Our family has spent a few spring breaks cycling in the Netherlands, particularly to see the tulips and beautiful countryside particularly in Holland. Here are our suggested cycling routes, where to rent bikes, tips for navigating, and where we stayed.
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Tulip cycling routes
If you visit from mid April to mid May, you can see many fields with flowering tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, etc. The most popular area to visit is in Lisse near the Keukenhof Gardens. But there are many other tulip growing areas that are less popular that also have nice cycling routes.
1. Lisse tulip fields bike ride
Perhaps the most popular route for tourists is the Dutch Flower Route near Keukenhof gardens. It’s a 35 km loop passing by many enormous tulips fields. If you need a shorter ride, they have a suggested 9 km and 12 km route, also near the Keukenhof gardens.
Bike route: 39 km • 3 hours • 80m up/down
See details for Lisse tulip fields bike ride
You can rent bikes at the Keukenhof Gardens parking lot, so you can easily do the ride after your visit. Although the tulips were amazing, this was probably my least favorite ride because it was so crowded with bikes, pedestrians and cars.
2. Tulip Festival Noordoostpolder bike route
Noordoostpolder east of Amsterdam is the largest tulip area in the Netherlands with 2000 hectares of tulip fields. They have a tulip festival from late April to early May. Unlike the Keukenhof area near Lisse, this area is not super popular with tourists so it’s much less crowded.
They have a recommended 35km cycling route and 99 km driving route to visit the tulip fields. The routes change slightly each year based on which tulip fields will flower that year.
Bike route: 35 km loop • 3 hours • see bike route
We really enjoyed the bike route, with so many opportunities to take pics with tulip fields and lovely countryside. Many of the country roads did not have bike lanes, so you do need to be careful with the cars passing by.
We intended to rent bikes at Bike Total Nijensteen (Lange Nering 96 8302 EE Emmeloord), which is very close to the bike route. But they are closed on Sundays.
So we rented bikes at Museum Schokland, which is about 9km from the bike route, making our bike trip about 51 km instead of 35 km. They did not have E-bikes, so we got manual powered bikes which were nice to ride but a bit difficult when we were riding into the wind.
Windmill & Countryside routes
Since these routes do not rely on the tulips, you can enjoy their beauty all year long.
3. Kinderdijk Windmills
Kinderdijk is home to the most famous windmills in Holland, a UNESCO world heritage site. This bike path starts at the visitor center and rides along nineteen 18th century mills lining the waterways. Then it meanders through tiny villages and pretty fields before looping back to your starting point.
Bike route: 23.7 km • 1hr45 • see route
See details for Kinderdijk bike ride
4. Volendam countryside
This bike route starts and end in Volendam, an old fishing village northeast of Amsterdam. This bike route visits several charming villages including Monnickendam, Zuiderwoude, and Marken. You can optionally stop at various attractions along the way, including the Cheese Dairy, where you can sample local cheese.
The ride is very flat, mostly on paved roads with bike lanes. We were on e-Bikes, so the ride was pretty easy. On standard bikes, you might find this a little long but I have shorter alternatives in my post.
Bike route: 41 k • 2.5 hours
See details for Volendam countryside bike ride
5. Leiden Mills & Meadows
This “Mills & Meadows” bike route explores the countryside near Leiden, a city south of Amsterdam. It’s a charming ride, with lots of windmills, waterways lined with flowers and trees, and cute villages. Loved it!
Bike route: 46 km • 3.5 hours
See full article about Leiden bike route
6. Cheese Valley route near Woerden
We did the 35 km circular route along canals and through small village in this cheese producing region near Gouda. See route map.
We rented E-bikes from Bike Total Woerden (Molenvlietbrink 246, 3448 HS Woerden), which is a couple km from the bike route. It cost EUR 69 for three E-bikes for one day.
7. Bike along Vecht river near Weesp
This 44 km circular route starts in the small village Weesp and follows the Vecht river south towards Utrecht. The route passes several windmills, picturesque villages, and other historic sites along the way.
The route was split on dedicated bike lanes, light traffic roads with bike lanes, and narrow one lane roads with no bike lanes.
Bike route: 44 km • 3 hours • bike route map.
We really enjoyed this route, perhaps the best of the countryside rides we’ve done. There are lots of cafés along the way. We ate lunch at Mevr. Daalder near Junction 20, delicious salads! We had Poffertjes from a stand making fresh ones on a cast iron pan in Abcoude.
We rented E-Bikes from Het Hart van Weesp Hotel. It costs EUR 30 per bike for the day.
Dunes bike routes
8. Zuid-Kennemerland Dunes
This loop bike tour explores the dunes of the Zuid-Kennemerland national park west of Amsterdam. The well built path is easy to ride, with only small hills.
It’s a safe trail from car traffic – a good choice for children. The park is very beautiful, with sandy dunes, thick forests, lakes, lots of birds and other wildlife.
