Cycling in The Netherlands

General Information
• People and language
• Places to stay
• Food and drinks
• Health and safety
• Other interesting facts

Information for cyclists
• When to cycle
• Roads, traffic, sign posting
• Spare parts and repairs
• Transport
• Cycle routes

Information sources
• Maps
• Books and travel guides
• Organisations
• Internet sites


(Picture: Marco Meijerink.) The Dutch countryside consists of wood, farm land, villages and cities. This photo was taken in "De Veluwe", which is a great area for cycling.

People and language

People
• The Dutch are very fond of cycling: most people have at least one bike.
• People are happy to show you the way in the unlikely event that you lose your track.
• Don’t expect spontaneous invitations for a drink, let alone that the Dutch will spontaneously invite you for a home-stay unless they know you.

Language
• The official language is Dutch.
• Most people speak surprisingly fluent English. Many also master German, French, and/or Spanish up to some degree.

Places to stay

Campings
• Affordable campings abound in The Netherlands. For an overview, see: www.eurocampings.co.uk/en .
• Some farmers allow you to stay at their grounds: www.kamperenbijdeboer.nl (in Dutch).
• A great alternative during a rainy or cold day may be a wooden cabin (trekkershut) offered by some camping sites: www.trekkershutten.nl/english/index_uk.html . The cabins are very basic: usually, there’s not much more than a wooden bed, a table, some chairs, a place to cook, and a roofed area for your bike and your wet laundry.

Ho(s)tels
• You’ll find hostels in touristy areas and cities. The most prominent chain is “Stay Okay”: www.stayokay.com .
• An excellent site for friendly hotels: www.hollandhotels.nl .
• Overviews of B&B’s: www.bedandbreakfast.nl and www.geenhotel.nl .

Home-stay
• 3200 addresses for home-stays can be found at www.vriendenopdefiets.nl .

Food and drinks

• Because of the large number of immigrants, it’s easy to find a good restaurant.
• Every town has at least one Chinese restaurant, which is usually cheap and good. By the way: most Chinese restaurants mainly offer Indonesian dishes, including saté, loempia (spring roll), nasi goreng (fried rice), bami goreng (fried noodles), babi pangang (pork), and pisang goreng (fried bananas). Absolutely worth a try!
• Great food for cyclists are the Dutch pancakes (pannekoeken).
• Popular among cyclists is apple pie (appeltaart), which is especially great with whipped cream (slagroom). You’ll find one in every “café”.
• Don’t expect apple pie on the menu in a “coffee shop”. Even coffee might not be available here: a coffee shop is a hash bar where you can legally buy hash and marihuana (up to 5 gram). According to connaisseurs, they are the best in the world.
• Most bakeries and supermarkets are closed on Sundays, except for some tourist villages and big cities.

Health and safety

• The Netherlands is a safe country.
• Be aware of cycle theft! Especially Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht are notorious for it. You’ll find some useful tips at www.m-gineering.nl/touringg.htm .
• Cycling in cities is safe compared to other countries. The main roads have cycle lanes, and car drivers are used to cyclists.
• You’re not obliged to wear a helmet.

Other interesting facts

• Many shops are closed on Monday morning.
• Shops close at six in the afternoon. Large supermarkets are open till 22h00.
• It’s easy to find a cash machine.
• There are ample opportunities to make us of the Internet.
• Mobile telecom coverage is excellent.
• In several harbours is it possible to use WIFI hotspots for free: Free wifi hotspots in harbours

When to cycle

• The best cycle season is from May till September.
• From October to April the weather’s generally not very pleasant for cycling. You can expect cold, rain, snow, and wind.

Roads, traffic, sign posting

Roads
• The quality of most roads is excellent.
• Many long distance roads have a cycle path (fietspad) separate from the road.
• You’re not allowed to cycle on the highways.

Traffic
• You can rather safely cycle around cities because most main roads in the cities have an adjacent cycle path and car drivers are used to cyclists.
• Bas van Oudheusden summarizes the traffic regulations in the Netherlands: www.aero.lr.tudelft.nl/~bvo/fiets/nlbybike.htm .

Sign posting
• In the country side, you’ll find sign posts shaped as square “mushrooms” about 30 centimeters in height

Spare parts and repairs

• Bike shops (rijwielhandels) abound. Every town of 10,000 inhabitants or more has one. It’s easy to obtain spare parts and/or have your bike repaired.
• The following shops cater to the bicycle traveller:
Van Herwerden; Laan van Nieuw Oost Indië; Voorburg (close to Den Haag); www.vanherwerden.nl .
De Vakantiefietser; Westerstraat 216; Amsterdam; www.vakantiefietser.nl .
Bike4travel: Elandstraat 83; Capelle aan den IJssel (close to Rotterdam); www.bike4travel.nl .
Snel: Amsterdamsestraatweg 414 a-b-c; Utrecht; www.sneltweewielers.nl .
Recycle: Herenstraat 37; Wageningen; www.re-cycle.nl .

Transport

Getting there and away
• Plane: Amsterdam is easily accessible from all over the world. Some low costs carriers fly to Rotterdam, Eindhoven or Düsseldorf (a German airport not far from Nijmegen). If you land at Amsterdam Airport, and you plan to stay in Amsterdam during your first nights, this site could be valuable: www.wereldfietser.nl/index.php?option=c ... &Itemid=54 .
• Boat: You can travel by ferry from the UK to the Netherlands or Belgium. Some routes: Rosyth – Zeebrugge, Hull – Europoort, Newcastle – IJmuiden, Ramsgate – Oostende, Harwich – Hoek van Holland. You’ll find more information on www.worldtravellers.net/seatravel/ferries.html or www.seabridges.com .

