Itinerary

Round trip North Holland and the island of Texel 

Cheese town Alkmaar, dunes, beach and the North Sea island of Texel 

Individual cycle tours from/to Hoorn | 7 days / 6 nights 

A cycle tour through North Holland is one of the most beautiful cycling vacations in the Netherlands - with beautiful wide landscapes and many sights.

Discover the typical windmills in North Holland, particularly impressive at the Zaanse Schans, the famous open-air museum. This historic region offers an insight into the Netherlands' past as a land of seafarers and merchants. Your starting point, Hoorn, was also an important port city during the time of the VOC, the East India Trading Company. Even today, it is one of the most beautiful cities in Holland with numerous monuments, old warehouses and a beautiful, centrally located harbor.

On this cycle tour you will visit the city of Alkmaar, where you can sample delicious Dutch cheeses. Texel is an Eldorado for nature lovers with its beautiful beaches and extensive dune areas. You can hike, cycle and enjoy the peace and quiet here. Volendam is known for its traditional costumes and its fishing port where you can eat delicious fresh fish. Do you love history and shopping? Then explore the capital Amsterdam with its many museums and sights. We offer an Amsterdam Experience package with which you can take a boat trip through the canals of Amsterdam and discover the city's top attractions on a walking tour.

In the months of April and May, you can also cycle along the colorful tulip fields. In short, North Holland has a lot to offer for a wonderful cycling vacation in the Netherlands.

Highlights of this bike tour

✔ Volendam old harbour town with traditional costumes

✔ Zaanse Schans, open-air museum with windmills and craft shops  

✔ Alkmaar cheese market (Fridays/Tuesdays only)*  

✔ De Rijp and Beemsterpolder (UNESCO World Heritage Site) 

✔ The island of Texel  

✔ Historic harbour town of Hoorn  

✔ Den Helder Marinemuseum 

✔ Tulip blossom during the months of April and May

* Optional

Itinerary

Hoorn – Individual arrival

Your first hotel is located in or near the historic city of Hoorn. The central square is the ‘Rode Steen’ with numerous cafés where you can take in the historic buildings such as the old city scales and the Westfries Museum at your leisure. There are cosy shopping streets and lovely terrace cafés on the water nearby.
Hoorn is proud of its rich maritime history as an important trading harbour in the 17th century. The fleet sailed the world's oceans and returned richly laden. The economic boom can still be seen today in the splendid gables of the town houses, which you will find mainly on the Rode Steen, Veermanskade, Bierkade and Grote Oost.

Day 2: Hoorn - Volendam (cycle tour approx. 46 km) 
Eilandspolder, the old Dutch town of de Rijp and World Heritage Site De Beemster  

Today's cycle tour first takes you from Hoorn to the Eilandspolder, past the old Dutch village of Schermerhorn. From the dyke along the Eilandspolder, a beautiful fen nature reserve, you will see lots of land that for centuries were only accessible by boat. Schermerhorn is the first beautiful village on the route, and the museum windmill is also worth a visit. The route continues to Westbeemster on the edge of the Beemsterpolder, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cycle along the dyke to the town of De Rijp, a picturesque village that once lived from fishing, whaling and agriculture and was one of the wealthiest towns in the Netherlands in the mid-17th century.
In Middenbeemster there is a monument to Jan Adriaansz Leeghwater, who gave the Schermer and Beemster polder its present form with canals, dykes, meadows and pastures. Finally, the cycle route leads via Purmerend to Volendam. From here, it is also worth taking a short detour to Edam: the town is famous for its cheese and has a charming market square. You can end the day with a delicious portion of freshly caught fish in the harbour of Volendam.

Day 3: Volendam - Alkmaar (cycle tour approx. 50 km)  
Monnickendam and Zaanse Schans 

From Volendam you cycle via the harbour town of Monnickendam and after a while the windmills of the Zaanse Schans come into view. Here you can immerse yourself in village life on the Zaan in the 17th century. Watch the clog maker, taste cheese specialities and smell the scent of freshly smoked eel. Workshops, houses, shops and historic mills can be visited. In an oil mill, sawmill, grain mill or polder mill, you can see how the Dutch utilised wind and water in a variety of ways with the help of mills. The Zaanse Schans is a unique Dutch cultural heritage site. From the Zaanse Schans you cycle through the polder and along the Alkmaardermeer and Uitgeestermeer towards Alkmaar, your destination today. The cheese market is held here every last Friday of the month (March to September) and every Tuesday evening in July and August. In addition to the historic market, the small streets along the canals, the cheese museum and the De Boom beer museum are also worth a visit. You can discover the city from the water on a canal cruise or browse and shop in the historic and trendy alleyways of the Oude Stad neighbourhood. 

Day 4: Alkmaar - Den Helder (cycle tour approx. 62 km)
From the cheese town through the dune landscape to the Kop van Holland

Today you cycle from the city of Alkmaar through the North Holland dune area along the beaches towards the top of North Holland. The North Holland Dune Reserve is one of the largest nature reserves in the Netherlands. Beautiful picnic spots and access points to the beach are ideal for stops. Den Helder is a lively harbour town in the province of North Holland, known for its maritime history. Den Helder has an important naval base and the Naval Museum, where you can learn all about the Dutch navy. There are beautiful beaches and dune areas nearby, ideal for walking, cycling and exploring nature. You can visit the historic Fort Kijkduin and immerse yourself in its interesting history. In Den Helder you will also find shopping streets, restaurants and pavement cafés.

Day 5: Texel, the largest Dutch Wadden island (cycle tour approx. 60 km)    

In the morning, a 20-minute ferry ride from den Helder to Texel, the largest Wadden island in the Netherlands, famous for its beautiful sandy beaches and nature reserves. Texel has more than 130 kilometres of cycle paths that lead through the dunes, forests and past picturesque villages. The island is flat with only slightly undulating paths and is therefore suitable for both recreational cyclists and experienced cyclists. Along the way, you will pass cosy beach bars, pretty shops and viewpoints from which you can enjoy beautiful views. The Duinen van Texel National Park is characterized by pine and deciduous forests, salt marshes and heathland. So don't forget to get off your bike every now and then and enjoy the peace and nature on Texel. As Texel is not very large, you can walk around the entire island in one day (approx. 60 km), but shorter tours are also possible, e.g. to the seaside resort of De Koog or to the Ecomare marine museum, which is well worth a visit, with its seal centre, marine aquariums and signposted, shorter but beautiful dune hiking trails. Return to Den Helder by ferry and overnight stay in Den Helder. 

Day 6: Den Helder - Hoorn (cycle tour approx. 65 km) 
Polderland and maritime heritage on the IJsselmeer 

Hoorn   
You cycle through the polder landscape to Medemblik with the imposing Radboud Castle, which Count Floris V of Holland built after he subjugated the West Frisians. There is a steam engine museum and a historic bakery to visit. Beautiful gabled houses and brick buildings characterise the neighbourhood around the harbour. Here you will also find pavement cafés and restaurants with beautiful views over the water. From Medemblik, you cycle along the IJsselmeer dyke on beautiful cycle paths to Onderdijk and on to Hoorn, the starting point of your cycling holiday. In Hoorn you can visit the old town centre and the harbour with its many historic tall ships that stop here on their IJsselmeer tours. Or you can go shopping in the cosy harbour town.   

Day 7: Return trip

Individual return journey after breakfast.