| Tour | Bike |
|---|---|
| Type | Self Guided |
| Skill | Easy |
| Length | 8 days |
| From | €844 Rates |
| Client Reviews |
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Skill Level
This is an easy self-guided tour on one of the most well developed cycling path systems in the world. You will ride 200 miles (320 km) over 6 days of cycling. The route is predominantly rural and flat and passes through a number of nature reserves.
Day-To-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam
Day 2: Amsterdam - Gouda, 50 mi. (80 km)
Day 3: Gouda - Dordrecht/Papendrecht, 32 mi. (52 km)
Day 4: Dordrecht/Papendrecht - Willemstad, 24 mi. (39 km)
Day 5: Willemstad - Schuddebeurs/Zierikzee, 31 mi. (50 km)
Day 6: Schuddebeurs/Zierikzee – Vlissingen/Middelburg, 33 mi. (53 km)
Day 7: Vlissingen/Middelburg - Bruges, 31 mi. (50 km)
Day 8: Departure
Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam
Your cycling adventure starts in Amsterdam, famous for its historic 400-year-old canal district, museums (the new Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Anne Frank etc), street artists and performers on Dam, Leidseplein, and Rembrandtplein, a notorious red-light district, and more. This city is brimming with things to see and do and you couldn’t wish for a more dynamic beginning to your holiday. Try to arrive early so you have time to admire the elegant tree-lined canals, tall narrow townhouses, and warehouses dating from the 17th century (World Heritage Site).
Day 2: Amsterdam - Gouda, 50 mi. (80 km)
After staying the night in bustling Amsterdam, cycle into the peace and quiet of the “Groene Hart” or Green Heart, a pleasant rural area of low-lying polders with peat meadows and grazing cattle. It’s a flat, open, and spacious landscape where church spires and windmills touch the horizon and clouds are reflected in lakes and canals. For centuries, people flocked from far and wide to buy horses, cows, meat, turf, seed, and cheese at weekly and annual markets in Gouda. We recommend an evening stroll around the old part of town to soak up the yesteryear atmosphere and marvel at the large and attractive market square boasting a wonderful fifteenth-century town hall as well as a Weighing House (“Waag”).
*If this day is too long for you, you can actually change the itinerary and spend an overnight in Woerden (48 km) and then continue on to Gouda (30 km).
Day 3: Gouda - Dordrecht/Papendrecht, 32 mi. (52 km)
Hit the trail once again and head for the village of Kinderdijk where nineteen majestic windmills present a unique sight. In the age of wind, they were used to drain excess water out of the low-lying polder up into the River Lek. Pedaling on, you will reach one of the oldest towns in Holland: Dordrecht, completely surrounded by water. The area around the marina is a true gem. This oldest part of town has over a thousand historical buildings and three nostalgic canals.
The hotel in Papendrecht is just 3 km outside the center of Dordrecht on the north banks of the river. You can upgrade to ****Hotel Bellevue Groothoofd, if you want to stay right in the center and on the crossroads of 2 major rivers. Here the bike can only be parked outside, in front of the hotel (with camera surveillance).
Day 4: Dordrecht/Papendrecht - Willemstad, 24 mi. (39 km)
The result of a major flood in 1421, Biesbosch is one of the few remaining wetland habitats in Europe where the ecosystem has adapted both to saltwater coming in from the sea through tidal creeks, and to freshwater coming down in the rivers. It’s an ever-changing labyrinth of creeks and small rivers encompassing countless little islands of willow woods and reeds, a paradise for birds. The longer ride (54 km) takes you along the edges of this National Park. Round off the day in Willemstad, a fortified town shaped like a seven-point star.
Day 5: Willemstad - Schuddebeurs/Zierikzee, 31 mi. (50 km)
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 6: Schuddebeurs/Zierikzee – Vlissingen/Middelburg, 33 mi. (53 km)
A stroll down the narrow streets of Zierikzee is an absolute delight. Quaint little 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. Your hotel for the evening is located in Middelburg however, it is possible to book an upgraded hotel in the coastline town of Vlissingen for a supplement.
Day 7: Vlissingen/Middelburg - Bruges, 31 mi. (50 km)
After a hearty breakfast, hop on a ferry boat to Zeelandic Flanders with its winding country roads, pollard willows, wet meadows and scattered villages. Having crossed the border into Belgium, you will reach the charming little town of Damme on the banks of the romantic Damse Vaart. From here, it’s only a short stretch to Bruges, known as the pearl of Flanders! It’s a truly enchanting town that has been welcoming tourists for about 150 years. With most of its medieval architecture intact, it remains exceptionally well preserved and can really give you a sense of times gone by when it was at the center of the European wool and cloth trade.
Day 8: Departure
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Pricing Information
Travel Details
This tour is run by Dutch Bike Tours.
