This wonderful bike and barge trip starts and ends in Amsterdam, taking you through the provinces of South and North Holland while spring flowers are in bloom. You will spend time in the historical cities of Haarlem, Leiden, Gouda and Alkmaar, and learn about the water management of these lowlands near the North Sea. You will also visit the famous Keukenhof gardens, known for their thousands of blooming tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and other bulb flowers. The world-famous Aalsmeer flower auction is also on the program, where an astonishing volume of beautiful flowers are traded daily and exported all over the world. You will visit the open-air museum of the Zaanse Schans with its windmills, cheese farm, and picturesque wooden houses. The beautiful, varied scenery and wonderful bikeways of this tour of Holland will surprise and delight you.
Green = Open | Yellow = Limited | Red = Full
2024
Prices are per person in US Dollars – inclusive bike rental
Terms and Conditions
DAY 1
Amsterdam – Haarlem – warmup ride
When you arrive on board the ship at 1.30 p.m., you can put your luggage away in your cabin and then enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while becoming acquainted with the guide, crew, and of course your fellow passengers. We will then leave Amsterdam, cruising on the river Amstel to Spaarndam. From Spaarndam we will cycle our first kilometers to Haarlem. At dinnertime, the program for the next day and the routine for the rest of the week will be explained. After dinner, we will take a walk through the charming and quaint city of Haarlem.
DAY 2
Haarlem – Keukenhof – Leiden – 23 miles (38 km)
Today’s trip will take us through the oldest tulip fields of Holland to the world-famous Keukenhof gardens. This is considered the most beautiful flower bulb park in the world. The Keukenhof is the place where the spring comes to life. We will see an overwhelming blaze of colors: seven million flowering tulips on a magnificent background of 80 acres of traditional and modern gardening architecture. You’ll be able to admire hyacinths, daffodils and many other colorful flowers. After our visit to the garden, in the afternoon we will bike to the city of Leiden where our lovely barge awaits. Tonight there’s a town walk through the historical city of Leiden, the oldest university in the country, and also the birthplace of Rembrandt.
DAY 3
Leiden – Gouda – 19 or 24 miles (32 or 40 km)
In the morning, as we enjoy breakfast, the barge will leave Leiden. Our bike tour will start not far outside of Leiden and leads us through the “green heart” of Holland. Near Zoeterwoude, we will visit a cheese farm where we will learn about the cheese-making process and have the opportunity to taste the results! In the afternoon we reach Gouda, famous for Gouda cheese. This town has an attractive, compact center with a pretty market square and Gothic town hall. The main church of Gouda, devoted to Saint John, is world famous for its stained glass windows. After dinner there is a walk through town.
DAY 4
Gouda – Kudelstaart – 12 or 27 miles (20 or 44 km)
In the morning we will stay in Gouda, where you’ll have time to admire the stained glass windows in the St. John’s Church or to enjoy one of the sidewalk cafés in Gouda’s famous main square. In the market square you’ll find the beautiful Town Hall, one of the few remaining examples of Gothic architecture in Holland. Every hour the city hall’s chimes sing out, and you’ll have the option to watch a puppet show depicting the moment city rights were given to Gouda back in 1272 by Earl Floris V. We will leave by barge around noon and have a light lunch on board. From Alphen aan de Rijn we will have a beautiful bike ride through the green heart of South Holland via the river Drecht and the Amstel-Drecht channel to Kudelstaart.
DAY 5
Kudelstaart – Amsterdam – Zaanse Schans – 18 miles (31 km)
Early this morning (7 a.m.) we will have a coffee, and then begin biking to the flower auction of Aalsmeer, the largest of Europe. Here, huge quantities of flowers are trucked in and sold every day, after which they’re distributed all over Europe. After our visit we will return to our ship for a late breakfast. Our bike tour then continues through the Amsterdamse Bos, west of Amsterdam, to Zaanse Schans, a unique hamlet with original houses and windmills from the river Zaan area and where people live and work. The hamlet is dominated by operating windmills (the oldest built in 1673) which grind mustard, spices, paint, and oil, and also saw wood into planks. As we walk through the village we will see a clock museum, an old-fashioned grocery store, a house with period furniture, a clog maker, and a cheese farm.
DAY 6
Zaanse Schans – Alkmaar – 18 or 24 miles (29 or 40 km)
After breakfast our bike tour leads us to the beautiful town of De Rijp. Centuries of history are still evident here in De Rijp’s wooden facades, beautiful church, lock, and town hall. Our ride continues across the Beemster Polder, an almost untouched open polder landscape. Our next stop will be at the former windmill complex of the Schermer Polder. Here we will visit the Schermerhorn Windmill Museum. After that we will bike to Alkmaar, the town known as “Cheese City.” As we wander through the streets, the beauty of Alkmaar’s Old Town with its well-preserved 17th century buildings and narrow, winding canals will amaze you. Today there will be no dinner on board, and you can select one of the local restaurants of Alkmaar.
DAY 7
Alkmaar – Amsterdam – 22 or 33 miles (37 or 54 km)
This morning we will bike to the Hortus Bulborum, a unique garden museum dedicated to the preservation of rare and historic bulbs. More than 4,000 tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and other flowers are planted here. Next, we will cycle through the unique area of Waterland back to Amsterdam. During the afternoon and evening you will have time to visit the city. Amsterdam began as a simple village at the mouth of the River Amstel but expanded rapidly with its famous rings of canals during its Golden Age. The palace on the Dam Square is sometimes called the 8th Wonder of the World because it’s built on 13,659 wooden piles. Amsterdam today is a cosmopolitan city with 40 museums, close to one million inhabitants, and a thriving economy.
DAY 8
Tour Ends
Our tour concludes after breakfast, with departure around 9 a.m.
