IJsselmeer tour

[MarkD]

I fancy doing a tour of the IJsselmeer in Holland with my family (Me, SWMBO, a twelve year old and a seven year old). I could not stand any of the escorted tours that I can find on the internet, but rather would like a guide book or map that would let me book B&Bs and get on with it myself or alternatively book a simple unescorted tour with a company taking our luggage from one pre booked B&B to another.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks in advance - Mark

 

[willem]

This one is from a Dutchman. For routes, see this cycle route panner (unfortunately the interface is still only in Dutch): http://www.fietsersbond.nl/fietsrouteplanner/fietsroutes-recreatieveplanner/index.html Or just get a decent map. If you are doing hotels and youth hostels, you really do not need luggage transport. There are no mountains in Holland, not even hills (bar a few that you would barely recognize as such). As for the trip, I personaly think the northern part of what you have in mind is pretty boring. The big Afsluitdijk is just awful. The ferry from Enkhuizen to Stavoren is much more fun. This of course reduces the mileage, but there are many ways to add more interesting ones.
Willem

 

[MarkD]

This one is from a Dutchman. For routes, see this cycle route panner (unfortunately the interface is still only in Dutch): http://www.fietsersb...nner/index.html Or just get a decent map. If you are doing hotels and youth hostels, you really do not need luggage transport. There are no mountains in Holland, not even hills (bar a few that you would barely recognize as such). As for the trip, I personaly think the northern part of what you have in mind is pretty boring. The big Afsluitdijk is just awful. The ferry from Enkhuizen to Stavoren is much more fun. This of course reduces the mileage, but there are many ways to add more interesting ones.
Willem

Willem,


Thanks for the reply, Is the northern part of the area truly boring? I kind of expected flat ground but interesting Dutch villages.....

Thanks again - Will take a look at the website that you linked and see if I can vaguely understand anything

Cheers - Mark

 

[rich p]

Willem,


Thanks for the reply, Is the northern part of the area truly boring? I kind of expected flat ground but interesting Dutch villages.....

Thanks again - Will take a look at the website that you linked and see if I can vaguely understand anything

Cheers - Mark

I did a tour of Holland (not all of it!) earlier this year, Mark. I booked B&Bs from My link which worked well.

Here's link to my blog if it's of any use. We did a loop north from The Hook, over the Ijselmeer and back round to the Hook. I loved it.
http://www.crazyguyo...ke.com/doc/6840

 

[Peter10]

Does anyone have a list/map or know of a website with camp-sites & hostels in Holland? I have had a look but all the websites are in Dutch.

 

[slowmotion]

Mark, I have only done a couple of trips from the Hoek to Amsterdam up the LF1 North Sea path and then onto the LF20, but here goes...

1) If you need paper maps, get them from these people www.dezwerver.nl Their website is all in Dutch, but all you have to do is pick up the phone and a delightful lady will talk you through how to fill in the on-line sales stuff. Incredible service. I bought some Falk maps...Fietskaart met knooppuntennetwerk. They show all the long distance cycle paths at 1cm=500metres.

2) I went overnight from Harwich to the Hoek with Stena Lines. The Hollandica ferry is brand new, and I think that the return one, the Brittanica, will be replaced very shortly. The Hollandica has some pretty weird bike racks that you are supposed to drop your handlebars into. The slots for the bars are not that deep, and , with my bike, the brake and gear cables got in the way. Take some cable ties or cord to double up on fixing your bike.

3) It may be flat in Holland, but the wind always blows in your face....always! Chinese gales. Do not underestimate the wind when planning your progress.

4) If you have not been to Holland before, you will be dumbstruck by the cycle system...and the friendliness of the inhabitants.

Have fun.

Edit: Sorry, I just remembered that there is a network of bike-friendly and low-cost B&Bs in Holland that are run by similar enthusiasts. I don't know anything about them. Maybe our Dutch friends might help out?

 

[rich p]

Does anyone have a list/map or know of a website with camp-sites & hostels in Holland? I have had a look but all the websites are in Dutch.

http://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/

http://holland.cyclingaroundtheworld.nl/Wheretostay/WhereToStay-camping.html

 

[willem]

The northern part is boring because not all of it is old land. After you leave Medemblik you enter the Wieringermeer, a large chunck of land that was reclaimed in the early 20th century. It is empty and dull. After that you get the long Afsluitdijk to Friesland, and again that is pretty boring: some 40 km of dike with a road with a lot of traffic on it (you will be on a separate cycle lane, but still). Afater that, the first part in Friesland is not very exciting either (it does get better after a while). Taking the ferry from Enkhuizen to Stavoren (it does not sail throughout the year, however) you save yourself this boredom. East of Stavoren is beautiful. After that, you once again have top make choices, because there wil be more modern reclamation: the Noordoostpolder and Flevoland. I suggest you avoid most of those, and stay on the old land, with nice little villages.
Willem

 

[Fietslogies]

http://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/

A link on the site of 'Vrienden op de Fiets' leads to a summary in English. They didn't update yet their pages as in 2011, prices will be a lttle bit higher, 19 euro pp/pn.
While making a reservation, look for the word 'kinderbed' (= Children's Bed) and discuss the price in advance.

An easy way to avoid luggage transportation problems is to base yourself in one city and to cycle a few loops. Afterwards you take the train to go somewhere else and there you do the same.

 

[Brains]

There is a brilliant book, worth getting for the maps alone called 'Around the Ijesselmere' by 'bikeline'
Unforunatly the text is in German, but it was details of B&B's, Campsites, etc etc. and you don't need to understand german to read the symbols on the map

 

[MarkD]

Thanks to all of you for your help and advice, I'm amazed at what a friendly site this is, expecially to someone who has only just registered.

Thanks again - Mark

 

[ComedyPilot]

I rode round The Netherlands in 9 days in May this year. I rode from Europoort to Haarlem, statred off quite industrialised, then urban, then dunes then urban again. I got a train to Almere, spent the night there, then rode Almere to Den Oever via Lelystad and Enkhuisen. Very flat, large dykes and windswept. Still interesting with the nearby yachts and wind turbines. Towns we also equispaced enough to make progress with sufficient coffee/frites/ice cream stops. Day 3 saw me ride over the Afsluitdijk to Harlingen, then I followed the coast east to Lauwersoog, before heading south towards Groningen.

More to follow - tea's up

 

[ComedyPilot]

Day 4 I rode south through Groningen to Schonebeek south of Emmen. A very rural ride. Day 4 was through part of Germany then back into the Netherlands before stopping near Borculo. Day 5 went from Borculo to Arnhem, then Nijmegen and onto Well a very rural day with lots of ferry crossings. Day 6 was Well to Oirschot near Eindhoven. A long day with a lot of urban areas to traverse. Day 7 Oirschot to Rilland with a slight detour to take in the sights of Baarle-Nassau. Day 8 was a big one, Rilland back t Europoort. 96 miles on a hot day with the last 50 into a relentless headwind that saw getting a 12mph average as a feat of massive proportions.

For me my tour was more about fitness than touring, hence the large mileages every day. But as a first 'real' solo Eurpean tour, I can't recommend Holland enough.

 

[friedel]

We did a quick tour around the IJsselmeer last summer, though you could certainly stretch it out. The north isn't boring, it's beautiful!

You can read our journals here: http://travellingtwo.com/5631

Feel free to email me with any questions (there's a contact form on the site).

As you've already noticed, most good resources are in Dutch. I'm working on a guide book, but it's not ready yet.