Loved our week on the Mare fan Fryslan

We had a fantastic week sailing and cycling around the Wadden islands off the north coast of Holland on the Mare fan Fryslan and I would recommend it to anyone who likes fresh air and usually easy bike riding! The boat is lovely and comfortable and the crew are friendly and happy to help. Breakfast is plentiful and the evening meals are imaginative (though a strong preference for cold soups it seems!). The cabins are comfy. Each day you are given the itinerary for the day (often nothing like that described on the website) and an indication of the wind speed (the only downside of cycling in Holland). You get a map to follow and ideas of what to see and stop of and do during the ride – there is always plenty of time to get to your destination without rushing. Meal times and evenings are sociable affairs, but we were never disturbed by noise from other guests during the night. It is a useful thing to be able to speak, or understand languages other than English! What would I change? The advance information isn’t that accurate or honest – you only visit two islands (Texel and Terschilling), it’s hard to find the boat on the first day although it has a standard mooring in Enkhuizen, and the free car park at the station is very busy! Remember that cabins are small so take soft bags not suitcases and take your own shampoo and shower gel as you get mini ones at the start of the week, but these are not replaced. And if you don’t like ham and cheese then prepared to source your own lunch each day! Apart from those tiny niggles, this was great!