Planning the Tour: Logistics and First Impressions
Planning the Tour: Logistics and First Impressions
I’ve never cycled in the Netherlands before, though we all know it is world-famous for its excellent cycling culture and infrastructure. I’m usually cautious about committing to a flat cycling tour, yet my time pedalling through Flanders in the autumn of 2024 taught me that “flat” has its own rewards and challenges. There’s something about those big open skies — and the relentless rhythm of turning the cranks with nothing to interrupt your flow — that gives flat riding its own character.
My first big decision was whether to plan my own route or follow the established long-distance (LF) cycle routes. In the end, I opted for a triangular route using three of these national trails. Together, they form a circuit of about 1,000 km around the country — long enough to allow for a few days off, some 400 km of detours, and flexibility to stay put when I find somewhere I like.
The LF in "LF-routes" stands for Langeafstand Fietsroutes which translates as "Long-distance cycling routes".
The second decision was accommodation. The Netherlands is excellent for camping, but it also has a fantastic “Friends of Cyclists” network (Vrienden op de Fiets), where walkers and cyclists can stay overnight in someone’s home for €27.50 - the 2026 price. The catch is that you can’t book months in advance, nor can you rely on same-day bookings. My plan is to reserve the first ten days before departure, then continue booking each night about ten days ahead. That means I’ll prepare an outline accommodation plan for my progress along the LF routes and then adjust as I go — booking and navigating short detours for accommodation as needed.
Fortunately, language won’t be an obstacle. Dutch children learn English from an early age and are exposed to subtitled rather than dubbed TV. Later in life, English becomes their bridge to trade and travel. That means calling to book accommodation is perfectly viable even though I don't speak Dutch — and will be more reliable than waiting for an email reply (even with Google Translate in your corner).
Windmills were used for traditional purposes such as grinding grain though there main use was to drive the pumps that maintained water levels and prevented the land from flooding.
Getting There
There are several ferry routes connecting the UK with the Netherlands:
Stena Line: Harwich to Hook of Holland
P&O Ferries: Hull to Rotterdam
DFDS: Newcastle to Amsterdam
As the Harwich to Hook of Holland crossing takes around eight hours, you’ll need to choose between a day sailing, probably with accommodation at both ports, or the night ferry which means a bit of waiting around in the cold before boarding. Stena Line offer flexi rates so you can cancel or change for a small additional fee. The overnight ferry one way with a mandatory cabin is around £150 of which the cabin fee is about £50; these are approximate 2026 prices.
From London, trains run from Liverpool Street to Harwich International in about 90 minutes, with a change at Manningtree. It’s also possible to cycle to Harwich from Manningtree; it is just 16 km, or 24 km on a more scenic route to the Harwich ferry terminal. At the time of writing, the cheapest train tickets are time-specific up to Manningtree.
Do remember that as from 2026 you need a bike reservation for the train out of London Liverpool Street station to Manningtree (specifically the Ipswich and Norwich trains) and you need to print a ticket from a Greater Anglia ticket machine to stick on your bike. This is good as you are guaranteed a bike space but it requires a bit more effort and the means to stick the ticket to your bike. At the time of writing Greater Anglia don't appear to allow bikes on some of the Ipswich and Norwich trains which stop at Manningtree but do allow bikes on the few direct trains to Harwich. Cheaper train tickets are made available about 12 weeks before the travel date.
The Greater Anglia website and mobile app allow cycle space reservations once you have selected your cycle carrying train.
An alternative option is to get the London Liverpool Street station train to Clacton-on-Sea (or an earlier stop such as Wivenhoe) and cycle to Harwich which would make a pleasant start to the tour. At the time of writing (February 2026) no bike booking is required on the Clacton-on-Sea train. As the ferry doesn't sail until late evening you could take the train to Wivenhoe and cycle via Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze using this 55km route. This route leaves Wivenhoe with minimal turnings, runs along the coast through Clacton-on-Sea, Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze before passing through Little Oakley then onto Harwich where it passes the Mayflower Pub next door to the Premier Inn.