Getting around
• Train: Bicycles may only be carried during non-peak hours (not from 6h30 till 9h in the morning and from 4h30 till 6h in the afternoon). You have to buy a ticket for your bike before you enter the train. The rate does not depend on the distance. Timetables can be found at www.ns.nl .
• Bus: Bikes are not allowed on Dutch buses.
• Boat: You can use ferries to cross the main rivers in convenient places. Bike transport is no problem and very cheap. For more information, click http://holland.cyclingaroundtheworld.nl ... dBoat.html .

Cycle routes

• Landscape-wise the most interesting areas are the coastline (including the Frisian islands), national parks “De Hoge Veluwe” and “De Veluwezoom”, and the hills in Limburg (the south-eastern corner of the country).
• Sign posted cycles routes abound all over the country. 20 “LF” routes form a dense nationwide network of bicycle friendly roads. More information on http://holland.cyclingaroundtheworld.nl ... tance.html .
• Some cycle routes: www.fietsen.123.nl/cycle%20routes%20netherlands.htm .
• Esterbauer publishes several cycle guides with well described routes in the Netherlands (in German): www.esterbauer.com .
• Kettler-Verlag publishes the German cycle guide “Holland per Rad” with 93 well described routes in the Netherlands. More information and updates on www.kettler-verlag.de/holland.htm .
• The Northsea cycle route: www.northsea-cycle.com .
• The Foundation ReCreatief Fietsen (= ReCreational Cycling) has published a large number of cycling-guides. Most guides are in Dutch, but te foundation has also published a guide in German, with tours leaving from the coastal towns of Katwijk and Noordwijk. This guide is called "Radtouren durch Dünen- und Blumengebiet". On www.recreatief-fietsen.nl , you can find some tours in English, German and French. Those tours can be downloaded for free.

Maps

• Michelin (1:200.000) The Netherlands South.
• Michelin (1:200.000) The Netherlands North.
• Various regional ANWB maps at scale 1:50.000, 1:75.000, and 1:100.000. These maps contain campings, ferries, and all cycle lanes.

Maps are amply available in most petrol stations.

Books and travel guides

• Lonely Planet (2007) “The Netherlands”.
• Rough Guide (2007) “The Netherlands”.
• Esterbauer publishes several cycle guides with well described routes in the Netherlands (in German): www.esterbauer.com .
• Kettler-Verlag publishes the German cycle guide “Holland per Rad” with 93 well described routes in the Netherlands. More information and updates on www.kettler-verlag.de/holland.htm .
• Katherine Widing (2005) "Bicycle Touring Holland". Published by Cycle Publishing San Francisco. This book can be bougt in some travel bookshops in the Netherlands or ordered at www.fietsgidsen.nl .
• Lenore Kennedy (1999) "Full Circle in the Low Countries". Online book, available on www.geocities.com/Yosemite/9732/nl98/index.htm .

Organisations

• Netherlands Board of Tourism: www.holland.com/uk .
• World Cyclist Association (Vereniging “De Wereldfietser”): www.wereldfietser.nl .

Internet sites

• www.cycletourer.co.uk/cycletouring/holland.shtml : Great page, containing information about routes, campsites, maps, trains and much more.
• http://holland.cyclingaroundtheworld.nl : Anja de Graaf and Paul van Roekel’s excellent web page for independent cyclists in the Netherlands. The site contains some great pictures!
• www.m-gineering.nl/touringg.htm : Marten Gerritsen’s page contains loads of useful information.
• www.aero.lr.tudelft.nl/~bvo/fiets/nlbybike.htm : Bas van Oudheusden’s page contains loads of useful information.
• www.geocities.com/Yosemite/9732/nl98/index.htm : Read Lenore Kennedy's online book on her 1999 cycle tour through the Netherlands.
• www.raph.nl : Travel stories and information.
• www.trekkershutten.nl/english/index_uk.html : Wooden cabins on camping sites.
• www.stayokay.com : Hostels.
• www.hollandhotels.nl : An excellent site for friendly hotels.
• www.geenhotel.nl : B&B’s.
• www.bedandbreakfast.nl : B&B's.
• www.vriendenopdefiets.nl : 3200 addresses for home-stays.
• www.worldtravellers.net/seatravel/ferries.html : International ferries.
• www.seabridges.com : International ferries.
• www.ns.nl : Information about trains.
• http://holland.cyclingaroundtheworld.nl ... tance.html : Sign posted cycles routes abound all over the country.
• www.petersfietssite.nl/nedhellingen/hellingen.html : Profiles of Dutch hills (Google earth maps).
• www.esterbauer.com : Esterbauer publishes several cycle guides with well described routes in the Netherlands (in German).
• www.kettler-verlag.de/holland.htm : Kettler-Verlag publishes the German cycle guide “Holland per Rad” with 93 well described routes in the Netherlands.
• www.holland.com/uk : Netherlands Board of Tourism.
• www.wereldfietser.nl : World Cyclist Association (Vereniging “De Wereldfietser”).