Holland Low Budget Holiday 1

Elfsteden [Eleven Cities] Tour by bicycle - Best Bed & Breakfast

The 5-day deal known as ‘Elfsteden [Eleven Cities] Tour by bicycle - Best Bed & Breakfast’ takes you and your bike - via specially built and ultra-safe cycle paths - through eleven charming and historical cities, along winding streams, dozens of friendly villages and grand farms, from one lodging to the next.

You will be able to enjoy all kinds of scenery, ranging from vast pasture lands and lakes to the magnificent woods and forests that Friesland has to offer, plus typical Frisian forts and castles, referred to in Frisian as staten and stinzen. The 230 km long Elfsteden route includes more than 200 cultural-historical and scenic attractions!

The price, which includes four nights accommodation (B&B), transport of your luggage from lodging to lodging, breakdown service, tourist tax and the substantial info pack, is just € 305.00 per person on the basis of a two people per room.

NB! The services are provided by Friesland Holland Travel itself which means the highest possible level of care for you and your belongings.

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Accommodation
The accommodation is provided on the basis of B&B at four guesthouses or with families with one or more spare rooms. The sanitary facilities are in the room or next door.

Luggage transport
Participants' luggage can only be transported if the day of arrival is a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday during the period from 1 April up to and including 1 October.

Day of arrival
A Sunday, Monday or Tuesday during the period from 1 April up to and including 1 October.

Start and finish
Lodging in the south of Friesland.

Parking facilities
You can park your car free of charge and leave it behind at the guest house from which the tour starts. The accommodation en route all have sheds or parking areas where you can leave your bicycle.

Bicycle
You use your own bicycle or rent a Batavus bicycle with seven gears and saddlebags from the Rent-a-Topbike range available via Friesland Holland. Friesland Holland Travel also rents out Batavus sports E-Bikes with an invisible electric motor for extra power.

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Luggage
Your luggage is collected at the reception every day from 10.00 a.m. onwards and delivered to the next place you are going to stay at around 5.00 p.m.

Route:
Elfsteden route: www.elfstedenroute.nl
Start: lodging in South Friesland - Stavoren* - Hindeloopen* - Workum* - Bolsward* -Harlingen* - Franeker* - coastline Wadden Sea-Dokkum* - Leeuwarden* - Sneek* - IJlst* -Sloten* - Finish: lodging in South Friesland
* = Elfstedenstad (small city with historic centre)

Distance per day:
Between approximately 60 and 80 km.

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Programme per day:
• Day 1, a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, preparations.
On the first day, participants will meet in the afternoon at a lodging in the south of Friesland. The guesthouses are a couple of kilometres from the IJsselmeer lake and close to two attractions, namely the old Zuider Zee fishing harbour of Laaksum and the Rode Klif [Red Cliff], which offers wonderful views of the land and the sea. The monument there is a reminder of the famous battle near Warns in 1345, where the Dutch tried to conquer Friesland. Count Willem IV of Holland died during the battle. You first full day of cycling (towards Franeker) will start the following day, once you have been properly equipped and provided with all the necessary information.

• Day 2, to Franeker.
You will cycle from Warns or Koudum via the IJsselmeer coastal towns of Stavoren, Hindeloopen and Workum to Bolsward. From there, the route passes through the charming Wadden Sea harbour town of Harlingen to the old university town of Franeker. There you will spend in the night in the authentic Stadsherberg [town inn] or at the equally traditional Oppe Klincke farm. The Eise Eisinga Planetarium and plenty of excellent restaurants are nearby. We recommend that you take time to walk through the historic centre and visit the oldest student pub in the Netherlands, known as the Bogt fen Guné.

• Day 3, to Leeuwarden and surroundings.
Your journey of discovery continues along the Wadden Sea coast towards Dokkum, once a seaport and now the 'capital' of Lauwersland. Do not forget to 'climb' the tallest terp [knoll] in Friesland (almost 9 m), known as Hegebeintum and to go on a guided tour of the 12th century church and hear its story. You will then cycle via the Dokkumer Ee, Bartlehiem where the Elfstedentocht [Eleven City Skating Race] finishes, the Bonkevaart and on to the very attractive city of Leeuwarden. You should definitely visit the charming centre of the Frisian capital which has a wealth of monuments and museums. Do not forget to visit the nostalgic shops in the Nieuwesteeg. You will stay the night in or nearby Leeuwarden.

• Day 4, to Southwest Friesland.
Your journey continues in a southerly direction through the expanse of pastures and terpen to the water gate town of Sneek. From Sneek you travel to the small fortified town of Sloten, the smallest of the towns on the Elfsteden route and indeed the smallest in the world (surf to www.elfstedenroute.nl). You will spend the night at a lodging in Southwest Friesland.

• Day 5, to the finish.
This delightfully varied tour ends on day 5. You cycle through the Gaasterlandse woods and back to the lodgings the tour started from in the south of Friesland.

Extra night:
If you no longer fancy driving home at the end of the final day, day 5, you can always spend an extra night at the lodgings the tour started from. This extra night can be arranged when you book! The costs are 42 euro per person per night incl. a hearty breakfast on the basis of two people in a room.

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Route information folder in each room:
• Confirmation with accommodation reservations
• Tour card
• Frysk Fisum (a visa for Friesland)
• Elfsteden Route by bicycle (in four languages)
• History of the Eleven Cities
• Leisure map of Friesland
• An accommodation guide including detailed maps of the areas in which you will be staying
• Friesland Holland Tourist Map & Holiday Magazine showing places of interest and attractions

Certificate:
In order to be awarded the attractively illustrated and personalised Eleven Cities Certificate, you have to make sure your tour card is stamped in each city to prove you were there. You can get your card stamped in any hotel, restaurant, shop, tourist information bureau or local authority office in each of the Eleven Cities.

You have to send the fully stamped card bearing your name and address to:

Friesland Holland,
Postbus 163,
8470 AD Wolvega, The Netherlands.

We will send you the certificate within two weeks. The certificate will state your name and the year in which you completed the tour by bicycle. The original tour card will also be returned to you.

Prices in 2010:
Price for a 5 day cycling tour
€ 305.00 per person (based on 2 people per room)

Including:
• 4 nights
• 4 breakfasts
• Tourist tax
• Luggage transportation from one lodging to another
• A breakdown service (replacement rented bicycle or transportation of own bicycle to the bicycle repair shop nearest to the next destination)
• Route information folder (sent after booking and payment)
• Certificate

Excluding:
• Travel and cancellation insurance
• Lunches, dinners and drinks

Surcharges:
1 person per room: +30%

Other details:
• Prices in 2010. For prices applicable in other years please call Friesland Holland on tel. no. +31 (0)561-615364

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Additional information and bookings
Travel organisation office:
Friesland Holland Tourist Information and Travel Service
Holland Low Budget
Hoofdstraat West 38
8471 HV
The Netherlands
Wolvega
Tel. +31 (0)561 - 615 364
Fax +31 (0)561 - 617 818
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Post:
Friesland Holland
Postbus 163
8470 AD Wolvega
The Netherlands

Websites:
www.holidays-in-holland.nl
www.frieslandholland.nl