Bike and Barge North Holland

$1,099 per person

June 12-19, 2010

April 30-May 7, 2011- Tulip Tour

Trip Itinerary

Monnickendam

Our trip starts Saturday morning at 11 a.m. when we board our barge/hotel, settle into our cabins, get our bikes fitted and ready, and head off for the ferry across the Het IJ to North Holland.

We'll enter the region — Waterland — and follow the cycle path along the Zeedijk passing old gabled houses in Durgerdam, Uitdam and to the former island of Marken — with its 13th century wooden houses and townspeople dressed in traditional costume.

We follow the inland sea to charming Monnickendam — boasting a beautiful harbor where its oldest trade, shipbuilding, is still thriving.

Pedaling still north along the water, we'll stop by Katwoude to visit a working mill and a cheese farm to see how cheese is made.

Enkhuizen

Sunday, will head slightly north to visit quiet Edam — named after the famous cheese and whose many canals are criss-crossed still by 17th century houses.

We leave the water and pedal inland to enjoy the beautiful vastness of the Beemster Polder — an area drained between 1608 and 1612, and the oldest large area reclaimed from the sea in the Netherlands.

Coming eastward once more we enter the town of Hoorn — on the banks of the Ijsselmeer.

We'll take time to explore this typical old Zuidersee town, now with a thriving marina, wonderful period buidings, and quaint winding streets. We'll enjoy our picnic lunch on the town square and enjoy one of the many cafes colorfully lining the street.

Skirting the dike overlooking the water we arrive in Enkhuizen. Originally a fortified town, Enkhuizen still bears witness to its former prosperity with finely decorated buidings from the Renaissance, a beautiful church and stone tower, and the 17th century houses and warehouses formerly belonging to the Dutch East India Company.

Enkhuizen to Den Oever

Monday, we'll enjoy breakfast and depart our boat for a planned visit to the famous Zuiderzee Museum.

Both an indoor and fascinating open-air museum, we will witness life as it was over a hundred years ago as we stroll through an authentic fishing village on the Ijsselmeer.

From Enkhuizen we travel along the coast to Medemblik and explore the famous Castle Radboud and time permitting, the enjoyable Bakery Museum in the town square.

There is also a wonderful open-air market today and we'll have fun exploring all the wonderful items for sale.

Our stop for the evening is the ancient town of Den Oever on the tip of land at the Waddenzee.

Den Helder

We relax a little today as we follow the coast of the Waddenzee, around the beautiful Amstelmeer, through late blooming polders of the Anna Paulowna region and into the big harbor of Den Helder.

On our way we stop at the Onderneming windmill in Hipolytueshof for a personal tour of a real functioning windmill!

Den Helder is a bustling town famous for its residence of the Dutch Royal Navy and our boat is docked near the fascinating Marine Museum where our cyclists can spend several interesting hours.

Visit to Texel

After breakfast we head for the morning ferry to Texel.

It will take a full day to totally explore this unique island with its beaches, pictuesque fishing villages, and nature preserves.

Suzie and Roger hope to share some of their favorite secluded bike paths!

We'll return to Den Helder on the late evening ferry and enjoy a hearty dinner on board our barge.

Alkmaar

Thursday, we ride the dike of the North Sea to the beautiful dunes of North Holland. We will enjoy miles of gently rolling terrain along paved paths following sandy landscapes blossoming with Begosa Rose and beach grasses.

The views are incredible on the Dunes- as we take in both the sea to our east and vast polder landscapes producing acres of summer crops and flowers to our west.

As we turn inland we'll partake of the beautiful old farmsteads of the Westfriese Omringdijk before heading east to the quaint Scharwoude village where we find the oldest floating vegetable market in an area once known as the Empire of a Thousand Islands.

A short hop from here, we'll pass three of the oldest windmills in Holland before heading into Alkmaar — the biggest town in North Holland known for its beautiful historic centre. That evening after dinner we'll enjoy a walk through the town.

To Amsterdam

After breakfast on Friday, we'll head into town to partake of Alkmaar's Friday cheese market. This exciting tradition with porters wearing white dress and straw hats is not to be missed.

We'll depart town heading in the direction of the De Schermer polder windmills and the old centers of De Rijp and Graft.

Arriving at the Zan River we'll follow the water into the museum village of Zaanse Schanse — a delightful old hamlet with characteristic green wooden houses, charming gardens, tradesmen's workshops, and historic windmills all dating back to the seventeenth century.

After a visit to this interesting town we'll follow the nature recreation area of Het Twisk to the Het Ij ferry which carries us to Amsterdam.

We celebrate tonight at a special farewell dinner!

Good Bye to the Netherlands

Saturday morning we will have an early breakfast, say our goodbyes to our cycling friends and wonderful crew and disembark at 9 a.m. for home.

Trip Difficulty

The Netherlands terrain is mostly flat, but we can experience wind and rain which are weather factors that impact cycling experience and ability.

So, we recommend this trip for an athletic/active person or experienced cyclist who can complete the daily miles under some adverse weather — if it should be present- and likes to average 10-12 mph on easy/flat terrain while enjoying a leisurely trip.

We will average 30 miles on most days with your Dutch guide as ride leader and mechanic. We advocate a "stop and smell the roses" philosophy to cycling and our group cycles together as a shared experience. Of course, you can always take a break from cycling and enjoy sailing from the sundeck of our barge — quite a delightful experience!

We do not use the assistance of a support vehicle on our Bike and Barge tours.

Additional Information

We will partake of the wonderful hospitality of the boat — Feniks.

Our hosts, Captains Winfred and Els are an endearing team who strive to make our stay on their boat a memorable experience.

Our cyclists learn quickly that Els is also a great chef and look forward each night to her culinary creations.

The Feniks is a cheery boat with cozy bedrooms featuring a few rooms with 2-lower beds (assigned on a first-come, first served basis) and other rooms with upper and lower berths- all with private bathroom.

It also features a relaxing dining-common area and large sundeck where we enjoy afternoon snacks and dinner several evenings.

Information about this, what to pack, pre-trip lodging in Amsterdam, traveling abroad, tips on airfare, and other important pre-trip details will be provided in our detailed WELCOME LETTER sent to you when we receive your registration for the trip.

Please visit the Trip Information page for more general trip information and registration. Also feel free to e-mail us with any questions.

Trip Photos