Day 1 Arrive Oudewater.

Arrive in Oudewater, a small picturesque town.

Day 2 Circular tour from Oudewater 0 or 28 miles.

From Oudewater you are free to choose your route. How about a visit to Gouda, world famous for its cheeses and treacle waffle? Every Thursday morning, farmers in traditional costume, come to the market to have their cheeses weighed and sold.

Day 3 Oudewater to Putten 50 miles.

The IJssel River will be your guide for some time and you are now cycling through the well-known polder landscape. It doesn’t become more Dutch than this. Through Utrecht, one of the oldest and most beautiful cities of the Netherlands, then onto the fishing village of Spakenburg, unique in the Netherlands as part of its population still dresses in traditional Old Dutch costume. Along the border of the IJssel Lake you cycle towards Putten where you spend the night in a quietly situated hotel, in the middle of the Veluwe forest.

Day 4 Circular ride around Veluwe 0 to 25 miles.

Green forests, purple heather, yellow-white sand drifts: that’s what the Veluwe is known for. Today you probably won’t see any cars, simply because the largest part of the Veluwe does not have any roads! Cyclists, hikers and horsemen call the shots here. What you really shouldn’t miss is the Kootwijkerzand, the largest sand drift area of Europe.

Day 5 Putten to Dalfsen 41 miles.

From Putten, the route takes you, straight across the Veluwe where you may see red deer. Halfway through the day, you will leave the Veluwe behind you whereupon you will cross the River IJssel by ferry. Across quiet countryside roads you head for Dalfsen.

Day 6 Dalfsen to Giethoorn 37 miles.

Today is a delightful ride over dykes, with majestic views over the green, flat open fields. Your trip to Giethoorn is quite memorable, since you will ride right through the ‘De Wieden’ nature reserve, unique marshlands with many creeks and small lakes. Because of the many small islands, bridges, canals and “punters”, Giethoorn is also called ‘ Venice of the North’.

Day 7 Circular ride from Giethoorn 0 or 37 miles.

Today you can rent the traditional Giethoorn ‘punter’, similar to the gondola in Venice. Take a cycle tour through the De Weerribben wildlife sanctuary, a marshland with many small islands. Many protected birds live in this area, as well as rare water loving mammals such as beavers and otters.

Day 8 Departure after breakfast.