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Spring Flowers - Amsterdam to Ghent

Cruise and Cycle Guided Grading Level 1
8 days/7 nights Price - £595pp (Standard Barge) Price - £645pp (Comfort Barge) Tour Code NL013
 

Cyclists at Kinderdijk

This Bike and Barge holiday travels from Amsterdam to Ghent in Belgium. From Ghent you travel by train to visit Bruges, with its picturesque town centre probably the most beautiful of the Flemish historical cities.

In April and May all of Holland is in bloom. Therefore this is the perfect time to see the famous bulb fields showing the colourful tulips and hyacinths. Furthermore this tour shows you some lovely old Dutch towns such as Haarlem and Gouda. Crossing the border to Belgium takes you to the Belgian pearls of Antwerp, Ghent and on top of that - Bruges!

Each day you may choose if you wish to join the cycling guide or follow the second guide who takes you for a stroll into town. Thus giving you the freedom to make your holiday the best!

For details of this holiday from Ghent to Amsterdam click here

 

Includes

  • 7 nights on board a Standard barge (based on 2 people sharing)
  • 7 x breakfast, packed lunch and evening meal
  • Visit to Keukenhof
  • Visit to a mill at Kinderdijk
  • Ride in horse-drawn carriage in Bruges
  • 2 x guided city walks
  • Transfer from Ghent to Amsterdam
  • Hire bike
  • Maps and route information
  • 2 x local tour guide

Excludes

  • Flights
  • Cycling Helmets
  • Due to the fluctuation of fuel prices there may be a fuel surcharge payable on board the barge

Optional extras

  • Insurance £22pp
  • Single supplement £95

How to get there

  • Fly to Amsterdam
 

Departure Dates 2009

 

Amsterdam to Ghent

Ghent to Amsterdam
April
4
18
25*
11
18*
25
May
2
0
0
2*
9
0

* Comfort barge for cyclists only

 
To book this holiday CLICK HERE
 
Daily Itinerary
 

The "Tijdgeest" is one of the barges used on this tour. Classified as a Standard barge it has 14 cabins with bunk beds, all with their own facilities and will take up to 34 people. In the saloon where meals are eaten there is an "honesty" bar. You help yourself to wine, beer or soft drinks and record what you have taken so that you can pay at the end of the week.

We use an operator in Holland for these holidays, and as they sell to other agents in Europe such as ourselves it is likely you will have a mix of different nationalities on this tour adding to the cultural enjoyment.

 

Day 1 Saturday: Arrive in Amsterdam. Cruise to Oude Wetering.

Join your fellow guests aboard your floating hotel. In the afternoon the barge will cruise to Oude Wetering.

Day 2 Sunday: Oude Wetering to Gouda, 16 miles (25km).

Early in the morning the cyclists pedal through the reclaimed land of the Haarlemmer Meer to the flower park of Keukenhof. Walkers go by bus (public transport) to the Keukenhof. After having seen the tulips and daffodils everyone returns to the barge. At about 2.00pm your barge will leave and cruise to the cheese town of Gouda.

Day 3 Monday: Gouda to Willemstad, 25 miles (40km).

The cyclists mount their bikes and ride to the world famous windmills of Kinderdijk where they will meet the non cyclists and visit one of the mills. After the visit the cyclists head for Dordrecht, and partially through the natural reserve Biesbosch to Moerdijk. The night will be spent in the walled town of Willemstad, a real Dutch beauty!

Day 4 Tuesday: Willemstad to Antwerp.

Right across the impressive waterways of Zeeland the barge will take you to the lively town of Antwerp in Belgium. After arrival there is free time to explore this old port. Antwerp is not only known as 'diamond city', but also as the native city of the artist Rubens. In the Rubens House, where he was born, you can admire his work. In the middle of the city is the Cathedral of Our Lady and around the Market Square beautiful town houses from a rich past.

Day 5 Wednesday: Antwerp to Dendermonde, 22 miles (35km).

The day starts with a sailing trip to the outskirts of Antwerp. The cyclists cross the riverland of the river Schelde. In the charming provincial town of Dendermonde you'll spend the night aboard the barge.

Day 6 Thursday: Dendermonde to Ghent, 19 miles (30km).

The barge leaves Dendermonde for a sailing trip on the tidal river Schelde to Ghent. The cyclists enjoy the flat Flemish countryside to Ghent, a lively university city, again one with a rich past. The city has its origins in Roman Times, at the place where the rivers Leie and Schelde converge. This favourable situation brought a great deal of prosperity over the years, which peaked in the late 13th and early 14th century. The textile industry brought great wealth and in the city centre you will see many old patrician houses that have been preserved. The owners of these houses, the textile merchants, used to meet in the Clothmakers’ Hall. The major church is St. Baafs’ Cathedral, built in various ages and in various styles. In the cathedral you can admire a number of masterpieces of mediaeval painting, of which the ‘Adoration of the Lamb’ by Jan van Eyck is the most famous. In the evening your guide will take you for a walk around the city.

Day 7 Friday: Ghent to Bruges.

Everybody makes the train ride to Bruges. After arriving there is a horse carriage ride and a short guided walk past the many historic monuments in the centre of Bruges. From midday you are free to visit Bruges until you are ready to return by train to Ghent.

Bruges

Day 8 Saturday: Depart from Ghent.

It is the end of the tour and so it is time to say farewells, exchange contact details and make your way by bus back to Amsterdam airport.

 

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