Do I need to bring my own bike?

No. Bicycle rental is arranged locally and is not part of the tour price. For the 2027 season a premium hybrid bike costs €154 per tour and a premium e-bike €287 per tour; e-bikes are limited in number, so reserve yours when you book.

How hard is the cycling?

This is flat Dutch terrain with daily distances between 25 and 55 km. On several days there is a longer and a shorter route, though the shorter option may skip some of the highlights. If you would rather not cycle on a given day you can stay on board and relax while the ship cruises to the next mooring.

Yes, fully guided. Two tour leaders ride with the group, which is split into two speeds, and a support van with a third leader follows the route throughout.

What is the food like on board?

Eight breakfasts, four picnic lunches from the support van and six three-course dinners are included. Wine, beer, soft drinks, water, coffee and tea are included with the on-board dinners, and coffee and tea are available all day. Two dinners, in Alkmaar and Haarlem, are at your own cost so you can eat out in town.

When is the best time to see the tulips?

Departures are timed for the spring bloom. Because bulbs are rotated from field to field, the exact location of the best colour changes each year, which is part of the pleasure of the ride.

What is included on board?

Bed linen and towels, daily cleaning of your suite, climate control, free Wi-Fi, daily briefings and one on-board lecture on the region.

Tulips & Windmills Deluxe: 9-Day Guided Bike & Boat in Holland

North Holland

tulips-windmills-deluxe-9-day-bike-boat-holland

See all the photos

from€3,199

Bike & BoatE-bikeTrekking bike9 days / 8 nights256 km2/5Medium-EasyLoop

Short Description

Spring in Holland, at its most generous. Over nine days you cycle from Amsterdam through Waterland, the windmill village of Zaanse Schans, the dunes of North Holland and the great bulb fields around Keukenhof, then come home each evening to an all-suite ship moored in the heart of a different historic town. Two tour leaders ride with you, a support van follows the route, and the flower auction, cheese market and rare-bulb gardens are all part of the plan. Easy, flat riding; unforgettable colour.

Tour Program

Day 1 – Arrival in Amsterdam
You are met at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and transferred to your hotel in the city. There is time to settle in before you meet your fellow travellers, and the evening opens with a hosted welcome dinner.
Meals: dinner

Day 2 – Amsterdam to Zaandam | 30 km
Your luggage goes straight to the ship while you get a safety talk and a bike fitting outside the hotel. You then ride out through the quiet Waterland countryside towards Broek in Waterland, with a picnic lunch served from the support van beside a village church. In the afternoon you board your floating home for the week and settle into your suite as the ship cruises to Zaandam. An evening walk takes you through the old harbour quarter, where the atmosphere of old Holland still lingers.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 3 – Zaandam to Alkmaar | 39 km or 50 km
The morning begins at Zaanse Schans, where working windmills, workshops and timber houses form one of the most vivid pictures of Dutch heritage anywhere. It is a lived-in village rather than a museum, and it feels like it. You then head north through open countryside to Hortus Bulborum, a remarkable garden that preserves rare and historic bulb varieties: thousands of tulips, hyacinths and daffodils that you will not see anywhere else. The day ends in Alkmaar, the cheese town, whose canals and gabled streets make one of the loveliest historic centres in the country. The evening is yours, with dinner at your own cost.
Meals: breakfast, lunch

Day 4 – Alkmaar to Haarlem | 50 km
An early start gives you a privileged look at the famous Alkmaar cheese market before it opens, while the square is still being set up and the ritual is only beginning to take shape. Afterwards you cycle south through the North Holland Dune Reserve, where wide skies and coastal scenery make a striking contrast with the flower fields, and the first bulb stripes start to appear along the way. You arrive in elegant Haarlem, with its lively main square and the great St Bavo church; the ship moors close to the centre, so there is time for a stroll before dinner.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 5 – Haarlem loop via Keukenhof | 47 km
Today belongs to Keukenhof, the most famous flower park in the world. You ride into it through the bulb-growing region itself, already saturated with colour, then wander millions of tulips, hyacinths and daffodils laid out among ponds, pavilions and winding paths. After as long as you like in the gardens you cycle back to Haarlem through the flower fields for a restful evening on board.
Meals: breakfast

