in the Nieuwe Kerk. It is here that the famous Delft Blue pottery originated. This distinctive blue and white pottery is still produced by hand. By the way, Delft Pottery also exists in black and even in green, which is just as beautiful as the better-known blue and white variety. If there is enough time you can visit one of the Delft Blue factories. There are numerous museums and other sites of interest in Delft. This is not only a city of culture but also a city of science. The Netherlands are known around the world for their water management projects. Most of these projects were designed here.

WEDNESDAY: Delft, visit to The Hague by public transport
The city of the Hague has an international character with its wide avenues, parks and stately mansions. Places of interest are the Peace Palace (housing the International Court of Justice), the Binnenhof with the 13th century Ridderzaal (Knights' Hall) seat of the Dutch government and parliament and the Mauritshuis, a former palace,now a famous museum with paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Rubens.

THURSDAY: Delft, sailing to Rotterdam, fast ferry to Kinderdijk, cycling to Schoonhoven/Nieuwpoort or Vianen, 28 mi. (45 km)
The first part of the route takes you through the center of Rotterdam so you get the best views of the modern architecture of this port.Your cycling day starts in Kinderdijk and then takes you through the Alblasserwaard, situated in between rivers with scenery of water and meadows to accompany you. The many inundations and the slowly sinking surface made water management essential in this fenland. Canals and ditches were dug and windmills were constructed; of the latter nineteen remain today. Their job has nearly totally been taken over by electric pumping stations. After a visit to one of the millsou will ctinue on bike.
Via the Groot-Ammers stork sanctuary you cross the Lek to Schoonhoven, famous for its silver industry. Olivier van Noort, the first Dutchman to sail around the world (in the 17th-century) is buried in the Barholomeuskerk. The bells in the open clock tower of the town hall were cast from his ship’s cannons. On he street, in front of the town hall, you can see a stone circle where a witch was once burnt to death.
The short route follows the Lek river quite closely up to Vianen; the longer route follows the idyllic Vlist river via Haastrecht to Oudewater. In Oudewater you can visit the witch’s stool, where people were weighed in olden times; if they were too light, they were accused of being a witch.
It’s off to the river again, to follow the dike as far as IJsselstein. Here you cross the river to spend the night in Vianen, an old fortified town.

FRIDAY: Vianen - sail to Breukelen - cycle to Amsterdam, 26 mi. (42 km)
During your sailing breakfast, you cross the river and pass the impressive locks of the Amsterdam-Rhine canal. In Breukelen you disembark. Brooklyn in New York is named after this charming little town. The last stage takes you along twisting water courses through large and small villages. This route is extremely picturesque with striking contrasts in landscape. This placid river is lined with handsome 17th century villas, each with its own waterfront gazebo, some with thatched roofs, others resembling classical stone temples. These villas were built by the wealthy Amsterdam merchants of the day. You pass through Vreeland, Loenen, certainly one of the most attractive villages along the Vecht, and Nieuwersluis. Nieuwersluis is well known for its military prison at the Willem III barracks. Riding along the Amstel river, you enter Amsterdam almost without noticing it. Thanks to the extensive network of bicycle paths, it doesn’t take you much trouble to visit some prominent places in the town center.
In the evening, you can take a round trip by boat over the canals, and then go for a walk through town.

SATURDAY: Amsterdam - Day of departure
Breakfast as usual from 8-9 AM, and then departure from the ship by 10 AM.