RumRita

My partner and I are considering joining up with group bike tour through the Netherlands April 26- May 2. The tour operator is Van Gogh Tours. The itinerary includes a trip to the Keukenhof and travels from Leiden to Nordwik along the coast, to the Hague, Delft and then through the Westland on to a lake in Noorden. Accomodations are 2 nights each in Noordwijk, Delft and Noorden. The ride is rated as easy - max of 36 miles in a day.

This will be our first biking tour. We are moderately fit, not serious bikers. I'm looking for comments on the intinerary - is it a good sampling of the Netherlands in spring and on the tour group Van Gogh - anyone had any experience with them?

bilboburgler

I'll let others comment on the itinary. 36miles on the dead flat without baggage will be dead easy but watch out for bottom soreness. Can you cut away from the flock or do you have to go where they go?

hetismij

The itinerary sounds fine. Do you know where you will be on April 30th for Koninginnedag (Queens Day)?
You may have to contend with some wind, as you are near the coast most of the time.

suec1

Sounds wonderful! Besides Keukenhof you should see some of the tulip fields which are also fantastic. If you are happy with your tour - go for it! but you might also consider just a do-it-yourself. We stayed in Amsterdam and then rented bikes for just day trips - actually rented the bikes at a train station a ways out from Amsterdam. But I would love to get to the Netherlands again in tulip season - we found Keukenhof to be glorious! but quite crowded but at least it is a big area - not too compact like Giverney.

PalenQ

My old bike touring company did bike tours in Holland for over a decade - be prepared for rain at this time and winds - personally i would not consider a bike trip in this area at that time - weather too dicey. But the itinerary is fine.

ribeirasacra

I personally don’t understand why some think the weather will be “ to dicey” You will not melt if it rains you will not fall off if it is windy.
At the moment the temps in The Netherlands is about minus 20 at night and some places only have a high of minus 3 (centigrade) using your bicycle in those freezing temps could prove more difficult, but the Dutch still use their bikes.
Just relax and enjoy the ride, but get in some practice before your vacation.

PalenQ

I can personally attest, after taking hundreds and hundreds of Americans on bike tours in Holland that if the rain sets in as it can for days on end and the winds whips up - that most did not enjoy it at all.

The Dutch may

Yeh it could be tolerated but not as fun as sunny wind-free days IMO

And that time of year, thru much experience there at that time, is much more to have cool, foul weather than other times of summer - a trip from late May thru early Sep will be much more pleasant because of less a chance of rain.

That said one year in Belgium and Holland and Germany we had 45 STRAIGHT days of rain - sometimes a mist but constantly cool and soggy.

Tiptoeing or biking thru the tulips sounds great until it becomes a slog with only getting to your hotel the day's goal.

Tulips

You can't plan for the weather. Two years ago we had a whole April month with summer temperatures and not a drop of rain, and then rain every day in August.

It looks like a nice trip; if the weather is really bad you can always take the train for part of it.

PalenQ

Oh you could have fine weather

i only base my observations of spending years doing bike trips that were a few weeks later than OP - and weather was often worse then than later. when you pay 1000's of dollars for a trip and it rains all the time well... or even the winds without rain. In fact the itinerary seems to be going against the wind as i understand it - the wind IME esp along the coast - often blows east and northerly - which means it may be in their face more than not.

Anyway biking in Holland is something i thoroughly enjoyed - just later in the summer. Well that's my opinion.

At that time of year i'd look for a bike tour in southern France.

quokka

Rain occurs throughout all seasons in central and western Europe. The only difference is that in summer the rain is a bit warmer. You need rain gear any season and the weather can never be planned. Statistically, the amount of rainfall in July and August is actually a tad higher than in spring and autumn.

hetismij

It rarely rains on Koninginnedag for some reason, so that should at least be a dry day .
Even if it does rain it probably won't rain all day - April showers and all that. But no one can say what it will be like - we have had snow in April, and heatwaves too.
Rita please don't be put off by the chance of rain. I'm sure the guides have an alternative available if it really does bucket it down.

amyb

I toured the region in April 2007 and it was gorgeous weather, but about 80 degrees F! I don't recall any rain at all. Not saying it can't happen, but more pointing out to expect anything.

amyb

Also, unless you ride outside regularly, 36 miles, even flat is not "easy". I have ridden outside for years and would never recommend much more than 10 - 15 miles for people who don't ride bikes. Not sure if you do, but be sure to log some miles at home before you go, in any event.

PalenQ

Yes expect anything, esp rainy spells that set in for days

And that 36 miles over 'flat' ground can be like 72 miles if cycling into a stiff wind, which IME is also likely at some point, esp the way this itinerary appears plan

When we decided our itinerary along the coast we went the opposite way, on advice of locals and this proved wise, generally.

spaarne

I am not so enthused about that itinerary. Two nights in Nordwijk and Noorden seems like four nights too many. Nordwijk is a beach resort. Your tour is three months early for the beach. I've never been to Noorden but it seems to be a small place in the middle of no where.

IMO, you don't need a tour. Anyone who can walk to their corner grocery store can ride a bike on their own throughout Holland. The dedicated bicycle roads and excellent signage make it a snap. A fiets map and compass would be helpful. If you get lost just ask anyone. Everybody speaks English.

