Not until the 17th Century large parts of the area north of Amsterdam were recovered from the sea and reclaimed through the use of hundreds of windmills. It’s here that you will find the typical Dutch landscape of polders, mills, harbours, and tulips.
The route brings you over small dykes and country roads. Many of the windmills are still in working order. You can get a feel for the old Dutch atmosphere in Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Edam and Volendam: traditional costumes, sailing ships and long johns on the clotheslines. On day 4 you’ll sail to Texel, an island with thousands of sheep and a magnificent nature reserve. Back on the mainland the route brings you to Holland’s most beautiful dune area. These are also the only kilometers you will be cycling above sea level! Alkmaar will also provide a good picture of ancient times. It is the capital of Dutch cheese with its own cheese market and weighhouse for cheese. In Zaanse Schans, a lovely little hamlet on the banks of the river Zaan,  the mills, houses, shops and traditional Dutch crafts bring the past to life.

Time for tulips April and May are the spring flower and tulip months. You will cycle amid countless hectares of spring flowers and tulips.