Netherlands
Beauty in Bloom: A Cycle & Barge Adventure in the Netherlands
Program No. 24933RJ
Forget tiptoeing — get many perspectives on the Netherlands as you bike and barge along tulip fields and gardens while learning about Dutch culture.
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Protecting the Environment
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more
9 days
8 nights
16 meals
7B 2L 7D
1
In Transit to Program
In Flight
5
Oude Wetering, Keukenhof
Oude Wetering
6
Aalsmeer, Amsterdam, Free Time
Oude Wetering
8
De Rijp Museum, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
At a Glance
After windmills and wooden shoes, tulips and bicycles may be the most recognizable icons of the Netherlands — a country with more bikes than residents and home to the world’s largest permanent display of tulips. Combine these emblems of Dutch culture on a bike and barge journey, where you’ll travel through gardens and along rivers to experience the heritage of the Netherlands firsthand. Explore the canals and museums of Amsterdam, learn about a famed former steam-powered pumping station at the Cruquius Museum and enjoy exercising your mind and your body on this exciting adventure!
Activity Level
Outdoor: Spirited
Novice to intermediate cyclists. Participants may select a standard bike or e-bike rental at time of enrollment. Cycling between 10-26 miles (5 hours) per day at 10-12 mph on primarily flat terrain on dedicated paved bicycle paths with frequent stops. Weather conditions such as wind and rain may affect biking difficulty. Walking up to one mile/day and standing for up to two hours/day on uneven terrain (including stairs and cobblestones).
Best of all, you’ll…
- Attend the world-famous Bloemencorso flower parade, an astounding display of artistry only held once a year.
- Visit the Keukenhof, known as the Garden of Europe, with its seven million spring-flowering bulbs.
- Explore the North Holland Dune Reserve, one of the largest nature reserves in the Netherlands.
Suggested Reading List
(16 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Beauty in Bloom: A Cycle & Barge Adventure in the Netherlands
Program Number: 24933
In the City of Bikes
Pedaling around the city on a "lumbering and sluggish" single-speed bicycle named Brownie, American expat and bike nut Pete Jordan turns his love of Amsterdam -- and of bicycles -- into an acutely observed cultural history of the city.
The Autumn of the Middle Ages
A pioneering work of social and cultural history, this well-translated classic of 1924 is a richly detailed portrait of life, thought and art in 14th- and 15th-century France and the Netherlands.
The Coffee Trader, A Novel
An entertaining, suspenseful work of historical fiction set in Amsterdam. It's 1659 and in the new, capricious world of stocks and investment, a desperate Portuguese-Jewish trader partners with a Dutchman. Their idea: import the first shipment of coffee to the country. What follows is a wild tale of ruthlessness, greed and fortune.
Why the Dutch are Different
Mingling history with travelogue, Coates speaks to why the Netherlands is such a fascinating country. He explains their world-famous culture of tolerance, the significance of milk, beer and the color orange in the lives of the Dutch and much more.
Tulip Fever
In this surprise bestseller, set in 1630s Amsterdam, a man contracts the talented painter Jan Van Loos to paint a portrait of him and his beautiful wife, Sophia. A vivid drama unfolds as a mutual attraction develops between Van Loos and Sophia.
An Island in Time, The Biography of a Village
Mak returns to Jorwerd, the small Netherlands village of his childhood, to spend time with the villagers and learn both the pleasures and contemporary challenges of small town life.
Fifty Places to Bike Before YouDie
Santella showcases a wide variety of expertly selected places to bike, from the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia and the Indochina Trail in Vietnam to the urban jungle of New York City.
The Undutchables
A laugh-out-loud, irreverent guide to Dutch character and habits, including how to drink coffee and why you shouldn't even think about haggling over prices.
Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City
Russell Shorto opens this delightful ode to an adopted city with his daily journey, by bike of course, through his neighborhood to drop off his toddler son. He spins a tale of a diverse city wrestled from the sea, its coffee shops, canals and its personalities and politics, with panache.
Red Map Amsterdam
An easy-to-use color map of the great Dutch city's center. The map locates attractions, sites and museums while the reverse includes copious indexes of sites, neighborhoods, shopping and hotels. Sheet size: 24 x 9 inches.
The Twin
Bakker's spare, tender ode evokes life on a rural farm in the Dutch countryside.
Eyewitness Guide The Netherlands
Gorgeously illustrated and filled with excellent maps, this compact book covers Holland, its history, traditions, cultures and sights. With hundreds of color photographs and illustrations.
Tulipomania
The story of the world's most coveted flower and the extraordinary passion it aroused, this vivid history traces the tulip from its origins on the Turkish steppes to its status as an absurdly desired object in Europe and its key role in the financial follies of 17th-century Holland.
The Embarrassment of Riches
An engaging cultural history and much more, this book is a study of the Dutch in the 17th century and their surprising challenge to Spanish rule.
The Anatomy Lesson
A fictionalized account of the events surrounding Rembrandt’s first commissioned piece, the Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. Well-researched and vivid with period details that transport the reader back to 1600s Amsterdam at the height of Dutch artistic vigor.
Eyewitness Guide Amsterdam
A wonderful guide to Amsterdam, filled with detailed drawings, photographs and thumbnail sketches.
