Cycling Holidays - Bike & Boat: Dutch Island Hopping

Bike & Boat: Dutch Island Hopping

Netherlands

From £859 P/P

Sail and bike tours are something very special. Feel the freedom, the wind and salt on your skin! It’s a little bit like discovering the seas and new areas as a modern-day explorer.

Aboard one of the most comfortable sailing ships, the Mare fan Fryslân, the Wapen fan Fryslân, and the Leafde fan Fryslân, you will experience pure nature while enjoying water, sun and a stiff breeze on the big inland lake IJsselmeer and the so-called “Wadden Sea”, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage biosphere reserve. During this Sail & Bike tour you can explore the beautiful and unique Frisian Sea and some of its islands.

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Itinerary
Itinerary

Day 1: Embarkation: Enkhuizen (Saturday)

Embarkation and check-in where the crew will welcome you on board is from 2 p.m. near the beautiful center of Enkhuizen and close to the railway station. After unpacking your luggage the skipper will join you for an aperitif before giving you a rundown of what to expect on the journey, details about the ship and also about safety measures to be taken on board. In the evening take a stroll through the historical center of Enkhuizen, a quaint town that was the home of the Dutch merchant fleet during the Golden Age of The Netherlands. Enjoy your first night on board in Enkhuizen on the western bank of the lake IJsselmeer.

Day 2: Enkhuizen – Medemblik | sailing Medemblik – Den Oever – Texel (24 km/14 mi or 37 km/22 mi.)

Today you can cycle the first leg of the trip along the IJsselmeer coast through the beautiful polder landscape to Medemblik. After the cycling tour the ship will sail further to Den Oever. Depending on the weather in the evening the ship will take the lock and sail across the Wadden Sea (part of the North Sea) to the island of Texel.

Day 3: Texel, roundtrip from/to Oudeschild (40 km/24 mi. or 46km/28 Mi

The island of Texel is a cyclist’s dream destination with its varied scenery, well signposted cycle tracks and picturesque villages. Our suggestion is to complete a round trip cycling tour of the largest of the Dutch North Sea islands on the easy-to follow Thijsse-route (40 km/24 mi.) that takes you via a number of villages, the seal sanctuary station “Ecomare” and a traditional beer brewery near the harbor of Oudeschild.

Day 4: Texel - Terschelling (Sailing approx 5 hours)

Today you will enjoy sailing on your ship, when the tide and the weather are right, to the island of Terschelling. As you sail your way through the sandbanks of the Wadden Sea, keep a lookout for seals on the sandbars. In the afternoon the ship will arrive on Terschelling island, which features a number of picturesque villages situated between the polder and sand dunes along its 30 km expanse. While sailing you will enjoy an extensive lunch on board. No dinner will be served tonight, to enable you to explore
the island, but you can make yourself a picnic meal or try one of the nice restaurants at Terschelling (not incl.).

Day 5: Terschelling

While the previous day was all about sailing, today is all about cycling. Terschelling has plenty to offer cycle tourists: nature and culture, 70 km of cycling tracks and 4 beautiful villages. West Terschelling is the largest village on the island and features a number of nice shops and pubs. The standout landmark on the island is the 400 year old lighthouse “Brandaris” that can be seen from well off in the distance.

Also worth visiting is the heath land of “Boschplaat” which will captivate you with its mud, beaches and dunes. You might even spot ducks, black-winged stilts, large colonies of spoonbills and great black-backed gulls. After a day of cycling, you can relax in comfort once you have arrived on board. In the late afternoon the ship will cross the Wadden Sea sail to Harlingen, the most important harbor city of the province of Friesland.

Day 6: Harlingen – Franeker – Makkum (48 km/29 mi. or 58 km/36 Mi

Via Franeker, with the famous planetarium of Eise Eisinga, you cycle through the beautiful wide Frisian countryside along several rural villages to the small harbor of Makkum on the eastern bank of the lake IJsselmeer. If you take the long cycling trip, you will also visit Bolsward, one of the Eleven Frisian Cities.

Day 7: Makkum – Stavoren | sailing to Enkhuizen (32 km/19 mi. or 49KM/30 Mi)

From Makkum you will cycle to Stavoren. The short tour leads you via the old trading town of Hindeloopen. This local art of painting – a type of traditional decorative painting – is quite famous. Apart from this you’ll find the First Frisian Museum of Ice
Skating in Hindeloopen. The long tour runs along several Frisian lakes and shows you a different type of landscape. From Stavoren the ship will set sail to cross the IJsselmeer to Enkhuizen in the late afternoon.

