From our embark at the center of Amsterdam, our designed-for-cycling Holland & Belgium itinerary departs at sunset and cruises fifty miles while you sleep to reach our first day of incredible cycling. The next morning you’ll wake up to cycle through delightful Dutch villages, explore Kinderdijk’s windmills, visit medieval towns like Gorinchem, Bruges, and Ghent, and enjoy Belgium’s famous cycling culture and cuisine. Daily routes wind through lush countryside and historic cities, offering a perfect way to start your cycling season.

From our embark at the center of Amsterdam, our designed-for-cycling Holland & Belgium itinerary departs at sunset and cruises fifty miles while you sleep to reach our first day of incredible cycling.

Wake up to cycle through delightful Dutch villages where the local markets are a great place to sample cheese or pastries. Ride past Kinderdijk’s 19 historic windmills and explore the region famous for exporting Tulips during their full bloom.

This colorful day ends in the medieval town of Gorinchem, where we’ll pedal past preserved fortifications to enter the bicycle-scaled village.

After today’s ride and tonight’s dinner, tomorrow you’ll wake up at the Belgian border.

Our second day's ride features Bruges, a UNESCO Heritage City with the finest collection of preserved medieval architecture in all of Europe.

Bruges is where medieval Flanders rocks to the modern beat of a youthful Flemish lifestyle. Dotted with gourmet restaurants, historical sites, breweries, and chocolatiers you'll be delighted with something new every time you turn a corner.

Ghent is the ancient university town where the renaissance continues to this day. An 'Open City' that escaped destruction during both World Wars, the architecturally magnificent capital of Flanders surrounds Belgium's largest car-free walking district.

Ghent has the largest designated cyclist area in Europe, with nearly 250 miles of dedicated cycle paths. It also boasts Belgium's first cycle street, where cars are considered 'guests' and must stay behind the cyclists.

No cycling tour of Europe would be complete without sidewalk cafes. Enjoy hand-held waffles with coffee or hand-dipped Belgian chocolates, found at nearly all of Belgium's bakeries.

After cruising up the Scheldt, our ship ties up near the center of Antwerp. The undisputed hub of the world's diamond trade, Antwerp has a multi-faceted array of Baroque architecture.

Is cycling better in Belgium? Belgian cyclists are bound to win all arguments about the quality of mid-ride snacking. Belgium is, after all, the genuine home of french fries.

My favorite mid-ride treat, however, is a hand-held waffle with coffee. Others choose hand-dipped Belgian chocolates, which are found at nearly all of Belgium's bakeries. If you reach our afternoon port before the ship, why not have a Trappist Ale?

From Antwerp our ship cruises overnight to the middle of the Albert Canal, a popular cycling route where our ship’s progress will be delayed by locks. We’ll start our morning ride along the canal to reach Genk where we’ll “Cycle Through Water.”

The bicycle path is actually submerged below the water level, and is a favorite photo-op of cyclists touring the region. Our afternoon route will ride into Maastricht, a delightful Dutch city at the southeast corner of the Netherlands.

After four days on the flatlands, today’s three-nation ride ascends 450 feet through hills bordering Belgium to reach the German town of Aachen.

Aachen is where Emperor Charlemagne’s still-standing Cathedral became the coronation site for five centuries of Germanic Kings.

Aachen, the walls are down, but the gates survive.

Our last day of cycling starts in Venlo, pauses for coffee at Arcen Castle (with ample time to take a stroll through the famous gardens), and traces the Meuse River back towards Amsterdam, where you’ll wake up on the final morning of this 8-day voyage.

Holland is the perfect destination to replace a string of hotels with a luxurious river cruise ship for a no-repacking cycling adventure. Holland not only has sizable rivers and estuaries, these natural waterways are connected by canals three times wider than the barge canals found in other parts of Europe. Additionally, the ship-width canals in Holland and Belgium are designed to be navigated at night.

On most days of our Holland & Belgium Cycling Cruise, our chartered ship will move through the night to find a perfect place to start a morning ride. After we are off, it will move ahead 30-40 miles to where it docks and waits to serve a late lunch. The day’s shortest route parallels the river or canal. Longer options loop inland. Our late afternoon tie-ups are always at the center of a town that merits your pre-dinner exploration. Once everyone is seated for dinner in the panoramic dining room, the ship unties and moves to our next day’s ride.

The panoramic view staterooms on the Amadeus Brilliant are not only cleaner, fresher, and quieter than most hotel rooms, on this bicycle tour you’ll sleep better by not having to adjust to a new mattress, pillow, and thermostat each night. The Mozart & Strauss Deck staterooms have French Balconies. All double-staterooms are 161 square feet, plenty of room for a king-width bed. Suites are about 50% larger (237 square feet) and provide room to entertain your friends. The Haydn Deck Staterooms have a tall and wide fixed window.

On any day you don’t feel like riding, an inland cruise comes with fascinating scenery. While aboard you can nap, read, use the wifi, catch some rays on the sundeck, or enjoy a massage or spa treatment.

The forward Panorama Lounge/Bar has 270-degree views and seating for all our guests. The Amadeus Club is a more intimate venue at the rear of the ship. Both the Lounge & Club are great places to relax, catch up on emails, post a few photos on social media, or read a nice book.

The ship’s panoramic dining room accommodates all, and serves three gourmet-quality meals per day curated by our 5-star chef, each with enough choices to please everyone. Breakfast and Lunch are served from a viewing queue, perfect for active cyclists. Dinner is a plated multi-course menu with plenty of gourmet options for all of our participants.

Our last day of cycling starts in Venlo, pauses for coffee at Arcen Castle (with ample time to take a stroll through the famous gardens), and traces the Meuse River back towards Amsterdam, where you’ll wake up on the final morning of this 8-day voyage.

After the conclusion of our 8-day cycling cruise, many will remain in Amsterdam for an extra day or two of self-guided visits to some of Europe’s most distinguished museums.

If you care to arrive two or three days early, our bargain-priced pre-tour package will meet your flight at AMS airport and ease you through jetlag while visiting Amsterdam’s outlying attractions.

After the conclusion of the 8-day cycling cruise, guests disembark in Amsterdam. Many choose to remain for an extra day or two of self-guided visits to some of Europe’s most distinguished museums.