The tour is the Green Heart of Holland tour on September 2 – 9 2023. 

The tour includes Amsterdam, Haarlem (our favorite town and home-away-from-home), Rotterdam, Leiden, Gouda, and the windmills at Zaanstad and Kinderdijk.  The barge docks in and around the city center of the various cities and villages visited at the end of each day’s cycling, giving you the opportunity to visit and explore at night.

Board at 2 PM 9/2/23 at the dock in the center of Amsterdam

Depart at 9 AM on 9/9/23 (same dock – it’s a circular trip)

Very easy riding. Flat but there can be serious WIND especially on the south-bound legs.  The Wind nearly always blows strong out of the SE.  You can choose to stay on the boat if desired or necessary. 

There are daily rides are of varying lengths up to 65 miles,  longest day is a minimum of 25 miles – most days have options under 20.   

The ship is the Gandalf – it’s a basic older boat cozy but not luxurious – check out the pictures so you know what to expect.    There is a crew of 4. 

Included are   (italic comments mine)

• 7 nights in cabin (the cabins are very basis and no AC)
• 7  breakfasts
• 6  3-course dinners (these are pretty basic but good based on reviews)
• Coffee and tea on board
• Welcome drink
• Use of bed linen and towels (1 towel per person so suggest you bring your own)
• Daily cleaning of the cabin
• Daily briefings by the tour leader
• Fully guided cycling tours (or you can go on your own)
• Fees for ferries
• Maps and notes for cycling tours (1 set per cabin)
• GPS tracks
• Use of a waterproof pannier bag
• Wi-Fi (don’t expect much connectivity)
• Carbon offset payment to the non-profit organization 

Not included are

• Drinks
• Lunches & snacks ashore
• Helmet rental (if desired, not required in Holland)
• Personal insurance
• Gratuities (at your discretion)
• Entrance fees and excursions
• Transfers to/from the docking place 
• Parking fees

You can look the tour up yourselves at boatbiketours.com. The tour is the Green Heart of Holland and the ship is the Gandalf.

I’ve tried to set expectations as best I can. The best part is a boat full of fun English-speaking people who mostly know each other and enjoy each other’s company.  Our daughters and their families, which include 2 young boys, will be joining us. 

We think it will be a great time – we’ve cycled a lot in Holland and are familiar with this area so we think this should be a fun, interesting, fairly easy and worry-free trip.  Of course we can’t predict Covid, weather or water levels.  You will want to arrange your flights in time to get over jet lag by the first day so you can enjoy time on the boat – and see as much as you can in the surrounding area.  We plan to be in Europe for most of August & September and will be exploring other areas as we normally do (pre-covid).  **don’t forget to make sure everyone’s passport is current… it takes several months to renew.

If you want e-bikes we recommend you let me know in advance because there are limited numbers available and we can reserve in advance.  We would need confirmation that you want to join us by January 1 and payment by March 1 so we have time to arrange for all cabins to be filled.  There may be some refunds for change of plans but there is a penalty and any refund will depend on if we can locate someone to fill the spot.   

Cost

Cost comes out to

• $3100 per couple with e-bikes,
• $2800 per couple with regular bikes.

This can change slightly depending on the exchange rate and fuel surcharge.

We do not recommend flying in the day of departure. There is so much to see and do in Amsterdam. It will be difficult to catch the ship if it departs without you. Cost includes the boat accommodations, bike rental & insurance,  guided tours and the estimated fuel surcharge.  We aren’t adding to the base costs other than a little protection agains steading increasing exchange rate and fuel prices. We encourage you to shop around for better prices. Remember booking on your own it’s easy to end up on a boat with no other English-speaking people.