Southern Holland by bike and boat Guided Tour

Day 1: Amsterdam
Individual arrival in Amsterdam, boarding from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm. Time available to visit the city, do some shopping, visit a museum or enjoy a tour of the canals of the city: an excellent way to see the city from a privileged point of view. First night on board in Amsterdam, first and last stop of the bike and boat tour in Holland on the South Route. Possibility to leave your luggage on board as early as 11.00.

Day 2: Amsterdam – Breukelen by boat | Breukelen – Utrecht (25 or 40 km) | Utrecht – Rotterdam by boat
Your first bike ride of the Southern Route starts in Breukelen. You will move along the beautiful Vecht River and admire its enchanting surroundings crowded with impressive castles, country houses and large tea rooms. You will follow the river to the center of Utrecht, where you will have the opportunity to explore the wonderful old town: the Dom cathedral with its tower, canals, typical shops and cafes. In the afternoon you will continue by ship from Utrecht to Rotterdam.

Day 3: Rotterdam – Schiedam – Delft – Rotterdam (28 or 50 km)
Today the Southern Route takes you through the so called Jenver City of Schiedam and via Delfland to Delft, famous for its blue pottery. Visit the beautiful center with its small canals and colorful streets, bridges and streets. For many of our guests this is an unmissable opportunity to visit the Delftware factory. After that, you will return to Rotterdam, where you can enjoy a peaceful evening stroll through the city.

Day 4: Rotterdam – Alblasserdam by waterbus | Kinderdijk – (Gouda) – Schoonhoven (30 or 58 km)
The morning begins with a transfer by waterbus, a fast ferry that will take you and the bikes in 10 minutes to Alblasserdam from where, in a few minutes by bike, you will reach Kinderdijk and its famous 19 windmills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can then choose between a longer ride to visit a dairy in Gouda or a shorter ride through the Alblasserwaard, an ancient waard (low land surrounded by rivers) bordered by dams and transformed into a polder. Both tours end in Schoonhoven, the silver city on the River Lek where you can visit a typical silverware.

Day 5: Schoonhoven – Oudewater – Utrecht (45 km) | Utrecht – Haarlem by boat
Today’s stage of the Southern Route includes a ride in the beautiful polder area, the green heart of Holland through small villages and narrow streets, in the direction of Utrecht. Along the way you can visit the house where women accused of witchcraft were tried in the early 16th century. Finally, by bike we reach Utrecht and then in the late afternoon we continue by boat to Haarlem.

Day 6: Haarlem circular tour Northern Sea – Haarlem (40 or 50 km) | Haarlem – Zaandam by boat*
Today you can choose between two options: both excursions will take you to the dunes of the magnificent Kennermer, a national park where many species of birds, Scottish Highland cows and Shetland ponies live and can be seen. After visiting the coastal towns of Bloemendaal and Zandvoort, you can cycle through the forest to the center of Harleem and then get back on board. The longest ride includes the largest steam machinery in the world, the Cruquinum pumping station, and finally takes you back to Harleem. From here your ship will sail to Zaandam during dinner.

*On the occasion of departures between 06 April and 02 May, on Thursdays you can decide to visit the renowned Tulip Exhibition at Keukenhof park in Lisse (traveling by bus + train or bike + train, transfers and tickets / entrance fees not included).

Day 7: Zaandam – Amsterdam (30 or 45 km)
The last day of cycling on the South Route is dedicated to the tradition of Holland: your destination is in fact the Zaanse Schans, an open-air museum with wooden houses, windmills, dairies and clog factories, the clogs of wood. Then, crossing the Twiske park, you will arrive in Amsterdam where you can spend the afternoon dedicating yourself to your favorite activities, even those that you didn’t have time to do on the first day.

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