Biking in the Waterland area is easy to do on your own. In 2012, we biked to Edam, then to Volendam where we caught a boat to Marken. I like going on my own because you can explore on your own and stay as little or as long as you like. I did one guided bike tour in Italy (Tuscany area). It was fun to meet others on the trip, but we had no control over how long we stayed in places, going off track if something looked interesting, etc. Waterland was a wonderful place to bike because of all the small villages you can explore.
I posted this reply on the forum previously, but you might find it helpful:
"Here are our stats: We were 57 when we did the whole day trip. We do bike fairly regularly, and we did bike a 32 mile trip to prepare.
The ride was "easy" in that it was flat. (It was much easier than the route we did at home, and that was as flat as I could make it) I mapped it out on both google maps and via michelin. Be sure you hit the bike symbol and it will show you the best bike route. I read about the ride on this web site:
http://richardtullochwriter.com/2009/11/19/amsterdam-cycling-waterland/
My own information said that it was about 30-35 miles for the whole trip. (depending on how you go out and come back. There is no official "route", ) However, if it was that far, it was the easiest 35 miles I have ever done. The only "difficult" part was the wind we encountered riding back from Marken. You cross a very open causeway, and I imagine it is usually windy. We mapped out a route that went like this: We rode the free ferry behind the train station over to the other side. From there, we followed signs to Broeke in Waterland and then onto Edam. From Edam we followed signs to Volendam where we paid to ride a ferry to Marken. (You can bike around as well, but we thought the ferry would be fun) Then we rode back to Amsterdam following the signs to Zunderdorp and then back to Amsterdam. The whole trip is well signed, but I did print a map out before we left, and the bike place gave us another map. We rented our bikes right when the place opened, and were back by late afternoon. It is a full day trip if you do everything we did.
This web site provided information as well:
http://awesomeamsterdam.com/articles/24/day-trips-by-bicycle-waterland
The nice part about the ride is that you don't have to go far to get out of Amsterdam. My sister and her husband went last September, and I helped them map out a 1/2 day route of that included Broeke in Waterland and Zunderdorp towns. (they did not have enough time to do a full day). Overall, it was one of my favorite things we did because it got us out into the country side and let us view rural Netherlands at our pace. Edam was very picturesque, Volendam was way to crowded with day trippers, and Marken is designed for tourists, but was nice. The little villages between were some of my favorites.
There are many ways to go and we actually got a little off course right after the ferry. But there are always signs that point which direction you want to go. Just watch for the little bike symbol on them and try to take that route. (I think we took a road route at the beginning and it was not as nice as the bike routes.)
The ride is to experience the countryside. While we saw many windmills, they were the newer variety like you see here in the US. Marken has some traditional windmills and we also saw one in Edam,"
Let me know if you have any other questions.
