Dutch coast - to tent or not to tent?

[ciquta]

touring the dutch coast in July, do you think it is possible to find accomodations booking let's say 2 days in advance?

or is it safer to bring the tent?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

touring the dutch coast in July, do you think it is possible to find accomodations booking let's say 2 days in advance?

or is it safer to bring the tent?

There's a lot of coastline, it might help to be a bit more specific
I'm sure you could find hotel rooms a couple of days ahead but you may not like the prices, especially if travelling solo and I'm sure there will be less choice. The west coast becomes little Germany in the summer.

Camping gives far more freedom and most Dutch sites are well used to bikes and generally will always find a space.

Usually someone suggests Frienden op de Fiets for budget accommodation for bikers. I've never used it but I could well imagine that it's the busy time of the year for them.

Welcome to my Garden might be interesting or if you do a search through this forum you might find more links.

Anecdotally, I've heard that on the likes of AirBnB many hosts are only interested in 2-3 day minimums which seriously reduces choice.

Personally, my preference would be a tent for the flexibility and cost.


How was your trip to Stockholm?

 

[All uphill]

I've just come back and can echo what @HobbesOnTour says. Even in May Vrienden op de Fiets places were fully booked and other accommodation was expensive.

I ended up paying £130 for a night in an ordinary hotel room booked a week in advance.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I ended up paying £130 for a night in an ordinary hotel room booked a week in advance.

Oooof! That's steep!

Coming from a bit of a hotel background, I'm not averse to checking an app like Bo0king.com to get a feel for rates in a place and then rolling up to the most likely option. I've never been charged more than the Bo0king rate, and often significantly less. (I find that interesting because Bo0king have me on some super duper tier). Mind you, I've also rolled up and discovered no room at the inn
In a place like NL the great advantage is that an English speaker can phone in advance of rolling up, do a quick comparison on direct price or app price and book accordingly.
Of course, it all depends on our comfort where we are and our flexibility in where we're willing to stay.

 

[The Crofted Crest]

We have recently done two four-day tours in Holland, although not along the coast. Finding a hotel was very difficult, even when trying to book weeks in advance. @All uphill's £130 a night is par for the course (the most we paid was €180, the least €130). Many hotels, moreover, would only take bookings for two nights.

The Dutch coast isn't all that long. Work out where you want to stay and ring in advance (i.e. now) to suss out the situation.

 

[All uphill]

It may be worth planning accommodation south of the Hoek area and then getting to the North of Haarlem for the following night.

My Dutch son tells me everything in the Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Utrecht triangle is at bursting point, and that was certainly my impression in May.

The joys of economic success!

 

[ciquta]

There's a lot of coastline, it might help to be a bit more specific
I'm sure you could find hotel rooms a couple of days ahead but you may not like the prices, especially if travelling solo and I'm sure there will be less choice. The west coast becomes little Germany in the summer.

Camping gives far more freedom and most Dutch sites are well used to bikes and generally will always find a space.

Usually someone suggests Frienden op de Fiets for budget accommodation for bikers. I've never used it but I could well imagine that it's the busy time of the year for them.

Welcome to my Garden might be interesting or if you do a search through this forum you might find more links.

Anecdotally, I've heard that on the likes of AirBnB many hosts are only interested in 2-3 day minimums which seriously reduces choice.

Personally, my preference would be a tent for the flexibility and cost.


How was your trip to Stockholm?

my trip to north cape was postponed

I'm traveling bikepacking the whole coast, Germany to Belgium and I really hoped to save all the camping gear

of course I'm going to use vriendenopdefiets, i just wonder how many days of advance i need to find vacancies

 

[HobbesOnTour]

my trip to north cape was postponed

Postponed is a better way of looking at things than cancelled

I'm traveling bikepacking the whole coast, Germany to Belgium

That would have been useful info to post at the start. The northern coast is a different situation to the west coast.
You'd also get more useful responses if we knew the approximate time scale. There's a bit of a difference between looking for 2-3 nights' accommodation and a week's or more.
If you were planning on crossing the afsluitdijk it's closed to bikes to the best of my knowledge. (There is a bus service)

of course I'm going to use vriendenopdefiets,

Good luck with that. I well think you're too late now, never mind two days in advance.

