“Holland, where there are more bicycles than people and more canals than roads.” author julie kagawa
Welcome to the land of windmills, wooden clogs, and tulips! But to cyclists, the Netherlands is more well known for its incredible network of paved, flat paths that drove us to create our first inline skating tour there in 1997. We have run 20+ skating tours in the country since then and are bringing the tour back with a twist. In 2027 we will celebrate our 30th anniversary with a Netherlands Biking Adventure for alumni only!
Whether you have traveled with us to the Netherlands – possibly long ago – or not, we welcome you to join us. Remember all those cute little towns with those horrid cobblestones? Those will be nothing on the big wheels of our bikes. But the beautiful scenery, the friendly locals, and the amazing bike paths will be just the same.
Netherlands Biking
The Netherlands literally means “low country”, inspired by its low, flat terrain – 26% of the country is lower than sea level and 50% is lower than three feet in elevation. What does this mean for us? The country is incredibly flat and “Netherlands biking” means mostly flat cycling. The country is also protected by dikes and laced with canals, along most of which there are beautiful, smooth bike paths. More paths connect town to town, so that cyclists can go car free almost anywhere they wish in the country.
We bike from picturesque village to picturesque village, allowing plenty of time throughout the day to visit museums, snap photos of windmills and 15th-century churches, or sample the rich cheeses (such as the creamy Edam!) of the area. We choose both bike paths and smaller roads. Keep in mind on four days we cycle to our next hotel with an average of about 40 miles, so you should be able to cycle this distance, especially since we do not have a support van on this tour. E-bikes are available and make this much easier!
Dutch Towns and the Elfstedentocht
The Elfstedentocht, or Eleven Cities Tour, is a famous one-day ice skating race on frozen canals that connects 11 cities in the province of Friesland. Unfortunately, global climate change has played havoc on the race and sadly the race was last run in the winter of 1997 – just months before our owner Allan Wright quit his job to travel to the Netherlands to set up our first inline skating tours.
But now the Elfstedentocht is done recreationally by bicyclists (and inline skaters). Our tour starts in Amsterdam, travels north in the province of North Holland, and then crosses by ferry to Friesland. There we follow the path of the Elfstedentocht, biking from one of the 11 Cities to the next.
The towns are a highlight of the tour. We stay two nights in the sheltered port city Enkhuizen, one night in the more sea-faring port city of Harlingen on the North Sea, one night in the far north of the country in Dokkum, and two nights in our favorite town – Sneek, with its lovely walking streets, colorful houses, and ever-present canals. In addition to these overnight stops, our days are spent cycling through one small town after another.
30th Anniversary Tour for Alumni
Our first tour ever took place on August 22, 1997 in the Netherlands with a grand total of five travelers and two guides. Just about 30 years later, we will repeat the tour on bikes rather than skates. While we would love to run a 30th anniversary skating tour, the reality is most of our skaters have now converted to biking. This tour has not been set up for skating but we will also run a 30th anniversary tour in Switzerland – a more skating-friendly country, believe it or not, for our skating (and biking) friends!
What does the 30th Anniversary designation mean? The tour is open only to our alumni who have traveled with us before. Sign up early as we only have 24 spaces. Allan Wright will guide the tour, along with our Belgium guide Yannick who lives just next door. Our original Dutch guide Ireen will join us for a few days, as will some of our ex-guides, including Andrea Franklin who guided more Netherlands tours than anyone else in her many years of guiding.
If you were a previous Netherlands traveler with us, we hope you will consider joining us again so we can swap stories and revisit old haunts. If you are an alumni who never made it to the country with us (we have not run the tour since 2019), we hope you can join us to see why so many Zephyr travelers still rate this as one of their top tours.
Your Guides
Allan is Zephyr’s owner and founder and has been running adventure vacations around the world since 1997. Allan (seen here wearing a bike jersey from Friesland) is a native of Seattle and has lived in eleven cities in four countries on three continents. His visit list is up to 69 countries – as of this writing!
