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Dutch Bike Tours Cycling holiday Dunes and Canals Tour
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Dunes and Canals Tour
Dunes and Canals Tour
Type :
Hybrid :
E-Bike :
Duration :
8 days
Cycling days :
 6
Comfort :
period:
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Code:
8-02
Culture Nature Seacoast History Amsterdam
price from € 904
Dunes and Canals Tour
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Dunes and Canals Tour

Bike Tour: Dunes and Canals Tour - 8 days

This very attractive cycle route takes you on a tour of an enchanting variety of landscapes: woods, lakes, polders, meadows, dunes, beaches, canals and rivers. Learn all about the Zuiderzee Works, whereby sea was transformed into lake, and part of the lake was made into land. Discover Holland’s Golden Age in the historical buildings of ancient trading towns. Spend a day on the coast, and another in Amsterdam. Check out Alkmaar’s world famous cheese market, and find out everything you always wanted to know about windmills! As on all our carefree cycle tours, we provide luggage transfer and excellent accommodation.

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Route
Day 1: Arrival in Utrecht
Day 2: Utrecht - Amsterdam
Day 3: Amsterdam - Zandvoort
Day 4: Zandvoort - Alkmaar
Day 5: Alkmaar - Enkhuizen
Day 6: Enkhuizen - Harderwijk
Day 7: Harderwijk - Utrecht
Day 8: Return Home

Day 1:    Arrival in Utrecht

Arrival in Utrecht. 

Day 2:    Utrecht - Amsterdam
62 km

Idyllic scenery today as you cycle to Amsterdam on the banks of the lovely River Vecht. Characteristic for this area are the many stately homes and summerhouses built by rich Amsterdam merchants in the 17th and 18th Centuries. At the end of the day, Amsterdam awaits! Everyone has their own reasons for loving this remarkable city. What will yours be?

Day 3:    Amsterdam - Zandvoort
32 km

There’s so much to see and do in Amsterdam. Have you seen the new and improved Rijksmuseum? The Maritime Museum, Van Gogh, Anne Frank…? Then take your leave of the city, set those wheels in motion and head west. As you approach elegant Haarlem, St. Bavo basilica dominates the skyline. A great city for shopping, the pedestrianized city centre is a delight. Look up at the façades of historical buildings on the wonderful main market square. Will you have enough time to pop in at Frans Hals museum of 17th-century Dutch masters? Be sure to make it to the beach in time to see the sun set into the sea! Zandvoort is a well-known seaside resort. 

Day 4:    Zandvoort - Alkmaar
53 km

The sandy beaches of the North Sea are backed by dune systems that safeguard the hinterland from the sea. Today you will cycle through a Dune Reserve and a National Park that protect the many species of dune flora and fauna. 

Day 5:    Alkmaar - Enkhuizen
61 km

Alkmaar is known worldwide for its traditional cheese market, which is still held as a tourist attraction on Friday mornings from early April to early September. On today’s scenic coast-to-coast bike ride you will stop off at the picturesque village of Schermerhorn on the border of Schermer and Beemster polders. Schermerhorn was an island of whalers until, in the 17th century, private investors from Amsterdam decided to transform the lakes surrounding the village into polders and then sell off the new land. The polders were drained by windmills that scooped the water up over the dike into a discharge canal. Just outside the village stand three of the windmills that did this job – and what a pretty picture they make! Opt to visit Schermer Museum Windmill and experience the workings and rhythmic creaking of the moving parts. “The Beemster Polder, dating from the early 17th century, is an exceptional example of reclaimed land in the Netherlands. It has preserved intact its well-ordered landscape of fields, roads, canals, dykes and settlements, laid out in accordance with classical and Renaissance planning principles” is how the entry on the World Heritage List reads. On the shore of Lake IJsselmeer, you will see the Dutch Golden Age reflected in the historical buildings of the pretty towns of Hoorn and Enkhuizen. For a history lesson go to Zuiderzee Museum. It boasts a recreated village of old, complete with traditional craftsmen in folk costume. You can also learn about the trading routes sailed by seafaring villagers from the shores of the Zuiderzee: For centuries, dried fish and Edam cheese were exported all over Europe; grain from Poland was shipped to Italy; wine shipped back to Amsterdam etc.

