Here are 14 reasons why we love cycle touring in The Netherlands.
- The Bike Culture is like nothing we have ever seen! So, we have been to Germany, France and other countries with bike cultures, but there is nothing quite like The Netherlands. There are people on bikes everywhere! If you love cycling, you must ride in this country!
- You can feel comfortable just speaking English. Virtually everyone speaks English. No tip-toeing around apologizing that you can’t speak a dozen languages. Sure it’s nice to say please and thank you in Dutch (alsjeblieft and dank je, in case you are wondering), but it’s not necessary – and the friendly Dutch people don’t expect it.
- Incredible, jaw droppingly beautiful countryside. Did we tell you it was pretty riding in The Netherlands? And it’s gorgeous even when the tulips aren’t out. (Tulip-time is in April and early May when the temperatures are regularly in the 40s and the days are short. It’s also when the country is the most crowded with tourists.) The scenery in July is green and gorgeous! The locals will all tell you this is the best time of year to visit.
- Long, Warm (but not too hot) Days. Our trip is from July 1-10. The sun begins its daily descent after 10pm and the average high is 72 degrees. It is a spectacular time of year to visit this lovely country.
- Cheese! The Dutch know their cheeses and there are a lot of them! And lots of cows, too! If you love cheese, you won’t be disappointed.
- Flat Cycling. It’s a really flat country! Like, elevation changes maybe 10 feet per mile. But it’s so beautiful, it’s never boring. Okay, so sometimes there can be a headwind, but just as often you have a tailwind and when you have a tailwind, you can really feel like Superman and Wonder Woman.
- Dedicated Cycleways. There are more bike paths in The Netherlands than anywhere else in the world. It is so cool to not have to say “Car Back!” all the time. And since our tour never has more than ten tandems, our group won’t congest the bike paths.
- Windmills. Lots of them! We even ride to Kinderdijk, the World Heritage Site, where there are nearly two dozen windmills. Some are museums, all are unique, iconic and, well, Dutch.
- There’s Water Everywhere! We ride along the North Sea, with its lovely beaches (some nude) and we also ride along myriads of canals and waterways.
- Polders and Dykes. Learn all about the unique topography of The Netherlands.
- Delft Pottery. It’s that blue and white pottery from the lovely town of Delft, where we ride. Delft pottery has been produced since the 17th Century. Delft is also the town of Dutch master painter, Johannes Vermeer. You can see his famous painting of Girl with a Pearl Earring in The Hague.
- Medieval Towns. These towns are old. Really old. Some even have moats around them. You really feel the sense of history when you walk around historic towns like Haarlem, Gouda, Delft and Naarden and the larger cities of Amsterdam, Utrecht, the Hague and Rotterdam. You visit all of these places on our tour. And we also get to stay in the beach town of Schevingingen.
- Get to know the people and eat at the local restaurants. We stay in many small towns where you can explore the town, enjoy the restaurants and connect with the Dutch culture and people.
- The Dutch Sense of Humor. Check out this video we found about riding in the Netherlands.
We cap our tours at ten couples, so we are never going to be too large a crowd to really experience a culture. And our tours are affordable — about half the price of some of our competitors. Come and join us on our Netherlands Adventure from July 1 – 10, 2018!