Yannick is from neighboring Belgium, has been guiding for us for many years, and runs tours all over the world. He is multilingual and a professional tour guide. When you meet him, you will be amazed by his knowledge of local culture, history, and food.
“After completing a wonderful week of great trails, scenery, etc, we wanted to comment on Yannick. He is truly amazing. His intelligence for history or whatever you wanted to know about this area was outstanding. Besides being a guide, he was a unique educator too. It was such a joy to spend a week with this special man.” ~ Joni & Steve M., Zephyr Alumni
Details
- Dates: June 27 - July 3, 2027
- Cost Per Person: $3,850
- Single Supplement: $700
- Private Tour Minimum: 8
- Activities: Biking
- Guide(s): Allan Wright, Yannick de Cocquéau
Difficulty
For All Abilities
The Netherlands is almost entirely flat. However, the rides are relatively long, we do not have a support van on this tour, and the tour area can get windy, which can make it much harder if we happen to be riding into a headwind! We recommend e-bikes on this tour except for very strong riders.
Other Info
We have excellent bikes available to rent at an extra charge: touring bikes ($225), gravel bikes that are sleeker with drop-down handlebars ($320), road bikes ($320), and e-bikes ($350). All bikes come with a rear rack and you can also rent panniers (saddle bags).
Talk to Our Team: 888-758-8687
I Have QuestionsTrip Highlights
- Bike through quaint towns with names such as Medemblik, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Witmarsum, and Tsum
- Roll along remarkably flat and beautiful terrain memorialized by famous Dutch painters like Rembrandt and Van Gogh
- Take a ferry ride across the IJsselmeer Sea as we cross from North Holland into Friesland
- Spend nights in the small fun cities of Enkhuizen, Harlingen, Dokkum, and Sneek
- Marvel at how organized and orderly everything is in The Netherands - things just work correctly here!
- Add to your vacation by spending a few extra days in Amsterdam, where we meet to start our riding
Day 1
We meet in central Amsterdam in the morning, where we will pick up our bikes and load our luggage to be shuttled ahead. The beauty of The Netherlands is there are bike paths everywhere, so getting out of the city is relatively straightforward. We make our way up the coast of the inland IJselmeer sea, passing the seaside village of Durgerdam, Monnickendam, Volendam, and Edam. You'll pass loads of cute restaurants and cafes and nearly always have the sea on your right. In Edam we'll ride past an old fort and you can stop in a Kaasspeciaalzaak (specialty cheese shop) where you can purchase the cheese that is now ubiquitous in supermarkets at home. Our destination is the town of Enkhuizen, a beautiful port city that bustles with small boats. After checking in to our hotel, you can wander the streets of the town before we meet for dinner at a local Dutch restaurant.
Distance: Main Route is 50 miles with a short option of 35 miles that includes a train from Hoorn to Enkhuizen
Day 2
This morning we bicycle from our hotel to the town of Medemblik. Our route takes us on a bike path along the IJselmeer with constant sea views on our route. Our destination is Medemblik, a cute small town that is a perfect stop for lunch - you'll definitely want to try the local fish or fries with mayonnaise! Don't forget a visit to the tiny "bakery museum" (more like a shop) where you can buy the delicious local almond cookies. We then jump on a local, historic steam train to the town of Hoorn where you will have time to visit the town before we cycle back to Enkhuizen. We'll ride on a small road designated for pedestrian traffic that runs the entire way back to our hotel. You'll see bicyclists galore on the path and an active waterfowl and boating population on the sea. This evening, we'll explore the cute port town of Enkuizen on a short walking tour and then eat in a small local restaurant near the main street of town.