Day 6:    Enkhuizen - Harderwijk
61 km

A 32-km dike will take you across the waters to the town of Lelystad in the Flevo Polder, the newest part of the Netherlands, reclaimed in 1968! Lelystad is named after the architect of the Zuiderzee Works, Cornelis Lely. The Zuiderzee Works started with the building of the great closure dam (1932) that cut off Zuiderzee sea from the North Sea. It turned a choppy sea into a harmless lake and put a stop to regular floods. Subsequently, polders were created in the lake because there was a great need for more farmland. Museum Nieuwland explains in detail why and how the Flevo Polder came to be and how it affected the people who used to live by the sea.  Our bicycle route continues on the new land, through woods and cropfields, while we try to imagine how much fun spatial planners and urban planners must have had planning this whole place from scratch. At the end of the day you will reach Harderwijk. Once upon a time it was a bustling Hansa town and a thriving fishing port by the sea  - but now it’s on a lake overlooking a polder!  

Day 7:    Harderwijk - Utrecht
61 km

Along the shores of Randmeren lakes you’ll reach Hertog Reijnout steam-driven pumping station (1883-1983), used to drain Arkemheen polder. The next stop is Spakenburg, a former fishing village with a picturesque museum harbour and shipyard for “botters”, Zuiderzee fishing boats. In the afternoon, the woods hold all kinds of surprises including a royal palace, a famous pancake inn and a treetop climbing park.  

Day 8:    Return Home

After breakfast in your hotel, you will return home.

Prices

Starting dates:
Daily from April 1 till September 23.

Please note: a minimum stay of 2 nights in a row is required in the hotel in Amsterdam on the following dates (and a higher price will be charged):

April 18-20 2025
April 25-26 2025
May 29-31 2025
June 6-8 2025
June 21-22 2025
June 24-25 2025
August 29-31 2025

 


Price pp
Double room, breakfast 899.00
Single room, breakfast 1,284.00
Extra night double room, breakfast only 80.00
Upgrades pp/night
Hotel Mitland, Utrecht 40.00
Westcord Art Hotel, Amsterdam 10.00
Surcharge per person
Stay in Amsterdam on Saturday 25.00
Stay in Amsterdam from:
18 Apr 2025 - 20 Apr 2025
25 Apr 2025 - 26 Apr 2025
29 May 2025 - 31 May 2025
06 Jun 2025 - 08 Jun 2025
21 Jun 2025 - 22 Jun 2025
24 Jun 2025 - 25 Jun 2025
29 Aug 2025 - 31 Aug 2025
40.00
Rental bike
Child bike 77.00
Hybrid 91.00
E-bike 196.00
Extra services
Bike Breakdown pass € 4.00 x 7 28.00
Child seat € 5.00 x 7 35.00
Bike theft insurance € 3.00 x 7 21.00
E-bike theft insurance € 6.00 x 7 42.00
Extra luggage € 5.00 x 7 35.00
Tag-along bike € 10.00 x 7 70.00
Child trailer € 18.00 x 7 126.00
Bike helmet per piece 10.00
SGR per piece 5.00

Starting point:
Utrecht, Bunnik or Amsterdam

Accommodation

The hotels and the B&B on this trip have been carefully selected for their location, atmosphere and/or unique services. All rooms are en-suite. A list of the accomodation we work with appears below. If a certain accomodation is unable to confirm due to lack of availability, we will try to request a comparable alternative if possible. 

When selecting the accomodation, we try to take into account as much as possible a safe and closed bicycle shed. However, we cannot do this with all of them guarantee and this partly depends on the number of bicycles of other guests.

Hotel Mitland **** (Utrecht)
Westcord Art Hotel ***/**** (Amsterdam)
NH Zandvoort **** (Zandvoort)
Grand Hotel Alkmaar **** (Alkmaar)
Hotel Restaurant Die Port van Cleve *** (Enkhuizen)
Best Western Hotel Baars **** (Harderwijk)
Bikes

If you don’t bring your own bike, you can rent one from us. Our touring bikes are 24-speed gear. You can find all the information regarding our rental bikes below.

You will find your rental bike waiting for you at your first hotel. The hotel reception staff will give you the keys for your bikes and direct you to the bicycle shed. All bikes are provided with chain locks. 

Why the Dutch don't wear helmets! 

Instruction video hybrid bike and e-bike

 



Our hybrid bikes have 24-gears with hand brakes. 
The hybrid bikes are circa 16,5 KG.

Rental bike

The e-bikes have a small electric engine and battery, which can be charged at the hotels. You still have to pedal: it just makes pedaling much easier. Some experience with e-bikes is recommended, as the bikes accelerate faster and are heavier than regular bikes because of the electric engine. The weight of the e-bike is ca. 25 KG. We recommend a minimum height of 160 cm for the e-bike.

E-bike

For children who are at least 120 cm, we can also arrange bikes (these are 24”or 26” for children that are bigger than 140 cm). 
The child bikes come with at least 7-gears and hand brakes. 
The maximum body height for a child’s bike is 155 cm. 

24" child bike:

26" child bike:
Child bike 26 inch

Bell

All our rental bikes come with a bell.