Day 8: Disembarkation: Enkhuizen

Disembark the boat after breakfast until 9.30am.
Route Overview

Route Overview

Route Map (For guidance only):

As with most of our boat and bike cycling holiday routes may be subject to change or alteration. All route notes, maps and information will be given to you upon arrival at the first hotel or at the welcome meeting. GPS/GPX files are available for most our the cycling holidays in Holland we offer. Please ask us for details.
Getting There

Getting There

We recommend flying to Amsterdam Schiphol airport, the biggest airport in Holland, to reach the starting point of this Frisian Island cycling holiday.

Flights are available with a number of airlines to your required airport, or you can travel to the start using alternative methods such as rail or road.

We recommend using Skyscanner to find the best flight prices by date or Voyages SNCF for European rail travel. There is customer car parking available at most hotels for a supplement. Please contact us for more details.

Please use local transport to arrive at the starting point or call us on 0800 755 5385 for more specific travel advice.

You do not need to go back to the starting point of the Frisian sailing and island hopping cycling holiday as all hire bikes are left at the final hotel.

Important: Please book your flights only after the Frisian Island cycling holiday has been confirmed by invoice or email. Flights and transfers are not included in the advertised holiday price.
What’s Included?
What’s Included?

The Bike & Barge: Island Hopping cycling holiday includes the daily transfer of luggage to the next hotel and local support if required.

Included Services (Subject to confirmation)
- Tour and accommodation on board 8 days/7 nights (Saturday-Saturday) from/to Enkhuizen
- Full board (7x breakfast, 6x picnic lunch during bike tours, 7x three course dinner)
- Use of bed linen and towels (change of towels on request) and daily cabin cleaning
- Welcoming drink and speech on the first evening
- Board tour guide by the crew(multilingual)with daily briefings of the bike tours
- detailed maps/directions for daily individual bike tours
- Daily complimentary coffee and tea till 4 PM
Not Included
- Flights to/from the start and finish
- Evening meals (unless stated)
- Local daily taxes (Payable at the hotel)
- Helmets
- Water Bottles
- Travel Insurance
- Bike Insurance (unless stated)
- Welcome Meetings (unless stated)
- Transfers (unless included)
Bike Hire

Bike Hire

This cycling holiday uses hybrid bikes with gearing suitable for the local terrain. All bikes are regularly maintained and offer comfort along with good quality components. You will receive an accessories package including a bicycle pannier bag with a good capacity, repair kit, lock, key, and air pump. When you make a booking with us, we take your height(s) and the appropriate bike size is matched up accordingly.

Helmets are not provided and you will need to bring your own to use. We always recommend wearing a helmet when on your cycling holiday.

E-Bike Upgrades:

Why not upgrade your cycling experience to an E-Bike (Electric Bike)? Using a power assisted bike is a great way to go on a cycling holiday and will help you smooth out inclines or longer days in the saddle.

Each E-Bike features an LCD display, removable batteries for easy charging and assistance up to 25 km/h with a range of around 120 km for each full charge depending on usage.

E-Bike upgrade prices vary per tour, but if you require any more information about bike hire and electric bikes, please get in-touch with us on +44 (0) 800 7555385.

Date & Prices

You can find out more about this cycling holiday by completing a Contact Form or call 0800 755 5385 to speak to one of the team.

Sailing: Mare fan Fryslan

Season	Date Band	Arrival Day
Season 1:	May	Saturdays
Season 2:	May \| June \| July \| August \| September	Saturdays

Category A Information:

Sailing Date	Prices per person including bike hire
4th May - 25th May 2019	£859
01st June - 14th September 2019	£979
Single Room Supplement:	£249
Electric Bike Upgrade:	£99

Sailing: Leafde fan Fryslan

Season	Date Band	Arrival Day
Season 1:	May	Saturdays
Season 2:	May \| June \| July \| August \| September	Saturdays
Season 3:	September	Saturdays

Category A Information:

Sailing Date	Prices per person including bike hire
11th May 2019	£859
18th June - 14th September 2019	£979
21st September 2019	£859
Single Room Supplement:	£249
Electric Bike Upgrade:	£99

Sailing: Wapen fan Fryslan

Season	Date Band	Arrival Day
Season 2:	May \| June \| July \| August	Saturdays

Category A Information:

Sailing Date	Prices per person including bike hire
25th May - 17th August 2019	£979
Single Room Supplement:	£249
Electric Bike Upgrade:	£99

Date From	Date To
04 May 2019	21 September 2019

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