Our first holiday abroad in 2025 was a combined bicycle and boating tour in Northern Holland. I had been toying with the idea after seeing articles in the press about what a supported, self guided, cycle tour would be like. Amsterdam seemed a good base as its easy to get to from Manchester, not that far away and we have never explored the area. We were very happy that Mike’s broken wrist was fully healed and he had time to get some cycle miles under his belt before we headed off. Neither of us really knew what to expect so this was an adventure in more ways than one.

Some key learnings

  • Arrive the day before the tour starts. Theoretically our flight arrived in good time for embarkation, however the departure time was brought forward by a couple of hours after we booked our flights and so we had to join the boat at its first port of call.
  • Take key cycle kit in hand luggage in case it gets lost however, don’t put bike tools in hand luggage as Mike’s multi tool was confiscated at Manchester airport
  • Take a lightweight pack with a bladder as rental bikes don’t always have bottle holders. Interestingly we were given bike bottles but there were no bottle holder fixings on the bikes so the bottles went in the paniers. Thus, on our first day we didn’t drink enough. A quick trip to a Decathlon was required!
  • Don’t assume the rental bikes are adequate / fun to ride. The bikes available were reasonably well maintained but very heavy and the gearing was terrible for anything other than a flat path.
  • 40 to 50km a day may not seem far, but cycling every day gets tiring We found, especially on the step through town bikes we were riding, that this was plenty and we did not want to do more.
  • The maps and routes provided were excellent and well thought through to be honest I think this was a real strength of the company and a key reason for using them as it was much easier than us doing all the planning
  • A sarong was very useful  in the cabin with full length windows (net curtains provided)!
  • Research any points of interest ahead of time to decide if there is anything you particularly want to vist. As it was we enjoyed looking at the scenery and architecture but did not venture into any of the museums / churches along the way. Our mindset was more into cycling & scenery than cultural experiences

All in all a great trip and a format that we will be able to enjoy as we get older. It was inspiring to see people in their 70s and 80s enjoying the trip and they tended to be friendly and cheerful.