On the other hand, the Netherlands shows you unusal sides: modern graffiti culture in Amsterdam, the skyscrapers of Rotterdam or the national beer musueum in Alkmaar. Get to know the most beautiful sides of the country on a tour with a motor or sailing ship.
Bicycle and North Sea, Wadden sea and Ijsselmeer
Boat and bike Amsterdam - Amsterdam
You can opt for travel options with individual bike tours, for which we equip you with suitable map material (electronic or analoque), or for guided bike tours in a group. Hardly any other country is better suited for a cycling and boating holiday than the Netherlands. The land is flat, It offers easy cycle routes and plenty of water. And it´s beautiful, this country! Enjoy a wonderful travel day.
Many roads lead to Amsterdam or Rotterdam
Rotterdam and Amsterdam are two outstanding Dutch cities. They offer themselves as dreamlike beautiful destinations and starting points for bicycle and boat trips through the Netherlands. Amsterdam is the capital and the most populous place in the Netherlands. The famous canals and over 1.000 bridges make Amsterdam a unique city, sometimes called the Venice of the North.
Amsterdam is a place where even the red light district is famous. It´s the city where the Anne Fank house reminds us of very dark times. And it is a city that shows outstanding art in museums such as the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum and is also open to new forms of artistic expression such as graffiti. Amsterdam is, among other things, the destiantion and start of our journey by bike and boat through Holland (Netherlands) and Flanders (Belgium) as well as of a bike and boat holiday that takes you to the green heart of the Netherlands with its rivers and lakes. This trip shows you both Amsterdam and Rotterdam. And it shows you on tours by bike and boat how attractive the smaller Dutch cities are: Delft with its famous porcelain, the cathedral city Utrecht or the city that gave the name to the famous Gouda cheese.
Another attractive offer: a trip by boat and bicycle from Amsterdam to Maastricht. The travel offer includes a trip through the Maasdiunen National Park with landscapes such as wet meadows, conifers and heathland as well as a viist to a traditional Dutch cheese dairy and a stay in the white village of Thorn.
Welcome to Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second largest city in the Netherlands. It is just as easy to reach by bike and boat as Amsterdam and just as much a worthwhile destination. The most famous sight of the city is certainly the largest seaport in the world. Also worth seeing are the old Delfshaven district and modern buildings such as the cube houses built in 1984. Rotterdam is also an attraction off the beaten track on any trip to the Netherlands. Like hardly any other Dutch city, it represents an urban culture characterised by a relaxed and uncomplicated coexistence. Rückenwind Cycling and boat trips through the Netherlands take you from Cologne to Rotterdam or from Rotterdam to the province of Zealand.
The Netherlands and the wide sea
The sea once brought great wealth to the Netherlands. Numerous ships sailed from here all over the world. Without the sea and shipping, the Golden Age of the Netherlands would probably never have been possible.
The North Sea and the Ijsselmeer also often play a role in cycling and boat trips through the Netherlands. If you travel through Holland North or Holland South, you may want to take a boat to Texel Island, the largest wadden island in the Netherlands. The island is perfect for wonderful cycling tours. The beaches of the island are more than 30 kilometres long.
Terschelling is another Dutch island that we visit on one of our boat and bike tours. Dunes and salt marshes characterise large parts of the natural landscape. Wonderful white sandy beaches invite you to swim. The mainland bordering the sea is also maritime and beautiful. Here you will find small cosy fishing villages and seaside towns such as Domburg and Renesse in Zeeland, Scheveningen in South Holland or Zandvoort in Holland North. Look forward to mudflat walks, perhaps a swim in the sea, beach walks and freshly caught fish from the cutter.
Belgium and the Netherlands
A journey by bike and boat from Bruges to Amsterdam, for example, combines the charms of Belgium and the Netherlands. In both countries, trade and industry have historically created rich centres in which buildings still bear witness to past prosperity.
Bruges was once one of the largest trading centres and locations for the cloth industry in Europe. The medieval city centre of Bruges with the Grote Markt as its centre is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A combined cycle tour and river cruise through Belgium and the Netherlands takes you from Bruges via cities and towns such as Ghent, Antwerp and Kinderdijk to Amsterdam.
Like Bruges, Ghent was a centre of the cloth trade and today attracts visitors with its impressive sacred buildings such as the Sint-Niklaaskerk and numerous well-preserved buildings from the Middle Ages and early modern times. Antwerp presents itself with the second largest seaport in Europe and buildings such as the Cathedral of Our Lady, whose tower is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kinderdijk is just a small Dutch village, but famous for its many windmills. The mills of Kinderdijk are among the most famous sights and sought-after photo motifs in the Netherlands. They pump water from the polders for agriculture and have also been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1997.
Your home on holiday:
Sailors and river cruise ships
Cycling and boating holidays in the Netherlands means that during your holiday, boats are your home. Beautiful ships. Nice crew. This refers to motorised river cruise ships such as MS Serena, MS Magnifique, DE Holland and DE Nassau. Each of these ships has its own charm.
On the "DE Holland"; some cabins have a "French balcony"; (floor to ceiling, glazed sliding door) instead of a window for particularly beautiful views.
And the MS Magnifique presents itself in a stylish way classically elegant as well as with attractive additional comfort. On the two partly roofed sun decks one finds a whirlpool beside a grill station.
Maybe you love sailing romance? Then why not travel on a sailing ship through the region of the West Frisian Wadden Sea? Much is possible. At Rückenwind Reisen we pay attention to the big picture AND to small details during all our bike and boat trips, so that you enjoy an unforgettably beautiful holiday. And we would be very happy to welcome you soon on one of our trips to the Netherlands.
Cycling and sailing Wadden Sea
