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Dutch Bike Tours Cycling holiday Holland's Old Towns Tour
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Holland's Old Towns Tour
Holland's Old Towns Tour
Type :
Hybrid :
E-Bike :
Duration :
8 days
Cycling days :
 6
Comfort :
period:
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Code:
8-05
Seacoast History Amsterdam Culture Nature Cities
price from € 974
Holland's Old Towns Tour
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Holland's Old Towns Tour

Bike Tour: Holland's Old Towns Tour - 8 days

The delightful towns you will visit on this bicycle holiday are Utrecht, Gouda, Den Haag, Delft, Schiedam and Rotterdam. In the beautiful town of Delft, find out what links Delft to world famous painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675); or go and see how Delft Blue ceramics are made. You’ll visit Gouda’s pleasant town centre, relatively untouched by time, known for its cheese market, candle making, the fairytale town hall and the attractive canals. 

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Route
Day 1: Arrival in Utrecht/Bunnik
Day 2: Utrecht/Bunnik - Amsterdam
Day 3: Amsterdam - Zandvoort/ Noordwijkerhout
Day 4: Zandvoort/ Noordwijkerhout - Den Haag
Day 5: Den Haag - Rotterdam
Day 6: Rotterdam - Gouda/Bodegraven
Day 7: Gouda/Bodegraven - Utrecht/Bunnik
Day 8: Return Home

Day 1:    Arrival in Utrecht/Bunnik

Arrival in Utrecht. Utrecht lies in the very centre of the Netherlands, near woodland and the small River Kromme Rijn. Big city Centre Utrecht is not far away and has shops galore, museums and a friendly night life. For availability reasons it's possible you will stay in Bunnik instead of Utrecht. 
If you want you can also start and finish this tour in Amsterdam. 

Day 2:    Utrecht/Bunnik - 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/ Noordwijkerhout
32 km

You will love the elegant city of Haarlem, voted best city for shopping. Remember to look up at the façades of historical buildings and see if you can spot the pretty stepped gables. Our bike route then continues through Zuid-Kennemerland, a colourful area rich in natural beauty. In well known beach resort Zandvoort you will stay the night by the sea.For logistic reasons it's possible you will overnight in Noordwijkerhout instead of Zandvoort. The cycling distance will then be 51 km and the next day 41 km.

Day 4:    Zandvoort/ Noordwijkerhout - Den Haag
45 km

Today you will cycle through the Dune and Bulb Region. The windswept dunes not only protect the hinterland from the sea, but also harbour many species of dune flora and fauna. April is your best bet for visiting colourful bulb fields (daffodils, hyacinths and tulips) just behind the dunes. On the coast, check out the resorts and beaches. Once you reach Scheveningen you are almost on your destination of today, The Hague. You will be spoilt for choice of things to do.

Day 5:    Den Haag - Rotterdam
45 km

Follow the River Schie to Delft. Delft has a historical town centre with beautiful buildings and canals. Inextricably linked to Delft are Delftware (blue and white pottery); the royal family Van Oranje-Nassau; and Johannes Vermeer, the painter. Continuing on your way, you will reach the town of Schiedam, renowned for its gin (jenever). Here is where you can find out all about the history and production of this juniper berry flavoured liquor. As the sun sets over Rotterdams modern skyline and Europes biggest port, why not go to trendy Oude Haven (Old Harbour) for an evening out? From the top of Euromast tower enjoy great views of the city and surroundings.

Day 6:    Rotterdam - Gouda/Bodegraven
58 km

Modern Rotterdam offers architecture, art, port tours, a maritime museum and shops galore. The re-developed inner-city harbours are hotspots. Get your camera out for the windmills at serene Kinderdijk, a UNESCO world heritage site. The alternative route is 45 km, you will cycle directly from Kinderdijk to Gouda.

Day 7:    Gouda/Bodegraven - Utrecht/Bunnik
50 km

Woods, stately homes, parks, rivers, polders, lakes and marshy fens make todays scenery. Opt to stop off at a cheese dairy or visit De Haar Castle. At the end of the day, explore the heart of the lively city of Utrecht. Discover the pretty Museum Quarter and admire the beautiful canal Oude Gracht. Its wharves are unique to Utrecht and make a pleasant setting for waterside cafes.

Day 8:    Return Home

After breakfast in your hotel, you will return home.

Prices

Starting dates:
Daily from April 1 till September 22.

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 969.00
Single room, breakfast 1,424.00
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
E-bike 196.00
Extra services
Bike Breakdown pass € 4.00 x 7 28.00
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
Child trailer € 18.00 x 7 126.00
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 Hotel Zandvoort **** (Zandvoort)
Best Western Hotel Den Haag *** (Den Haag)
ss Rotterdam **** (Rotterdam)
Best Western Hotel Gouda **** (Gouda)
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

18-07-2023

Just got back from cycling round the old towns of Holland. Managed to time it so we missed a huge storm and avoided the rain showers, and had some glorious weather. The cycle routes were well thought out and very scenic. Was a little worried about the length of the last day's 68k m route, but it was flat and we coped with the distance well. The hotels were great and they all had restaurants nearby for evening meals. thanks for a great holiday, we will be back.


Helen Oglesby - GB

27-05-2022

Having done a lot of bicycle touring, I was surprised by how attractive the journey was, as if DBT had carefully navigated a route through only the most visually pleasing areas. The one exception to this was the morning heading out from Rotterdam, where we definitely hit one industrial wasteland. But even here, most of our group was able to bypass this, taking a river bus to Kinderdijk. Even the rural parts were stimulating. For many in our group who were anxious about city pedaling, the countryside was their favorite part. My one caveat is be prepared for rain! Most days we had at least some, and occasionally it was persistent.


Justin Brent - US

25-05-2022

The Old Towns Bike Tour was the perfect trip for our group of 5 cyclists. We had widely varying levels of experience and fitness. Our least experienced rider chose an E-bike and it worked out perfectly. We added the Keukenhof Gardens to Day 2 of the ride. This also caused us to re-route through Leiden before carrying on to Den Haag. The staff at Dutch Bike Tours helped us plan this route adjustment and it turned out to be one of our favourite legs of the journey. We became more adept at “staying on track” with each day of riding. We saw so much of the beautiful Nederlands countryside and got great snapshots of some of its major city centres. We can’t wait to come back for more!


Howard Boothby - CA

09-09-2020

...Fantastic biking experience where you see a lot of the country. Endless canals everywhere. And a friendly population where biking is the most natural way of transporting yourselves. We could not believe though that so few people carried a helmet.
On the first day we experienced that one bike was not working properly. The involvement from dutch biketours was very professional despite causing a delay until a new bike could be delivered. We had to accept a couple of hours delay on the day with the longest km to drive. Anyway we survived and enyoyed the tour...

19-09-2019

...Enjoyed the holiday. The satnav was wonderful! Excellent trip with nice towns and good cycling. Luggage transport was very efficient...

24-07-2019

...Very pleasant experience. I liked the tone of email exchange with staff in the lead up to the trip when I had a few questions. Answers also came really quickly... 

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