travelwithme

We will be in Haarlem April 16 to 18 to visit Keukenhof and surrounding tulip fields. We will want bikes. What is the best way to reserve them for our dates? I read on line you can get them at rain station. Seems like this is a very busy time of year and I want to be sure we get best bikes for our two day trip. We'll be staying in hotel very close to Haarlem train station.
Thank you for all the advice you can provide including suggestions for stops along the way to the gardens to see sites and stop for a drink.
LWH

janisj

For some reason you tagged this for the UK - so folks that specifically check for threads about the Netherlands won't see it.

If you click on the gray triangle, you'll get a link to the editors. You can ask them to change the thread tag.

hetismij

Many bike shops also hire bikes out. Most do not take bookings however, and even if you do book there is no guarantee you will get the best bikes. They will rent you whatever they have which is the right size for you. They almost certainly won't have gears, and may have a back pedal brake. The same is true of the bike hire at the station.
I doubt very much that they will be out of bikes while you are there.
You can try somewhere like www.rentabikehaarlem.nl, but their website says they only accept online bookings for groups of ten or more..
You can also hire bikes at Keukenhof itself.

Make sure you take along some photo ID when you collect the bikes.

spaarne

April 16 to 18 is somewhat iffy for seeing many bulbs in bloom. It is a hard winter in Holland this year. Whether the blooms will be out depends on the weather. Pray for an early spring. Also pray for blue skies and sunshine.

You can rent bikes at the Haarlem train station. Some bike shops also rent them. Here is a link to two stores from the tourist office site, http://tinyurl.com/yc9klph. There is also a shop on the street next to the Lion d'Or hotel, across from the train station west. I don't remember the name of the shop. I've had my bike repaired there and the service is very good.

I met some French people in the Haarlem station who had rented beautiful bikes from Bike City in Amsterdam, Bloemgracht 6. That is a bit out of the way but those bikes were certainly the "best." It costs €6 per day to take a bike on the train. You can also rent in Leiden for a shorter ride to Keukenhof but you will miss some spectacular fields south of Haarlem. There is also a bike shop at the Heemstede-Aerdenhout train station and I believe that they rent.

For info, "Bike" in Dutch is <i>fiets</i> or <i>rijwiel</i>. "For rent" is <i>te huur</i>.

Here is a photolog of my bike trip from Haarlem to Keukenhof a couple of years ago, http://tinyurl.com/y8hltjl.

The bicycle roads are well marked but I suggest that you get a bicycle map to be sure.

travelwithme

Thanks to all. Spaarne, I did see your photos of your trip...that's the kind of day I hope for! I did do some research on line and there are several bike shops in Haarlem that rent bikes, but as stated, they seem to only reserve for larger groups. Trying to decide whether to stay in Haarlem or Amsterdam or a combination of the two. We have three nights before we take the train to Bruges.