How hard is the cycling?

Daily distances range from 6 to 54 km, and on most days there is a shorter and a longer option. On the shorter routes you may not see every highlight.

Is the cycling guided?

Yes. A tour leader cycles with the group every day. A detailed cycling map and a GPS app are also available if you prefer to ride at your own pace, and the guide stays reachable by phone for questions or breakdowns.

Can I skip a day of cycling?

Yes. On any day you can stay on board and relax while the ship cruises to the next mooring.

No, bikes are rented separately. Prices for each bike option are shown on this page. Helmets can be rented for about €10 per week. You may also bring your own bike; a parking place on board costs around €14 per week (€35 for an e-bike).

What are the cabins like?

Bed linen and towels are provided and your cabin is cleaned daily.

Breakfast, a packed lunch and a three-course dinner on board are included, except for one evening in Alkmaar when you eat in town at your own expense. Drinks are not included.

Will I actually see tulips in bloom?

The tour is planned to take you through North and South Holland in the middle of the tulip bloom, and the entrance to the Keukenhof gardens is included.

Where does the tour start and finish?

Both in Amsterdam. Check-in is between 1 and 2 p.m. on day 1 and the ship leaves at 2:30 p.m.; you can drop your luggage on board from 11 a.m.

Holland in Bloom: 8-Day Tulip Cruise by Bike

North and South Holland

Illustrative image, AI-generated or AI-modified: Holland in Bloom: 8-Day Tulip Cruise by Bike

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Images marked “AI” on this page are AI-generated or AI-modified. We apply the mark to every image, including photographs supplied by tour operators, because the types cannot always be told apart. Images illustrate the area and atmosphere of the tour, not the accommodation or services included.

from€1,339

Bike & BoatTrekking bikeE-bike8 days / 7 nights197 km1/5EasyLoop

Guided

Short Description

This week takes you through North and South Holland in the middle of the tulip bloom. Your floating base moves with you from Amsterdam to Haarlem, Leiden, Gouda, Purmerend and Alkmaar, so you unpack once and wake up somewhere new every morning. Days are spent in the saddle: through the oldest bulb fields in the country, into the gardens of Keukenhof, along the green heart of South Holland, past working windmills and cheese towns. A tour leader rides with you the whole way, and when you'd rather not pedal you simply stay on board and watch the polders slide by.

Tour Program

Day 1 – Amsterdam to Haarlem (6 or 14 km)
Check in between 1 and 2 p.m. and settle in over coffee and tea. At 2:30 p.m. you cast off and, while the ship heads for Haarlem, your tour leader talks you through the week, cycling Dutch style and safety on board. From Spaarndam there is an optional short test ride to get used to your bike. After dinner on board, you walk together through Haarlem's handsome old centre.

Day 2 – Haarlem to Leiden via Keukenhof (38 km)
You ride out through the oldest tulip fields in Holland and spend part of the morning at Keukenhof, the most spectacular bulb park in the world: some seven million tulips in bloom across 80 acres, with hyacinths and daffodils in between. In the afternoon the route rolls on to Leiden, where you can take a walk through town after dinner.

Day 3 – Leiden to Gouda (37 or 43 km)
Out of Leiden and straight into the bucolic "green heart" of Holland. Near Zoeterwoude you stop at a cheese farm to see how it is made, and of course to taste it. By afternoon you reach Gouda, with its market square, Gothic town hall and the famous stained-glass windows of St. John's church.

Day 4 – Gouda to Kudelstaart (20 or 44 km)
The morning is yours in Gouda: the market, the cheese weigh house, the church. Around midday the ship sails on and you have a light lunch on board. From Alphen aan den Rijn you are back on the bike, following the river Drecht and the Amstel-Drecht canal through the green heart to meet the ship again in Kudelstaart.

Day 5 – Flower auction, Amsterdam and Zaanse Schans (9 or 45 km)
An early one: coffee at 6:30 a.m., then a ride to the flower auction of Aalsmeer, the largest in Europe, where the trading floor is already in full swing. Back on board around 9 a.m. for a late breakfast while the ship cruises straight through the centre of Amsterdam. The second ride of the day takes you to Zaanse Schans, a hamlet where people live and work, with original old-style wooden houses and windmills, the oldest from 1673, still grinding mustard, spices and paint or sawing planks. You finish in Purmerend, where the ship is moored.

Day 6 – Purmerend to Alkmaar (50 km)
First stop is Hortus Bulborum, a garden museum dedicated to rare and historic bulbs, planted with more than 4,000 tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other flowers. From there you ride to Egmond aan Zee on the North Sea and turn inland through the dunes to Alkmaar, a cheese city with a beautifully kept 17th-century centre and narrow canals. Dinner tonight is in town, at your own expense.

Day 7 – Alkmaar to Amsterdam (37 or 54 km)
The route crosses the old windmill complex of the Schermer polder, with a visit to the Schermerhorn windmill museum, then reaches De Rijp and its wooden facades, old lock and town hall. From there you pedal back to Amsterdam, with time in the late afternoon or evening for a canal cruise through the city.

Day 8 – Amsterdam
Breakfast on board and disembarkation after a week of flowers, water and windmills.

Available departures

Month

Ship

Next: 27 Mar 2027 · 2 departures · from €1,339 p.p.

Mar 2027

- Twin Lower deck€1,399
- Twin or triple Lower€1,399€1,339

May 2027

- Twin Lower deck€1,599€1,499

Tour details

LoopGuidedMinimum 2 peopleMinimum age 16 years

✅ What is included in the trip?

🏨 Overnight stay and breakfast
🍽️ Packed lunches
🍽️ 6 dinners (drinks excluded)
🍷 1 welcome drink
🧍‍♂️ Welcome briefing
🧍‍♂️English speaking tour guide
📲 GPS or navigation APP
👜 Waterproof bike bag
💧Biodegradable water bottle
🚢 Fees for ferries
🛜 Wi-FI on board
📞 Local telephone assistance 7/7
☕️ Coffee and tea on board

❌ What is not included?

🚎 Transfers not listed as Included
✈️ Journey to/from the starting point
🍽️ Meals and drinks not listed as Included
🖼️ Entrance fees and extras not listed
🛡️ Travel insurance
🌎 Tourist taxes
SGR Insolvency protection (mandatory consumer contribution SGR insolvency protection guarantee scheme: € 5 per person

🙋 Common questions

How hard is the cycling?
Daily distances range from 6 to 54 km, and on most days there is a shorter and a longer option. On the shorter routes you may not see every highlight.
Is the cycling guided?
Yes. A tour leader cycles with the group every day. A detailed cycling map and a GPS app are also available if you prefer to ride at your own pace, and the guide stays reachable by phone for questions or breakdowns.
Can I skip a day of cycling?
Yes. On any day you can stay on board and relax while the ship cruises to the next mooring.
Are bikes included?
No, bikes are rented separately. Prices for each bike option are shown on this page. Helmets can be rented for about €10 per week. You may also bring your own bike; a parking place on board costs around €14 per week (€35 for an e-bike).
What are the cabins like?
Bed linen and towels are provided and your cabin is cleaned daily.
What about meals?
Breakfast, a packed lunch and a three-course dinner on board are included, except for one evening in Alkmaar when you eat in town at your own expense. Drinks are not included.
Will I actually see tulips in bloom?
The tour is planned to take you through North and South Holland in the middle of the tulip bloom, and the entrance to the Keukenhof gardens is included.
Where does the tour start and finish?
Both in Amsterdam. Check-in is between 1 and 2 p.m. on day 1 and the ship leaves at 2:30 p.m.; you can drop your luggage on board from 11 a.m.