During this road trip you will stay in a good middle class hotel or Bed and Breakfast.
When booking this trip, we will look at availability and accommodations that are on your route.
Your stay includes breakfast, unless stated otherwise.
Of course this road trip can be shortened or extended by several days.
The road trip can be customized to suit your needs and the number of kilometers you want to drive each single day.
This price includes:
Stay in a double room
Breakfast (unless otherwise specified)
Tourist information about the sights and eateries
Road map with directions
Tourist taks
Not included are:
Car rental
Extra charge for a single room
Any parking costs
Arrival and departure transfers, lunch and dinner, entrances, insurance
Reservation and booking fees
Starting point: Amsterdam
End point: The Hague
Package deal from: € 745,- p.p
It is also possible to shorten or extend this trip.
AMSTERDAM
This beautiful 14-day road trip takes you to unique places in the Netherlands. The road trip starts in Amsterdam and ends in The Hague. The first days we offer you the opportunity to discover Amsterdam. You will stay in a 4-star hotel including breakfast. Close to the hotel you are able to visit several museums, sights and restaurants.
Public transport is nearby.
After you have discovered Amsterdam, the tour is going to start. The tour takes you through different provinces and lets you discover the Netherlands at its best. During the tour you will enjoy unique historical cities, including Volendam, Harlingen, Giethoorn, Delft, Rotterdam and The Hague. You can also enjoy Dutch nature’s variety. For example, you drive straight through a varied landscape of meadows with windmills, polders, lakes and a lot of interesting towns. During spring, you will see beautiful fields with tulips.
THE JOURNEY
After the delicious breakfast, check out and drive from Amsterdam to Friesland, the province with its many lakes, attractive towns and picturesque villages. The
landscape’s variety is great and it has a lot to offer. On the way you can visit Volendam and the peninsula Marken. In Volendam, the most famous fishing village in the Netherlands, there is plenty to do all year long. Take a look at the cozy harbor with old Dutch ships. Take a boat trip with the Volendam-Marken Express to Marken. You can sail there in half an hour. The trip to Marken is definitely worth it! Marken is a small peninsula that you can easily visit by foot. Including the dike, the perimeter of the island is approximately 9 kilometers. Don’t forget to also visit the ‘Horse of Marken’. This lighthouse from 1839 still works. It is a real beauty; the white tower with the red hood is a popular photo object.
ON YOUR WAY TO FRIESLAND
After Volendam and Marken you drive over the Afsluitdijk to Friesland. The Afsluitdijk is a 32-kilometer-long flood barrier that closes the IJsselmeer from the Waddenzee. The road that crosses the Afsluitdijk connects the provinces of Friesland and North Holland.
About 8 kilometers from the North Holland side of the Afsluitdijk you pass the statue of Cornelis Lely. If you park your car here, you can enjoy the very special view:the Waddenzee on one side and the IJsselmeer on the other. Near Kornwerderzand you will find a striking building: the Afsluitdijk Wadden Center. In thiscenter you will learn in an interactive way about the Wadden Sea (UNESCO World Heritage), the unique fish migration river, the IJsselmeer region and of course the developments on and around the dike itself.
THE PROVINCE OF FRIESLAND
Friesland is located in the north of the Netherlands and is in many ways slightly different from the rest of the Netherlands. Discover and enjoy the many faces of Friesland during your trip through the beautiful panoramic landscape. Friesland used to be best known for its livestock and arable farming. In Friesland you can still see the black-and-white cattle and the proud black Frisian horses grazing in the pasture. It is not without reason that Lonely Planet placed the province of Friesland on 3 in the list of hidden beauties in Europe! Also consider the beautiful Wadden Islands that are part of the province of Friesland. Here you will experience the ultimate island feeling. You can easily travel there by ferry.
HARLINGEN
The next stop is in Harlingen. Here you will stay in a characteristic B&B, located in the heart of Harlingen. Harlingen is a real port city and is still inextricably linked to the sea. You can smell the salty sea air here. Enjoy the harbor, the canals and the old warehouses here. Ferries also depart from Harlingen to the beautiful Wadden Islands of Vlieland and Terschelling. This roadtrip offers you the opportunity to visit one of these two Wadden Islands for a day. Do you want to walk at the bottom of the sea? Then go on a drying trip! You sail with a sailing boat from the harbor of Harlingen to a sandbank in the Wadden Sea. When the tide is coming in and the boat dries up, you can take a beautiful walk from the boat over the bottom of the sea.
FLEVOPOLDER AND GIETHOORN
The day after you have been to one of the islands, you travel from Friesland to the Flevopolder. In spring, the blooming tulip fields stretch out here, a breathtaking view! Flevoland is characterized by beautiful nature areas with unique flora and fauna. You will find the largest contiguous deciduous forest in Western Europe and extensive tired-areas with special animals. Numerous waterfowl breed there and even a number of wild animals from ‘the big five’ of the Netherlands (roe deer, red deer, wild boar, seal and beaver) can be discovered regularly. You can see the unique nature of the reclaimed polders up close at Schokland. If you drive to Schokland, you will notice how the island lies proudly in the polder landscape, as a symbol of the battle against the sea.
Visit the remains of the lighthouse, the former harbor on the north tip, the church ruins in the south and the Schokland Museum. The cultural history of the island and its people symbolizes the unprecedented struggle that the Dutch waged against water. You will immediately understand why Schokland is the first Dutch monument to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Drive through the polder towards the province of Overijssel and you will arrive in Giethoorn. This beautiful place is located in a unique environment full of lakes, reed lands and woodland, with its many beautiful thatched farmhouses and characteristic wooden bridges. Here you will have the opportunity to take a boat trip through the canals and through National Park De Weerribben-Wieden. During a one or two hour cruise you will pass the beautiful farms and sail under the striking bridges. You will also sail through the nature reserve of the Weerribben-Wieden. Experience the peaceful silence, discover the many different birds and the reed beds.
