The Countryside of Ijssel Lake - 8D/7N

photo courtesy of Holland Tourist BoardYou will cycle around the largest Dutch lake, the IJsselmeer. You will get to know many towns that were once situated along this former inland sea Zuiderzee, from Hoorn, where you dine in the old harbour overlooking the traditional sailing ships, to the small walled towns of Naarden and Weesp. Visit Hoorn, Enkhuizen, Stavoren, Rijs, Ossenzijl, Weerribben, Giethoorn, Zwartsluis, Kampen, Elburg, Harderwijk, Spakenburg, Naarden and Weesp.

The Netherlands is often called Holland because of the role the two western provinces North and South holland played in its history. This region encompasses Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, and other well known Dutch cities. During the Golden Age, Holland was the Capital of the World. It is a country of water; ever since the 16th century, many Dutch people have been living on the bottom of former lakes. Part of the country is covered by large rivers, whose estuaries form an immense delta. Ijssel Lake, a large freshwater lake, still covers 296,400 acres. Windmills are used to drain the land and keep it dry. They still form an important element of water management in these low lying lands.
Amsterdam, one of the great cities of Europe has many faces. You may know the romantic canals, the numerous bikes and the exciting night-life, however, Amsterdam offers so much more. It has a wide range of places of interest, historical monuments and more than 40 museums. Arts and antiques are for sale in quaint quarters, fashionable and upscale products in chic shopping streets.

Included: Accommodation in double room, half board (breakfast and dinner), bicycle with gears, information package and map.

Accommodations: Double room cabin.

Departures: July 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26; August 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 29; September 5, 12; 2009.

photo courtesy of Holland Tourist BoardItinerary

  • Day 1: Saturday - Arrival in the starting point, your hotel in Hoorn. In the evening you have your diner in a restaurant in the centre of Hoorn. After your diner in a monumental building from where you can see the traditional sailingships on the Havenhoofd.
  • Day 2: Sunday: cycle ride ± 35 km - After breakfast you leave for your first real bike ride: along the coast line of the IJssel Lake you cycle to Enkhuizen, another splendid port from the rich Dutch past. From here you make the crossing by ferry to Stavoren in the Province of Friesland (± 80 minutes). From Stavoren it is a one hour bike ride to your next hotel in Rijs.
  • Day 3: Monday: cycle trip ± 45 km - From Rijs, the cycle trip leads via Lemmer. From here you ride along The Tjeuke Lake and several tiny rural villages like Echtenerbrug to Ossenzijl. You’ll be staying overnight in hotel ‘De Kluft’ located in the National Park De Weerribben.
  • Day 4: Tuesday: cycle trip ± 40 km - Just outside Ossenzijl, you cycle in to the national reserve ‘De Weerribben’. Via Steenwijk, the route leads to Giethoorn, ‘Venice of the North’. You can make a cruise on the canals with a ‘punter’ ( a traditional barge especially used on these small canals) or just make a strol in this fascinating village. The next part of today’s trip leads straight across some huge lakes and ends in Zwartsluis, a nice little town situated at a crossroad of waterways.
  • Day 5: Wednesday: cycle trip ± 70 km - You take a small ferry to Genemuiden and cycle to the hanseatic town of Kampen, a town full off monuments. After this town, the road leads to Elburg, a former fishing-town with a beautiful harbour. Your itinerary leads through heath land and forestries and finally ends in Harderwijk.
  • Day 6: Thursday: cycle trip ± 50 km - At the beginning of today’s cycle ride there’s a huge area of woods and moorland, which you’ll be crossing till Nijkerk. You may wish to visit the local cheese farm or the steam pumping station and then head for your hotel in Eemnes.
  • Day 7: Friday: cycle trip ± 30 km - Through Blaricum, a villadom, and the Tafelberg moorlands you arrive in Naarden-Vesting. This is one of the finest walled towns in the Netherlands. Following the pictoresque river Vecht, you reach the finish of your tour in Weesp. If you feel like visiting Amsterdam at night: it’s only ± 20 minutes by train!
  • Day 8: Saturday - After breakfast you leave your hotel for you homeward journey.

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