I suggest renting a bike in Amsterdam and taking it on the train to Haarlem. Spend a day or two in Haarlem. Then pedal south to Keukenhof through the tulip fields at your own pace. Here is a photo log of my trip in 2008, http://tinyurl.com/5nwqzp.

Then continue south to Leiden, Delft, and Den Haag. Take the train back to Amsterdam. It costs €6 to take a bike on the train but it is generally not allowed during rush hours.

Or skip Den Haag and be back in Amsterdam by the evening of April 29 to enjoy Queen's Day on the 30th. See my photo log of the 2008 unabashed celebration at http://tinyurl.com/55px5p. It is a party you will never forget.

Cautions:

I was lucky to have some great weather last year. As PalenQ says, it can be rainy and windy, but as noted by others this is Holland and it rains about 300 days a year. It was lousy on one of the days in the week I was there but that was no problem when setting my own schedule.

In tulip season, mid April to mid May, hotel space is scarce and gets scarcer the longer you wait if you are booking your own rooms. The tour should have already booked the rooms so this should be no problem if going with Van Gogh. I suspect that one of the reasons they picked Nordwijk and Noorden is that they could find rooms available and at a good price. A little known option when traveling independently in west Holland is to stay in "Zimmer Frei" rooms. These are rooms in homes in places like Zandvoort which cater primarily to Germans coming for their annual invasion of the North Sea beaches in summer. Early May is dead for the beach so it should be relatively easy to find a room in Zandvoort, at least. Use the VVV tourist offices to locate rooms as you travel, or pop into any hotel you see.

Whatever you do you'll have fun.

RumRita

wow - that was fast. Thanks everyone for your comments.

Hetismij - looks like we will be in Delft for the evening of 29 April then spend Queen's Day biking along a small river, the Rotte on the way to Noorden. My parter hates crowds, so specifically requested that we not be in Amsterdam for 30 April. This way, I guess we'll be biking in the countryside. On this leg they site scenery - birding, sheep and windmills are the prime vista. I haven't been able to find out much about Noorden - looks pretty rural - the hotels appear to cater to carp fishing.

PalenQ - I too am somehat worried about the weather. But the brochure says that statistically April and May have the least rainfall. The guides appear to know the area well, one of the owners, who will be guiding the tour is Dutch. They have been in business for 19 years and seem to have good reviews from on-like bike tour site I've found. So I hope they know what they are doing re: riding with the wind. Guess you didn't run accross them in your bike travels in Holland?

Amyb glad you had a good trip - we do plan to get our road rides in before we go. Hopefully the weather will cooperate - if not we'll at least get some "saddle time" at the gym.

Spaarne - I hear what your saying about going on our own. The 2 nights each in Noordwijk and Noorden have me a little worried. We are usually independent travelers. We like the idea of a guided tour because my partner has some knee issues (eg no ACL). She has a knee brace and generally does fine on our local bike outings, but the option of a SAG van is appealing. Also finding hotels at this time of the year is pretty tight as well, we haven't done much advance planning.

There are some other short 4 day barge/bike trips "through the tulips" but the itinerary seems much more limited though - has anyone done one of these?

Again thanks for all the input - would love to hear more, especially if anyone has used Van Gogh.

hetismij

Early May can be crowded for the beach, it depends on how the holidays are. Also being bulb season a lot of hotels and B&Bs will be full. Zimmer Frei (which is German and was aimed at Germans when they had little or no beach of their own, pre fall of the Wall) can be a nice B&B or it can be a bedroom, with nothing but a bed in it, no breakfast, nothing. Shared bathroom etc too.
If you want to do it your self then rent the bike in Haarlem or wherever rather than coping with bike and luggage on the train from Amsterdam.
The big advantage of a tour like the Van Gogh is that your luggage is taken on for you, you don't have to cope with it and a bike.
The beaches are lovely in spring as they are not crowded, and the dunes can be amazing. Yes it can be windy, it can be wet it can be anything but so what??
36 miles is a lot in one day. You should, if you can get some training in before hand. There will be some hills in the dunes, but nothing major.

PalenQ

Apr and May may have less rain i of course do not know

but i would want to know on how many days there is rain and not the total amount

300 days a year with some rain - meaning you get wet, etc. would give me pause for concern.

day tripping by train and rental bike like Spaarne says is a good idea - if it is raining you're doing museums in Amsterdam or other city

if it's nice you take the train to Haarlem, rent a bike like Spaarne says and ride thru the flower belt to Leiden and then put it on a train with you back to haarlem, return it and head back to Amsterdam or other base.

gruezi

I was in Amsterdam last year in May and it rained (poured) 4 straight days. I had a great time but I was not on a bike. (Well, I must confess that I absolutely hate biking. The Dutch sure do make it look fun though.)

I did get to Keukenhof (the rain paused for an hour or two, and although the big bloom was over, it was still pretty stunning. You should be there at the best time for great blooms. I just took a train and bus from the city right to the flowers. Took about 2 hours or less I think.

Enjoy the Netherlands.

gruezi

ribeirasacra

With all this talk about how bad the weather in The Netherlands can be makes me wonder why do so many folks live there and why do they get visitors from all over the world all year long.
Does it get windy and rainy in other parts of the world? If so can you tell me what the tourist do then? Hide indoors because the rain will melt you?
Do not go to any part of Europe if you want guaranteed weather (ie sun)