Netherlands Sail & Cycle Tulip Bike Tour

DAY 1: Check in to the Wapen fan Fryslân sailboat by 2:00 pm. Our home away from home holds 20 guests. Each room has two beds and its own bathroom. While sailing toward Volendam on Lake Markermeer, we’ll meet the crew and have an orientation. Then we will have a chance for a short warm-up bike ride.

After dinner on the sailboat, we’ll take a stroll through the harbor town of Volendam. You’ll understand why this picturesque village with its cobbled streets and pointed red-roofed houses was once an artist’s retreat, home to Picasso and Renoir. 4 miles ±51'.

DAY 2: We’ll start the morning with breakfast on the boat. Then, with bag lunches ready to go, we’ll start our bike ride by cycling to the town of  Edam. Its red and yellow wax-covered cheese became recognized around the world during the 17^th century. Sailors took wheels of Edam on their trips because it didn’t spoil and could be traded for spices in the East Indies.

We’ll end our bike ride and meet our boat in Hoorn, a former major port city, after which Cape Horn is named. Then, it’s an afternoon sail to Enkhuizen. We’ll have time to explore this adorable town after dinner. Consider having an aperitif on your own at one of Enkhuizen’s charming restaurants and cafés overlooking the water. 15 miles ±218'.

DAY 3: Today, we set sail for Texel, the largest of the West Frisian Islands that lie in the Wadden Sea. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Wadden Sea is the world’s largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats. You can volunteer to lend a hand hoisting the sails during the 6-hour trip. That exercise will help work up an appetite before our 3-course lunch onboard. Or just relax on deck in the jacuzzi and watch for friendly sea lions.

We’ll anchor for the night in Oudeschild where you can explore the fishing harbor and the Maritime and Beachcombers Museum. 0 miles.

DAY 4: Goedemorgen! Get ready for a fantastic day exploring sand dunes and beaches and being in the company of birds, seals, and grazing sheep. Known as a cycling paradise, Texel is an island of unique flora and fauna, all of which can be seen from its 85 miles of bike paths.

More than a third of the island is deemed a nature reserve, and we‘ll explore the Dunes of Texel National Park that stretches along the entire west coast. At the end of the ride, we’ll visit a local brewery before heading back to our boat for dinner and a cruise to the port of Den Helder on the mainland. 27 – 30 miles ±442'.

DAY 5: Wake up to what will be one of the most colorful days of spring you might ever experience. After breakfast, we’ll set off by bike through the historic tulip fields known as the “Bulb Belt.”

Next, we head to the North Holland Dune Reserve, where the dunes are a wild, windblown landscape of sand, grasses, shaggy red Highland cattle, birds and wooded enclaves. Finally, we arrive in the lively, colorful town of Alkmaar, known as “Cheese City.” Its weekly cheese market is a 400-year-old tradition and one of only four cheese markets still in existence. 21 – 33 miles ±719'.

DAY 6: We trade our bikes for a private bus to take us to the Keukenhof Gardens. Considered the most beautiful spring garden in the world, the park is open only a few weeks every year. You can tip-toe through 800 tulip varieties that are among the park’s 7 million blooming bulbs spread over 80 acres. After lunch, we'll end our day in Alkmaar, one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, known today for its weekly cheese market. 0 miles.

DAY 7: Today's destination is the open-air museum of Zaanse Schans, where we'll watch wooden clogs being made and spices being produced in a windmill. We’ll learn how windmills have been replaced by turbines to pump the water and reclaim the land from the sea. We’ll celebrate the beautiful week at our final dinner together. 27 miles ±418'.

DAY 8: After a farewell breakfast, we’ll disembark from the Wapen fan Fryslan by 9:00 am. We’ll help direct you to the train station for your trip home or onward in Europe. Tot ziens! 0 miles