Amsterdam – Spaarndam | Spaarndam – Haarlem (3 mi. or 8 mi.) 

Depending upon flight arrival times, maybe take a city tour, walk along the canals or pop into one of the many activities: museums, historical markers, art galleries, etc. 

Bags can be dropped at the barge from 11:00AM on. 

Check-In is between 1:00 and 2:00 with sailing at 2:30pm.

Embarkation: The crew of our barge welcomes you onboard with a welcome drink and you set off on a short cruise through the historic 16th century center of Amsterdam. 

While the barge sails to Haarlem, your tour leader will tell you about the tour, the cycling and safety. At Spaarndam, you will be able to take the bikes on a short test ride to make sure you are comfortable with the equipment. 

After our first gourmet 3-course dinner on board, the tour leader will take you on a town walk through the beautiful city center of Haarlem. 

Holland is known for its amazing cycle paths and today's route showcases a bike highway! Designed to have no traffic lights and no road crossings, this is truly an amazing ride out of town. 

Also on the agenda is a visit to the most famous flower garden in the world: the Keukenhof! Made up of 79 acres of garden with approximately 7 million flowers. While the Keukenhof is mostly known for its tulips, there are also Hyacinths, daffodils, lilies, roses, carnations, and irises. Before and after your visit to the Keukenhof, your ride will also lead right through the flower growing fields. In the afternoon you cycle to the city of Leiden.  

After dinner on board, you will be able to take advantage of this beautiful city as you take an independent walk through town.

After breakfast you will cycle out of Leiden. You will travel through the ‘green heart’ of Holland. Near Zoeterwoude, you will visit a cheese farm where you will learn about the cheese-making process and you will have the opportunity to taste the results. In the afternoon you reach Gouda, famous for the Gouda cheese. Gouda has an attractive compact center with her pretty market square and Gothic town hall. The main church of Gouda, devoted to Saint John, is world famous for its stained glass windows. After dinner you can join the walk through town. 

We stay in Gouda this morning. You have the opportunity to do some shopping and to visit the market square with its cheese weigh house or you can visit the St. Johns church. 

We leave by barge around noon and have a light lunch on board. From Alphen aan den Rijn you cycle through the ‘green heart’ of South Holland via river Drecht and Amstel-Drecht channel to Kudelstaart.  A natural area surrounded by the Randstad (The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Amsterdam). The area consists of a series of landscapes, water and cities. 

At 6.30 a.m. you can drink an early cup of coffee. After that you cycle to the flower auction of Aalsmeer, the largest of Europe. Here, huge quantities of flowers are trucked in and sold every day, after which they are distributed all over Europe. 

After your visit you return on board (around 9 a.m.) for a late breakfast while the barge sails to Amsterdam. You will enjoy a nice cruise, right through the city.

Today’s cycling tour takes you from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans, a unique hamlet where people live and work, with original houses and windmills from the river Zaan area. The hamlet is dominated by operating windmills, the oldest built in 1673, for grinding mustard, spices, paint and oil and for sawing wood into planks. 

As you walk through the village you will see a clock museum, an old-fashioned grocery store, a house with period furniture, a clog maker and a cheese farm.

This morning you 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. Your cycling tour continues to Egmond at the Northsea. The tour goes 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, with its well-preserved 17th century buildings and narrow, winding canals. 

Dinner in town at your own account. 

After breakfast your cycling tour leads you to the former windmill complex of the Schermer Polder. Here we 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, lock and town hall. 

From here, your ride continues back to Amsterdam. In the late afternoon or evening there is time for a canal tour through the famous canals of the city. 

After breakfast, it is time to say goodbye to your companions, guides, and crew. The crew and guides need to start cleaning and preparing for the next tour. Check out time: before 9.30 AM. 

With an early departure from the barge, depending upon the time of your flight home, you may be able to see a few other attractions prior to having to go the airport.