Today we want to talk about our “Springtime in Holland” tour. Most people have the image in their head, the Netherlands is mainly famous for their cheese and of course the flowers, especially tulips but there is also a lot more to discover. Before we go into more detail, you might have noticed we used both the words Netherlands and Holland in the first two sentences. Many people think that the two names are fully interchangeable. But North Holland and South Holland are just two of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands, which is officially called the Kingdom of the Netherlands. We are in Holland during the perfect time of the year, as the spring flowers are in bloom and the flower parade takes place and as we are spending basically the whole tour in Holland, besides the first stop in Bruges in Belgium, we can definitely call our tour “Springtime in Holland”.
Now let’s talk about the things Holland is famous for and that you can see during the tour. In Amsterdam, our first stop in Holland, we recommend a boat tour on the famous Amsterdam Canal Ring, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back to the 17th century, and of course a visit to some of the well-known Museums, like the Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh Museum, to name a few.
After leaving Amsterdam, we travel to the Alkmaar region, and you can visit the famous cheese market in the morning. As cheese is important in Holland, there will be more opportunities to stop at some cheese farms en route to Alkmaar near Edam and of course also later during the tour in Gouda. Another recommended stop would be to visit the Zaanse Schans open-air museum, a picturesque village where you can see windmills still working. You can find windmills throughout the countryside, some of the most famous ones are the Kinderdijk windmills, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is not too far from our stop in Delft.
After Alkmaar we will be in the bulb growing region, close to the coast, in time for the annual flower parade. We have the opportunity to admire the floats while stationary on the evening before the parade and try some of the famous fish like Kibbeling or Herring and if you are not so adventurous go for the Lekkerbekje consisting of fish that is dipped in batter and fried in oil. Essentially, it’s the Dutch version of fish and chips 😊. After having seen the floats in the evening, the next morning we will go together to watch the parade on Saturday. A further highlight of this tour is a visit to the Keukenhof Gardens to see nearly seven million spring-flowering bulbs and to walk through the inspirational gardens. The Keukenhof Gardens are only a short distance from our campsite. By the way the Netherlands is cycling heaven, so if you would like to join us on this tour, do not forget to bring your bikes as everywhere there are plenty of safe cycling lanes. If you are not all flowered out, you can stop at the world’s largest flower auction in Aalsmeer on our way to Delft!
I almost forgot the delicious Stroopwafels consisting of two thin cookie-like wafers held together by a caramel filling. They are best served fresh and warm and can be found all over the country! But the best place to try them is in a bakery in Gouda 😊.
When we are in Delft, famous for its blue pottery, we will take part in a tile painting workshop at the Royal Delft pottery. This is always very enjoyable and even those customers who say they are not artistic have a lot of fun. The result can be seen on the picture above and you can have a guess which one Audrey painted, and which one is mine.
Unfortunately, in 2025, we will miss Kings Day which takes place on April 27th every year to celebrate the birthday of the King of the Netherlands’. In 2025 King’s Day falls on a Sunday, therefore the celebration will be moved to Saturday 26 April!. It is essentially a massive street party with music, dancing, food vendors, and street fairs. Also, everyone wears orange (the color of the Dutch Royal Family) to celebrate. So, if you have some more time on hand, we suggest prolonging your stay in Delft for another week after the tour has finished, as this is also the perfect place to explore many other sights in the area.
Now you know what to expect on this tour, we need to let you know, that some of the campsites have informed us that next year, they need to know the number of participants on the tour by the end of January as we are travelling in the most popular time of the year. This means for us that we will have to close our bookings for this tour by 30th January 2025. So, if you are interested in joining us, please send us your booking as soon as possible.
If you are interested in any of our upcoming tours, you can find more information on the tour by clicking on the links below:
2025 Tours
Springtime in Holland
Tour date: Sat. 5th April – Sat. 19th April
Calais pick-up: Sat. 5th April
Timeless Tuscany
Tour date: Thu. 15th May – Wed. 4th June
Majestic Rhine & Moselle Rivers
Tour date: Sat. 28th June – Sat. 12th July
Calais pick-up: Sat. 28th June
Breathtaking Black Forest
Tour date: Sat. 12th July – Sat. 26th July
Spectacular Spanish Northern Coast
Tour date: Sat. 30th August – Fri. 12th September
Perfect Portugal
Tour date: Sat. 13th September – Fri. 3rd October
All information regarding dates, prices, and itinerary can be found on our website. If you have any additional questions or require any further information, just send us an email. If you would like to book a tour you can do this online, or send us an email and we will send you a booking form.
Regards and safe travels.
Audrey & Michael