West Frisian Tidelands, Leafde fan Fryslân, guided

Embarkation and check-in where the crew will welcome you on board is from 2 p.m. (4 p.m. on May 4) near the beautiful center of Enkhuizen and close to the railway station. After everyone is checked in the captain will give a introduction to your sailing hotel and the tour leaders give a overview of the week to come. After all the necessary safety instructions are given the ship will depart to your first destination of the week, Medemblik. After dinner your tour leaders will guide you through this historic town now known for its sailing culture.

In the morning, after a extensive bike fitting, you can head off on your first bikeride. We will ride in two groups where one guide will take a longer route while the other group will take a shorter trail. Highlight for both routes is the picturesque village of Twisk. This former peat mining town never experienced great poverty and is still in pristine historic state.

After the cycling tour the ship will sail further to Texel, the biggest Dutch Island in the North Sea.
Note: If weather doesn’t work with us, an overnight in Den Oever might be necessary.

The island of Texel is a cyclist’s dream destination with its varied scenery, picturesque villages
and dedicated cycling paths. Your guides will take you on a tour around the Island. Included in
your program is a visit to the seal sanctuary station “Ecomare”. While the main mission of the
foundation is to rescue and cure birds and seals, they also try to educate visitors on the area and
wildlife.

Today is a full sailing day. The captain and sailor will introduce you to the art of sailing while the impressive ship makes its way to the next Island, Terschelling. The Wadden Sea with all its sandbanks is a UNESCO world heritage. As you sail your way through the sandbanks of the Wadden Sea, keep a lookout for seals in the wild. They like to rest on the sandbars. While sailing you will enjoy an extensive lunch on board. In the afternoon the ship will arrive on Terschelling island, which features a number of picturesque villages situated between the polder and sand dunes along its 30 km expanse. No dinner will be served tonight, to enable you to explore the island and try one of the nice restaurants on Terschelling (not incl.).

While the previous day was all about sailing, today is all about cycling. Terschelling has plenty to offer cycle tourists: nature and culture, 70 km of cycling tracks and 4 beautiful villages. West Terschelling is the largest village on the island and features a number of nice shops and pubs. The standout landmark on the island is the 400 year-old lighthouse “Brandaris” that can be seen from well off in the distance. Also worth visiting is the heath land of “Boschplaat” which will captivate you with its mud, beaches and dunes. You might even spot ducks, black-winged stilts, large colonies of spoonbills and great black-backed gulls. After a day of cycling, you can relax in comfort once you have arrived on board. In the late afternoon the ship will cross the Wadden Sea sail to Harlingen, the most important harbor city of the province of Friesland.

The bike tour of today goes via Franeker, where a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Planetarium
of Eise Eisinga is on the program. After the visit you continue your cycling tour through the beautiful wide Frisian countryside along several rural villages to the small harbor of Makkum onthe eastern bank of the lake IJsselmeer. If you take the long cycling trip, you will also visit Bolsward, one of the Eleven Frisian Cities.

From Makkum you will cycle to Stavoren. The short tour leads you via the old trading town of Hindeloopen. This local art of painting – a type of traditional decorative painting – is quite famous. Apart from this you’ll find the First Frisian Museum of Ice Skating in Hindeloopen. The long tour runs along several Frisian lakes and shows you a different type of landscape. From Stavoren the ship will set sail to cross the IJsselmeer to Enkhuizen in the late afternoon.

End of your tour: Disembarkation after breakfast until 9.30 a.m.