For pre-sailing food an 18:30 meal at the Mayflower Pub and Restaurant, Retail Park, Parkeston Road, Harwich, CO12 4NX (Chef and Brewer) is a sensible option as there are bike parking racks in the retail car park and it is a quiet one-mile cycle ride to the ferry terminal. Otherwise there are the usual fast food outlets or you could seek out something further afield. Another option (provided you check opening times) is an 18:00 meal at the characterful Ye Olde Cherry Tree pub in Little Oakley on the outskirts of Harwich and still only 4 miles from the ferry terminal. It is 15 miles from Wivenhoe to Clacton-on-Sea, another 16 miles to Little Oakley and then 3 miles to the ferry terminal making 34 miles in total. A sample schedule looks like:
11:18 Board the train to Wivenhoe
12:23 Arrive Wivenhoe
13:00 Depart from Wivenhoe
14:30 Pick-up cyclists from Clacton-on-Sea
15:30 Coffee stop by the sea
18:00 Arrive Little Oakley
19:30 Leave Little Oakley
19:50 Meet up at Mayflower Pub
20:00 Arrive at ferry terminal
21:00 It gets dark (4 June)
23:00 Ferry sailing
Getting Back
It's not enough to get to the moon; you need to get back safely too.
Assuming you have taken the night ferry you arrive back in Harwich at around 6:30am. The suggested return route passes through Manningtree which allows people to catch the intercity train (though note the bike booking rules above) and goes on to Clacton-on-Sea which is the originating station for the train to London. It is easier and lesss frantic to find cycles carriages and get aboard at the originating station.
07:30 Leave Harwich allowing time to disembark after docking at 06:30
09:30 Arrive at Manningtree for breakfast
10:30 Leave Manningtree
12:30 Arrive at Clacton-on-Sea
13:05 Train to London
14:31 Arrive at London Liverpool Street
Accommodation
Friends of Cyclists is mentioned earlier and if you don’t want to pay €27.50 (plus the tourist tax) then Warm Showers is an option.
Camping is big in the Netherlands and hostels are common if you don't mind communal living. StayOK is a popular hostel brand and you can get a four-bed room with en-suite for around €200 so it is useful if you are in a group and you are happy sharing though I suggest phoning to check their secure bike storage.
All Accor (ibis, Mecure etc) operate in the Netherlands and there are many other hotel options though they can be costly in cities and in central Amsterdam they may not offer secure bike storage; I phoned one and they didn't offer anything.
Secure bike storage in Amsterdam is difficult and booking sites such as Booking.com don't let you filter on this. A useful site which offers mainly bed and breakfast accommodation and the ability to filter on "Lockable Bike Shed" is https://www.bedandbreakfast.nl/en
Like France, the Netherlands has a "Cyclists Welcome" scheme and the website https://www.nederlandfietsland.nl/fietsers-welkom/ has a section dedicated to accomodation that caters for cyclists under this Fietsers Welkom! Logo, though do check they provide secure bike storage.
Having found your accommodation you can choose which site to book through.
When to go
Spring half-term is typically one week around May 5th and summer holidays start around July 4th, so a spring tour might sensibly start between May 15th and June 5th - very approximately. This also means temperatures can hit the high teens though you should expect rain whenever you go. Because of an audax-style event on 30th May my dates are 4 June to 28 June inclusive of the day either side travelling to and from the ferry. The Climates to Travel website provides a decent overview of what to expect of the weather.
Other Options
A popular route in the north of the country is the Elfstedentocht. This was a world-famous ice-skating race, last held in 1997 and today it can be cycled on roads. The route goes through all 11 cities in the province of Friesland.
The Dutch Camino for cyclists is called the Pieterfietspad, stretching from Pieterburen in Groningen to the Pietersberg near Maastricht in Limburg.