Distances: Main Route is 30 miles including the steam train with options for rides of 32 and 43 miles
Day 3
After breakfast we walk to the harbor and board a ferry to sail across the IJsselmeer, crossing from North Holland to the Stavoren harbor in the province of Friesland. Friesland is a relatively rural, unpopulated portion of the country huge that is absolutely beautiful, with huge tracts of farmland, a maze of interconnected canals, and bike paths that lead us from village to village. We follow the route of the famous Elfstedentocht or Eleven Cities tour. Our first stop of the day is Hindeloopen, which has a well-known ice skating museum that includes a tribute to Willem Augustin, our ex-guide who skated with us on many tours. We'll then stop at a local cheese farm for a tour and tasting of the amazing local cheeses. Our next stop is Bolsward, which has a thriving main street and multiple options for lunch. It is then on to our destination for the day of Harlingen, a true North Sea port that has a large fleet of fishing and pleasure boats and is fascinating to wander around. For dinner we'll eat pannekoeken, sort of like large thin pancakes that can be eaten sweet or savory and are a local specialty. Being so far north means that daylight lasts forever, so after dinner we like to walk along the harbor promenade and take silly photos with a statue of The Little Dutch boy, who saved the day by putting his finger in a dike (remember Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates?).
Distance: The Main Route is 35 miles
Day 4
Today we cycle inland and head farther north along the Elfstedentocht. We pass through numerous small villages, all of them with quaint houses and cobblestone centers. A good lunch stop today is the town of Stiens, which is large enough to have multiple restaurant choices but still with fewer than 8,000 inhabitants. Our most northerly point is the town of Holwert and then we head back south to our destination for the evening, the small city of Dokkum. Dokkum is famous for the martyrdom of St Boniface way back in the year 754. The city has some interesting fortifications worth seeing and two breweries in the downtown walking area, one of which focuses on beer recipes from medieval times. We'll have time to do a quick tasting there. We check into our hotel, which is the oldest hotel in all of Friesland, and eat dinner in the hotel's restaurant.
Distance: The Main Route is 44 miles
Day 5
We head south on the Elfstedentocht route with our main stop of the day the city of Leeuwarden. Leeuwarden is the largest city in Friesland but is still only 127,000 people. You can visit the Fries Museum, where you can study the history and art of the Province, or explore the Oldehove leaning tower for excellent views of the city. It might be too early for lunch but you could consider purchasing fixings for a picnic lunch on the route. Or continue on your way on bike paths passing through one small village after another. We go through the towns of Wommels and Easterein, which have a few lunch options, and then continue on to Sneek. Sneek is the liveliest town we visit on this tour (although still small at 34,000 residents) and we'll have plenty to do tonight. The town has a great, walkable center including a pedestrian-only street. Tonight we'll eat a delicious Indonesian dinner. (The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia - consequently, there are now many Dutch citizens of Indonesian descent).
Distance: Main Route is 44 miles
Day 6
We spend another night in Sneek tonight and so have a loop route from Sneek. Sneek is a sailing city, even though not on the sea, thanks to the many canals and lakes in the area. The area south of the city is full of lakes and our bike paths take us around several of these and along numberous canals. We'll pass through our final two cities in the Elfstedentocht race, IJlst and Sloten. Returning to our hotel, we'll say goodbye to our bikes since they will be picked up and we'll be on foot tomorrow. Tonight is our last evening and we'll celebrate with a nice, typical Dutch dinner before perhaps hitting a local pub for a post-dinner celebration.
Distance: Main Route is 47 miles and short option is 40 miles
Day 7
After breakfast, we take a guided walking tour of Sneek. We'll learn about the history of the city, which dates back to the 10th century, and its life as a significant trading port thanks to its position on nearby rivers. In the late 1400s the town started erecting fortified walls and all this makes for a fascinating walk. It is then "vaarwel" (good bye) and we will drop your luggage off at the local train station while you walk there. You can catch a train to Amsterdam or directly to the airport.
