Holland Bike Tour – Amsterdam – Gouda – Delft – Leiden – Alkmaar

8 Day Holland Amsterdam to Cheese Country Bike Tour Itinerary

Exploring the Netherlands by bike should be on every bikers “must do” list. “Holland” (Dutch locals still call it such) is beautiful, and flat, with the world’s finest network of designated paved bike paths throughout the country. The Netherlands is geographically the size of Maryland. Biking from Amsterdam, follow this itinerary to spend a week touring the farmlands, linking ancient villages and ancient charming towns, with towering churches and classic windmills.

We loved our weeklong bike itinerary, cycling with our son and daughter-in-law, visiting much of The Netherland’s highlights, top cities and cheese towns. You can bike this in a week or make it a more leisurely 10-day trip. Start in Amsterdam, rent bikes from RentaBike.NL – the oldest bike rental in Amsterdam, since 1986. We enjoyed having our bikes to explore our stay in Amsterdam, once we got up to speed with the aggressive local bikers and the implied rule that bikes have priority over cars and pedestrians!

After enjoying Amsterdam’s top attractions, we were ready for quieter cycling to more quaint Dutch towns. We carried our “luggage” panniers on our bikes, a guide on packing for biking. While many tour companies offer assisted bike trips, and transport your luggage, we spent a fraction of the cost of those catered bike tour, and had the freedom to travel at our pace, without group logistics, we used Komoot as our cycle map app.

Bike Day 1 Amsterdam to Gouda 34 miles…
Departing Amsterdam, we were soon out of the city, riding along the quiet river loaded with rowing shell boats on a Sunday morning. A beautiful bucolic ride of 34 miles brought us through farmland filled with so many fluffy sheep and cows grazing the broad flat fields. I was so excited to spot iconic windmills and horses too. The two-lane bike paths are paved, smooth and super scenic, often away from motorist roadways. We learned that 80% of the Dutch ride bikes, kids ride to school, workers ride to their businesses, and ladies ride in town provisioning their bike baskets at the bakery, butcher, cheese and meat shop. Biking is a way of life here! In just a few hours, we were riding into our first cheese town of Gouda.

Gouda is fantasyland for cheese lovers, with the prettiest main square anchored by the towering turreted Town Hall that dates to 1483, and the 1668 Kass Wag (cheese weighing house). A festival and farmers market was set up in the square, so we browsed local stands and Gouda’s cheese tasting shops. Lunch at a quaint cafe overlooking the plaza featured the best cheese soup. We strolled cobblestone streets to the Sint Janskerk church. Fun fact: Gouda is not just a cheesy town, this is also birthplace to the Dutch “Stroopwafel” which you must try. We stayed at the Gouda’s rather generic “City Hotel Gouda” Best Western, just off a pretty canal. That night we walked into town and enjoyed a lovely dinner of local salmon for her and venison for him, at Bij Ons.

Bike Day 2 Gouda to Delft 19 miles…
Riding along raised dikes, looking down on farms and fields, we biked (into the wind) by more cows and sheep. If the Netherlands is one of “the most densely populated country”, we think they count the sheep. Nearing Delft, the skyline proved impressive, with its 14^th century Church Spires, the “New Church” which we’d climb later (384 steps – the tallest clock tower in The Netherlands) for a magnificent view to Rotterdam, plus a peak at the inner workings of the ancient clock. Delft has a beautiful Town Hall, pretty canals with boats and draw bridges, shops selling Royal Blue Delft pottery, and lots of cozy cafés. Famous 17^th century painter Vermeer lived here, his landscapes inspired by the surroundings. I respect why the Dutch love their city of Delft, it’s a treasure. Our stay at Hotel Arsenaal Delft was chic, and Bistro Mes Amis served a lovely French dinner – duck confit and local mussels frites. Fun fact: the Dutch love Fries – served with mayo, not ketchup.

Bike Day 3 Delft to The Hague just 8 miles…
Biking into The Hague, or Dutch pronunciation Den Haggg, we learned it was Prince Day in this cosmopolitan city where the Dutch Royal family resides. A wonderful parade of the King and Queen to their palace was our welcome, passing right by our Hotel Indigo Hague, and the locals were out in orange to cheer for the opening of Parliament seated in The Hague. It’s a very pretty city with tremendous history and beautiful buildings around the historic Hofvijver pond, and the Maurithius museum where Vermeer’s famous painting “A Girl with a Pearl Earring” is displayed. We enjoyed strolling café and boutique-filled streets, especially loving The 1885 Passage – the Netherlands’ oldest shopping center is a magnificent glass-domed gallery that resembles the 1870 Galleria in Milano.

Bike Day 4 The Hague to Leiden 25 miles… including a seaside National Park ride
A sensational bike ride through Oostduin National Park (free admission) brought us to the Dutch West Coast, where huge grassy sand dunes lead to the North Sea beach. Soon we were riding into Leiden, over the bridge through the Citadel gates. Leiden has a grand working windmill, and gorgeous canals. This was home to Rembrandt (1606), and is now one of our favorite Dutch towns. Leaving our bikes and bags at Leiden’s beautiful Steenhof Suites, we wandered the delightful streets to ancient squares and canals, the grand 1390 Gothic Peters Church, and 1667 De Valk Windmill at 95 feet tall with its own museum.

