Holland Southern Tulip Tour

Day 1: Amsterdam, sailing to Oude Wetering, cycling around Oude Wetering,  9 mi. (15 km)
Day 2: Oude Wetering - Gouda, 28 miles (45 km)
Day 3: Gouda - Alblasserdam, ferry to Rotterdam - sailing to Delft, 25 mi. (40 km)
Day 4: Delft - via Katwijk - Leiden, 25 mi. (40 km)
Day 5: Leiden, visit to Keukenhof by public transportation
Day 6: Leiden - via flower bulb fields to Haarlem, 25 mi. (40 km)
Day 7: Haarlem - Amsterdam, 25 mi. (40 km)
Day 8: Amsterdam, disembark at 10 am

*All distances are approximate. This itinerary is subject to change, even on very short notice, due to changing wind and weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances having to do with mooring requirements, docking location changes, lock repairs,  etc.

Day 1: Amsterdam, sailing to Oude Wetering, cycling around Oude Wetering,  9 mi. (15 km)
Embarkation on Saturday between 1 pm and 2 pm.  The barge needs to leave the mooring place in Amsterdam at 2:15 PM. Please be on time. The barge can’t wait due to the opening hours of bridges and/or locks. You can begin to board at 1 pm but can bring your luggage on board at noon. Do note that the crew will be busy preparing for you so you will not be able to check in to your cabin until 1 pm. The barges will be moored at the Oosterdok near the Nemo Science Museum.

During dinner on board, the weekly program is discussed. After dinner, you will have a short bike tour around Oude Wetering.

Day 2: Oude Wetering - Gouda, 28 mi. (45 km)
From Oude Wetering you will continue your tour over country roads, along river banks and channels through the Green Heart to the city known for its cheese: Gouda. Who thinks of Gouda, not only thinks of cheese, pipes, ‘stroopwafels’ (treacle-waffle) and pottery, but also of beautiful stained glass windows, a fairy-like town hall and atmospheric canals. Gouda is a beautiful Old Dutch city with a mostly intact city center. As on most days, after dinner, you can take a walk through the city.

Day 3: Gouda - Alblassserdam, sailing to Delft, 25 mi. (40 km)
From Gouda, you cycle past scenic polders via Kinderdijk to Rotterdam. Kinderdijk has the largest group of windmills in the Netherlands. The windmills at Kinderdijk were still actively used until 1950. These days, a large pumping station is responsible for controlling the water level in the polder.

From Kinderdijk you take the ferry to Rotterdam where the barge is waiting for you to take you to Delft, famous for its pottery, the ‘Delft blue’. The Prinsenhof Museum is housed in the former St. Agatha’s monastery. In 1572 William of Orange chose the convent as one of his residences. It was from here that he led the revolt against the Spanish tyranny of Holland. He was murdered on the steps of the Prinsenhof on July 10, 1584, by Balthazar Gerards, a Spanish sympathizer. Two bullet holes in the wall of the stairs bear witness to this event.

Day 4: Delft - via Katwijk - Leiden, 25 mi. (40 km)
From Delft, you will cycle Holland in the direction of The Hague, through the Haagse Bosch, a large park, and past the Royal Huis ten Bosch Palace. A tranquil cycle path through the dunes leads you to Wassenaarse Slag. Here, some remains of the Atlantikwall can still be seen. The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by the German Third Reich in 1942 until 1944 during World War II along the western coast of Europe. Now, this underground network serves as a bat reserve! It was nearly 1,700 miles long. 
Continuing on through the dunes, to Katwijk aan Zee, an old fishing village (the inhabitants still speak their own dialect called Kattuks), you will follow the course of the Oude Rijn (Old Rhine) ending in Leiden. Leiden originated around 800 AD as a marketplace at the confluence of the Old and New Rhine rivers, the Vliet river, and the Mare (‘Leyten’ means ‘at the waters’). For a long time, it was the second city after Amsterdam. It boasts 14 museums. The Hortus Botanicus (Botanical Garden), a 400-year-old garden with innumerable exotic plants and trees, is certainly worth seeing. In the center of town, you can go shopping or enjoy sitting on an outdoor terrace on the water’s edge.

Day 5: Leiden, visit to Keukenhof by public transportation
Today you visit the Keukenhof gardens, the most beautiful spring park in the world. The Keukenhof is the place where the spring breaks. In the Keukenhof various gardens and gardening styles can be found: the English Landscape Garden, the Historical Garden, the Natural Garden, the Japanese Natural Garden, the Formal Garden and three special colors gardens. Spread throughout the entire park there are approximately eighty sculptures from well-known Dutch artists as well as several other art objects, such as the collection 'Surprising Tulips'. 

Day 6: Leiden - via flower bulb fields to Haarlem, 25 miles (40 km)
From Leiden, you cycle through wonderful flower beds in the direction of Haarlem. In the period of March to May, the bulb fields are blooming, starting with daffodils and followed by hyacinths, tulips, and lilies. Once in the city of Haarlem, you make a short tour through the city to see some typical  'hofjes' (almshouses), old houses around a central courtyard, now usually housing elderly people. These 'hofjes ' are definitely worth a visit. Haarlem, which rendered its name to Harlem, New York, is a lively city with good shopping possibilities. The ship is berthed in the city center, with a view of St. Bavo's Church and with easy access to the Grote Markt with its many outdoor cafés.

Day 7: Haarlem - Amsterdam, 25 mi. (40 km)
From Haarlem, you sail to Spaarndam, a picturesque village on the edge of Haarlem, in the direction of Amsterdam. Spaarndam’s name comes from the dam built in the Spaarne river to limit the danger of flooding from the sea. Here you can find the statue of Hansje Brinker on the IJdijk. Hansje is a character from an American novel, who saved the country from flooding by putting his finger in the dike. The Buitenhuizen ferry takes you across the North Sea Canal and from there you cycle to the Zaanse Schans. The Zaanse Schans, with its traditional weatherboard houses, warehouses and windmills may give you the feeling of stepping back into the 17th or 18th century. Yet this is no open-air museum, but a lively neighborhood where people live and work. Among other things, a cheese farm, a clog maker, and an old bakery can be visited here.

Day 8: Individual departure from Amsterdam
Disembarkation by 10 am.

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