The Netherlands, houseboats & tulips

Leaving in the evening. In flight.

Arrival in Amsterdam.

Transfer to the hotel.

Free time.

Dinner ($).

AM: Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to the houseboat.

Once on board, you can stow your luggage in your cabin. In a relaxed atmosphere, with a cup of coffee or tea, you get to know the guide, skipper, crew and, of course, the other passengers.

The boat is due to leave the Amsterdam mooring at 2 pm. It’s very important that you’re on time. The barge can’t wait because of the opening hours of the bridges and locks.

The boat takes you to Oude Wetering, where you can take a short bike ride around the village. The program for the following day and the rest of the week will be explained at dinnertime.

Evening: Dinner and overnight stay on board the boat.

AM: Breakfast on the boatand preparation of your packed lunch.

You take country roads along the banks of the river and canals of the green heart of the Netherlands (het Groene Hart) to reach Gouda. Needless to say, Gouda is famous for its cheese. But the historic center also has a lot to offer, with its canals, medieval-style cobbled streets and church with one of Europe’s largest stained-glass windows. Stroopwafels (molasses-filled wafers), pipes and earthenware are also part of the town’s reputation. Gouda is a typically Dutch town with a warm atmosphere, which you can visit before or after dinner. intact. Box lunch.

Evening: Dinner and overnight stay on board the boat.

AM: Breakfast on the boat and preparation of your lunch box.

You cross the Alblasserwaard, a true flat country with ditches and meadows. Here, numerous floods have made water management essential. Canals and ditches were dug and numerous windmills built. The best-known are, of course, the windmills at Kinderdijk. Their work has been almost entirely taken over by electric pumping stations. A visit to one of the windmills is well worthwhile. The eighteen mills of Kinderdijk are part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.

After this visit, you take the ferry to Rotterdam. There you meet your barge, which will take you to Delft. The center of Delft is well worth a visit, with its well-preserved medieval center, canals, a magnificent town hall and the royal tomb in the Nieuwe Kerk. Learn more about the famous Dutch painter Vermeer at the Vermeer Center. The Prinsenhof Museum tells the story of the revolt against the King of Spain, the great turning point in Dutch history.

Lunch: Lunch box and visit to a pottery.

Evening: Dinner and overnight stay on board the boat.

AM: Breakfast on the boat and preparation of your lunch box.

You cycle towards The Hague, through the Haagse Bosch forest and past the royal palace, Huis ten Bosch. You ride along a cycle path through the dunes towards Wassenaarse Slag, a secluded beach access on the dune cordon north of The Hague. The eight kilometers of beach are renowned for their magnificent natural areas, such as Meijendel, the largest continuous dune belt in South Holland.

Traces of the Atlantikwall (Atlantic Wall), the 2,685-kilometer-long defense line built by the Germans during the Second World War, can still be seen here. The underground corridors and bunkers form a nature reserve for bats and therefore have protected status.

Further on, in the dunes, you’ll find Katwijk aan Zee, a long-established fishing village. Then you come to Leiden. This is another historic town with many ‘hofjes’, old facades and buildings dating from the 15th to 18th centuries.

Lunch: lunch box and visit to the Mesdag art gallery in The Hague.

Evening: Dinner and overnight stay on board the boat.

AM: Breakfast on the boat and preparation of your lunchbox.

Today, you’ll visit the Keukenhof gardens, an impressive and colorful collection of millions and millions of flowering bulbs, in a setting of beautiful traditional and modern gardens. The many flowers, rhododendrons and azaleas are a feast for the eyes. The pavilions will surprise you with unique flower displays. And among the wealth of colors, there are some surprising objets d’art.

Keukenhof is the showcase of the Dutch horticultural sector, particularly bulbiculture. The park is a showcase for 7 million spring-flowering bulbs, a living catalog of 100 exhibitors. More than 20 flower shows enable 500 flower growers to present their cut flowers and potted plants in all their diversity.

To get to Keukenhof, take public transport. Bus tickets and admission to Keukenhof are included in the tour price.

Lunch: Lunchbox.

Evening: Dinner and overnight stay on board the boat.

Morning: Breakfast on the boat and preparation of lunchbox.

Even more bulbs! From Leiden, you’ll drive through magnificent fields of bulbous flowers towards Haarlem. From March to May, the bulb fields are in full bloom: first daffodils, then hyacinths, tulips and lilies.

In Haarlem, you can admire the “hofjes” (houses built around a small courtyard) and canals typical of the town. Equally impressive are the large central square (Grote Markt), the town hall and St. Bavo’s church. Haarlem, which gave its name to Harlem, New York, is a lively city with great shopping opportunities. Museums not to be missed include the Teylers Museum (one of the oldest museums in the Netherlands) and the Frans Hals Museum (one of the old Dutch masters, painters who worked during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century).

Dinner: Lunchbox.

Evening: Dinner and overnight on board the boat.

AM: Breakfast on the boat and preparation of the lunch box.

You sail to Spaarndam, a picturesque village near Haarlem. The name Spaarndam comes from the dam built in the Spaarne river to limit the risk of flooding from the sea.

The Buitenhuizen ferry takes you across the North Sea Canal (the only connection between the ports of Amsterdam and the North Sea) and from there, you pedal towards Zaanse Schans.

The village of Zaanse Schans, with its traditional wooden houses, warehouses and windmills, will give you the feeling of being back in the 17th or 18th century. It’s not, however, an open-air museum, but a lively place where people live and work. You can visit a cheese factory, a clog factory and a traditional bakery.

Back in Amsterdam, it’s time to say goodbye to your bike. Perhaps you’d like to take a stroll through the city, or take a trip on the canals by bateau-mouche? It’s all possible before or after dinner.

Dinner: Lunch box.

Evening: Dinner and overnight stay on board the boat.

AM: Breakfast on the boat.

Disembarkation at 10 a.m.

Transferring to the airport and flight back to Montreal.