Book this TourTrip Accommodations
NIGHTS 1 & 2 >> HOTEL DE PORT VAN CLEVE / ENKHUIZEN
We have stayed in this hotel many times on our previous tours. It is an historic hotel in a building from the 17th century and has been operating as a hotel since 1900. The location is perfect, steps from the main harbor and smack in the middle of the old town. We will spend our first two nights here, taking in the history and beauty of the area.
NIGHT 3 >> HOTEL ZEESICHT/ HARLINGEN
The Zeesicht (or Sea View) gets its name from its location looking out over the North Sea port of Harlingen. You can smell the sea from your window and watch boats going to and fro. We love the location and the comfort - the 24 rooms have been recently updated.
NIGHT 4 >> HOTEL DE POSTHOORN/ DOKKUM
The Posthoorn is the oldest hotel in Friesland. There was a hotel on the site that was first mentioned in 1568 and the Posthoorn name is from 1732. The name represents its role as a stop on the stagecoach line of the era. The hotel is situated right downtown and is perfect for exploring Dokkum.
NIGHTS 5 & 6 >> MARKT 23 / SNEEK
Our final two nights of the tour are spent in the Markt 23 Hotel, which is the name of the address. Located right on the main market square and above a busy restaurant, this small hotel has only 12 rooms. Again the hotel is perfectly located in the center of busy and fun Sneek.
Book this TourArrival & Departure
We will meet you in the town of Enkhuizen after lunch on the first day of the tour. You can take a direct train from Amsterdam to Enkhuizen in under an hour; from the airport it is about 90 minutes with one change. There are many direct flight options from various U.S. cities to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), which is third largest airport in Europe. The tour ends in Harlingen. We'll shuttle you to the local train station, where you can catch a train for the 2.5 hour trip back to Amsterdam. Because many flights leave in the morning back to the US, you'll likely want to spend one night in Amsterdam before departing the following day.
What's Included
- Two Zephyr guides accompany each trip, with a third added as necessary.
- Double occupancy lodging is included. If you are traveling solo, we will match you with another traveler of the same gender. However, you may pay a single supplement to have your own room.
- All of your dinners and breakfasts are included. Gratuity for these meals is also included. In general, we leave lunches open so that you have time to explore and enjoy the local flavors en route.
- Luggage transfers, steam train on Day 2, and boat ferry on Day 3 are all included. Note there is no support van on this tour.
- All group activities are included.
- NOT INCLUDED Bike rental, beverages, desserts, lunches, gratuities to your guides, personal expenses and travel to and from the destination.
Weather
The average high temperature in our tour area in July is a pleasant 66 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. At night, temperatures average around 55 degrees. We may experience some rain during our trip so you'll want to make sure to bring light rain resistant layers.
Route Directions
This tour uses a variety of paths and roads and each day’s route involves a high number of turns. We provide you with detailed route directions to follow instead of maps, so you need to be able to navigate these by yourself or stay with someone who enjoys reading route directions. Anyone can do this with a little practice!
Trail Conditions
Though there will be plenty of smooth trails, we will sometimes skate on imperfect surfaces and bricked streets in the small towns we encounter so you should be comfortable skating over obstacles.
Changes to Your Itinerary
While everything under “What is Included” on the right side column will remain the same, the actual restaurants, hotels, and activities listed in our itineraries are subject to modifications. Changes that are out of our control are common – a restaurant closes or loses its awesome chef, a winery changes its visiting hours, a hotel gets remodeled, a road or trail undergoes construction. You are entrusting us to create an outstanding vacation for you and so it is possible we may take the liberty of making necessary changes (even at the last minute, during the guides’ scout trip) to the itinerary that will improve your overall trip experience. If there is any one experience that is going to make or break your trip, please discuss this with us in advance! We will attempt to keep our website itinerary as current as possible and communicate any major changes with you in the weeks prior to the tour.
Related Blog Posts
The Original Inline Skating Tour: The Netherlands
September 27, 2018
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May 3, 2019
Still Skating? How and Where to Buy Inline Skates
April 2, 2015
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