Brakes

All our adult bikes come with hand brakes. 


Childseat

For children up to 30 months old (max. 15 KG) it is possible to rent a front child seat. This is not possible with e-bikes, due to the display.

For children older than 30 months (max. 22KG) it is possible to rent a rear child seat. This is also possible with e-bikes.

Both front- and rear child seats are €5,- per day.  


Helmet

Helmets are not mandatory in the Netherlands, but can be rented for €10,- per piece.
Available sizes: Adult: 54-61 cm, Child: 50-55 cm (only available for children over 5 years). 


Lights

All our bikes come with both front- and rear lights. You need to push the button on the lamp and it will flash three times. This means that the lights will automatically start working when it gets dark. 

When you push again, the lamp will flash one time and the lights will be turned off.


Locks

Our bikes come with a defender lock with plug in chain (cable lock that is attached to the regular lock, see picture).

You need to turn the key a bit, take out the pin from the cable lock and attach it to a pole/other bike/fence etc.

When you push the pin back into the regular lock, you need to lock the regular lock as you always do, and both locks will be secured.


Pannier

1 pannier is included at the 'standard' bikes and the e-bikes.

Height: 42 cm
Depth front to the side: 17 cm
Wide top: 32 cm
Wide down: 23 cm
Volume: 20 liters
It has an easy click-on/click-off system. The panniers are water resistant, so everything will stay dry.


Pedals

The rental bikes come with regular pedals, so no click-in/SPD pedals. 


Quickrelease

All our bikes come with a quick release system, which makes it very easy to adjust the height of the saddle and the handle bars. 


Repairkit

There is one small puncture kit included, which can be found in the pannier. In case a rental bike has another problem, we always advise you to go to a bike repair shop or call the bike breakdown emergency number which is provided in the travel documents when you book this extra service.


Saddle

Saddles can be adjusted in height without using any tools, see ‘Quick Release’.
Our saddles don’t come with a gel cover. 


Waterbottles

Dutch Biketours does not provide water bottles. We can also not guarantee that there are bottle holders on the bikes. You will always receive 1x pannier, so you can always store your water bottle in your pannier.


We have a limited amount of tandem bikes available on request.
Tandem bikes are suitable for two adults only.
The tandem bikes have a frame size of 48 cm.
We mostly use the Victoria Spezial 8.7.
This tandem bike comes with 24-derailleur gears or nuvinci gears.
The height of the handle bars on a tandem bike cannot be adjusted.

We have limited family tandem bikes available on request.
The family tandems have 7-gears and can be used for one adult and one child with a minimum body height of 125 cm.

 

A tag-along bike is a good option for children between approx. 100 cm and 125 cm, as they can pedal themselves and on their own pace but don’t have to worry about other traffic.

 

Child trailers can be rented for a maximum of two children who are up to 100 cm (max. 35 KG in total).
We mostly use the XLC Duo 2 child trailer.
Child trailers are not possible in combination with e-bikes.  

Mile after wonderful mile of untroubled cycling is what we would wish our clients. However there is a minimal chance of breakdown along the way. If this thought is a nagging worry to you, a Bicycle Breakdown Assistance insurance policy may ease your mind. If you buy this insurance from our partner ANWB pechhulp in advance, their service is as follows. The costs are €4,- per bicycle per day. If your bike breaks down by the roadside an ANWB bicycle repair man will drive to you in his repair van and fix your bike so you can continue your tour. You won’t have to pay him repair costs. If you are cycling on your own bicycle you will be charged for any new spare parts your bike may require. If you are renting a bicycle through Dutch Bike Tours any new parts are at our expense. If it turns out the bicycle cannot be repaired on the spot, or if you can't continue cycling, the repairman can drop you off somewhere in his van. One companion plus bikes may join you in the van.

Do you wish to insure your bike against theft? The cost is € 3,- per day per standard hybrid bicycle.
For an electric bicycle, premium bike or racing bike: € 6,00 per day per bicycle.
Please see the General Terms and Conditions for Bicycle Hire and Insurance. 

If a rental bike gets stolen or damaged, we will hold the client responsible.
If your insurance does not cover this event, you will have to pay the costs yourself.

Article 1 Bike Rental Price

The bike rental price is determined by the rates mentioned on the Dutch Bike Tours website at the time of the booking; or as subsequently agreed.

Article 2 Payment

a. The rental price and any other due sums regarding the rental agreement must be paid before the bike is handed over to you.

b. If, for whatever reason, you cannot make use of the bike(s) you have rented, Dutch Bike Tours will not be held responsible for any resulting expenses or damage.

c. In the case of the article 2b, the client remains obliged to pay the full rental price and any other amounts mentioned in the invoice, in accordance with our General Terms and Conditions of Booking, unless the client can prove that his not being able to use the bike was the consequence of a defect that was already present at the beginning of the rental period.

