Holland in a Nutshell - a Tulip Tour

Day 1: Arrival in Alkmaar
Day 2: Alkmaar day tour, (several options from,  27 to 36 mi.,  44 to 58 km)
Day 3: Alkmaar – Edam, 25 mi. (48 km)
Day 4: Edam day tour, 35 mi. (56 km)
Day 5: Edam – Weesp, 25 mi.  (40 km)
Day 6: Weesp – Oudewater, 31 mi.  (50 km)
Day 7: Oudewater day tour, 25 mi.  (40 km)
Day 8: Departure Oudewater

*All distances are approximate.

Day 1: Arrival in Alkmaar.

Day 2: Alkmaar day tour (several options from 44 to 58 km)
Today you can choose between two bicycle routes through completely divergent areas. The first takes you through Europe’s largest bulb area, which in Springtime is ablaze with all colors of the rainbow. The second tour takes you through the widest and highest dune area in the Netherlands, straight through the De Schoorlse Duinen National Park.

Day 3: Alkmaar – Edam (48 km)
Today's tour features Old Dutch windmills, historic small villages, traditional polder-landscape and an age-old cheese-market. In the morning, head south through the open countryside. You will then pass several windmills that were used in the seventeenth century to extract water from a huge lake. Graft and De Rijp are perfect places for a break: these small villages are characterized by gabled-houses, 17th century draw-bridges and a beautiful weigh-house from 1630 that is now used as the town-hall. From here to Edam, you will cycle straight through a UNESCO world heritage area: the Beemster. The Beemster was the first polder in the Netherlands. 400 years ago this area was a huge lake. The Beemster Polder was drained from1609 until 1612. Preserved intact are its well-ordered landscape of fields, roads, canals, dykes and settlements - laid out in accordance with classical and Renaissance planning principles. The tour ends close to the cheese-market of Edam. Your hotel is situated in the historic centre. From the terrace, you have a view of cobbled streets, flanked by age-old gabled-houses.

Day 4: Edam day tour (56 km)
Today you will make a day tour to the Zaanse Schans, one of Europe’s oldest industrial areas that is now an extraordinary open-air museum. The mills, warehouses and traditional wooden houses you will find here will give you a perfect impression of this 17th century commercial center of Amsterdam. If you don’t want to cycle, you can catch a taxi or bus to Amsterdam (only 25 km) and take a cruise along the canals of Amsterdam.

Day 5: Edam – Weesp (40 km)
From Edam it is just a small ride to the famous harbour village of Volendam. Take the ferry to the picturesque former island of Marken and bike along along the shores of lake IJsselmeer through lovely villages as Uitdam and Durgerdam. Circumnavigate Amsterdam. After, you will pass the medieval Muiderslot castle, built in 1280AD (!) by count Floris V. Here, it is hard to imagine that you are only 15 kilometres away from the dazzling modern city of Amsterdam. Finally reach the old historic town of Weesp.

Day 6: Weesp – Oudewater (50 km)
From Weesp the route takes you south and in the first part the river Vecht will be your guide. You will be cycling along narrow dykes, many 17th century cottages and tea domes can still be found here. Near Breukelen, you will pass the Kortrijk Mill that was built in 1696 AD. Further south the route takes you through the classical Dutch polder: green meadows, black-and-white cows, blue ditches and white clouds. It can hardly get more Dutch than this!

Day 7: Oudewater day tour (40 km)
Today, you will visit Gouda, world-famous for its cheeses and waffles! Every Thursday morning, farmers in traditional costume come to the market to have their cheeses weighed and sold. The tour continues along the Reeuwijkse Plassen, a collection of 10 lakes. Nowhere else in the world is there so little land between lakes: the route takes optimal advantage of the available amount of mainland.

Day 8: Departure Oudewater

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Excellent 3 - 4 star accommodations