Netherlands in May - a week from Hook of Holland

[frank9755]

My wife and I have decided to go to the Netherlands for a week in May. Over the years, we've both had many trips to the country for work, and the odd weekend long ago in Amsterdam, but never really seen the countryside. We're planning to get the ferry over from Harwich to Hook of Holland and go from there. We're aiming to limit distances to 30ish miles per day and will be staying in B&Bs / hotels.

It's nice not to have to bother with onward trains, so we plan to get the overnight ferry and start cycling from the terminal. My first thoughts of a route are to start by heading up the North Sea coast to Den Helder. I think we could do this in three days comfortably, with overnight stops at or around Leiden and IJmuiden. From Den Helder we'd head round the IJsselmeer coast to Hoorn, then to Amsterdam, on to Gouda and back to Hook of Holland for the ferry.

Does anyone have any views on if this is a good or bad route, or any suggestions on 'must see' or 'must avoid' places?

Frank

[Tony]

Here's a link to my trip up and round last summer
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/3503

[MLJ]

That is a sensible plan. Going north on route LF1b should be fine with a tail wind. Note that there are a lot of public holidays in May and accommodation may be full over any long weekend. Also no food shops on Sundays but the eating places will be open.

[frank9755]

Thanks guys
Interesting to take a peek at your site, Tony. Sounds like you had a good run up the Dutch coast.
Frank

[shane]

Hi Frank,

The LF1 is a nice route and you usally have a tail wind when heading north, its mosty throuth the dunes so fairly flat(just like the rest of holland). If you want to stay on the coast theirs plenty of places to stay without having to head to Leiden(though Leiden is a nice university town too), places like Noordwijk or any of the villages 10mile eitherside of Noorwijk up until Zaandam. Theres plenty of campsites/B+B along tho coast as well as youth hostels http://www.stayokay.com .

Ijmuiden is the last place on earth you want to spend a night, its an industrial city with one of the largest steel works in the country. There are dozens of campsites/b+bs just north of Ijmuiden between Castricum and Egmond/bergen. After that you cant go a mile without seeing somewhere to stay . Try asking at the VVV (tourist information) about Boeren campings (farmers campsites) they are cheaper and alot less busy than the more commercial options.

Again this is a nice route and I do the second half a couple of times a year for a weekend away:) But we have alot of bank holidays in May so it might be busy, but riding in a bike traffic jam can be fun too......

good luck and have fun.

shane

[cricklewood_graeme]

I think someone reading this item must have done the LF4 route from Hoek van Holland via Utrecht Arnhem to Dutch border for which I have been unsuccessfully trying to buy a route guide. I have one for the German R1 route which starts at Arnhem. The Dutch bookseller I have located on the internet won't send anything to a UK address nor will he accept credit cards. Makes me think they don't want tourists over there. My trip itinerary which is also for May goes as far as Munster on the R1 then I head south to the Ruhr valley for a friend's 50th birthday in Bochum. Can anyone help me with my search?

[frank9755]

Thanks Shane - that's very helpful; will tweak our route to avoid Ijmuiden!

[peter236uk]

I am going over on the ferry on 30th April and planning cycling along the coast head to den Helder then head down to Amsterdam and back to Hook of Holland the plan would be to use campsites to keep costs down as hotels seem pricey.
I need to stay near dan Haag for the Friday and Saturday as one of our youth rugby teams are on tour there then head up the coast and back round in a loop and come back on the 6th May should leave me enough time unless I get stuck with the delights of Amsterdam then there would be no telling what will happen.

[pal]

To Cricklewood-Graeme: this German Bookshop seems to have copies of the LF4 guidebook (amazon.de has sold out..), and delivers to the UK. Hope that helps!

[frank9755]

Peter,
It's beginning to sound like an excellent little tour; I've read nice things about many of the towns along the way, from Leiden, Gouda and Delft in the south, to Haarlem and the former ports of the Ijselmeer coast.
I hope you have a good time.

Frank

[yitzk]

A few of us are thinking of "doing" Ostend to Scheveningen along the Belgium/Dutch coast in just one day. (Yes we know it is c 100 miles). Is this feasible and how long should we allow

We are used to doing 50-100 miles in a day on decent roads

Can you recommend any good maps/books - we also need to be aware of ferry times

Thanks in advance

[stucoleman]

we have one day and a half to cycle to amsterdam from hook of holland and are a group of 6 who are comfortable cycling 80-90 miles per day. We are planning to take the LF1 route up north from hook and see if we can make it to den helder on day 1. is that realistic? we shall be on touring bikes with our own gear. day 2 we plan to cycle back down to amsterdam. any folk who have been there and done it and can impart advice much appreciated

[syklist]

Thanks guys
Interesting to take a peek at your site, Tony. Sounds like you had a good run up the Dutch coast.

Here's another one. Hoek van Holland to Nieuweschans in four days.

Following the Ijsselmeer coast is quite nice as long as you have favourable winds. Medemblik is lovely, Monnikerdam and Durgerdam close to Amsterdam are worth a pause. Crossing Amsterdam is possible you have to be careful looking out for signs. I have done this a couple of times going round the East side. After Amsterdam go via Weesp and you can follow the Amsterdam Rijnkanaal down toward Breukelen. From Breukelen you cut across to Woerden where you can drop into Zwerkei outdoor shop before you head out to Linschoten. From Linschoten you can take a very lovely route to Oudewater along the Lange Linschoten. Oudewater is worth a stop for coffee and cake and is not so far from Gouda.

So not a bad route, I'd just check that you can do it in a week at 30 miles a day. I'd also check the availability of hotels/B&Bs on the route.

[slowpeddler]

I did a week tour last August. I used the ferry as my B&B and cycled north visiting places I've always wanted to go

Den Haag, Leiden, Haarlem up to Den Over.
I camped all t he way.

The cycle route maps are available from VVVV and show all the camp-sites including the Nature Camps (pro bike and low cost and secluded.

At Den Over before the 33 Km Causeway there is an excellent little camp site and the best fish restaurant in the Netherlands.

Ended up at Liewarden and caught the train back to Rotterdam. Stayed at the municipal site (not good) but you expect it to be overcrowded in August.

A gentle ride back through Delft took me back to Hook for the boat home.

Enjoy

John

[willem jongman]

Hook of Holland Den Helder is 152 km according to the Dutch bike trip planner. So it could be a push if you are riding into the wind. Personally I don't particularly care for the last stretch, so I would stop short of Den Helder (unless you want to admire our navy), and move East and then South the next day.
Willem