Article 3 Rental Period

a. The rental period runs from the morning of the first cycling day (day 2) to the end of the holiday (the departure day), as stated in the booking confirmation.

b. Extension of the rental period is possible only after approval by us and according to the (extension) rates as mentioned in article 1.

c. No refunds are possible after the rental period begins. If you return the bike(s) to us before the end of your holiday, the rental agreement will automatically be terminated and you will not get any of your money back.

d. At the end of the last cycling day of your holiday, the bike(s) must be returned to the hotel from where it was/they were issued, no later than the time stated in the booking confirmation.
If you book a one way tour tour you can leave the bike at the last hotel of the trip. 

e. If the bike(s) is /are not returned by the return time stated in the booking confirmation, we will continue to charge you rent until such time as the bike(s) is/are returned to us or is/are received by us. In the event of late return, the rates as mentioned in article 1 will continue to apply, plus a fine of €25 per day. We also reserve the right to demand payment for any costs and/or damages suffered by us due to late return of our rental bike(s).

f. Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, in the event of late return of our rental bikes, we reserve the right to dissolve the rental agreement without judicial intervention and immediately claim back our bicycles where ever they may be and from whomever has them. Dutch Bike Tours also holds this right in the event that the client does not comply with any of the other conditions stated in this rental agreement.

Article 4 Improper Use

a. The bicycle(s) may only be used for its/their intended purpose and only by the cyclists listed in the rental agreement.

b. The bike(s) must be returned to us in the same (clean!) state in which you received it/them.

c. You must take excellent care of the bicycle(s), as if it/they were your own. You must take every precaution against damage, loss or theft.

d. The bicycle may not be used on the beach; or on sandy paths in the dunes unless a paved path is unavailable.

Article 5 Damage, Loss and Theft

The renter will be held responsible for damages to or loss of the bicycle(s) or parts of it, as well as bicycle keys and chains and locks, for such an amount as is determined by us according to standard market prices. You must understand that you are not insured for damage to the bicycle(s) or for any damages to third parties.

Article 6 Theft Insurance

It is possible to purchase Bicycle Theft Insurance. Covered are: damages arising out of the theft of the bicycle; and damages to the bicycle as a consequence of the theft. Not covered are: theft of bicycle parts; and damages arising out of attempted theft.

Article 7 Theft Insurance Premium

a. The premium for Bicycle Theft Insurance is € 3,00 per day per standard hybrid bicycle. For an electric bicycle € 6,00 per day as well for a Premium bike and racing bike.

The number of insurance days is the same as the number of cycling days as stated in our booking confirmation.

Article 8 Liability in the Event of Theft

a. If you did not purchase Bicycle Theft Insurance from us before the start of the holiday, you will be held fully accountable for the sum determined by us according to standard prices.

b. If you did purchase Bicycle Theft Insurance from us, but you failed to lock the wheel lock and failed to produce the original wheel lock key and failed to produce an official theft report drawn up by the police, you will still be held fully accountable for the sum determined by us according to standard prices.

Article 9 Costs During the Rental Period

Any charges and taxes regarding the rental bicycle(s), such as fines and ferry tickets, are to be paid by you. You will also be required to pay all costs ensuing from the use of the bicycle(s) such as parking fees, maintenance and repairs.

 

Practical info

7 Nights included

3/4 Star Hotels

Tourist tax included

Breakfast included

Detailed roadbooks with maps and tourist information

The possibility of renting our bikes

7-days a week service-hotline

Luggage transport to your next hotel

CS Utrecht

Parking possibilities at the hotel

GPS-tracks availible

Any ferry crossings are not included

Arrival info

Nearest Airport is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS)

The train from Schiphol to Utrecht departs 4 times per hour. Travel time is about 30 minutes. A single ticket costs approx €10- per person excl. bicycle.

For timetables and tickets, go to www.ns.nl/en. For bus details, how to reach the hotel, check: www.9292.nl/en.

Reviews

17-09-2024

Well paced through beautiful and interesting landscapes. Great for a solo female traveller.


Maureen Small - US

21-08-2018

...liked the route along the coast and beside the zee...

04-08-2015

....We were on the Dunes & Canals Tour from July 14-July 21. Overall we had a grand time seeing the Netherlands by bike. The bikes were excellent, accommodations fine, and the trip was well organized. The ride on the Dike  from Hoorn to Enkhuizen  with the wind at our backs was bliss!! Also the ride north in the Dunes towards Alkmaar was magnificent!! We would take another trip with you; and probably stay more than one day in at least one hotel. Thank you for a wonderful adventure!!....

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