Hidden Gems of Holland
Sunday, March 31 – Saturday, April 6, 2024
SOLD OUT
Sunday, April 7 – Saturday, April 13, 2024
(Only One Room with One Queen Bed)
Our Hidden Gems of Holland Adventure Itinerary is still under construction. Below are some of the confirmed excursions. Please check back in April for a more specific day to day itinerary.
This Adventure, as in all our Adventures, includes:
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Private chauffeured round trip transfers from the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to and from our Dutch Chalet
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Gourmet breakfasts and multi course dinners with wine pairings prepared by Le Cordon Bleu-Paris educated Chef Walter Eagleton and his staff
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Our famous ‘Cocktails and Canapés’ every evening upon arrival back home
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Daily excursions (escorted by Kim and our Dutch local and friend) through the back roads of Holland transported in our private luxury van or mini coach
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Entrance fees for excursions listed in the itinerary
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Luxury accommodations providing private en suite bathrooms
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Tips and gratuities for excursion guides
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Small group (Four bedrooms available in differing configurations) Email us for questions
Keukenhof: The history of Keukenhof dates back to the 15th century. Countess Jacoba van Beieren [Jacqueline of Bavaria] (1401-
1436) gathered fruit and vegetables from the Keukenduin [kitchen dunes] for the kitchen of Teylingen Castle.
Keukenhof Castle was built in 1641 and the estate grew to encompass an area of over 200 hectares.
Landscape architects Jan David Zocher and his son Louis Paul Zocher, who also designed Amsterdam’s Vondelpark,
redesigned the castle gardens in 1857. That park, in the English landscape style, still constitutes the basis of
Keukenhof.
In 1949 a group of 20 leading flower bulb growers and exporters came up with the plan to use the estate to exhibit
spring-flowering bulbs, signaling the birth of Keukenhof as a spring park. The park opened its gates to the public in
1950 and was an instant success, with 236,000 visitors in the first year alone. 2023 will be the 74th edition of
Keukenhof. During the past 73 years Keukenhof developed into a world-famous attraction.
Royal Delft Museum: Discover the world of Delft Blue
Paintbrushes carefully touch the white earthenware, whilst elsewhere clay is poured into handmade molds. In this pottery, craftsmen have been creating iconic Delft Blue for almost 400 years. Royal Delft, established in 1653, is the last remaining original Delftware factory in Delft from the 17th century that still produces hand painted Delft Blue according to centuries-old tradition. Besides a visit to the factory you get to see our museum with an extensive collection of historic and modern pieces. Discover the history, craftsmanship and innovation of this royal museum
during your visit.
In the beautiful, water-rich area near Dordrecht you will find the windmills of Kinderdijk. Built around 1740, these 19 magnificent windmills stand here as part of a larger water management system to prevent flooding. Today they symbolize Dutch water management and in 1997 they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Why? The Kinderdijk windmills were built to keep the low-lying land of the Alblasserwaard dry. Arranged opposite each other, they form an iconic Dutch image that is popular with many photographers. If you plan to send a typical postcard with a windmill to friends or family back home, chances are the image is of Kinderdijk. Once there, you can admire the many waterways, dikes, mills, and locks and discover how the Dutch have been using the water to their advantage for over 1000 years. Without exaggeration, Kinderdijk is an absolute must if you would like to know the history of Dutch windmills and waterways.
Thursday morning in Gouda.
And there they are: the famous Gouda cheese girls, surrounded by a crowd. There is a coming and going of cheese briquettes, pulled by horses. They come to a halt just before the Weigh House in Gouda. Cheese boys jump off and start throwing over the cheeses, unloading the carts. The cheeses are then weighed on the original scales in De Goudse Waag.
You can enjoy the world-famous cheese, but also stalls filled with regional products. In addition to the cheese trade and cheese making, there is also a crafts market. There is also plenty to do in Gouda in the afternoon.
Madurodam shows how the Netherlands has grown from our old cities to the country we see today: characteristic, free and eccentric. You can still see the traces of these developments in the buildings, squares and streets, each with their own story. There is so much to see, discover and do at Madurodam. You become acquainted with the stories of the Netherlands in a surprising way. The models are exact replicas of special buildings and objects, on a scale of 1:25. Through intensive daily care, the greenery, especially small-leaved trees and bushes, are kept to a maximum of 60
centimeters high.
