jefnvk

Hello!

I was wondering if there was anyone who lived in, or frequented, the Netherlands that would care to share some advice on trip planning. The girlfriend and I are planning a trip in late May/early June, and as of yet I have zero routes planned. We will be arriving on a Friday or Saturday, and departing the following Sunday/Monday, for a total plannable time of 8 days (including the arrival day but excluding the departure date). We would like to travel at a leisurely pace, think 20ish miles/35ish km in the morning, a long lunch at a nice attraction, and the same again in the afternoon, with some downtime if we want to spend a bit of time in a particular location or the weather is not cooperating to stay a day or two. Logistically, it is looking like we will arrive and depart AMS, so some sort of circle tour beginning and ending in Amsterdam is preferable.

Any ideas that fit into that general criteria? While it seems the country is overflowing with beautiful bike routes, the availability of information in English is rather lacking, and I am still waiting on my guidebooks to be delivered!

1nterceptor

Been to a few cities in the Netherlands. Although Amsterdam is fun; I prefer the smaller towns.
Try to visit Den Haag(The Hague), Volendam, [B]Scheveningen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPHI...6zPoymgKaIoDLA

paulkal

Gouda and Delft are nice cities.
And as Interceptor wrote, The Hague and Scheveningen are nice.

bikemig 

There is no easier country to travel in on a bike in Europe than the Netherlands. The bike paths are well marked and you can buy high quality maps that provide all the route planning info that you need. Plus the Dutch by and large speak English. I worked on a factory floor in a province called Gelderland. There were 30 guys working on the shop floor and over half of them spoke some English.

Personally I would probably avoid the larger cities. Nothing wrong with them but the cycling is much better, in my opinion, in the countryside. Once you get out of the 2 principal provinces (north and south Holland), you get to really great countryside and it is easier getting in and out of the smaller cities on a bike.

jefnvk

Amsterdam is only a start/end point. Although we will probably want to spend a day there, I definitely am more excited for countryside touring! Den Haag via Haarlem (and now Scheveningen) will probably be our first night's (or last, depending on the direction we circle) destination.

Definitely not missing the Gouda markets

That is what I am hoping. The girlfriend is not really a fan of riding on the road with traffic, which is a large part of why I chose this location. We had a long layover in Amsterdam, where we got to town and rented bikes for a couple hours back in September, and the infrastructure really cemented it for her. Plus, as I mentioned above, I love countryside riding, so I definitely will get out there!

paulkal

A nice route is to follow the coast from Zandvoort to Scheveningen, no cars allowed.
Don't forget to buy Stroopwafels en cheese in Gouda.
A good routeplanner is Fietsersbond Routeplanner

beatlescrazyman

I'm planning a my first long(ish) solo tour from Paris to Amsterdam late may/early june. Perhaps we will cross paths! Very excited to check out the infrastructure in rural Netherlands.

Tandem Tom

Great Post! We arrive in Amsterdam 16 May to start our 7 week tour! Will ride south then east across Germany then north to Denmark then work our way back to Amsterdam.
Looking forward to the cheese!!

jefnvk

We had some good cheese from the Gouda market. Went well with a bottle of bubbles when we arrived in Amsterdam to celebrate completing our first tour! The ride along the beach was nice, but I never want to hear the country is flat after that surprise

Deef1908

Texel is Also a Nice place to cycle , its a island just north of den helder
Nice in the summer especially

If you have a question just ask , i live in Holland myself

Rebecca19804

We have been to the Netherlands several times, in fact we've just returned from a week based in Amsterdam.

I highly recommend "Cycling in Amsterdam and The Netherlands" (a spiral bound book of maps, routes and touring tips) by Eric van der Horst and available to purchase on his blog: The Cycling Dutchman: Amsterdam & Netherlands. We have lent this to several friends, who all report finding it very helpful.

You are in for a treat, cycling in the Netherlands - enjoy your trip!

jefnvk

Thanks, but I made the trip long ago. It was a great time, minus the weather not quite cooperating!

LuckyLyndy

I am arriving in Amsterdam around June 9. I would either like a medium sized town to use as a base for four day trips and to rent a bike. Would Utrecht fit the bill?

Stadjer

@LuckyLyndy. I don't think so, depends on why you want a medium sized town but Utrecht is not that different from Amsterdam. Just quite a bit smaller and a bit quieter, but it is quite a lively city.

LuckyLyndy

[QUOTE=Stadjer;19617224]@LuckyLyndy. I don't think so, depends on why you want a medium sized town but Utrecht is not that different from Amsterdam. Just quite a bit smaller and a bit quieter, but it is quite a lively city.[/QUOTE
Just think a smaller town would allow easier access to villages and less traveled roads.
No?

Stadjer

Not really, I don't know Utrecht that well, but basically it's part of the same metropolitan area as Amsterdam, called the randstad, which is called that way because cities and towns meet at the edge (edge city literally). But in the middle there's a protected rural region called the green heart. Amsterdam is to the North of that, Utrecht to the East. Amsterdam is quite compact, and also to the North of Amsterdam there are quite a few routes where the city eases into a pretty country side within a 20 minute ride from the centre. Amsterdam is also quite close to the dunes and typically touristy villages or sites are North to Amsterdam, as well as a lot of beautiful cycle routes that aren't really touristy. Amsterdam is really at the heart of things in that part of the country with a few Unesco world heritage sites nearby.

If you want to stay closer to the country side, I'd suggest Naarden or Muiden if you want something that is actually small. Haarlem be an option too, it's defenitely a city but considerably smaller and quiter than Utrecht and there's just a couple of kilometers of country side between Haarlem and Amsterdam. Same for Zaandam. It all depends on what you want to do and see and I could do more suggestions if you'd tell me what you like, but I don't see the advantages of a stay in Utrecht.

LuckyLyndy

I will think about your suggestions. I leave in 4 hours for the train from Bergen to Oslo.
Then catch a plane for an overnight stay in Amsterdam, then a flight to Prague for a week, before a flight back to Amsterdam. I will have more time to think about your suggestions in Prague.

jefnvk

Prague is a lovely city. I lived there a bit myself, enjoy it!

As far as the advice, Amsterdam is not a bad city to get in and out of. If you are planning on day trips from a central base, you can be in a rural area in under an hour cycling out of Amsterdam. Didn't visit Utrecht, so I can't give much advice on the town, but don't let the urban area put you off. Next time I go back, I plan on basing myself around Amsterdam, and doing a series of day trips from the city.