11-day North Holland Cycling Holiday

Today you will arrive in Utrecht. It is recommended to arrive early and use the opportunity to explore this beautiful city. Feast your eyes in the midievel city centre with tree lined canals and discover the countless attractions such as the Dom tower and the Gothic Cathedral of St. Martin. 

Hidden away in the woods, hamlet Lage Vuursche will surprise you in many different ways. Try a typical Dutch pancake inn and visit the garden of Castle Drakensteyn. Along the shores of the lakes named Randmeren, you will reach Harderwijk which used be a prosperous port city, but is now no longer by the sea... find out what happened!

Cycle through the woods and farmland of the Flevopolder to Lelystad. In Nieuwland Museum you can
see an exhibition on how the polder came to be. Cross Lake IJsselmeer to Enkhuizen atop a 30 km dike! You will see the Dutch Golden Age reflected in the historical buildings of pretty Enkhuizen.
Dont miss the excellent Zuiderzee Museum! There is an exhibition about the days when trading ships from towns on the Zuiderzee sailed the seven seas. Moreover, in the park you can visit a recreated Zuiderzee village of old.

After looking around the town of Hoorn, you will set off on today’s coast-to-coast bike route from Lake IJsselmeer to the North Sea. You will pass by Holland’s oldest polder, Beemster, drained by windmills in 1612. Enjoying the typical landscapes, where the famous cheese `Beemster' is produced. You might visit an interesting "museum windmill” as well as "cheese town Alkmaar. The traditional cheese market is on Friday mornings.

The sandy beaches of the North Sea are backed by dune systems that safeguard the hinterland from the sea. Today you will cycle through a Dune Reserve and a National Park that protect the many species of dune flora and fauna. Cross the North Sea Canal by ferry and then set course for Zandvoort, a well-known seaside resort.

This stretch of the cycle tour takes you through sandy dunes and past multicoloured bulb fields. On the coast, check out the resorts and beaches which each attract their own crowd. Today you will finish in the characteristic fishing town of Scheveningen, that over the last century has become one of the most famous seaside resorts of the country.

You continue your way south along the coast through the ever changing dune landscape and passing seaside resorts. Then pedal east along the Nieuwe Waterweg ship canal. On your way to Rotterdam you will also encounter past fishing villages, windmills and jenever distilleries. 

From Rotterdam you continue your way to the Unesco World-Heritage site Kinderdijk. Explore the site where 19 windmills have been standing majestically in rows since 1740. 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 and beautiful bridges take you across the water into the historic town centre. Around the harbour you will encounter many monumental buildings.

Today you cycle through a part of Biesbosch National Park, one of the few remaining freshwater tidal areas in Europe. You can visit the Biesboschcentrum Dordrecht inside or the Biesbosch Museum. Looking East from the Banddijk you will see that here the polderland is given back to the water in order to create space for vulnurable wetland flora and fauna. Before you arrive in Gorinchem you can take a boat trip to visit the interesting Loevesteijn castle. The town of Woudrichem is definitely worth a visit too.

Gorinchem's walled town centre it used to be big in fishery, markets and trade, but was often plagued by floods and conquerors, since the town was the gateway to Holland. In the heart of the city of Utrecht lies the peaceful Oude Gracht (Old Canal). Nowadays they are the pleasant setting for waterside cafes and restaurants. Explore the Museum Quarter and go shopping in some of the quieter shopping streets.

After breakfast in your hotel, your jouney ends with us. Or you might choose to extend your trip and spend some extra time in the beautiful city of Amsterdam.