Day 1 Arrival in Amsterdam
Your bicycle holiday starts in Amsterdam, famous for its gorgeous 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. Try to arrive early so you have time to admire the elegant tree-lined canals and tall narrow townhouses and warehouses dating from the 17th century (World Heritage Site).
Day 2 Amsterdam – Gouda/ Bodegraven 68/58 km
After staying the night in bustling Amsterdam, your are cycling 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, spacious landscape where church spires and windmills touch the horizon and clouds are reflected in lakes and canals. Then you arrive in this main city, do not hesitate to take a stroll around the Old Town, soak up the yesterday atmosephere and marvel at the attractive maket square.
Day 3 Gouda – Papendrecht/Dordrecht 38 km
From Gouda you’ll cycle via the “Green heart of Holland” to the village of Kinderdijk, explore the site where 19 windmills. One of the mills is open to the public. Your destination, Papendrecht, is just a ferry crossing away from of one of Holland’s oldest towns; Dordrecht. Dordrecht is completely surrounded by rivers. After a day of cycling it is time to relax.
Day 4 Papendrecht/Dordrecht – Willemstad 65 km
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 riverlets encompassing countless little islands of willow woods and reeds.
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. The cycle road leads you through beautiful nature. A real pleasure by bike.
Day 5 Willemstad– Noordgouwe/ Zierikzee 50 km
Today you will enter Zeeland, a province of the Netherlands marked by light, wind, water and lots of space. It is made up of islands so bridges and ferries will be carrying you across the waters as you drift down towards Belgium. Traverse a patchwork landscape of vast polders, idyllic countryside, rolling dunes and golden sand flats by bike.
Day 6 Noordgouwe/Zierikzee –
Middelburg/Vlissingen 43 km
A wander down the narrow streets of Zierikzee is an absolute delight. Your route continues to the charming village of 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 splendour of the city of Middelburg, capital of Zeeland. In the 16th and 17th centuries it was one of the most important centres of trade in the Netherlands. At the end of the day, after a day of cycling you can leave the bike and amble down to the beach in Vlissingen to watch the sun set into the sea.
Day 7 Middelburg/Vlissingen – Bruges 66 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 by bike, 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 centre of the European wool and cloth trade.
Day 8 Departure
It is time to say goodbye, it is the end of you cycle holiday.
The train back to Amsterdam is not included in the price
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