Key Kit
The Netherlands can be wet so if you don't have luggage transfer and you are touring as I am you will need capable panniers or equivalent bike packing bags. Whenever you board a ferry you will note that most of the seasoned cycle tourers are using Ortlieb panniers and some will use Vaude. I use the following when camping though the front panniers can attach to the rear if you are travelling light.
● Rear panniers are Ortlieb Back Roller Classic QL2.1 Rear Pannier Bags (Total 40L)
● Front panniers are Ortlieb Sport Roller Classic QL2.1 (Total 25L)
Resources
Cycling routes and cycle friendly accommodation:
Friends of Cyclists accommodation:
General cycling information:
This us a useful alternative resource, though as this site was archived at the end of 2025 it won't be updated:
This collection of rides helps with UK and Holland routes.
The European Sleeper - the Good Night Train - isn't required for this trip but offers a useful way to get around Europe; like the overnight ferry an overnight train reduces hotel costs and let's you use daylight hours for cycling.
Rail Europe:
There is much to do and see in Amsterdam, though as with so many cities pre-booking is essential for the more popular attractions.
Rijks Museum:
Concert Hall:
Resistance Museum:
Our Lord in the Attic:
Route Outline
Stage 1: Hook of Holland to Alphen aan der Rijn and then Utrecht — 125 km (two days taking in the Zegerplas parkrun before joining the LF9 route)
Stage 2: LF9 — 340 km (Utrecht to Hoogezand just short of the official end point of this route)
Stage 3: Hoogezand to Lauwersoog - 75 km (this transition stage can be made shorter)
Stage 4: LF14 — 298 km (the full LF14 route down to Enschede)
Stage 5: LF4 — 310 km (the full route starting at Enschede but with diversions up to Zutphen and later up to Amsterdam)
Stage 6: Amsterdam to the Hook of Holland — 235 km via Leiden taking in Delft and The Hague.
The total distance is approximately 1,400 km - 875 miles - including detours for accommodation and visits to Zutphen and Amsterdam.
Approach
This is my eighth cycle tour and most of these tours have been around one thousand miles so I know how to work out an approach that suits me. In constructing this tour the focus was on quality pedalling, being outdoors and taking in the countryside, agriculture, villages, towns, cities and the everyday food of the Netherlands. This BBC article on queuing for viral food is a very good expression of what I won't be doing. The viral food mentioned here is chips, which hints at the Netherlands not having the the most interesting culinary heritage though I will reserve judgement. What it does have in abundance is Indonesian restaurants as Indonesia was part of the Dutch empire until December 1949 when the Netherlands reluctantly gave the country up.
Kit List
The following kit list will no doubt get updated but some priorities were a stout lock as I am travelling by myself so popping into a supermarket becomes a bike theft risk. Full waterproofs and gloves are useful if only for the late night ferry terminal wait as I hate being the one shivering in the cold and wet; cyclists usually go in a lane with the motorbikes and there isn't any protection from the elements. Having a detailed list helps prevent leaving a charge lead or similar inconvenient item behind. I use these as examples of the logic that goes into a kit list.
Book References
If you wanted three books to provide informative insight, humour and rigorous history then the following are excellent and could be sensibly read in the order provided below.
Title: Why the Dutch are Different: A Journey into the Hidden Heart of the Netherlands: From Amsterdam to Zwarte Piet, the acclaimed guide to travel in Holland
Author: Ben Coates
Title: The Undutchables: An Observation of the Netherlands, Its Culture and Its Inhabitants
Author: Colin White, Gerald Fried, Laurie Boucke
Title: History of the Netherlands : From the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day
Author: Wielenga, Friso
First Impressions
During my book based research phase - which naturally came after I had booked the ferry, booked key hotels and planned the route - I was encouraged that the non-cyclist author mentioned cycles as early as page two, after a discussion on whether the place I would be visiting should be referred to as Holland or the Netherlands. Oh, and it definitely is the Netherlands, and a third of the population use the bike as a primary means of transport. I am ready to be amazed.