Of course you have the opportunity to explore Giethoorn by foot and to take the famous photos at the bridges. From Giethoorn you travel on to the next night. In the vicinity of National Park De Sallandse Heuvelrug, you will sleep in a cozy B&B or, if you wish, spend the night in a special accommodation.
THE PROVINCE OF OVERIJSSEL
Nature lovers can indulge themselves in Overijssel. Forests, streams and farms characterize the Overijssel landscape. The hilly National Park De Sallandse Heuvelrug is also located here. National Park De Sallandse Heuvelrug is a vast nature reserve consisting of forests and heaths. The heath is one of the longest connected heath areas in Europe. At the various viewpoints you can enjoy the beautiful views during a walk. If you wish, you can spend an extra day at De Sallandse Heuvelrug during the tour. For example, you can take a walk or a bike ride, but it is also possible to sail on the Regge or visit a clog factory and / or a cheese farm. After you have discovered Overijssel and had a good breakfast, you travel on to the beautiful Hanseatic city of Zutphen. You drive slowly over the dike, along the IJssel and through thefloodplains towards the beautiful towns of Bronkhorst and Doesburg. In Bronkhorst, the smallest town in the Netherlands, it is like walking through an open-airmuseum. Almost the entire town consists of monuments, you will find beautifully restored buildings and farms. You can look around in the cozy shops or admire art in the various galleries. The area is characterized by the IJssel landscape, where the old river courses are still visible in the landscape in various places. In various places you have a beautiful view and you can enjoy all the birds and the rippling water.
This day ends in (near) ’s-Hertogenbosch.
NORTH BRABANT
‘s-Hertogenbosch, also called Den Bosch, is a lovely city full of beautiful ancient monuments and beautiful museums. For art and culture lovers, Den Bosch is a real must-see. The city has 7 museums. From the North Brabant Museum (with paintings by Vincent van Gogh) to the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center, dedicated to the city’s most famous resident, Jheronimus Bosch: you must have seen Den Bosch! The main draw of the city is the impressive St. John’s Cathedral. In addition, the historic city center offers many nice shops and Den Bosch is also known for its cozy cafes, terraces and restaurants. Or take a boat trip through the Binnendieze. In a characteristic open boat you sail through the ancient canal system of ’s-Hertogenbosch. In short: Den Bosch is highly recommended. It is not without reason that Den Bosch has been voted the most hospitable city in the Netherlands four times (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013).
THE PROVINCE OF ZEELAND AND SOUTH HOLLAND
After ’s-Hertogenbosch you will spend a few more days in the provinces of Zeeland and South Holland. The characteristic towns and villages in Zeeland are definitely worth visiting. Popular places such as Domburg, Yerseke and Vlissingen are close to popular North Sea beaches. Would you like to know more about the history of Zeeland? Then go to the Zeeuws Museum in Middelburg or the Liberation Museum Zeeland in Nieuwdorp. Here you will discover everything about, for example, the Flood and the crucial role that Zeeland played in the liberation during the Second World War.
When booking this tour I will discuss with you how many days you would like to stay in Zeeland (as indicated, this trip can be completely customized to your wishes). After Zeeland, the end of your road trip is almost there. Before you travel to the last province – South Holland – you will first pass the Delta Works. Here you can discover everything about the Oosterscheldekering and the Maeslantkering, two of the thirteen impressive parts of the Delta Works.
The Delta Works together form the largest storm surge barrier in the world and are really worth a visit. This impressive project, also known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, shows how the Dutch deal with water. From the Delta Works you travel to your final destination – The Hague – and if you wish, you can visit Kinderdijk on the way. In the beautiful, water-rich area you will find the famous windmills of Kinderdijk. Nineteen beautiful windmills, built around 1740, are here as part of a larger water management system to prevent flooding. Today they symbolize Dutch water management and in 1997 they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
THE PROVINCE OF SOUTH HOLLAND -THE HAGUE
You will spend the last days of your tour in The Hague. Here you will stay in a very good middle class hotel or in a Bed and Breakfast. You can return your rental car in The Hague. Because the Netherlands have an excellent public transport network, you can easily travel to most places in the area from the Hague by bus, tram and train. Every hour, several trains depart from The Hague to the major cities. There are also good train connections between the cities, you usually never travel longer than half an hour. For example, if you want to go to Keukenhof (open from mid-March to mid-May), there are good bus connections.
Discover the cities of Rotterdam, Gouda or Delft by train with their picturesque city centers and wealth of monumental buildings. In The Hague, the Binnenhof, the Peace Palace and the art collection of the Mauritshuis are worth seeing. You can even take a long walk on the North Sea beach or take a dip in the water in the summer to cool off. After you have spent the last days of your tour in South Holland, take the direct train from The Hague to Schiphol and your journey is over. In recent days you have seen the most beautiful places in the Netherlands!
CUSTOMIZED TRAVEL
It is always possible to make this trip according to your wishes.
Would you like to enjoy the Netherlands for a shorter or longer period? Let us know.
The most important thing for us is to let you make an unforgettable journey through the Netherlands!
With this trip you will receive an information folder containing the descriptions of this trip and associated sights that you can visit. In this folder you will also find tips for restaurants and various specialties of the provinces you visit.