Day 6 – Haarlem to Zaandam, cruise to Hoorn | 30 km
An early coach transfer takes you to Aalsmeer for the world's largest flower auction, where the scale and precision of Dutch floriculture are genuinely startling. Back on board for breakfast, you then ride towards Zaandam by way of villages such as Spaarndam. In the afternoon the ship sails across the IJsselmeer to Hoorn, passing the Paard van Marken lighthouse, while your tour leader gives an on-board lecture on the region. The evening brings a small private boat tour through Hoorn's historic centre.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 7 – Hoorn to Volendam, cruise to Huizen | 25 km or 55 km
Today you ride into the northern tulip-growing country, where the fields move from year to year with the planting cycle, so every departure discovers the colour somewhere slightly different. In the afternoon you reach Volendam, one of Holland's best-known harbour towns, and rejoin the ship for a sailing dinner as it cruises on to Huizen.
Meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 8 – Huizen to Amsterdam | 35 km or 49 km
Your last ride takes in two of the most charming fortified towns in the country: Naarden, with its extraordinary star-shaped ramparts, and Muiden, with its harbour and medieval castle. Quiet roads then carry you back to Amsterdam, closing the circle. A farewell dinner on board rounds off the week.
Meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 9 – Departure from Amsterdam
After breakfast it is time to say goodbye. A transfer to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is included.
Meals: breakfast

Available departures

Next: 30 Mar 2027 · 1 departure · from €3,199 p.p.

Mar 2027

- Suite upper deck€4,049
- Junior Suite lower deck€3,199

Tour details

LoopGuidedCouplesMinimum 2 peopleMinimum age 16 years

✅ What is included in the trip?

📞 Local telephone assistance 7/7
✈️ Airport transfers
🏨 Overnight stay and breakfast
🍽️ 4 packed lunches
🍽️ 6 dinners (drinks excluded)
☕️ Coffee and tea on board
🛜 Wi-FI on board
⛑️ Helmet
👜 Waterproof bike bag
💧Biodegradable water bottle
🗺️ Maps
📲 GPS or navigation APP
🚢 Fees for ferries
🏛️ Entrance Zaanse Schans
🧍‍♂️English speaking tour guide
🚐 Support van with guide
🧍‍♂️ Welcome briefing
🏛️ Entrance to Hortus Bulborum
🌝 Entrance for North-Holland Dune Reserve
🌷 Entrance to Keukenhof
🌷 Entrance to the Flower Auction
🚢 Private canal tour in Hoorn

❌ 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

Do I need to bring my own bike?
No. Bicycle rental is arranged locally and is not part of the tour price. For the 2027 season a premium hybrid bike costs €154 per tour and a premium e-bike €287 per tour; e-bikes are limited in number, so reserve yours when you book.
How hard is the cycling?
This is flat Dutch terrain with daily distances between 25 and 55 km. On several days there is a longer and a shorter route, though the shorter option may skip some of the highlights. If you would rather not cycle on a given day you can stay on board and relax while the ship cruises to the next mooring.
Is the tour guided?
Yes, fully guided. Two tour leaders ride with the group, which is split into two speeds, and a support van with a third leader follows the route throughout.
What is the food like on board?
Eight breakfasts, four picnic lunches from the support van and six three-course dinners are included. Wine, beer, soft drinks, water, coffee and tea are included with the on-board dinners, and coffee and tea are available all day. Two dinners, in Alkmaar and Haarlem, are at your own cost so you can eat out in town.
When is the best time to see the tulips?
Departures are timed for the spring bloom. Because bulbs are rotated from field to field, the exact location of the best colour changes each year, which is part of the pleasure of the ride.
What is included on board?
Bed linen and towels, daily cleaning of your suite, climate control, free Wi-Fi, daily briefings and one on-board lecture on the region.