Antwerp to Amsterdam

[greyhead]

For my annual tour this autumn I have been considering taking the Eurostar to Brussels followed by a local train to Antwerp, this last leg being included in the Eurostar price (except 5 Euro for the bike). From there I would cycle leisurely (note username) up to Amsterdam, perhaps via Utrecht, staying overnight in B&Bs.
Any suggestions as to the itinerary would be appreciated, also some idea of the scenery in the Belgian part of the trip.
The return leg is still undecided but may involve the Hoek - Harwich ferry.

[hamster]

Simplest is the North Sea Route, google it. There are good resources on the web including a special site for bike-friendly accommodation.
http://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/en/

[Vorpal]

There are a number of alternatives... There is the above mentioned North Sea Cycle Route (Euro Velo 12). If you do take that, there is a nice cross-country (not roadside) path from Haarlem to Amsterdam.

There are also numerous other routes through the Netherlands. You can pick almost any place that you want to visit or museum that you want to see, and go via that place.

There is a nice route going north from Antwerp to Amsterdam, LF 2. http://en.nederlandfietsland.nl/en has information about the long distance routes in the Netherlands, including a map with camping sites and online route planner. It's not the most user friendly site, but the information is very good.

http://www.fietsroute.org/Long-Distanceroutes-LF.php is the Belgian version. The information is a little easier to find on there, but it doesn't have the route planner.

It's quite flat in that part of Belgium and the Netherlands. There are many canals and dykes, with both farmland and towns. There are some postcard picturesque areas (flowers and windmills, etc.) and a mixture of old houses and villages and new developments that you could put in practically any place in Europe without looking out of place.

Belgium and the Netherlands both are very pleasant places to cycle.

Have a good trip

[m-gineering]

For my annual tour this autumn I have been considering taking the Eurostar to Brussels followed by a local train to Antwerp, this last leg being included in the Eurostar price (except 5 Euro for the bike). From there I would cycle leisurely (note username) up to Amsterdam, perhaps via Utrecht, staying overnight in B&Bs.
Any suggestions as to the itinerary would be appreciated, also some idea of the scenery in the Belgian part of the trip.
.

The Fietsersbond has an excellent routeplanner. Just play with all the options (short route-scenic route etc) till you find something you like.

http://www.fietsersbond.nl/fietsrouteplanner/

and some more tips on cycletouring in nl: http://www.m-gineering.nl/touringg.htm

[Vorpal]

Just to add.... If you haven't been there, Brugge (Bruges) and Ghent are worth visiting. Brugge is a lovely canal city, with a well-preserved medieval centre, but it is a bit touristic. Gent was the capitol of Flanders, and also has nice medieval architecture. If you take the North Sea Cycle route, you can pick it up the other side of Brugge, though it is, of course rather longer that way than going north from Antwerp.

It also somewhat depends on your interests. The mussels and beer are good, and there are many museums, Dutch masters' paintings hanging in churches and belfries with tiny stairs to climb, but if your interests take you to the Netherlands, go north from Antwerp instead

[greyhead]

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I had considered taking the North Sea route but having in the past started my continental trips from one of the ferry ports, I thought that this time I would try Eurostar and start inland - hence Antwerp (chosen to avoid the urban sprawl around Brussels). I may well, however, take in the coastal route on my way back to Hoek, perhaps after a round trip to Texel (any thoughts on that??) Have already been to Bruges, by the way and have visited some of the coastal areas on sailing trips.

The Fietersbond route planner looks very interesting. I was rather concerned that some of the recommended Dutch cycle routes (good as they are) would involve a cycle path along a busy highway so the option to select a scenic route is particulary useful. This leads to the next question - some of these look quite complicated so I'm now wondering how best to follow them. So far I've tended to avoid a dedicated GPS device prefering to use paper maps on top of my bar bag although I still use my smart phone GPS (with pre-loaded Google Maps to avoid roaming costs) as a back up if I get lost! In that case I need to find suitably detailed maps. I understand the Dutch use a complicated(?) numbering system that covers the country's cycle routes. Maybe OK if following something like LF2 but would it work with the recommended scenic route? Your comments would again be appreciated.

Oh, and yes, I am particularly partial to mussels and a good glass of beer to finish the day, after having pottered around museums and old churches!

[Vorpal]

I've been able to follow routes I've done in the Netherlands using a map and signposts. I've found my way into city centres well enough without looking at a map at all, as they are usually well-signposted.

