Cozy and traditional
Openable windows in cabins
Covered sundeck
Third bed available
Cozy lounge space
This wonderful bike and boat trip, starting and ending in Amsterdam, takes you through the provinces of South Holland and North Holland just when the spring flowers are in bloom. You’ll spend time in the historic cities of Haarlem, Leiden, Gouda and Alkmaar and learn about Dutch expertise in water management in these lowlands near the North Sea. You’ll also visit the famous Keukenhof gardens, known for the hundreds of thousands of colorful tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other bulb flowers. The world-famous Aalsmeer flower auction is in the itinerary as […]
Tulips & the Green Heart of Holland
Historical cities of Amsterdam & Leiden
Flower market, Keukenhof, Zaanse Schans
Barges with max. 22 passengers
This wonderful bike and boat trip, starting and ending in Amsterdam, takes you through the provinces of South Holland and North Holland just when the spring flowers are in bloom. You’ll spend time in the historic cities of Haarlem, Leiden, Gouda and Alkmaar and learn about Dutch expertise in water management in these lowlands near the North Sea.
You’ll also visit the famous Keukenhof gardens, known for the hundreds of thousands of colorful tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other bulb flowers. The world-famous Aalsmeer flower auction is in the itinerary as well, where an astonishing volume of beautiful flowers are sold daily to be exported all over the world. You’ll visit the open-air museum Zaanse Schans, with its windmills, cheese maker and picturesque wooden houses. You’ll be surprised by the beautiful, varied scenery and the wonderful cycling paths of Holland.
The ship: Your floating hotel
In between cycling excursions, you’ll cruise along with the ship, which travels to a new destination every day. You’ll dine, sleep and eat breakfast on board. Each day you’ll receive a packed lunch to take along, and you can usually choose between a longer or shorter bike ride. It’s also possible to spend a day on board, if you’d like. There are rental bikes on board, but you can also bring your own if you mention it when you book the trip.
Fully guided
Accompanied by a competent, professional and multilingual tour leader, you and the group will visit interesting sights and places on the daily cycling routes. Along the way, they’ll explain the local history and culture behind the things you encounter. You can also choose, if you prefer, to ride individually with the help of the Ride with GPS app and our BBT cycling map (available on board).
Parts that are printed in italics parts will be covered by the ship.
All distances are “approximate distances” of recommended bike tours.
The tour details are barring changes, a.o. as a result of nautical, technical or meteorological reasons.
Day 1: Amsterdam – Spaarndam | Spaarndam – Haarlem (6 km/3 mi. or 14 km/8 mi.)
You’re welcome to check in between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. The crew will welcome you with coffee and tea. At 2:30 p.m. the ship will leave the harbor. While it sails toward Haarlem, your tour leader will give you an introduction about the tour, cycling in the Netherlands and safety on board and on the bikes. From Spaarndam, you’ll have the option to do a short test ride. After dinner on board, the tour leader will take you on a town walk through the beautiful city center of Haarlem.
Day 2: Haarlem – Keukenhof – Leiden (38 km/23 mi.)
Today’s bike route leads you through the oldest tulip fields of Holland, including a visit of the Keukenhof gardens. This is the most beautiful bulb park in the world. Keukenhof is the place where springtime blazes in an overwhelming array of colors; seven million flowering tulips in a magnificent 80-acre background of traditional and modern gardening architecture. You can also admire various hyacinths, daffodils and many other colorful flowers.
In the afternoon, you’ll cycle to the city of Leiden. After dinner on board you can take a walk through town.
Day 3: Leiden – Gouda (37 km/22 mi. or 43 km/25.8 mi.)
After breakfast you’ll cycle out of Leiden and travel through the bucolic “green heart” of Holland. Near Zoeterwoude, you’ll stop for a visit to a cheese farm, where you’ll learn about the cheese-making process. Of course, you’ll also have the opportunity to taste the results.
In the afternoon, you’ll reach Gouda, famous for Gouda cheese. Gouda has an attractive and compact center with a pretty market square and Gothic town hall. The main church of Gouda, dedicated to Saint John, is world famous for its stained glass windows. After dinner you can join in on a walk through town.
Day 4: Gouda – Alphen a/d Rijn | Alphen a/d Rijn – Kudelstaart (20 km/12 mi. or 44 km/27 mi.)
We’ll stay in Gouda this morning. You can do some shopping, visit the market square with its cheese weighing house, or you can visit St. John’s church. We’ll leave by ship at around noon and have a light lunch together on board.
From Alphen aan den Rijn you’ll get on the bike again to cycle through the “green heart” of South Holland via the river Drecht and the Amstel-Drecht canal to meet the ship in Kudelstaart.
Day 5: Kudelstaart – Flower auction (9 km/5 mi.) | Aalsmeer – Amsterdam | Amsterdam – Zaanse Schans – Purmerend (36 km/21mi.)
Today calls for an early start, with a bit of time at 6:30 a.m. to drink a cup of coffee before getting on your bike. The reason for the early ride is to see the flower auction of Aalsmeer, the largest in Europe, where the action starts early. Here, huge quantities of flowers are trucked in and sold every day, after which they are distributed all over Europe.
After your visit you’ll return to the ship at around 9 a.m. for a late breakfast while the barge sails on to Amsterdam. Enjoy the passing views as you cruise right through the city.