Bike route: 28km • 2 hours
See details for Zuid-Kennemerland Dunes bike ride
Longer option with Haarlem
On another trip, we did a longer loop in the dunes. We started in Zandvoort then through the dunes, then a loop through Haarlem before returning to Zandvoort. This circular route is about 35 km – see route map.
We enjoyed seeing Haarlem and the cute residential neighborhoods around the city. But it was stressful at times on some of the busy city intersections.
9. South Holland coastal bike ride
This easy bike route rides along the west coast of south Holland. The wide paved path is safely away from car traffic, riding through the dunes and scrubby landscape behind the beach. There are plenty of opportunities to stop for refreshments, visit the beach and explore.
This is the only “one way” route on this list. We rode down the coast as far as our E-bike batteries would take us. Then we rode the train, with our bikes, back to our starting point. Since the route parallels the train route, you can easily shorten or length the ride. Or you could ride there and back.
Bike route: Easy • 45 km • 3.5 hours • 130m up/down
See details for the South Holland coastal ride
9. Texel Island
This small island north of Amsterdam has long beaches and lots of dunes. We followed the dunes route on the west side of the island all the way to the lighthouse on the north side of the island. It was about 56 km round trip – see route map.
From Zandvoort, it was about a 1hr20 drive to the TESO ferry dock (see on map), where there is free parking. In 2023, it cost EUR 2.50 per person for a round trip on the ferry. The ferry runs on hourly on the xx:30 from the mainland to the island and on the xx:00 from the island to the mainland. Last ride back at 21:00. See current schedule and prices.
We rented bikes from Fietsverhuur Veerhaven Texel, which is right where you get off the ferry. It’s very popular, so best to reserve ahead of time. They will give you a free map of the island. They have a wide assortment of bikes, includes carbo bikes, tandems for child/adult, and child seats. We paid EUR 76 for three E-Bikes for one day. We had plenty of battery to bike the full island.
It took us about 2 hours one way, with a few stops for pictures here and there. On the way back, we rode fast so we could catch the ferry and it took about 1hr25.
The bike route is mostly on dedicated bike lanes separate from car traffic. Very relaxing and beautiful. Loved this trip and would definitely do it again.
There are many places where you can park your bikes and walk out into the dunes and out to the beach. In some places, it’s quite a far walk, so factor that into your timing. The easiest beach access is at De Koog (bike junction 20) and the Lighthouse (bike junction 31).
10. North Holland Dune Reserve
We did a 33 km circular route in the North Holland Dune Reserve – see bike route map. These dunes are lovely and quiet, more green and a bit different feel than the Kennemerland dunes near Zandvoort. We saw lots of bison on our route, some horses, and many birds, of course.
To cycle in this protected nature reserve, all adults over age 18 must have a permit, which you can purchase for 1 day, 1 week or 1 year. In 2023, a one day permit cost EUR 2.00/adult. You can purchase this online or at one of the automat machines at the entrance to the dunes.
For bike rental, the most convenient option is Johanna’s Hof inside the dunes (Johannisweg 3, 1901 NX Castricum). This way you are already on the bike path at junction 15. They don’t have an online reservation system. We asked and they suggested calling to reserve bikes for weekends and holidays. We ate lunch at Johanna’s Hof – affordable soups, sandwiches and salads. They have a nice playground and lots of outdoor seating.
We didn’t know about this rental option until we stumbled on it during our ride. We had contacted Fietspoint.nl in Beverwijk and they connected us with Dutch Pedelec Tours (Flevoland 11, 1948 RH Beverwijk), where we rented three E-Bikes for EUR 75. We liked the bikes but it was about 15 mins extra riding, some on city streets, to get the dune route.
Map of bike routes
Here is a map of location of each of our bike routes and where we stayed.
Tips for riding bike in the Netherlands
Dutch biking routes are organized by numbers, which refer to intersections along the biking route. Signs along the route point to the next numbers. So when you plan a route, the common method is give a list of numbers. As you ride, you just follow signs to the next number on your list. It’s a very convenient and logical system once you get the hang of it.
I got a great tip from one of my followers to write these numbers on a small piece of paper and tape it to your handlebars. Then you don’t have to pull your map out at every turn. I suggest that everyone in your group have this so no one gets lost.
On occasion, we didn’t see the sign and missed our turn. I would realize after a couple minutes and check my phone or maps and either backtrack or figure out a new route to rejoin our trail. Although phone maps were handy, I still made use of the cycling maps I purchased before the trip. I also found these very helpful when selecting routes from my online research.
Where to find Dutch cycling routes
The most helpful website I found was www.fietsnetwerk.nl, which has an extensive catelog of Dutch cycling routes with helpful descriptions and route maps with the numbers.