Map + signposts have sent me slightly wrong a couple of times when the recommended route to someplace and my desired route weren't the same, and I didn't identify it immediately from the map. I've also taken the occasional wrong turn. I won't say the signposting is perfect, but it's generally pretty good, especially outside cities. I'd have no hesitation about touring NL with a decent map, even on a moderately complicated route.

Also, when I have gotten muddled up, I've had no problems finding someone who understood English and knew the area well enough to put me right.

[bohrsatom]

The (Flemish) Belgian cities are all nice - Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent. Leuven is also very pretty and worth a detour IMO.

In NL would recommend Dordrecht and Delft. Dordrecht is on the confluence of many different rivers and is the oldest city in NL. It's very pretty and is small enough to explore in its entirety in a couple of hours. A particularly pleasant day of riding on last year's trip was between Leiden and Delft, following the coast path as far as The Hague (which itself is also worthy of a visit).

My experience of the LF routes is that they are scenic but not especially direct. You may want to take a few shortcuts to towns en-route - extremely easy given how well places are signposted in Holland.

[iainb]

Hi folks

Not exactly on topic, but I'm planning a trip form Harwich to the Hook, cycling down the coast and coming back from Dunkirk to Dover. The Dutch and Belgian map posted on here were very useful The one thing I'm a bit concerned about knowing how big a city and port Rotterdam is, how easy is it to get from the Hook to the southern side of Rotterdam to continue down the coast.

Thanks and regards

Iain

[bainbridge]

Hi folks

Not exactly on topic, but I'm planning a trip form Harwich to the Hook, cycling down the coast and coming back from Dunkirk to Dover. The Dutch and Belgian map posted on here were very useful The one thing I'm a bit concerned about knowing how big a city and port Rotterdam is, how easy is it to get from the Hook to the southern side of Rotterdam to continue down the coast.


Thanks and regards

Iain

Very easy. We came back in the other direction from Breda, skirting the southern suburbs of rotterdam then on to the Hook to the ferry. Route couldn't be simpler, though the section between the port and rotterdam is rather boring.

[Nigelrojo]

3 weeks ago I headed northeast across Belgium and the Netherlands, starting at Ypres. I was thinking of making Ghent on the first day. However, the quality of the cycling infrastructure, the flat terrain and a moderate tailwind meant that I was in Ghent by lunchtime. Most of the morning's route was on a cycle path alongside the river Lys. Ghent has a really nice old mediaeval city centre. I carried on northeast, now following minor roads from node to node on the Belgian cycle maps, and made Antwerp that night, 178 km in one day. The tailwind helped a lot - my normal daily distance is 100-110 km. Getting into Antwerp by bike from the SW involves at least one ferry crossing, but the river ferries are quite frequent, and free of charge. The old centre of Antwerp is also rather nice.

The next day I headed into the Netherlands, but by now I had no cycle maps. I depended entirely on my Garmin GPS, set up for bicycle routes, to take me from Antwerp to Arnhem in 2 days. I was often following main roads, but in the Netherlands the cycle lanes are so well segregated from the roads, and so well surfaced, that it was a real pleasure. At times it felt like I was on some kind of bicycle motorway... You sail across most junctions and roundabouts without stopping (all cars give way), and the only things you give priority to are pedestrians, other cyclists and trains. The cycle lanes are often up to 20' wide, with a dashed line down the middle, a nice smooth surface, NO manhole covers and NO crappy bumpy surface repairs. Helped by the tailwind I reached s'Hertogenbosch easily for the next night's stop and Arnhem by mid afternoon the next day. Even with a loaded up bike (about 33 kg all-up) I could cruise at about 30 kph for quite long periods. The Dutch really have sorted out their cycling infrastructure.

[DevonDamo]

I did the North Sea route from Lille to Amsterdam and an inland route back a couple of months ago. Don't rely on the Knoopunten network - it's a fantastic idea, but probably due to people messing around with them, the signage will leave you lost occasionally. Take maps or a satnav as a backup. Also, if you're going to use any of those fiets routeplanner websites, be wary of the route they give you. Mine contained at least 2 ferries which weren't operating - thankfully my sat nav was able to get me round via alternate routes. At least follow the route on Google maps, and then do an online search to make sure any ferries you spot are actually operating. The cycling is dead easy - I managed 200km in a day fully loaded without really trying.