Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 8 day

Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam, cruising to Harlem
Day 2: Haarlem - Keuhenhof - Leiden, 25 mi. (40 km)
Day 3: Leiden - Gouda - Dordrecht, 21 mi. (35 km)
Day 4: Dordrecht - Willemstad - Tholen - Antwerp, 27 mi. (45 km)
Day 5: Antwerp - Baasrode, 21 mi. (35 km)
Day 6: Baasrode - Merelbeke - Ghent, 27 mi. (45 km)
Day 7: Ghent - Bruges, 24 mi. (40 km)
Day 8: Departure from Bruges

Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam, cruising to Harlem
The Merlijn, your sailing hotel, awaits you in Amsterdam. Embarkation is between 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM. The barge departs at 2 PM to cruise to Haarlem. It is necessary to leave on time because of the operating hours of the bridges. The crew will welcome you on board and while you enjoy a welcome drink, you will be informed about the barge and the daily tours. The barge stays overnight in Haarlem.

Day 2: Haarlem - Keuhenhof - Leiden, 25 mi. (40 km)
During breakfast the Merlin will take you a little further on to Cruquius, where your bike tour will start. Today you will visit the Keukenhof, the beautiful flower exhibition. After this visit you will bike to Leiden, where the Merlijn awaits you. Dinner on board and overnight stay in Leiden.

Day 3: Leiden - Gouda - Dordrecht, 21 mi. (35 km)
Sailing breakfast while we cruise to the starting point of the bike tour at Boskoop. You will start biking through one of the most beautiful parts of Holland – the so called Green Heart of Holland - and will visit the city of Gouda, with its candles and stroopwafels, afterwards you will reach Kinderdijk, world famous for its windmills. Here appears an impressive row of large windmills, built to drain the Alblasserwaard. You can visit one of the mills. From Alblasserdam you will embark the ferry and you will sail to Dordrecht, where the Merlijn will await you. Dordrecht is one of the oldest towns of Holland, where you will enjoy a walking tour through this charming old city before you will go out dining at your own expense in one of the many restaurants. The Merlijn will stay overnight in Dordrecht.

Day 4: Dordrecht - Willemstad - Tholen - Antwerp, 27 mi. (45 km)
During breakfast the boat cruises to Willemstad, where your bike tour to Tholen starts. Tholen was once an island in the middle of the large Zeeland streams, where many people were fisherman by trade. Today, Tholen is connected to the mainland in various ways, but it is still a picturesque village with many relics of an eventful past. Today's bike tour ends here and the barge takes you into the Willemdok of Antwerp. Antwerp is not only known as the diamond city, but also as the native city of the painter Rubens. In the Rubens House, you can admire his work. In the heart of the city you will see the Cathedral of Our Lady and beautiful town houses from a rich past are situated around the Market Square. 

Day 5: Antwerp - Baasrode, 21 mi. (35 km)
After breakfast, you will have more time to explore the city of Antwerp. At around 9 AM you will board a tram that brings you into the heart of Antwerp. You may want to visit the Rubens House if you did not get an opportunity earlier, or a diamond factory. You can also go shopping in the lively center. After your visit, board the Merlijn and have lunch on board while cruising to Rupelmonde. Here, your bike tour for today begins. The tour follows the river Schelde further upstream via Temse to Baasrode.

Day 6: Baasrode - Merelbeke - Ghent, 27 mi. (45 km)
After breakfast, bike along the river Zeeschelde. Our first stop will be in Dendermonde, a nice country town on the Dender estuary. The route follows this beautiful but capricious tidal river, Schelde, upstream to Ghent, a lively university city. This city has a rich past with origins in Roman Times, and is located at the place where the rivers, Leie and Schelde converge. This favorable situation brought a great deal of prosperity over the years, which had its peak late 13th, early 14th century. The textile industry brought great wealth. In the city center, many old patrician houses have been preserved. In the Clothmakers’ Hall (1425) textile merchants used to meet. The major church is St. Baafs’ Cathedral, built in various ages and in various styles. In the cathedral, you can admire a number of medieval paintings, including, ‘Adoration of the Lamb’ by Jan van Eyck. 

Day 7: Ghent - Bruges, 24 mi. (40 km)
During breakfast, the barge cruises to Aalter, where your last biking tour begins and leads through the pleasant countryside of Western Flanders to Bruges. Bruges, also called the Venice of the North, maybe is the most beautiful of all Flemish cities. Its old center, which dates from the Middle Ages, is almost completely intact. At the time, Bruges was a metropolis, the center of trade and art. Bruges is also great for shopping. In the afternoon, enjoy a walking tour through this city. You may even want to include a ride through the canals. Farewell dinner on the Merlijn and your last overnight stay on board.

Day 8: Departure from Bruges. Disembarkation after breakfast, approximately 9AM.

Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam, sailing to Oude Wetering, 6 mi. (10 km)
Day 2: Oude Wetering - Gouda, 25 mi. (40 km)
Day 3: Gouda - Willemstad, 25 mi. (40 km)
Day 4: Kreekrak locks - Antwerp, 27 mi. (45 km)
Day 5: Antwerp - Dendermonde, 31 mi. (50 km)
Day 6: Dendermonde - Ghent, 22 mi. (35 km)
Day 7: Train to Bruges, return by train to Ghent
Day 8: Transfer by bus to Amsterdam Airport

Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam, sailing to Oude Wetering, 6 mi. (10 km)
Embarkation and check in aboard the hotel barge. In the afternoon the barge crosses the Amsterdam center and heads for the village of Oude Wetering. In the evening there’s a short test ride on the bike.

Day 2: Oude Wetering - Gouda, 25 mi. (40 km)
You enjoy an easy bike ride right through some real Dutch meadowlands and end your trip in the cheese town, Gouda. Free time in Gouda after dinner.

Day 3: Gouda - Willemstad, 25 mi. (40 km)
The day starts with a nice sailing trip. On bike you visit the world famous windmills of Kinderdijk and the old Dutch town of Dordrecht. You embark the barge in the afternoon and sail to the beautiful walled town of Willemstad.

Day 4: Kreekrak locks - Antwerp, 27 mi. (45 km)
Today the barge sails right across the impressive waterways of Zeeland. At the Kreekrak locks you'll get on your bike to head for the lively town of Antwerp in Belgium. AIn the evening your guide invites you for a short city walk and you will have some free time to explore this lively port town.

Day 5: Antwerp - Dendermonde, 31 mi. (50 km)
You cycle out of Antwerp for a ride through the pretty Flemish countryside alongside the river Schelde. You spend the night in the provincial town of Dendermonde.

Day 6: Dendermonde - Ghent, 22 mi. (35 km)
The river Schelde is a tidal river and thus the barge may have to wait for the high tide to continue. Therefore you disembark and cycle directly to the old city of Ghent. The tour leader will invite you for a walk across the wonderful town center.

Day 7: Train to Bruges, return by train to Ghent
By train you go to Bruges and your tour leader will make you acquainted with this unique town. You are free to discover Bruges until mid afternoon when you then return to Ghent by train. In the months of April and May a ride through the center of Bruges in a horse-drawn carriage is planned.

Day 8: Transfer by bus to Amsterdam Airport

Important note for passengers aboard the Clair de Lune and the Tijdgeest: Due to restrictions by Belgian naval authorities, passengers are no longer allowed to remain on board while the barge motors the Belgian waterways. Noncycling participants will be required to take a taxi or public transportation at their own expense. The tour leader will provide details on board. 

Day 1: Amsterdam - Oude Wetering
Day 2: Oude Wetering - Gouda
Day 3: Gouda - Dordrecht
Day 4: Dordrecht - Zierikzee
Day 5: Zierikzee - Middelburg
Day 6: Middelburg - Gent
Day 7: Gent - Bruges
Day 8: Bruges

Daily distances average 45 km.

Day 1: Amsterdam
Individual arrival on board the Feniks. Cycling route leads to Oude Wetering.

Day 2: Oude Wetering - Gouda
Today you will bike through the bulb fields and visit the Keukenhof, with literally millions of flowering bulbs. You enjoy an easy bike ride right through some real Dutch meadowlands and end your trip in the cheese town, Gouda. Free time in Gouda after dinner. 

Day 3: Gouda - Dordrecht
Today you will enjoy cycling in the  green heart of Holland, following scenic country roads along a winding waterway.

Day 4: Dordrecht - Zierikzee
Today you will enter Zeeland, a province of the Netherlands marked by light, wind, water, and space. It is made up of islands so bridges and ferries will be carrying you across the waters as you drift down towards Belgium. Picture-book towns with ancient houses and cobbled streets line the banks. Traverse a patchwork landscape of vast polders, idyllic countryside, rolling dunes, and golden sand flats. 

Day 5: Zierikzee - Middelburg
A stroll down the narrow streets of Zierikzee is an absolute delight. Quaint old houses take you back in time to the town's glory days when ships set sail to sell salt, wool, fish, grain, and red dye as far afield as the Baltic and the Mediterranean. Your route continues to the charming village of Veere. From 1541, everything that was exported to Holland from Scotland (mainly wool) came ashore in, and was distributed from Veere. This contract brought the town not only prosperity but also a very lively Scottish expat community that stayed for 300 years. Walk in their footsteps as you take a tour of the sights. Cruising further south, you will discover the nostalgic splendor of the city of Middelburg, the capital of Zeeland. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the most important centers of trade in the Netherlands. With a strong headwind, this trip can be very strenuous. In that case you may prefer to do the first part of today's route on board the Quo Vadis,and start cycling at Zandkreek. The Quo Vadis will moor in Middelburg, founded in the 12th century as an abbey. The city was the second most important center for the Dutch East India Company, active in Africa colonizing the southern coasts and slave trading on the western coasts

Day 6: Middelburg - Gent
Today we cross the waterway Westerschelde, which is the main estuary connecting the port of Antwerp with the sea and moor in Gent. A thriving and cosy medieval town

Day 7: Gent - Bruges
Today you bike from one medieval city to another on quiet roads in the typical small scale fields patter of Flanders with farmhouses and little villages. Docking in "Venice of the North", Bruges.

Day 8: Departure
Your tour officially ends after breakfast.