Amsterdam to Maastricht Boat & Bike Tour

Day 1: Amsterdam – Weesp | test ride in Weesp (11 km)
You will board in Amsterdam between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., where the crew will be waiting to welcome you. Around 2 p.m. the barge sails to Weesp, a small city on the river Vecht with a historic centre of canals and seventeenth- and eighteenth-century buildings, and a few beautiful windmills. The scenic Vecht and the small roads that follow it draw yachters and cyclists alike. On arrival your tour leader will organise a test ride, and after dinner you will have time to stroll through this charming town.

Day 2: Weesp – Utrecht | Utrecht – Vianen (47 km)
Your cycling begins in Weesp. You will follow the meandering Vecht past the imposing mansions that line its banks, and stop along the way at a real Dutch cheese farm where cheese is still made by traditional methods. You will meet the barge in Utrecht, and from there sail the Amsterdam-Rhine canal to Vianen, a small fortified town on the river Lek.

Day 3: Vianen – Gorinchem | Gorinchem – Heusden (41 km)
From Vianen you will ride through typical Dutch countryside to Leerdam, a little town on the river Linge famous for its glasswork. Beautiful roads along the Linge then carry you to Gorinchem, a charming town on the river Waal. After a short visit you will join the barge for the passage to Heusden.

Day 4: Heusden – Lith | Lith – Cuijk (40 km)
Over breakfast the ship sails from Heusden to Lith, a village on the Meuse, where the day's cycling starts. You will follow the river to the medieval towns of Ravenstein and Grave: in Ravenstein you can visit the Tanner's Cottages, and in Grave you will see cannons from the time of Napoleon. Grave also played its part in Operation Market Garden, close to a bridge that now carries the name John S. Thompson. Following the Meuse you will meet the barge in Cuijk, where you spend the night. The neo-Gothic St. Martin's Church holds a beautifully preserved baroque organ built between 1639 and 1650, one of the oldest in the Netherlands. After dinner you will visit museum Ceuclum and can climb the tower for a magnificent view over the Meuse valley.

Day 5: Cuijk – Arcen (53 km)
Today a magnificent ride is on the programme. You will cycle up the Meuse valley to Afferden and Heijen, straight through the Maasheggen, a landscape of thorny hedges first planted at the beginning of our era to keep cattle in and Roman occupants out — the oldest cultural landscape in the Netherlands. The route continues through National Park Maasduinen, a long stretch of river dunes laid down by the wind and the Rhine. In the town of Well stands Well castle with its heavy round brick tower, dating from the fourteenth century. The destination is Arcen, where, if time allows, you can visit the famous castle gardens with their extensive and diverse planting, or the beer garden of the local Hertog Jan brewery.

Day 6: Arcen – Venlo – Roermond (50 km)
Again your route follows the Meuse, crossing by ferry or bridge here and there to stay on the most interesting paths. The first stop is Venlo, with its many historical monuments and lively inner city. At lunchtime you arrive in Kessel, one of the oldest villages on the river, with an unusually restored castle. From there you cross to the other bank and ride on to the beautiful village of Beesel, where the grain mill 'Grey Bear' stands proudly beside the water. The day ends in Roermond, where the Roer and the Meuse converge. An episcopal city since 1559, Roermond is known for its rich cultural heritage and its many historical buildings; it is also the city of Pierre Cuypers, to many the most important Dutch architect of the nineteenth century and the man behind the Rijksmuseum and Central Station in Amsterdam. A more modern attraction is the designer outlet centre. Tonight's dinner is not included — you will eat in town, in a restaurant of your choice, with recommendations available on board.

Day 7: Roermond – Born | Born – Maastricht (42 km)
Today you will ride through charming villages and the beautiful landscape of the province of Limburg. The first stop is Thorn, the 'White Village' on the Dutch-Belgian border, known for its cobblestone streets and white painted houses; the only building that is not white is the fourteenth-century church. From Thorn you cross the border to the Belgian city of Maaseik, home of the medieval painters Hubert and Jan van Eyck, where Renaissance houses with impressive facades line the market square and a Belgian pint is easy to find. You will find the ship in Born, from where you sail to Maastricht. The capital of Limburg is a beautifully preserved city with Roman roots and a French flair, home to the treasuries of the St. Servaas Church, the Bonnefanten museum for art and antiquity, the Kazematten — a system of underground fortifications from the eighteenth century — and the marl caves, with the wide Vrijthof square at its heart.

Day 8: Maastricht
End of your tour: disembarkation after breakfast, until 9.30 a.m.