Bike and Barge in Holland: Southern Tour

Day 1: Amsterdam
Embarkation and check-in between 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. in Amsterdam. Take the opportunity to go shopping, to explore downtown Amsterdam, to make a canal cruise or to visit a museum. At 5 p.m. welcome drink and safety instructions. Dinner and first briefing on board. First night on board in Amsterdam.

Day 2: Amsterdam – Breukelen | Breukelen – Utrecht (25 km/16 mi. or 40 echt (25 km/16 mi. or 40 km/25 mi.) | Utrecht – Rotterdam
Your first cycling tour starts in Breukelen. You’ll tour along the beautiful and winding river Vecht with its enchanting back background of imposing castles, country houses and quaint tearooms. You will follow the Vecht into the center of Utrecht where you will have the opportunity to explore the beautiful historical city center: the Dom Cathedral with its tower, the canals, special shops and nice cafes. In the afternoon you will continue by ship from Utrecht to Rotterdam.

Day 3: Rotterdam – Schiedam – Delft – Rotterdam (28 km/17 mi. or 50 km/31 mi.)
Today you will cycle via the jenever city of Schiedam and through the Delfland area to Delft, famous, of course, for its blue pottery. Visit the beautiful city centre with its small canals, picturesque streets, bridges and alleys. For many of our guests a visit to the Delftware factory is one of the highlights of their tour. Afterwards, you will cycle back to Rotterdam, where you can enjoy a short city walk in the evening.

Day 4: Rotterdam – Alblasserdam by waterbus | Kinderdijk – (Gouda) – Schoonhoven (30 km/19 mi. or 58 km/36 mi.)
Today you can cycle the first part or tale the waterbus together with your bicycle up to Alblasserdam. After just a few minutes of cycling you will reach Kinderdijk (UNESCO cultural heritage, with its impressive row of 19 large windmills). You then have the choice between a longer cycling tour with a visit to the beautiful cheese city of Gouda and a short cycling tour through the Alblasserwaard. Both tours end in the silver city of  Schoonhoven, where you can visit a silversmith.

Day 5: Schoonhoven – Oudewater – Utrecht (45 km/28 mi.)| Utrecht – Haarlem
Today you will cycle from Schoonhoven through the beautiful Green Heart of Holland along small villages and quiet roads to Utrecht. On your way you can visit a traditional cheese farm and in Oudewater you can visit the Witches Weigh House. In the late afternoon the ship will sail from Utrecht to Haarlem.

Day 6: Haarlem – North Sea coast – Haarlem (40 km/25 mi. or 50 km/31 mi.) | Haarlem – Zaandam 
Today you can choose from 2 cycling tours. Both tours take you through the beautiful Kennemer dunes, a National Park where you can spot several bird species, Scottish Highland cows and Shetland ponies. After a visit to the seaside resorts Bloemendaal and Zandvoort you cycle through the forests and the center of Haarlem back to the ship. The longer cycling tour leads to the largest steam engine of the world, the Cruquius pumping station and back to Haarlem. During dinner your ship will cruise to Zaandam.

* Departures dates between March 27 and incl. May 1: From Haarlem you have the opportunity to visit the world famous Tulip exhibition park Keukenhof in Lisse (by bicycle or public transport; transfers/tickets/entrance fee not included).

Day 7: Zaandam – Amsterdam (30 km/19 mi. or 45 km/28 mi.)
From Zaandam your final day of cycling will take you to the open air museum Zaanse Schans (free entry), with its beautiful windmills, an Old Dutch village with traditional wooden houses, a cheese farm and a traditional wooden clog maker. After exploring the museum you cycle through the recreational area Twiske back to Amsterdam. The afternoon and evening are yours to  enjoy everything Amsterdam has to offer. If you didn’t go for a canal tour on the first day, you will have the opportunity to do it today.

Day 8: Amsterdam
End of your tour: disembarkation after breakfast within 9.30 a.m.