Boat and Bike North Holland MS Serena
North Sea, tidelands and Ijsselmeer
Individual arrival and embarkation from 4 pm near the beautiful centre of Enkhuizen and close to the railway station. The skipper will join you for an aperitif and explain many things worth knowing about the journey, the ship and also about safety measures to be taken onboard. In the evening you can stroll through the historical centre of Enkhuizen and spend the night onboard in Enkhuizen.
Enkhuizen – Medemblik
Today the ship sails from Enkhuizen to Den Oever. You can stay on board and sail over the IJsselmeer or you can grab a bike and start your first cycling tour along the IJsselmeer coast through the beautiful polder-landscape via Medemblik up to Den Oever with its fishing harbour. Depending on the weather in the evening the ship will sail across the Wadden Sea to the Island of Texel. ((40 km / 24 miles))
The island of Texel has a varied scenery and picturesque villages. A roundtrip cycling tour on the largest of the Dutch North Sea islands. Our tip: Use the well signposted Thijsse-route (about 40 km / 24 miles) and visit some villages and the seal sanctuary station EcoMare and the nice traditional beer brewery in the harbour of Oudeschild. Day 4 (Tue): island of Texel – island of Terschelling, sailing day (5 – 6 hrs)
Today the ship will sail, when the tide and the weather is good, to the island of Terschelling. You will manoeuvre through the sandbanks of the Wadden Sea and when you are lucky you will see seals lying to rest on a sandbar. In the afternoon the ship will arrives on Terschelling. ((1 – 65 km/ 1 – 40 miles))
Terschelling offers a lot: nature and culture, 70 km cycling tracks and 4 beautiful villages. West-Terschelling is the largest village on the island with nice shops and pubs. The landmark of the island can already be seen well from a distance, the 400 year old lighthouse “Brandaris”. Also worth seeing is the heath land “Boschplaat”. It captivates with its mud, beaches and dunes. You might even spot a number of ducks, black-winged stilts and large colonies of spoonbills and great black-backed gulls. ((1 – 40 km / 1 – 24 miles))
Today the ship tries to reach the island of Vlieland, which is depending on weather and tide. The smallest island with just one village on it and about 1,100 islanders is car-free and therefore excellent to explore by bike. The beach is just 100 m from the harbour. From the highest point of the island, the dune “Vuurboetsduin”, you have a fantastic view over a number of islands, the North Sea and the mudflats. If Vlieland can’t be reached there is an alternative: a sailing trip to the south-western part of the Province of Friesland with a roundtrip cycling tour.
Today we will sail you back to Enkhuizen.
Disembarkation by 09:30 am. A beautiful journey full of new experiences has come to an end.
The route
Almost all of the cycle tours can be classified as "easy".
- Seven nights in outside cabins of MS Serena, shower/WC in the booked cabin category
- Programme according to routing from/to Amsterdam
- Welcome Drink
- Room cleaning every day
- Changing of towels and bed cloths if wanted
- Full board consisting of 7x breakfast buffet, 6x lunch snack on board (non-cyclists) or lunch package for cycle tours, 6x coffee or tea in the afternoon, 7x 3-course-dinner
- All charges for harbours, bridges and locks
- Daily meeting for the cycling tours
- Printed instructions and detailed maps for daily individual bike tours (1 per cabin)
- Tour guide
Services not included
- Journey to and from Amsterdam
- parking fees
- shuttles
- bike rental
- entrance fees and excursions
- ferry tickets
- drinks on board
- tips
- travel insurances.
Parking
- For example: Parking Oosterdok www.parkingcentreamsterdam.com, economy fare approx. € 20.-/24 h or Valet Parking Service (via holiday extras), approx. € 145.-/week (Rate depends on capacity; application form with your booking confirmation).
Your journey to and from Amsterdam will be individual. • Basically, we reserve the right to make changes of routing and program. If there is low or high water and a route cannot be shipped, the captain reserves the right to change the route in view of your safety (this cannot be accepted as a reason for free withdrawal). • The interior of the ship is a non-smoking zone: smoking is only allowed on the sun deck. • Embarkation: from 3 to 4:30 pm • Disembarkation: after breakfast by 09:00 am. • Bicycles on board: unisex trekking bicycles with normal mount (ladies model), 7 gears, hand brake and pedal brake or hand brakes only (subject to availability) and pannier bag. E-Bikes are on these tours only available after prior request (by booking) and confirmation and at limited number. Please indicate your body height when you book. • To bring your own bike: on request only – due to lack of space on sundeck.• Cycle tours: all distances are “approximate distances” of recommended bike tours. When a guest does not want to cycle one day, she/he can skip the bike tour and relax on board while cruising to the next harbour. The bike tours are individual, at your own pace, without a tour guide, but with daily briefings on board and detailed bicycle maps and directions. Nearly all cycle tours can be classified as being easy. • Languages on board: German, English • Excursions: we offer a small excursion program, that can be booked directly on board at the cruise director only. You will get a brief description together with your travel documents. Depending on the number of participants some excursions could be carried out in 2 languages (German/ English). • Luggage: we recommend: rainwear, bicycle helmet, sunhat and sneakers. • EU-citizens (without special situations like dual citizenship, main residence abroad or a limited-validity passport) are required to have a valid passport or ID-card, not expiring within six(6) months of the return of your cruise. We kindly ask non-EU citizens, EU-nationals with multiple citizenship or anybody who has to respect special legal entry requirements for the country to visit, to inform about visa and entry documents at the competent embassy. • This trip is not suitable for guests with reduced mobility.
MS Serena
Experience on this bicycle- and shiptour the Netherlandth northsea, Watten- and Ijsselmeer. On the MS Serena you pass the nights on the Netherlandth waters.