We value the strong relationship we have with our local partners and the services we provide.
We are not a broker.
We do not inflate tour prices.
We are simply travelers helping travelers.
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Customer Feedback
Curt K. 5 months ago
Our bike barge tour was fantastic, starting with the scenery and locals backed up by the staff , food and guides.
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Heather W. 11 months ago
The full range of stimulating experiences of all things Dutch with so many things different every day. The impressive first day, in particular, through and out of Amsterdam set up exciting anticipation for subsequent days that was maintained. If one highlight has to singled out, which is somewhat unfair, it would be the spectacular and unique ride over the Zealand Bridge and competing there with the raw forces of nature. Our tip would be to ensure you use the route maps and GPS in combination noting the advice that there are variances, and each evening check out the actual start of the route for the following day.
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Janet S. 11 months ago
The bike ride from Amsterdam to Bruges was a great way to connect 2 tourist destinations and get a different experience going through the amazing countryside. The fact that the Netherlands is so bike-friendly makes all the difference! The local partner has a lot of experience with planning the right routes and selecting optimal locations to stop at night.
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Jeanine C. 2 years ago
Our booking and trip experience were excellent. The Tripsite team were very responsive to all inquiries and questions. The trip information provide was accurate, provided information to provide to family members at home and was received in a timely manner.
Excellent trip, staff and overall experience!
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Maria 1 year ago
can you say more about your riding experiences - what were the bikes like, were you able to stop along the way...are you experienced cyclists?
thank you.
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Jeanine 1 year ago
The bikes were what I would say are typical bikes of The Netherlands - sit up straight, heavy and sturdy, pedal easily. Overall, the bikes were perfect. They came equipped with a pannier in the back and a bag on the handlebars.
We were given a gps and the packet received upon checkin at the first hotel contained very useful maps. I wish we had received the maps ahead of the trip to better plan for our stops during each days ride.
I am an experienced rider. I ride a road bike multiple times a week with a Bike club.
This trip does not require a great deal of experience, just a level of comfort in riding a basic bike.
Good luck. We enjoyed the trip immensely.
One suggestion, if time allows you to break up the ride between Amsterdam and Gouda I would recommend it. Otherwise it is a long day, and it minimizes your time in Gouda.
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Peter and Janice Vink 4 years ago
This was our first tour in hotels, others have been on barges. I would recommend staying with the barges. There is no contact with a person regarding the tour or the bikes except hotel staff so issues with the bikes were difficult. Bikes were in bad shape we had 4 flats and a broken gear casing so we spent a lot of time in bike shops getting repairs done. Thank goodness ther are lots of bike shops in Holland. GPS was good but one day took us to the wrong hotel some 10 km off course and missed a town we had to back track the next day to see, so that was very annoying. After that we made sure it had the right destination on the GPS. Some hotels were lovely but a couple were very small. We had purchased the meal plan and that was good, though Tripsite said we would have a choice of meals there were 3 places it was just one meal offered to bike tour participants. Holland is beautiful and enjoyable to bike though we had lots of rain and wind so dress appropriately.
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Cornelius Mast 4 years ago
The Mast Family
Bike tour Bruges to Amsterdam,
June 14-20, 2015
We really enjoyed the trip. The scenery was beautiful and we got a good overview of the coasts, farm land, waterways, historical sites and the cities. The hotels were very nice, comfortable, varied and had good restaurants in the hotels. The breakfast buffets were great. We particularly enjoyed the smaller hotels. Luggage transfer worked well.
The routes were easy to follow for the most part once we got “tuned into” finding the route signs. With the maps we were also able to alter the route to see some other sites we were interested in.
A couple of things would have made the trip easier:
Equipment:
More specific information about the bikes, which differ from those we normally ride, before the trip started would have helped us to get a good start the first day.
An extra tube for the tires would have helped since some tires required multiple Read more… patches.
Route:
The route on day 2 from Vlissingin to Noordgouwe included a ferry across Veerse Meer. When we arrived at the location on Monday we were told the ferry did not run Monday in June (this was in the detail route description but was in Dutch, not in English). We spoke to some local residents who told us the (lengthily) alternate but mentioned that since there were so many of us we could speak to the ferry staff and see if they would run for us (which they nicely did). Our trip would have been much more pleasant (and a couple hours shorter) that day if we had had this information up front.
Availability of help:
It was not easy to contact you when we needed to report an equipment issue after finishing a route after your office hours. We had to resort to emailing you so you did not get the message until the next day. We received an email that we would be called and the battery replaced but we never received a call, maybe because we had a US cell phone. So on the 3rd day someone finally showed up with a replacement bike. This would have been a better situation if:
We could have contacted you after office hours.
The bike people had contacted the desk at the hotel rather than trying to call our phone.
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