Highlights of Amsterdam with Canal Boat tour
*Lunches not included in Adventure cost unless stated in the itinerary
This beautiful and luxurious Chalet is in a unique location, just half a mile walking distance via a beautiful route through the forest path to the Noordwijk beach. The owners were able to buy the last piece of land that was allowed to be built on in this dune area. Every evening you are able to enjoy the company of many deer that come to graze right next to the villa.
What makes the Chalet unique is the pond in the garden that can be used as a swimming pool as it is filled with natural dune water which is always crystal clear thanks to an ecological filter system. Like the pond, the Chalet is equipped with sustainable and energy neutral technical installations to make sure it will not interfere with the natural environment. This is also the reason why the bedrooms are below ‘dune level’ preserving the feeling of the dunes as much as possible and to blend in with its surroundings.
The Chalet is equipped with a spacious garden with swimming pond, a mini beach, a sauna and a hot tub offering plenty of space to relax. Free Wifi is available at the Chalet.
The Chalet offers a variety of bedroom arrangements. Please contact us for information.
This Adventure has only four bedrooms available.
Fun Facts about Holland
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In the Netherlands, there are no less than 37,000 kilometres of cycle paths.
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Almost a third of the Netherlands is below sea level.
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The Dutch are the tallest people in the world.
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More sheep than people live on the Wadden Island of Texel.
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Amsterdam is built entirely on piles and has 1200 bridges.
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The Netherlands has the highest museum density in the world.
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Dutch people eat an average of 14.3 kilos of cheese per person per year.
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Did you know that the Netherlands is the most densely populated country in Europe?
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Internationally, the Dutch are known to be rather direct in their approach. We simply call that honesty and openness. We like to complain, especially about the weather, but we also find creative and innovative solutions for everything. Some 17.5 million people live in an area of 41,5000 square kilometers in the Netherlands. Is that a lot? Yes, the Netherlands is not only the most densely populated country in the EU, but one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Over 40% live in the ‘Randstad’, the area between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
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Dutch is the official language in the Netherlands. You will of course make a good impression on your holiday if you can already speak a few words. It most closely resembles German. A second Dutch language is also spoken in the province of Friesland: Frisian. Besides this officially recognized regional language, there are also dialects and other regional languages. No talent for language? No problem, because most Dutch people speak English and often a bit of German or French as well. Thank you = Dankjewel Good morning = Goedemorgen Goodbye = Tot ziens
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The Dutch flag is a horizontal tricolor of red, white and blue. On King’s Day and Liberation Day, it looks as if everyone in the Netherlands has put up their flags. Many Dutch people also raise a flag when their child has passed their final exams, with a school bag on the mast. And when the king is at home, the flag flies above his palace. It is customary to lower the flag at sunset. On Remembrance Day, all the flags hang at half-mast.
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Since 1815, the Netherlands has been a kingdom, officially called the Kingdom of the Netherlands. King Willem-Alexander has been the Dutch Head of State since 2013. His wife, Queen Maxima, is present on many official occasions and she also has her own duties. The royal family is loved by many Dutch people. The King’s birthday is celebrated throughout the country on 27 April. It is a real Orange celebration!
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A favourite topic of conversation for the Dutch is the weather. There are all kinds of words for ‘rain’, from miezer (drizzle) to pijpenstelen (pipe stems, cats and dogs). In summer, it can be warm and in winter it can snow and freeze. The changing weather also creates beautiful landscapes, such as the fresh green pastures with grazing cows and some impressive clouds in the sky. That’s the Netherlands! But you can also discover hills and dunes, wetlands and high moorlands, ancient forests and even mountains in our country.
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The Netherlands has a strong connection with water. It has over 450 kilometers of coastline bordering the North Sea. 26% of the Netherlands lies below sea level. Three major rivers cross the country: the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt. No less than 4,400 km of navigable rivers, canals and lakes. It’s a miracle we still have dry feet here. And that has not always been the case! For centuries, the Netherlands has been battling with water: with dikes, waterworks and reclamation projects. In order to create extra living space and agricultural land, a whole new province has been reclaimed from the water: Flevoland. But we also enjoy water sports and beautiful wetlands.