The West Tour

1: Amsterdam
2: Amsterdam-Utrecht-Vianen
3: Vianen-(Kinderdijk)-Rotterdam
4: Rotterdam-Delft
5: Delft-(Den Haag)-Leiden
6: Leiden-Haarlem
7: Haarlem-Amsterdam

 

Schedule
- subject to changes -

First day:
The crew welcomes you aboard the ship and shows you around. Cabins are assigned and you are free to unpack your luggage and settle in. Departure will be the next day, so this is an ideal opportunity to visit Amsterdam. When you go ashore you’ll find yourself almost immediately in down-town Amsterdam. Worth visiting are: the Anne Frank House, the museum of wax figures Madame Tussaud, the Rijksmuseum, the Maritime Museum, the Vincent van Gogh Museum, the numerous markets (especially on Saturdays), the Aviodome, a diamond cutter etc. And of course a trip with a canalcruise boat is a nice experience.

Second day:
We leave Amsterdam and head for Utrecht through the Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal. The stopover in Utrecht is ideal for a walk through the old centre with its many churches and canals. The canals are different from the canals of Amsterdam, You may also want to visit the Dutch Railway Museum, the National Museum Van Speelklok tot Pierement (musical clocks and street organs), the Bishop’s Garden or the Domtower Later that day we cross the river Lek to the small city of Vianen. On our way we pass through the gigantic Prinses Beatrix locks.

Third day:
We continue sailing on the river Lek in the direction of Rotterdam. During the tour we will pass the ‘silvercity’ Schoonhoven and we will make a stopover in Kinderdijk to watch the 19 windmills in a row. We reach Rotterdam where there is still enough time to see the town. From the top of the Euromast (height: 180 m) you have a magnificent view over the worlds largest harbour and the town. Other things worth visiting in Rotterdam are the Maritime Museum, the Cubic Houses (surprising architecture), the Toy-Toy museum (mechanical tin toys), Museum Boymans van Beuningen (paintings and sculpture).

Fourth day:
Just after departure, we sail slowly through Rotterdam (because of the great number of bridges). We leave the city and follow the Schie, heading for Delft. Delft is a beautiful, old town with lots of market-squares, canals, court-yards and picturesque streets and alleys. It is very nice wandering through the old town centre. A visit to the world-famous Delftware factory De Porceleinen Fles should be on your program. The founder of the Dutch royal family, Willem van Oranje, lived (and was murdered) in Delft. In the museum Het Prinsenhof the history of the royal family and old pieces of Delftware are exhibited.

Fifth day:
From Delft there is a possibility to travel to The Hague by tram, where you can visit the Binnenhof (Houses of Parliament), Madurodam (miniature Holland), Vredespaleis, Haags Gemeentemuseum (art museum), Omniversum (a space theatre) and Panorama Mesdag (famous circular painting of 120 m length). Nearby is the seaside resort Scheveningen, where you can relax on the beach or lounge on the boulevard. During your visit to The Hague the ship will sail on to Voorburg, a tram brings you back aboard. From Voorburg we go on to Leiden via the Rijn-Schie Kanaal. When seeing the polderland on the way, you realize that a large part of the Netherlands lies below sea-level. We also pass greenhouses in which all kinds of vegetables are grown. In Leiden we moor near the Zijlpoort, a very old town-gate. The evening is good for a stroll through this oldest university town of the Netherlands, which has an attractive old town centre. Instead of staying overnight in Leiden, we may anchor in an extensive lake district some kilometers from Leiden, called the Kagerplassen (only with good weather!)

Sixth day:
Having passed the Kagerplassen, we enter the canal Ringvaart. On one side of this canal is the area where bulbs like tulips, hyacinths and daffodils are grown. On the other (lower) side you see the first Dutch reclaimed land, the Haarlemmermeerpolder. In the restored steam pumping-station Cruquius an exposition on how the Dutch have battled the water during the past centuries is shown. The former river Spaarne takes us to the centre of Haarlem. At a stone’s throw from our mooring place is the Teylers Museum, the first and oldest museum of the Netherlands. The town is famous for the Frans Hals Museum, its numerous court-yards and for the St. Bavo-church. Thursday evenings shops are open from 19.00 - 21.00 hrs. This gives you an excellent opportunity to wander through the town centre which for the greater part is accessible for pedestrians only. After the shops close their doors there’s still time to enjoy a drink on one of the terrasses situated at the central market square (if weather permits).

Seventh day:
We leave Haarlem and sail to Spaarndam. Once through the locks we sail the Noordzeekanaal, which connects Amsterdam with the North Sea. After this we sail through the Amsterdam harbour area to our home port near the central railwaystation.

Prize per person
Other options
Calendar 2007
Difficulty level
Days /nights	8 days / 7 nights
Included services
Services not incluided