Netherlands: 8-day Sail & Bike Tulip Tour

You are welcome to check in on board between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., where your crew will welcome you with coffee and tea. At 2.30 p.m., the ship leaves the harbor. While the ship sails to Volendam, your tour leader will stoke your anticipation by telling you about the tour, the cycling and safety procedures. Upon arrival, you will have the option to take a little test ride. After enjoying a delicious dinner on board, the tour leader will take you on a walk through Volendam, a small and picturesque fishing harbor on the shores of Lake IJsselmeer.

On this first cycling day, a tasty breakfast will be followed by a bike tour to Hoorn, the former Dutch East India Company town, which was, in the 17^thcentury, one of the world’s foremost harbors. Along the way, you will pass Edam, which is known for its famous Edam cheese, covered in red or yellow wax. While this adorable village is now renowned for cheese, it was once an industrious shipyard and port. That’s why, in the 17^th century, the town’s specialty became one of the most popular cheeses in the world. Sailors took wheels of Edam on their voyages – the cheese doesn’t spoil easily and could be traded for spices and other riches of the East. Later in the afternoon you will join the ship for an afternoon sail to Enkhuizen, an old city with many centuries of maritime tradition. You can spend some time exploring here— “the herring city” boasts a beautiful old harbor and an old town full of history.

Today your ship will set sail to the harbor of Oudeschild on the island Texel. You may lend a hand during navigation and hoisting the sails. Previous sailing experience is not at all necessary. Of course, you are also very welcome to just relax and enjoy the sailing and scenery as you progress along the IJsselmeer. While sailing you will enjoy an extensive lunch on board. In the afternoon, the ship will arrive in Oudeschild on the island of Texel, the largest of the Dutch Wadden Isles. No dinner will be served tonight, to enable you to explore the harbor. You can make yourself a picnic meal or try one of the nice restaurants of Oudeschild.

Today you can choose to cycle a shorter route or to take a longer tour around the island. You will cycle through delightful natural parks, and even on Texel you will bike through fields of blooming flowers! The signposts of which lead you through picturesque villages and landscapes, and even to the Ecomare seal sanctuary. At the end of your cycling tour, you can enjoy a locally-brewed, well-deserved beer during a visit to the small brewery near Oudeschild. Late afternoon, the ship will take you back to the mainland, to the port of Den Helder.

The first part of your bike tour leads through the northern part of the province of North Holland. This piece of land wedged between the North Sea and the IJsselmeer boasts the world’s single biggest flowering bulb field. In one word: spectacular! But also closer to Alkmaar you will find the most beautiful tulip fields on your way to the North Sea. The sandy beach here is one of the most wonderful to walk along in the entire Netherlands, the perfect spot for feeling the wind in your hair or simply enjoying the view. Close by — and certainly worth a visit — is the artist’s village of Bergen. The ship will be waiting for you in the historical city center of Alkmaar. This town is well 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.

In the morning, you will bike to Egmond and Limmen and here, again you have the chance to bike through colorful tulip fields. Nearby, you will visit 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 special flowers are planted here. Next destination is Zaanse Schans, a unique hamlet where people live and work alongside original houses and windmills built next to the river Zaan. This tiny village is dominated by its operating windmills — the oldest of which was built in 1673 — and these were used for grinding mustard seeds, spices, and paint components; extracting plant 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. At the end of the afternoon you will find the ship in Zaandam.

Today a beautiful bus ride leads you through the oldest tulip fields of Holland to the famous Keukenhof Gardens. You will have plenty of time to discover the most beautiful bulb park in the world — Keukenhof is the place where spring springs. It features an overwhelming blaze of colors: seven million flowering tulips in a magnificent 80-acre setting of traditional and modern gardening architecture. You also can admire various hyacinths, daffodils, and many other vibrant flowers. In the afternoon the bus will bring you back to Amsterdam to spend a restful night here in your floating hotel.

End of your tour: after breakfast, you can disembark until 9.30 a.m.