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Welcome to Hooked on Cycling Holidays and our cycling holiday in Holland. This particular biking vacation in Holland will take you through the fabulous Eastern Holland countryside. The North-eastern part of the Holland is definitively one of the best places to make a beautiful cycle tour. It is dominated by heath, forests and age-old villages. As you will follow more than 75 percent of your time narrow and flat cycle paths, where cars are forbidden to drive on, this tour is very well suitable for families with children. Most of the routes are easy to shorten. A large part of the tour is situated in the province of Drenthe, which is world-famous for its many ‘hunebedden’ (dolmen). On many places you will see these impressive burial-mounds in the countryside. On the free days, there is always something special to do for young children if you do not wish to take the full optional cycle rides. This is a great family cycling holiday , adults and children a like .
Available daily from 15th April to 15th October
Level 1-2 self guided tour
Day 1 Transfer to Giethoorn
Car-parking is free for those who will arrive by car. There are direct trains from Amsterdam-airport to Steenwijk. From Steenwijk to Giethoorn it is just a few minutes by taxi or bus.
Day 2 Free day in Giethoorn or optional cycle ride
Because of its many small islands, bridges, canals and traditional Dutch boats, Giethoorn is also called ‘Venice of the North’ in Holland. Today you can make a relaxing cycle tour or rent a traditional Dutch boat (a ‘punter’), which is pushed forward with a long stick, similar to the gondola in Venice.
Day 3 Giethoorn – Ruinen 44 miles 71 km
A beautiful path that runs alongside Lake Boven Wijde, will bring you in the province of Drenthe. You will find age-old farmyards and you will enjoy the quiet roads as you are in the least populated area of the Netherlands.
Day 4 Ruinen – Westerbork 36 miles 58 km
Today’s tour is a classical Drenthe-tour. You will start to cycle through a dense forest, than you’ll cross a vast heatherfield, which is part of National Park the Dwingelderveld. After, you will pass age-old dolmen. The end of today’s tour is the historical village of Westerbork, a perfect place for a 2-night stay.
Day 5 Free day in Westerbork Optional ride
There are a lot of things you can do today. A visit to ‘Camp Westerbork’, a former concentration camp from which Dutch Jews were deported to Germany during World War II, will make a deep and lasting impression. In Orvelte you can visit the open-air museum and in Borger a visit to the dolmen-museum might be a good choice.
Day 6 Westerbork – Doldersum 36 miles 57 km
Cycling along serene countryside roads, you will head for scenic villages like Dwingeloo and Diever, where, as it seems, time has stood still. A wonderful track through the Smilde forestry will lead you to the heather fields north of Doldersum. You will definitively enjoy the magnificent panorama of these green and purple fields.
Day 7 Doldersum – Giethoorn 26-37 miles 55 - 58 km
Before leaving Drenthe, the tour takes you through the heather fields of Holtinge. The ‘Drenthe heather sheep’, the eldest race of sheep in Western Europe, is living in this area. Two impressive burial mounds near Havelte will be the last stop before cycling back to Giethoorn.
Day 8 Departure
 
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What is Included
- · 7 nights bed and breakfast in 3 star hotels
- · Luggage transfers
- · Maps
- · Free Car Parking
- · Route description
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Extras
- · Bike Rental
- · Costs before and after the tour
- · Flights or Ferries to Holland
- · Dinners
- · Extra Nights on request
- · Travel Insurance
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Tariff 2008
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CEEASTH
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Single occupancy
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£642
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Price per person based on two persons sharing double/twin room
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£480
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Dinners
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£138
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Rental Cycle
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£35
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How to get there
By Pane to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport then by train from the airport to Steenwijk (2 hours), £ 15 per person. Then Bus from Steenwijk to Giethoorn (15 minutes), £ 1,50 per person or Taxi ride.
Important: on the day of departure to the UK the departure-time of the flight must be 12:00 o’clock or later
Getting there by ferry:
1) IJmuiden (Newcastle). By car: IJmuiden – Giethoorn: 145 km, 1 hour and 45 minutes
2) Rotterdam (Hull). By car: Rotterdam – Giethoorn: 190 km, 2 hours
3) Hoek van Holland (Harwich). By car: Hoek van Holland – Giethoorn: 195 km, 2 hours
Car-parking in Giethoorn is free.
To view our other Cycling holidays in Holland
Click below to view our
Walking Holiday in Germany
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