This website is linked with the excellent Efita cycling mobile app (download for free on Apple and Android). The app has live maps of the routes so you can see where you are in relation to route junction numbers. This app was absolutely invaluable for navigating any time we got off course.
We also used the www.fietsknoop.nl, which also has a useful mobile app that shows the bike route junctions. You can plot your own routes here and deviate from the suggested paths if necessary. I found this site not as helpful when searching for routes.
I also used the following websites:
Renting bikes
Renting bikes in the Netherlands is easy and affordable. For each bike day trip, I found bike rental shops near the route and reserved bikes online. In each bike route post linked below, I include info for where we rented bikes that day.
Since we were traveling over Easter weekend, bike rental reservations were a must. All shops were sold out most days we were there. I was so thankful I had reserved ahead of time.
Standard bikes cost about € 12-15/day. E-bikes cost about € 25-30/day. Some shops offer or require an extra fee for bike insurance, about €5/bike. Some reservations required that I pay in advance. Others allowed me to pay onsite. Some required a deposit that was returned in cash after the ride.
Some shops offer a discount if you rent bikes for multiple consecutive days.
Traveling trains with bikes
We only rode the train a few times during our trip, so I’m not an expert. But here’s what I learned during our trip. For more information, see the official Netherlands rail website.
You can bring bikes on train in the Netherlands outside commute hours. So you cannot take your bike on the train on weekdays from 6:30 -9:00 and 16:30 – 18:00. This restriction does apply on weekends, national holidays or summer holidays during July and August.
You need to purchase a bike ticket in addition to your train ticket. In 2022, a bike ticket, aka Fietskaart Dal, costs € 7.50 for 24 hours, regardless of how far your journey is. You can buy this online, with the NS app, or at ticket machines at the train station. See more info about bike tickets.
Train have certain cars marked with a bike symbol, meaning there is extra space to place bikes. You are expected to use these areas. If there isn’t space for your bike on the train, you must wait for the next train. Unlike Switzerland, you cannot make reservations for your bike.
Although most bikes are allowed on trains, including tandems, you cannot ride trains with a cargo bike or bike trailer.
What to wear and pack
We went in late April with temperatures are typically around 12-17 C. April is statistically the month with the lowest rainfall in the Netherlands. We had sun most days, with a couple days of short scattered showers and misty rain. The Buienradar.nl website seems to have the most accurate weather forecasts and helpful precipitation forecast animations.
We often wore a long sleeved shirt, fleece and either a windbreaker/rain jacket or light down jacket while riding. On colder days, we wore light gloves, which made our days much more comfortable. We all wore ball caps under our helmets to help with the sunshine.
I wore medium weight running leggings, which were very comfortable for cycling. My teen boys usually wore joggers. Just anything comfortable and flexible. Jeans are not advised.
Where we stayed
We chose to stay in Zandvoort both trips because we wanted to be on the beach for our mornings and evenings. This was a good central location for the cycling routes I chose. It’s also convenient by train, as there is a frequent connection to Haarlem and direct train to Amsterdam.
The only downside was that it took a long time on slow local roads to get to the freeway. So perhaps not the best choice if you want shorter travel times to your day trips.
For future trips, my next top choice would be Leiden, which is a charming and lively city. Other convenient locations would be Harlem, Lisse, The Hague, Rotterdam or any of the smaller villages in this area. If you want to stay on the beach, perhaps Katwijk aan Zee or Noordwijk ann Zee.
We rented a small 1BR apartment near the beach through SmilingHost (see on map). It had a sofa bed in the main room where our 2 boys slept. It was a little small for 4 people but we really liked the convenient location, very near the beach and short walk from the main shopping street.
Our favorite part of Zandvoort were the fun restaurants on the beach. The food was delicious, affordable and the sunset views gorgeous. We liked Hippie Fish, Kayuca, and Ubuntu, all pretty similar menus. Best to make a reservation on weekends and holidays.
Parking in Zandvoort
Parking can be difficult and expensive in Zandvoort. Street parking is 3.50/hr and can be difficult to find near the beach. Most days we parked at the much larger De Zuid parking lot on the outskirts of town – Ingenieur G. Friedhoffplein 14, Zandvoort. It cost €12.80 for 24 hours. See more Zandvoort parking options and rates.
How to get there
By car: We drove from Zürich, which took about 10 hours. We split the drive over two days, staying overnight near Köln on our way there.
By train: There is a direct train connect from Zürich to Amsterdam. Our friends took the overnight train, which is very convenient. But it books out quickly, especially for holiday weekends.
By plane: Fly into Amsterdam. Then take a train to Zandvoort or whichever city you are staying in.
2 responses
Hi Tanya,
Thanks for sharing such a detailed information! Maybe I know how is the traffic usually over Easter weekend? Planning to drive from Switzerland.
We’ve driven it twice during the spring break holidays and yes, there’s definitely traffic on the weekends. I suppose Easter will be quite busy. Good luck!