The barges listed below are examples of those usually used on the tour. Depending on availability, you may be booked in a different barge of equal quality.
FLEUR
20 people – The Fleur started cruising in 2002. This tasteful passenger barge with its sleek lines was built to fit the smaller locks and canals in France and has been sailing the French waters ever since. There are 10 comfortable guest cabins on the Fleur, and each comes equipped with a private bathroom. The barge comes equipped with central heating and air conditioning. The barge also features a lounge, a roomy sitting area, a cozy bar, and a sun deck.
ZWAANTJE
24 people – The MPS Zwaantje, which means “Little Swaan”, is a wonderful comfort class barge. A nice and cozy salon with large panoramic windows, a restaurant area, lounge corner and a small bar are on the upper deck where you can enjoy and relax. Cabins are 6.93 meters squared. This barge provides heating, air-conditioning, hair dryers, and limited wifi.
- 2 Double cabins
- 10 Twin cabins
Magnifique I
32 people – The new premium barge Magnifique I will join our fleet in 2024. The upper deck has a tastefully furnished salon with a restaurant area, a nice bar and a lounge area with sitting corners, air-conditioning, TV and large panoramic windows. Wi-Fi is available. Large glass doors open to the beautiful partially roofed teak wood sundeck with chairs and tables between the salon and the wheelhouse. Bicycles are stored on the front deck. All beautifully decorated cabins are on lower deck and have en-suite bathrooms, air-conditioning, a mini-safe and a hair-dryer; the windows can not be opened for security reasons.
- 12 Twin cabins
- 2 Junior Suite cabins
Magnifique III
40 people – The premium ship Magnifique III has been launched in 2018. The upper deck has a large, tastefully furnished salon with a restaurant area, a nice bar and a lounge area with cozy sitting corners, a wide screen TV and large panoramic windows. There are also two TV screens (a camera and a navigation system) to see the real-time movement and position of the barge. Large glass doors open to the beautiful partially roofed teak wood sundeck with chairs and tables on the aft deck. There is a cycle deck on the front deck. On the top deck, the barge has a whirlpool/Jacuzzi and some deckchairs to relax and enjoy the scenery while cruising.
- 5 Suite cabins
- 14 twin cabins
Despite the size constraints of the ship, everything was comfortable. The crew did an excellent job being helpful and friendly. The food was great. We enjoyed the daily rides.
Linda and Scott Wolpert, April 2023
Thank you for expertly planning our tour –the Deluxe Springtime Tour was simply wonderful! The Sarah crew and cycling guides were professional, knowledgeable, attentive, and friendly. The food was delicious, the accommodations were clean and comfortable, and the bicycles and cycling accessories were in excellent condition
Janira and Robert Dickerson, April 2022
Although we have been on organized bike trips in the past, this was the first bike/barge trip which we loved. The guides and staff on the barge were excellent. The chef did a wonderful job providing great meals with a lot of variety along with serving local specialties. The Deluxe tour lived up to its expectations with beautiful flowers and great bike rides
Mary-Ellen and Wayne Heike, April 2022
Great guides, variety of landscapes
Bill and Barbara Roerink, April 2022
The daily trips were well planned, not rushed, informative, with pleasant breathtaking views. Intimate friendly groups, knowledgeable informative pleasant guides. Excellent food and accommodation on the boat. Well organized with good communication with passengers. Tours were superb.
Roz and Jeffrey Therrien, April 2022
We had a wonderful tour, perfect weather, great staff on the boat. The day to day guidance was fantastic and staff’s sense of humor and joy was just great. The food was amazing and Chef Frank prepared food for guten-free, vegetarian, pre-diabetic and “regular” meals with flare! The guides were just great, knowledgeable, fun, and energetic. We had long and shorter ride options each day. The captain, first mate, and “boat mom” Karen, took wonderful care of everyone. Our group were mostly in the 50-70’s with one couple in their 30’s. You could ride on your own using the “Ride with GPS” or with the two guides. We all road with he guides as they provided narration as we went. 3 individual chose the ebike option.
Anna and Jay Keller, April 2022
I appreciated all the walking tours at night and stops we made along the route, like the family cheese farm, flower auction and other stops. It was a great opportunity to learn about the history of Holland and how people are currently thriving. I was so impressed with how much pride the Dutch people have. It shows in their homes, businesses, farmland, streets, bike-friendly communities, and centuries of harnessing their abundant water resources.
Lisa and Steve Nute, April 2022
Our experience with VGT was very good. It was one of the best vacations I have taken with just my husband. We liked that the groups were small and that we had guides who knew where they were going and could discuss the areas in which we biked. The people in the group were congenial, so we enjoyed getting to know everyone. Although the weather was somewhat chilly, I was prepared for cooler days than my husband who could have used a warmer jacket. He basically only had a wind breaker and that didn’t keep him warm at night as we visited the various towns. The packing list was very thorough; I didn’t have too many extraneous clothes, and the communication was superb. Given that we booked this tour in 2019, VGT stayed in touch with us and gave us options regarding changing or refunding our tour. We had only heard good things about the tour, so we just waited. Also, the bikes were in good shape. If one doesn’t bike often, I recommend using the e-bike; it helped me to stay up with the group. We had so much fun that we have been recommending it to all our friends and would like to take another tour in the not too distant future.
Melissa Holiday, April 2022
Excellent tour. The food was varied and delicious. The guide had an in depth knowledge of our route plus gave walking tours with interesting facts each evening. The boat captain dealt efficiently with the challenges of last minute changes out of his control in order to ensure we saw everything. . Van Gogh is an excellent company to deal with, we had no issues at all and Denise even met us at the boat prior to departure to ensure everything was fine. Bikes we had reserved were there waiting for us as well. Really recommend Van Gogh.
David & Chelle Leadbetter, April 2022
