Tulip Tour - Bike and Boat Holland's Famous Tulip Fields

Explore Amsterdam, Aalsmeer flower auction, the Keukenhof Gardens, and more

Biking in Holland is one thing, boating another, and both are fabulous.

Holland is the land of bicycles and the land of water, after all. Include tulips in the mix, and you have something even more wonderful... a bike and boat tour during peak Tulip season. Pure joy!

You head south from Amsterdam and once in Leiden, head north again, encountering the very best bulb fields. In Lisse, you will visit the Keukenhof, the garden of the world. Continuing north, your bike and boat itinerary continues to showcase the very best of Holland during Tulip season as you pedal through the wide-open color-infused flower fields.

Enjoy loads of extras including a visit to the flower auction in Aalsmeer, the largest flower auction in the world. No tour in Holland should overlook cheese. Your visit to a local working cheese farm and a cheese auction shows you the cheese-making process. The open-air museum, Zaanse Schans, is also on the agenda where the 18th and 19th centuries are brought to life.

Travel by bike and boat and enjoy a wonderful cycling vacation during peak tulip season.

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Highlights

• Exciting Amsterdam
• Aalsmeer flower auction
• Leiden, the birthplace of Rembrandt
• Historic Haarlem
• Keukenhof
• Holland's glorious flower fields
• Zaanse Schans, Historic windmills and village
• Quo Vadis, on a premium vessel

Daily program

Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a bustling metropolis, humming with energy. Here you will find history, art, and architecture. Before boarding, be sure to explore the Dutch capital on your own as all the major tourist highlights are within easy walking distance from the mooring location of the barge. At 3 pm, the crew will welcome you on board with coffee and tea.

Day 2: Amsterdam - Kudelstaart (23 mi/37 km)
Leaving Amsterdam, heading south, you cycle through the lush Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest), through Schiphol to Aalsmeer, home to the world's biggest flower auction house. Aalsmeer is near the Westeinderplassen, a nature reserve that you will cycle through with Kudelstaart as your final destination.

Day 3: Kudelstaart - Leiden (34 mi/55 km)
Bright and early, you cycle to the Aalsmeer bright and early to experience the auction. After, you will pedal through the beautiful Dutch landscape through the green heart of Holland with a stop at a traditional cheese farm. The route then leads in the direction of Leiden, the birthplace of Rembrandt. In the evening, you will have time for a walk through the old university city of Leiden.

Day 4: Leiden - Keukenhof - Haarlem (25 mi/40 km)
Today you follow the route of the annual Flower Parade Route, a 40km route that leads to Haarlem through Lisse to visit the famous Keukenhof today. The Keukenhof displays 6 million tulips, narcissi, hyacinths, and other bulb flowers. In the afternoon, you bike through the blooming fields of flowers to Haarlem.

Day 5: Haarlem - Alkmaar (31 mi/50 km)
From Spaarndam, you cycle to the historic city of Zaandam. You visit the open-air museum "Zaanse Schans", featuring a collection of well-preserved historic windmills and houses. Alkmaar, your day's destination, is the city of cheese!

Day 6: Alkmaar - Schagen - Alkmaar (31 mi/50 km)
You cycle a loop around Alkmaar from Schagen which leads to the Anna Pauwlonapolder the largest flower bulb growing area in the world. The return journey takes you along the coast and the ‘Schoorlse Duinen' and ends back in Alkmaar.

Day 7: Alkmaar - Amsterdam (28 mi/45 km)
After a visit to the cheese market in Alkmaar, cycle through polders with beautiful villages such as Beemster, de Rijp, Schermer (mills). The tour ends back in Amsterdam where you have more time to explore.

Day 8: Departure from Amsterdam
Your tour officially ends after breakfast. Disembarkation around 9:30 am

Surface and terrain

You will cycle a flat terrain on well developed bike paths and country roads.

Boats

• Quo Vadis

How to get there

Tour start and end:

Nearest airport: Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS)

From AMS airport, it is just a short train ride to Amsterdam Central Train Station, close to the center where the ships are moored.

Dates

Prices

Included services

• 7 x nights on board the Quo Vadis
• 7 x breakfast, 6 x packed lunches, 5 x three-course dinners, and 1 x four-course dinner
• Welcome meeting and complimentary beverage
• Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and water on board
• Daily cabin cleaning
• Route information
• 8-speed city touring bike
• Helmet
• Cycling tour guide (two guides)
• Admission to Keukenhof, Aalsmeer Flower Auction, Cheese farm, Zaanse Schans, Alkmaar cheese market, Hortis Bulborum Lisse, and evening canal cruise
• Laundry service provided with supplement. See pricing.
• Wifi on board

Bike rentals

• 8-speed city touring bike (included)
• 9-speed electric bike

Accessories included

• Rear pannier 
• Helmet
• Safety lock

Bike Protection:
Bike protection can be purchased at the time of booking. You can read more about that HERE. 

Tour Company