Hook of Holland to Amsterdam next spring

The family are going to Amsterdam for a weekend. It occurred to me that I might cycle there. Has anybody done this ride? is it nice? I heard that there is a ride through or near the dunes for th emost part...is thta right? Are theri tulips and windmills? Are the women friendly and do I have to wear SPD cloggs?

 

Do you have a copy of th eroute you took? Where did you overnight? Is there a camp site there? or should I book up a windmill?

 

Leave the SPD shoes, helmet, lycra,gloves and goggles at home or all the locals will stare at you shrug their shoulders and mutter about crazy tourists
There are countless route options to choose from between The Hook and Amsterdam, when you get off the ferry ask for directions to the ANWB shop where they will sell you a 1:100.000 (1cm=1KM) map of Zuid Holland, and you can easily devise your own route.

 

The simplest thing to do is to get off the boat, turn left and pedal along the coast until you see a signpost for Amsterdam. The LF1 national cycle route (part of the North Sea cycle route) runs along the coast and you could follow the signs for it (although it does not go to Amsterdam, you would have to turn right at some point such as Zaandam). If you want to plot your own route (e.g. to visit Delft, Leiden, Haarlem or other historic towns ) you can follow the "mushrooms" or the cyclists' red or green signposts (the green routes, where avaialble, are nicer but slightly longer). Both the signposts and the "mushrooms" give directions and distances for cyclists and the "mushrooms" are numbered and shown on cycling maps. If you do buy a cycling map, don't forget the Amsterdam is in Noord Holland province and Hook in Zuid Holland.


A direct route from Hook to Amsterdam (not along the coast but through towns and therefore more difficult to follow) would be about 50 miles, the coastal route would be about 80 or so. There are campsites at most towns along the coast if you need to break your journey and depending on the time of year (spring/early summer is best) there are tulips galore in the Lisse/Noordwijk area.

 

Or to save the second day of cycling on Users' route, hop on the Flying Ferry at Velsen, it takes you in to Centraal Station Amsterdam for E4.95 +E2.40 for your bike.
http://www.reiziger.connexxion.nl/web/show/provinvie=8/id=66901/contentid=8321

 

excellent info..many thanks. Unfortunately I dont have a gps, but I can use your maps to plan a route on a paper map.

 

You are worrying too much about this.
There is clear signposting, but you can always ask along the way, the natives are friendly and nearly everyone speaks English.

 

Whatever else you do, make sure you try applecake with cream. It's the best apple cake in the world and it makes you cycle twice as fast to the next cake shop.

 

Would that be Appelgebak met Slagroom?

Slagroom being the word for whipped cream. A linguistically ungifted mate of mine thought it meant brothel and couldn't understand why all the cafes had adverts for brothels chalked up on the placards outside.

 

Has anyone any recommendations for the best place to stop off approximately half way to Amsterdam? I realise that the distance is do-able in a day, but we're looking to take a small group on a charity bike ride. Cheers.

 

Does anybody know a way to hire a cycle for the trip from the hook of holland to amsterdam? is it possible

 

There are a couple of bike shops in Hook of Holland. Why not give them a ring and see if they can help? They'll almost certainly speak English.

 

don't know about bike hire but.... I did this ride a few weeks ago and if you're not that fit, it'll take all day!!!

 

Can't help with bike hire I'm afraid. Hook's bound to have plenty of hire places. I did this ride both ways in April and it was brilliant. I clocked up around 70 miles from the boat to the centre of Amsterdam. There are more direct routes but I decided on quietest routes avoiding large towns (although you can't really avoid The Hague).

I headed up the coast through the dunes nearly as far as Wassenaar, then right, inland under the railway and along the river past Voorschoten. Then miles adjacent to the river/ canals to Hoogmade, through Woubrugge, Rijnsaterwoude in time for lunch at Leimuiden. Along the beautiful lakeside through Kudelstaart to Aalsmeer, for a final assault on Amsterdam via Amsterdam Bos and VondelPark (to keep it as rural as possible for as long as possible). I got off the ship at about 07:00 and was in my hotel room in downtown Amsterdam for 15:30. That's without rushing and stopping for plenty of breaks for drinks/ photos. I'd do it again tomorrow!