La Nouvelle Etoile sails through some of the most picturesque parts of Holland on a 7-day private classic cruise. Find a collection of well-preserved windmills and houses in the Zaanse Schans. After that, visit a Gouda cheese farm and take in the city's striking architecture and stained-glass windows afterward. Continue to Delft Pottery Works, which is painted entirely by hand. See the world's most magnificent spring garden, Keukenhof Gardens, which boasts over 32 hectares of color and aroma thanks to its 7 million tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths. Your Dutch expedition concludes in Aalsmeer, the world's largest flower auction, before disembarking in Haarlem.
Highlights
View the fascinating windmills of Zaanse Schans with your private group of up to 8 guests
Enjoy Aalsmeer and see its gorgeous flower auction
Visit the Royal Delft pottery shop, where traditional Dutch pottery is made.
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Guests meet in Amsterdam and transfer to La Nouvelle Etoile which is moored in the center of Haarlem. The whole crew prepares you for your cruise with a champagne welcome. Haarlem has its charming beauty which can be seen through its retained medieval character of cobblestone streets and gabled houses. You can find the majestic St. Bavo's Cathedral in the main square where Mozart and Handel played on its muller organ.
After breakfast, take a cruise to the reconstructed historic village of Zaanse Schans. Find working windmills, clog makers, cheese farms, mustard mills, and everything the Dutch are known for in this sweet village. In the afternoon, be taken back to a previous century as you cruise through the heart of Amsterdam with its narrow canals and architecture. After this visit, continue cruising along the Amstel River to Uithoorn.
A morning cruise to Gouda warms up your day for its famous cheese, pipes, and candles. Visit a local cheese farm and explore Gouda's unique architecture and stained glass windows, the remarkable windows in St. John's church date back to the15th century. Browse or shop while you are in Gouda.
After breakfast this morning cruise to Rotterdam, the world’s largest port, stop at a vodka distillery en route, Ketel, one of the oldest distillery in Holland still owned by the same family. Continue to Delft, a beautiful town with many historical connections, including being one of the starting chambers of the Dutch East India Company and the birthplace of artist Jan Vermeer. The day’s visit also includes a tour of a factory to learn how the world-famous pottery is made. Spend the rest of the afternoon strolling around this delightful and historic Dutch city. Dinner on board.
The sailing adventure continues as you cruise through the canals past Leiden, where many Pilgrims lived before they set out to the New World. The ship crosses the Brasemmer Lakes to Oude Wetering. In the afternoon, visit the famous Keukenhof Gardens and explore the 70-acres which exemplify the Dutch floral industry. This showcases an ever-changing display of spring flowers beginning with narcissus followed by hyacinths and tulips from late March to mid-May.
Aalsmeer is where the world's largest flower auction is held and where 10 billion flowers are sold every year. After visiting this gorgeous place, return to the hotel barge to cruise to Haarlem with an optional side trip to Cruquius Museum. The Cruquius pumping station is a beautiful neo-Gothic building built-in 1846. Visit the town of Haarlem and the Frans Hals Museum, an international collection of Old Masters and works that represent the Dutch Golden Age. Tonight enjoy the Captain's farewell dinner on board.
Day 7: Haarlem | Disembark
1 Breakfast
After breakfast, disembark La Nouvelle Etoile and transfer back to Amsterdam.
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Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
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Suites
200 sq. ft. including en-suite facilities. Twin/double beds, private bathroom with shower, wardrobe, small tables and a chair.
Initial deposit is 25%, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 100 days prior to departure by Credit card, check, and bank transfer. All final payments by credit card subject to a surcharge of 2.5% and maximum of $20,000 charge
Our guide and driver were very good with their knowledge and were very helpful with our questions. It was a very pleasant visit that would have been impossible to do on our own. Hotels and restaurants were fantastic. The special places we got to go to, like the kitchens, were great. Enjoyed the entire trip!
Meyer Smolen
TrustScore 4.8 | 251 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 251 reviews on
4 days ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
5 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
6 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.