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Exterior view of the Mare fan Fryslan

West Frisian Tidelands, Mare fan Fryslân

A sense of freedom

8 Days / 7 Nights
Easy
Exterior view of the Mare fan Fryslan

Wind and salt on your skin and a feeling of freedom! Sailing trips are something special. It’s a little like being a seafaring pioneer discovering the waters… Aboard on the Mare fan Fryslȃn, a comfortable sailing ship, you will experience pure nature while enjoying water, sun and a stiff breeze on the big inland lake IJsselmeer and the so-called “Wadden Sea”. The “Wad” (Dutch for “mud flat”), a nature reserve that is unique in the entire world, stretches across the coast of the North Sea.

Highlights of the tour are the North Sea islands of Texel and Terschelling and their beautiful natural areas, small villages and long sandy beaches that you can explore by bicycle. Highlights of the coasts of the mainland in the provinces of North-Holland and Friesland are a combination of rural areas, small villages and picturesque harbour towns: a true “El Dorado” for cyclists. If you like, on board, you may – instructed by the experienced crew – lend a hand during navigating and raising the sails. Sailing experience is not necessary. But of course you are also very welcome to just relax and enjoy the sailing and scenery. What are you waiting for? Let’s cast off!

Itinerary at a glance

Embarkation and check-in where the crew will welcome you on board is from 2 p.m. near the beautiful center of Enkhuizen and close to the railway station. After unpacking your luggage the skipper will join you for an aperitif before giving you a rundown of what to expect on the journey, details about the ship and also about safety measures to be taken on board. In the evening take a stroll through the historical center of Enkhuizen, a quaint town that was the home of the Dutch merchant fleet during the Golden Age of The Netherlands. Enjoy your first night on board in Enkhuizen on the western bank of the lake IJsselmeer.

Today you can cycle the first leg of the trip along the IJsselmeer coast through the beautiful polder landscape to Medemblik.  After the cycling tour the ship will sail further to Den Oever. Depending on the weather in the evening the ship will take the lock and sail across the Wadden Sea (part of the North Sea) to the island of Texel.

The island of Texel is a cyclist’s dream destination with its varied scenery, well signposted cycle tracks and picturesque villages. Our suggestion is to complete a round trip cycling tour of the largest of the Dutch North Sea islands that takes you via a number of villages, the seal sanctuary station “Ecomare” and a traditional beer brewery near the harbor of Oudeschild.

Today you will enjoy sailing on your ship, when the tide and the weather are right, to the island of Terschelling. As you sail your way through the sandbanks of the Wadden Sea, keep a lookout for seals on the sandbars. 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. While sailing you will enjoy an extensive lunch on board. No dinner will be served tonight, to enable you to explore the island, but you can make yourself a picnic meal or try one of the nice restaurants at 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.

Via Franeker, with the famous planetarium of Eise Eisinga, you cycle through the beautiful wide Frisian countryside along several rural villages to the small harbor of Makkum on the 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.

Route information

Easy

Prices & Dates

Prices per person in EUR

Services & Information

Further details about this tour

Included

  • Program according to itinerary from/to Enkhuizen
  • 7 nights in outside cabins in the booked cabin category
  • 1 welcome drink
  • Full meals (7x breakfast, 5x packed lunch for cyclists and 1x lunch on board, 7x coffee and tea on board, 6x 3-course-dinner) 
  • On board tour guide incl. daily briefing
  • Daily cabin cleaning, change of bed linen and towels as needed
  • 1 route book per cabin 
  • All harbour, lock and bridge fees
  • Wifi
  • GPS-data

Optional 

  • Bring your own bike €10,- / electric bike €25,- (on request only, limited) 
  • Rental bike insurance for rental bike €10,-/week, for electric bike €25,-/week. limitation of risk and liability in the event of damage to or loss of the bicycle you have rented
  • Helmet €10,-/week, to be paid in advance 

Arrival / Parking / Departure

  • Arrival by train to Enkhuizen station: the pier is within walking distance
  • Free, unguarded car park near the train station, no reservation possible

Things to note

  • Minimum numbe rof participants: none
  • Further important information according to the package travel law and additional information about your bike and boat trip can be found here!
  • This tour is a partner tour.

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Christine Pölzleitner

"I look forward to making your vacation dreams come true."

Christine Pölzleitner
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