The Netherlands is notoriously flat and ideal for a wallet-friendly cycling holiday. Photo / Getty Images
If you want to explore the Netherlands without emptying your wallet, try getting on your bike, writes Christine Morley.
Famed for sun-dappled canals, world-class museums and cool nightlife, the Netherlands is a great contender for a laidback, cultural break. And there’s a way to see it all that won’t break the bank.
Vrienden op de Fiets (Friends on bikes; vriendenopdefiets.nl) is a non-profit organisation that offers places to stay in private homes for cyclists, hikers, and anyone else (kayakers, skaters?) using their own muscle power, rather than motorised transport, to get around. For a joining fee of €10 (NZ$18)) a year, travellers get an address book of 5,000-plus welcoming hosts that offer a clean bed, a filling breakfast and somewhere safe to stow a bike for the bargain price of €25/NZ$45 a night.
This sustainable approach to travel ticks a pile of boxes. First, the low price tag makes a trip to the Netherlands super-affordable, especially if you are a solo traveller faced with the option of forking out for pricey hotel single supplements or sharing a hostel dorm. Then there’s the reward of getting to know your hosts and learning about life in their city. Immediately, you feel less like a tourist and more like a local, with hosts offering insider tips, from where to get the best pancakes to under-the-radar attractions.
Plus, when you arrive in an unfamiliar town, tired and windblown from being out in the elements, it’s such a pleasure to be welcomed by a friendly face, rather than a set of instructions at an Airbnb. And if your host address is not particularly central, the upside is that you discover a more authentic side to a destination, where locals shop, eat and hang out.
I recently returned from a two-wheel tour of Utrecht, Gouda and Delft –beautiful cities within easy pedalling distance of each other. Travelling with an old friend, both of us fair-weather cyclists, we had a backup route planned by train in case of bad weather. The extensive rail network means city-hopping in the Netherlands is just as easy by train, either on foot or with a bike in tow.
We started our adventure in the UK, with an overnight ferry crossing from the port of Harwich in Essex, to the Hook of Holland ($350 return crossing with a small, comfy cabin for two with en-suite shower with Stena Line). Docking in the early morning drizzle, we pushed our bikes off the boat and picked up the wide empty cycle path that would take us north along the coast to The Hague, then right towards Utrecht, 86km away.
If you live somewhere that’s not cycle-friendly, the Netherlands bike-path network is a revelation: flat, well-surfaced and generously sign-posted so that even newbie cyclists can clock up the kilometres and not get lost. Factor in plenty of stops to fuel up on coffee and cake, and long distances become surprisingly manageable –more so on an electric bike.
Our route took us through changing landscapes, from vast greenhouses, lit up with coloured grow-lamps like some avant-garde silent disco, to emerald fields crisscrossed with dykes and dotted with grazing cattle and honking geese. Some of the most scenic paths hugged mirror-like canals, where the only sounds were the whirr of our wheels and the pips and squeaks of startled moorhens.
It took around four hours for us to reach Utrecht, the Netherlands’ fourth largest city. Like a mini Amsterdam without the crowds, its medieval heart is crammed with architectural gems, like the Dom Tower, which once belonged to the adjacent Gothic cathedral until the connecting nave was ripped away in a storm. It’s worth braving the 495 steps up the tower for views that ripple out all the way to Amsterdam on a fine day.
We dipped into a couple of the city’s many museums. While an exhibition on chairs – as artworks and as political statements - at Centraal Museum had me reassessing this everyday piece of furniture, the Speelklok Museum was pure sensory delight. Its charming line-up of antique music boxes, merry organs and automatons appeal as much to adults as to kids.
Our fabulous host, Marianna, suggested a trip to the iconic Rietveld Schroder house, a 10-minute cycle east from the centre. Built in 1924, it’s a fanfare to modern design, all clean lines and minimalist interiors. Slipping protective plastic bags over our shoes, we marvelled at the attention to detail in each room, like sliding doors that turned a lounge into a bedroom. Seeing the functional style of Rietveld’s red and blue chair (made of precisely 15 slats and 2 panels) was another highlight.
For a sightseeing break, stroll along Utrecht’s oldest canal, Oudegracht, lined with lofty gabled houses, quirky cafés and trendy shops. Explore the water by boat, canoe or paddleboard, or descend steep steps to the cobbled quayside, where cavernous wharves have been converted into funky bars and restaurants, like Afghan eaterie, Sarban. On warm nights, the fizz of conversation and the reflection of café lights rippling on the water create a magical ambience.
While tempted to stay longer in Utrecht, we had other places to see. After two nights at Marianna’s charming, book-filled home, we set off for Gouda. Picturesque and compact, its old inner city is ringed by 14th-century canals, decorated with planters full of scarlet geraniums. The architectural showpiece is the medieval town hall in the market square, with carillon bells that chime every half hour. Around the corner is St John church, with glowing 16th-century stained glass windows relating biblical stories.
If you visit on Thursday, browse the cheese and craft market in the square. If not, dip into the surrounding streets to find artisan cheese shops like t’ Kaaswinkeltje, its shelves stacked with colourful waxed rounds of gouda-like giant beads. Don’t miss the Weighing House, where farmers once queued to trade cartwheel-sized cheeses. There’s a fun museum here, with plenty of samplings to be had.
After fuelling up on syrup waffles, we pedalled on to the city of Zoetermeer. Although heading for Delft, none of the hosts there had availability, so we opted to stay some 14km away. Opening the door to her immaculate home, Dinny welcomed us with tea and thick slices of butter cake. Then, after we freshened up, she pointed us in the direction of a homely Greek restaurant for reviving beers and wholesome food.
Next morning, we hit Delft with plenty of time to explore. Top of the list was Royal Delft Museum which tells the story of the 400-year-old porcelain maker. Behind glass cases are exquisitely decorated dinner services owned by King William III, along with modern designs, like the vase that leans sideways as if caught in a gust of wind. You can also watch skilled potters at work, mixing glazes and hand-painting wafer-thin cups. Tea in the café or courtyard garden is a must - the crockery is as delightful as the food.
Whizzing on to central Delft, we basked in the sunshine at Beestenmarket, a leafy square lined with pavement cafés. After a classic Dutch lunch of mussels, chips and beer, a boat tour along the Oude canal provided a duck’s eye view of the city’s grandest houses. It also took us to Kolk harbour, where Johannes Vermeer, the city’s most famous son, set up his easel over 360 years ago to capture *View of Delft*.
To see the interior of an historic canal house, check out the home-turned-museum of 19th-century artist and collector Paul Tetar van Elven in Koornmarkt. Its lavishly furnished rooms are laid out as if the family had just left on an errand, making it wonderfully atmospheric.
Sightseeing done, it was time to leave, but not without trying Delft’s finest pancakes at Stads-Koffyhuis, loaded with apples, cinnamon ice-cream and whipped cream. Groaning, we put shoe to pedal and wobbled our way back to the Hook of Holland for our journey home.
For more things to see and do in the Netherlands, visit holland.com
When there's nothing as far as the eye can see, you may appreciate the company.