Bike Day 5 Leiden to Haarlem 27 miles … via a seaside National Park
An incredible nature ride through 3500-acre Zuid-Kennemerland National Park along the North Sea, you pass miles of grassy sand dunes, the only “hills’ we biked in the Netherlands. Perfect paved bike paths span the park with plenty of people out enjoying cycling and running. Arriving in Haarlem, we biked into the vibrant central market square. Dutch Haarlem is much more charming than its’ New York namesake, with medieval buildings, cafes in pretty squares serving local beer, and the most photogenic windmill along the Spaarne River. Haarlem is famed for its Franz Hals Museum and the 1895 St. Bavo – one of the biggest cathedrals in the country. St Bavo is best known for its magnificent 5,000-pipe Muller organ, played by 10-year-old Mozart in 1766 and by Handel in 1740. Honestly, just sipping a coffee or beer in Haarlem square by the church is entertainment enough. Lots of international dining to choose from in Haarlem, Greek to Indonesian, and of course wonderful bakeries for our next morning pastry before… more cycling.

Bike Day 6 Haarlem north to Alkmaar 22 miles…
Another pastoral ride into North Holland on well-maintained bike paths toward Alkmaar brought us by windmills, and livestock grazing the lowlands. At this point, I’d stopped being so enthused at each sheep spotting, still super cute though – so I bought a Dutch sheepskin for home (is that weird?). We pulled into Alkmaar in time for the Friday Cheese Market at the historic Waagtoren (weighing tower). Men in traditional costume parade with sleighs loaded with bright orange wheels of gouda around the cobbled courtyard – a tradition since 1365 at this oldest “Kaasmmarkt.” Staying at Luttik on a lovely canal in the heart of Alkmaar, we could walk to all the sights and bites of this centuries-old town. We loved just exploring the canal streets, shops, the market stands, and people-watching at a café by the fantastic clocktower in Waagplein square. Our Spanish tapas dinner at Grand Café Grenada was perfect before a stroll amid the gorgeously lit-up monuments. All these smaller Dutch cities have the architectural and cultural charm that Amsterdam enjoys without the touristy crowds.

Bike Day 7 Alkmaar to Volendam via Edam 22 miles…
A lovely bike path brought us by Edam, another famed cheese town, en route to Volendam. This historic seaside community has a wonderful boardwalk overlooking the harbor and Zuiderzee. Volendam’s protected port is loaded with old wooden schooners, fishing and pleasure boats in the marina on the “South Sea.” Sitting out at Lotje café, the three fish dish (salmon, tuna and eel) was a superb local lunch. Volendam is now touristy, but still holds the authenticity of a classic fishing village that has adapted over centuries. The free informative fishing and cheese museums were worth the price, lol. Volendam was most pleasant late afternoon once the busloads departed. We could stroll the waterfront’s famous Havendijkje dike, admire the ships, and browse the kitschy markets selling cheese, clogs and old-fashioned pointy lace ladies’ hats. My favorite was exploring the labyrinth of flower-lined neighborhood of Doolhof (which means maze) I thought translated to “dollhouse” describing the cozy old fishermen’s cottages. An Irish pub and a few bars were lively into the evening with proud locals mingling with visitors. Staying at Hotel Old Dutch, we had a commanding view of the Sea (and a bit of late nigh banter as the bars and taverns closed at 2am). A wonderful sunrise and a hearty hotel breakfast buffet invigorated us for our ride from Volendam, just 18 miles back to Amsterdam.

Bike Day 8 Volendam to Amsterdam 18 miles…
The final bike stretch back toward our starting point of Amsterdam was appropriately scenic. Riding along the elevated dikes of Waterland, with fantastic views, and more beautiful farms below, I admired the ingenuity of the Dutch to protect their homes and fields from flooding. Many of these raised berms are now being refortified since the initial infrastructure was created in the 16th and 17^th centuries – using hand tools, piling peat moss to create embankments. It’s amazing how rural the countryside is, just 5 miles outside of the busy city of Amsterdam.

Back to Amsterdam
Our last few miles, as the skyline of Amsterdam loomed, before entering the outskirt urban neighborhoods, I said goodbye to my fluffy sheep friends and the cows that had accompanied us on our epic Holland biking adventure. We boarded a free ferry, to cross the North Sea Canal back to the Centraal train station, in company with cyclists from local commuters to athletes competing in a race, to pleasure bikers. That’s what’s so cool about biking the Netherlands. It’s for everyone. See more about things to do in Amsterdam while visiting the beautiful bike-friendly Netherlands.

Ready for more biking? I am… See our Netherlands’ Bike Itinerary Amsterdam to Friesland, Hoorn, Giethorn, self-guided 12-day cycling tour.

See more on visiting the Netherlands
Amsterdam Top Things to Do

“Age doesn’t matter, unless you are cheese or wine” – cheers travel friends