Dutch Bike & Barge Tour / Cycling Barge Cruise
Between Rotterdam and Gouda
Enjoy a bike and barge tour on a cycling cruise along the famous canals of Holland aboard the luxury Dutch Hotel Barge Aurora as she takes you to lovely towns and flourishing cities. Aurora's tour guide accompanies guests on bike rides. For lunch, packed lunches or stopping at a nearby bistro will be arranged or, if Aurora is in the vicinity, lunch will be aboard the barge. Experience the best The Netherlands offers with a barge charter aboard Aurora. Great tours, awesome cruising, and delicious cuisine make this a week to remember.
Click map to enlarge in new window
Sunday, Day 1 - Schiedam (Rotterdam)
Pickup from the hotel/airport is around 1pm and guests can be aboard Aurora by 2pm. Once on board, guests are introduced to Aurora and the crew with a welcome drink/apéritif and canapes. After settling in, guests have their bikes fitted, followed by time to explore the local area via a short bike tour around Schiedam, or if preferred, take a 2.5-hour cycling tour from Schiedam to Rotterdam and back. Cycle to the city of Rotterdam stopping by Euromast, Market Hall, Cubic Houses, Old Port, Erasmus bridge, and Holland America next to SS Rotterdam. Approximately 15km. If a longer route is desired, do the loop around the Kralingen Lake as well and return to Schiedam for dinner at around 7pm. Approximately 25km.
Monday, Day 2 - Schiedam to Delft
Aurora departs during breakfast at 8:30am. We pass through the lock at 9am onto Maas River, then onward to Euromast via Parksluis at 10am. Past Overschie, we return to peaceful inland waterways and head for Delft with arrival around noon. After an early lunch, guests disembark Aurora to cycle around the town to see the beautiful square and admire the famous town for a bit with an optional visit of Royal Delft. In the afternoon, ride into the countryside around the town.
Tuesday, Day 3 - Delft to Leiden
After breakfast, guests disembark Aurora and hop on their bikes. From Delft we cycle in the direction of The Hague, through "het Haagse Bosch", a large park, and past the former Royal Palace "Huis ten Bosch". The long tour leads you over tranquil cycle paths through the dunes to Wassenaarse Slag. Here you can see the remains of the Atlantikwall. Five bunkers are connected by nearly 3000-foot-long brick tunnels. Now the underground network serves as a bat reserve. The route continues through the dunes, to Katwijk aan Zee, an old fishing village. The old inhabitants of Katwijk still speak their own dialect, "Kattuks". Following the course of the Oude Rijn (Old Rhine) river we cycle to Leiden. Leiden boasts 14 museums, including the Rijksmuseum. The ship is moored near the Zijlpoort, a gate that once formed part of the city walls. The shorter route leads you inland after "Huis den Bosch" and brings you along "Vlietlanden" a 130 ha recreational lake to Leiden. This longer route takes about 50km, including a few kilometers around Delft and Leiden to return to Aurora moored up at Zijlpoort.
Wednesday, Day 4 - Leiden to Haarlem
Depending on the season, the cycling route varies either through the tulip/bulb fields (March to May) which is about 40km or, guests can take the so called Haarlem/Leiden Dunes cycle route – about 50km.
Choose either:
- Bike route: Leiden / Keukenhof Tulip Gardens / Haarlem. Out of Leiden you head north past Kaag Plassen, towards Lisse and Keukenhof Tulip Gardens – the most beautiful flower park in the world where spring breaks and one gets overwhelmed with a blaze of colors. Admire about 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, cycle to Haarlem and take a tour through this old capital of the North Holland province to stop by some typical "hofjes" (almshouses), old houses with a central courtyard now usually housing the elderly, or just admire the main square "Grote Markt" – with a plethora of outdoor cafés, the Butcher's hall, the townhall, the cathedral of St Bavo, etc. Aurora is moored within a stone's throw from St.Bavo's church at the Donkere Spaarne.
- Bike route: Leiden / Haarlem. After tulip cruise season, we would suggest that our guests cycle along the "Haarlem-Leiden Dunes Cycle Route" that is about 50-55km long. This cycle trip leads through quaint villages and beautiful natural surroundings with woods, dunes, and meadows. Cyclists pedal along the North Sea coastline and, once they leave the vibrant university town of Leiden (Rembrandt's birthplace), they continue through the fishing village of Katwijk and the seaside resort of Noordwijk. Then, they can either a) pass the country estates near Vogelenzang, the forest, and past the Cruquis (museum) into Haarlem via this southern route, or b) they can keep following the beach into Zandvoort and Bloemendaal and get to Haarlem this way.
Thursday, Day 5 - Haarlem to Zaandam
From Haarlem, we set sail in the morning around 9am (due to bridge opening), we get through the Spaarnsluis (the lock) and cruise through the North Sea Canal to our mooring spot in Zaandam – usually by the Zaan theater. From here, our guests will cycle onto Zaanse Schans only about 6km away. The Zaanse Schans, with its traditional weatherboard doll houses, warehouses, and windmills may give you the blast from the past feeling of stepping back into the 17th or 18th century. Yet this is not an open-air museum but a lively neighborhood where people live and work. Among other things, a cheese farm, a clog maker, an old-fashioned bakery store, and a clock museum, can be visited here. Lunch will be in the village so you can taste the authentic local cuisine in one of the cosy restaurants.
From Zaanse Schans:
- Cycle through the "Zaanse Schans Cycle Route", either 52km approx 3.5 hours or 39km approximately 2.5 hours>
- And for those more sportive, there is the option to cycle east across the beautiful countryside towards the picturesque villages of Broek in Waterland, Monnickendam, and Marken can be scheduled with the option of taking a ferry across to Volendam – about 60km total.
Friday, Day 6 - Zaandam to Alkmaar
Aurora departs Zaandam early and cruises through the green rural countryside towards our destination Alkmaar. Guests start their cycling from Zaandam and ride past the open air museum of Zaanse Schans and continue following the river Zaan and the Knollendammer canal to our cheese town, Alkmaar. Lunch aboard and then an optional cycle trip to the unique wooded dune area near the villages Bergen and Schoorl and to the Hondsbossche Zeewering, a sea wall. There is plenty of time to have a drink at an outdoor café or to walk on the beach. If you feel like it, you are of course, free to spend a day on your own sightseeing in Alkmaar or relaxing at the seaside.
Saturday, Day 7 - Gouda to Schiedam : 45 km
Aurora departs early this morning for the last cruise. We leave the capital of cheese and candles behind as we cruise along the winding Ijssel river until we reach Rotterdam. We have a 40-minute cruise through the city harbor, ending back in Schiedam around 11am. Depart Aurora around noon.
If some enthusiasts wish to spend their last day cycling, they can ride through the Green Heart of Holland and follow the winding river Rotte to enter the modern city of Rotterdam, and follow the path all the way to Schiedam. Approximately 40-45km, 2.5 to 3 hours.
NOTE:
- This is a sample itinerary. Excursions are tailor-made to suit your interests.
HOME > ITINERARIES > HOLLAND: Bike & Barge Tour / Cycling Cruise