Welcome the autumn in a very special way: Step on board our mini-cruiser and experience the provinces South and North Holland on cycle and boat tours. We will experience the colourful, typical Dutch landscape and moor in century-old cities full of life and conviviality. We will visit Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden and the porcelain city Delft. A highlight is our visit to the world port city Rotterdam with its unique modern architecture. We will not only admire the skyline from the water, but also offer you a city tour from our berth in the oldest harbour of the city.
Saturday: Alphen a/d Rijn
Embarkation in Alphen a/d Rijn at 16.00 'o clock. Over a cup of coffee the crew will welcome you and our travel program will be introduced. After the first dinner aboard you can walk along the Rhine into the centre of Alphen.
Sunday: Alphen-Amsterdam
Our first boat cruise will go through the centre of Alphen, over the Aarkanaal and the beautiful Amstel to Amsterdam. On our way, our cycle tour will start along the picturesque lakes and through the lake area with Amsterdam as today's destination, where the Ali-B2 is already waiting for us. From our berth in the outer canal ring we can make an evening walk along the famous canals into the centre.
Monday: Amsterdam-Haarlem
Today we will start our day with a particularly varied boat tour: We will sail through the main canals of Amsterdam, the harbour area and on the North Sea canal. We will pass by a lock in Spaarndam and reach Haarlem.
The cycle tour in the afternoon will guide us through the nature reserve Kennemer Dunes to the North Sea.
In the evening it is time for a shore leave into Haarlem. This old Dutch city is full of big and small charming sights, like fascinating towers, quiet living courtyards, pediments and their unique marketplace with the late Gothic St. Bavokerk.
Tuesday: Haarlem-Leiden
We will leave the picturesque Haarlem on the Spaarne, whereby countless historical bridges have to open for us. We will continue on the Ringvaart of the Haarlemmermeer and the Kagerplassen to Leiden, today's destination.
In the afternoon, we will follow the Kaag-route on our bicycle, a beautiful lake tour along countless windmills.
The well-preserved old town of Leiden invites you for an evening walk.
Wednesday: Leiden-Delft
Look forward to a varied cruise on the Vliet and Schie through several still manually controlled bridges and the small lock of Leidschendam. In a slow pace, we will pass by lovely parks, manor houses with beautiful gardens and farms built in traditional style.
We will moor in the historic Delft and jump on our bicycles, to explore the surroundings of Delft.
Since the time that Johannes Vermeer painted his well known painting "View of Delft", the silhouette of this old-Dutch city has hardly changed. Proud centuries-old patrician houses flank the narrow, treeline canals. Delft is also referred to as "Small-Amsterdam". We can finish the day in an atmospheric way with an evening walk along the canals to the market place with its many terraces or a boat tour through the canals passing underneath picturesque arched bridges.
Thursday: Delft-Rotterdam
We will leave for our cruise on the Schie towards Rotterdam. We will pas the Parksluizen (locks) in Rotterdam and berth in the Veerhaven, the oldest harbour in the city, surrounded by art nouveau architecture with a view of the Nieuwe Maas.
In the afternoon, look forward to a guided city tour through the maritime, modern Rotterdam. We will pass by the Maasboulevard on our way to the in 1984 established cube houses, an original estate of cube-shaped individual houses respectively standing on a pylon. Right next to it is the in 2014 completed market hall with a covered area the size of a football field full of stands with fresh fish, meat, fruit and vegetables. What is unique about this market hall is that it is not only a mixture of market, shops, catering industry and parks, but that it also houses. A big part of the facades consists of glass, which gives the market hall a big transparency.
Friday: Rotterdam-Alphen
In the morning we will admire the imposing skyline of Rotterdam during our departure. Over the Nieuwe Maas, Dutch IJssel, Gouwe and the Old Rhine we will reach our home port after well over four hours.
Subsequently we will cycle through Alphen's surroundings past old farms and through low-lying polder areas surrounded by small waterways.
We will finish this eventful week with our traditional Captain's Dinner.
Saturday: Individual departure after breakfast
