Cruise bike in Holland on Sailing Home
Day 1 - Amsterdam - Oude Wetering - 10 km
Boarding at 2pm.
Drop off your belongings in your cabin and meet your guide and crew members.
Depart Amsterdam at 2:15 pm and sail to Oude Wetering. You will be able to test your bikes during a ride.
During dinner on board the Sailing Home, the guide will give you the program for the week.
Day 2 - Oude Wetering - Gouda, 45 km
From Oude Wetering you continue your journey along country roads and canals through the Green Heart and polders of Holland to the town of Gouda, known for its cheese.
You will also discover some specialties such as "stroopwafels" (Dutch wafers), pottery, and earthenware.
After dinner you are free to explore the city.
Day 3 - Gouda - Delft - 40 km
From Gouda, you cross the Alblasserwaard.
You stop in Kinderdijk which is known for its old windmills classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These windmills were still used until 1950 to regulate the water level.
You will then take the ferry to Rotterdam.
In Rotterdam you will board the Sailing home for Delft, the city known for its pottery, "Delft blue".
Visit of the Prinsenhof museum in the former monastery of Saint Agatha.
Day 4 - Delft-Katwijk-Leiden, 40 km
Cycling route towards The Hague through the Haagse Bosch Forest and past the Royal Palace, Huis ten Bosch. You continue on a cycle path through the dunes towards Wassenaarse Slag, a secluded beach access to the dune ridge north of The Hague. The 8 kilometers of beach are known for their beautiful natural areas, such as Meijendel, the largest single-piece dune strip in South Holland.
You will be able to see traces of the Atlantikwall (Atlantic Wall), the great line of defense 2,685 kilometers in length, built by the Germans during the Second World War. The underground corridors and bunkers now form a nature reserve for bats and are protected.
At the Wassenaarse Slag you will find breweries where you can relax with a view of the North Sea.
Further on, in the dunes, is an old fishing village: Katwijk aan Zee. Passing through Oude Rijn (old Rhine ’) you come to Leiden, another historic city with many‘ hofjes ’, old facades and buildings from the 15th to the 18th century.
Day 5 - Leiden
Visit the splendid Keukenhof Gardens, an impressive and colorful collection of millions of flowering bulbs. The many flowers like rhododendrons and azaleas are beautiful. The pavilions offer unique flower displays. And among the richness of colors, you can admire surprising works of art.
Keukenhof is the showcase for the horticultural sector in the Netherlands, in particular bulb culture. The park is the setting for 7 million spring-flowering bulbs, a living catalog of 100 exhibitors.
To get to Keukenhof you take the bus. Keukenhof tickets and entrance fees are included in the price of the Tour.
Day 6 - Leiden - via the flower fields - Haarlem, 40 km
From Leiden you walk through beautiful bulb flower fields on your way to Haarlem. Between March and May, the bulbous flower fields are in full bloom: first daffodils, then hyacinths, tulips and lilies.
In Haarlem you can see the ‘hofjes’ (houses built around a small courtyard) and the typical city canals. You will also see the large central square (Grote Markt), the town hall and St. Bavo's Church. Haarlem, which gave its name to Harlem, New York, is a bustling city ideal for shopping. The museums to visit are:
the Teylers Museum (one of the oldest museums in the Netherlands)
the Frans Hals Museum (one of the old Dutch masters, those painters who worked during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century).
Day 7 - Haarlem - Amsterdam 40 km
Sail to Spaarndam, a picturesque village next to Haarlem. The name Spaarndam comes from the dam built in the Spaarne river to limit the risk of flooding from the sea. On the IJdijk dyke is the statue of Hansje Brinker, a character from an American novel who saved the country from a flood by plugging a hole in the dike with his finger.
Crossing the North Sea Canal by the Buitenhuizen ferry (the only connection between the ports of Amsterdam in the North Sea), then you cycle towards Zaanse Schans.
The village of Zaanse Schans, with its traditional wooden houses, warehouses and windmills, will take you back a few centuries. It is also a busy place where people live and work. You can visit a cheese factory, a clog factory and a traditional bakery.
Back in Amsterdam, it's time to leave your bike. You can still walk around town or take a canal boat trip.
Day 8 - Amsterdaam
End of the trip after breakfast before 10 a.m.
Due to the navigation plan, the route may be reversed or changed.