Today’s second cycling route takes you from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans, a unique hamlet where people live and work, with original old-style wooden houses and windmills from the river Zaan area. The hamlet is dominated by working windmills – the oldest built in 1673 – which grind mustard, spices, paint and oil, or saw wood into planks. As you walk through the village you’ll see a clock museum, an old-fashioned grocery store, a house with period furniture, a clog maker and a cheese farm. At the end of the afternoon, you’ll bike to Purmerend, where the ship is moored for the night.
Day 6: Purmerend – Alkmaar (50 km/31 mi.)
This morning you’ll cycle to the Hortus Bulborum, a unique garden museum dedicated to the preservation of rare and historic bulbs. More than 4,000 tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other flowers are planted here.
Next, your cycling route continues to Egmond aan Zee on the North Sea coast and through the dunes to Alkmaar. This town is known as a Dutch cheese city. As you wander through the streets you’ll be amazed by the beauty of Alkmaar’s old town center, with its well-preserved 17th-century buildings and narrow, winding canals. You’ll eat in a restaurant in town this evening, at your own expense.
Day 7: Alkmaar – Amsterdam (37 km/22 mi. or 54 km/33 mi.)
After breakfast, your cycling tour leads you to the former windmill complex of the Schermer Polder, where you’ll visit the Schermerhorn Windmill Museum. Your next stop is the beautiful town of De Rijp. Centuries of history are still evident here in De Rijp’s wooden facades, beautiful church, old lock and town hall. From here, your route will take you back to Amsterdam. In the late afternoon or evening, there’s time for a canal tour through the famous canals of the city.
Day 8: Amsterdam
End of your tour: Disembarkation after breakfast until 9.30 a.m.
The rental bikes on our ships are unisex bicycles with a low bar and a comfortable upright sitting position. These are stable and dependable bikes, good for miles in the saddle. Decide which kind of bike you want to rent and simply fill in your preference with your reservation. We’ll make sure you get the right bike for you. On most of our tours, the bike rental cost is not included in the tour’s price.
Every Boat Bike Tour rental bike is well equipped. The bikes consist of a lightweight aluminum frame and have highly-responsive handbrakes, at least seven speeds, an adjustable gel seat, normal flat pedals (no clips), an easy-to-use lock attached to the frame, and special puncture-resistant tires. All told, this is a light, stable and reliable bike, very suitable for touring long distances pleasantly.
Our e-bikes also have at least seven speeds and handbrakes. The motor runs on a 400Wh battery and offers three levels of power-assistance. The e-bikes include comfortable gel seats that can be adjusted for height, have a lock attached to the frame, and sport anti-puncture tires. Note that some of the ships have their own bikes on board. They may look a bit different, but qualitatively they are equal to Boat Bike Tours’s e-bikes.
Bicycle helmets
The use of bicycle helmets is not required in the Netherlands, but for safety’s sake they are suggested. If you wish to rent one, you can do so during the booking process. If you book a premium tour and rent a bike or e-bike, then the helmet and a “limit of liability for damage or loss” for your bike or e-bike is included in the rental price.
Other rental items
Other items such as children’s bikes, tandems, family tandems (child & adult), tag-along, trailers to carry toddlers and child seats are available on request.
Taking your own bike or e-bike?
The fee for parking your own bicycle is €10 per week. For an e-bike the fee is €25 to cover parking and charging the battery. For safety reasons it is not always possible to charge your e-bike batteries in your cabin. The crew will tell you where you can charge the battery on board the ship. Neither the crew nor Boat Bike tours is responsible in any way for any damage, loss or theft of a guest’s own bike or e-bike or its accessories. Note: not all the ships are suitable or have enough room for extra bikes, so make sure you check with us well ahead of travel.
Our bicycles have a lightweight aluminum frame and are furnished with highly-responsive handbrakes, at least seven speeds and a gel seat whose height can be adjusted. Attached to the frame is an easy-to-use lock and the wheels carry puncture-resistant tires.
Our e-bikes also have highly-responsive handbrakes and a minimum of seven speeds. The motor runs on a 400Wh battery and offers three levels of power-assistance. The e-bikes include comfortable gel seats that can be adjusted for height, have a lock attached to the frame and special anti-puncture tires.
It is possible to take your own bike or e-bike with you, as long as it doesn’t have mirrors or other elements that stick out. There’s only limited space available on board for guests’ bikes. You can reserve a place for your bike for a small fee. Boat Bike tours is not responsible for damage to your bike or for theft.
To view the availability of this tour and/or book online please click on the button below. A new screen will open.
Cozy and traditional
Openable windows in cabins
Covered sundeck
Third bed available
Cozy lounge space
Cozy and traditional
Openable windows
Free coffee and tea 24/7
Storage space under the beds
Third bed available
Cozy and traditional
Openable windows in cabins
Generator
Third bed available
Two sun decks
A spring break overflowing with flowers
Historical cities of Amsterdam & Haarlem
Flower market, Keukenhof, Zaanse Schans
Ship with max. 44 passengers
Explore tulip fields & a cheese farm
Historical cities of Amsterdam & Gouda
Flower market, Keukenhof, Zaanse Schans
Barges with 20 to max. 40 passengers
A sailing adventure on a three-/four-mast ship
Tulip fields in South & North Holland
Visit the Wadden Island of Texel
Sailing ships with max. 38 passengers
Netherlands: 8-day Tulip Tour
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