I suppose one way to look at things is to compare the cost of covered accommodation for your trip to the cost of compact, ultralight camping kit. Do a few sums and you may end up saving money (in a fashion ) and upgrading gear at the same time.

For me, if I was after a relatively loose, unplanned trip, it would be camping all the way. Then again, if it was me, I'd avoid most of the west coast at that time of the year - way too many people!

 

[ciquta]

sorry by "saving" I meant the weight and the fuss, not the money (I'm already fully equipped)

I would never imagine a service made for one-nighter cyclists would be fully booked months in advance.. it's very disappointing


at least can I assume the campings will have space available? or i need to book that as well?!?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

at least can I assume the campings will have space available? or i need to book that as well?!?

Camping gives far more freedom and most Dutch sites are well used to bikes and generally will always find a space.

If it's a source of anxiety I suggest you contact them now to enquire if they expect reservations for solo (are you solo?) cyclists.

 

[ciquta]

For me, if I was after a relatively loose, unplanned trip, it would be camping all the way. Then again, if it was me, I'd avoid most of the west coast at that time of the year - way too many people!

Flying to Hamburg and return from Eindoven 2nd half of July.

I'm ready to cave in and bring the camping stuff, but is there a risk not to find a camping available along the course without booking? I tried to plan all the stages but it's too much a shot in the dark with wind and ferries

Do you suggest an alternative route less busy?

I swear, if I hadn't the flights already paid for I'd look elsewhere, but here I am

 

[RobinS]

We cycled down the coast from the German border to Hook of Holland a few years ago in late July, during the German and Dutch holidays (this was on our way home from Bratislava and the EV6, having been on the road since the beginning of May we had no choice in timing.). We encountered a couple of campsites at Cuxhaven in Germany that had no space for us, the third found us a space despite being "full". In the Netherlands we did try to cycle inland a kilometre or two to avoid beachside campsites, but we were never turned away. Many sites have some small pitches for cyclists or walkers which don't get filled by holidaying hordes, others, small sites were not busy, one that was "full" we were told to camp on the owner's front lawn! (they even brought out patio furniture for us to use.) This was all done with no booking at all, we would just tip up at 4-5pm. Remember - the Dutch like and respect cyclists and want to be helpful.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Camping gives far more freedom and most Dutch sites are well used to bikes and generally will always find a space.

And

at least can I assume the campings will have space available? or i need to book that as well?!?

And

If it's a source of anxiety I suggest you contact them now to enquire if they expect reservations for solo (are you solo?) cyclists.

And

I'm ready to cave in and bring the camping stuff, but is there a risk not to find a camping available along the course without booking?

Really!

I tried to plan all the stages but it's too much a shot in the dark with wind and ferries

You're overthinking this. B¡g Time!

If camping, and your approach is polite and friendly, perhaps a little bewildered, it is unlikely you will have much difficulty finding a spot in NL. Ironically, your odds are probably better away from the coast.
If you are looking for a cast iron, 100% guarantee that you will get a pitch then you're asking in the wrong place.

Do you suggest an alternative route less busy?

There are bazillions of cycle routes in NL. I would look at the places I would like to visit and go there. I wouldn't slavishly stick to a dotted line on a map. Or I would just follow my nose. Explore. It's Holland, not some vast desert.

In your shoes, I'd actually head north to Denmark, make use of the free camping spots and change my return ticket. Or a few days in Hamburg is also fun

a few years ago......

I think it's worth noting that a lot of things have changed in a post Covid world.
Personally, I'm sceptical now of comparisons to a few years ago. Campsites have closed, some especially in France have gone from Muni to Private. I know in Spain some Municipalities have shut theirs. Two night minimums and the like are a new one to me.
I do agree with the general observation about NL, a very bike friendly place, especially for the wandering, foreign bike-tourist.

 

[ciquta]

Thanks for your inputs, sorry if I sound paranoic but I've found myself more than once at 10pm without a spot to pitch a tent (France and Switzerland) and it wasn't nice experience. But I feel encouraged now, thanks!

I don't care about the beaches, I was thinking to get to Bruges so coastal path was the most obvious choice.
But where things gets ugly I'll be happy to switch to a innerland tour and make Antwerp my destination.

So what's the most busy part? Den Helder to Hoek of Holland? Or also Zeeland?

 

[AndreaVin]

You could also try Warmshowers as an additional option for accommodation.