amsterdam bike tour

Writing this from Amsterdam.... and I find the streets to be a bit intimidating for bike riding. Even walking around busy areas you have to be on your toes for bicycles, trams, cars and scooters not to mention other people. We are planning on taking the ferry north of central station and biking around up there which I assume is less hectic. I'll try and do a follow up post but I can say the locals seem really at ease with biking, I ride a lot at home yet I am reluctant to have my wife give it a go in the city. Not being familair with where I am going while trying to negotiate the traffic wouldn't be much fun.

OK thanks! Please do update with biking north of the city!

Yes, I really want to do a bike tour, but I feel like someone else said that about Amsterdam... might be too hard for us (let alone the kids) to navigate traffic and such...

We have a day free on the last day, was thinking of taking the Waterbus (I think that's what it was called?) up to Edam, etc.... maybe we can bike up there or maybe take the Countryside bike tour - that one is for 10 and up....

Thanks!
Kim

I just got back from an extended bike trip in the Netherlands and think that your boys would like riding in Holland. I found Amsterdam to be quite crowded with bikes and pedestrians excpept for places like Vondel Park. It was stressful riding around the tourist areas as there is a lot of bike/pedestrian traffic. I loved riding in the country side. The VVV's (TI's) or your bike rental place can give you some good ideas of where to go outside the city for a family ride. I loved riding to Marken along the top of a dike (25ish miles one way) which might be a little bit ambitious but there are other shorter loops. Check the forecast before you go as it gets very windy and you don't want to ride too far with a tail wind out and have to battle it back. It is possible to take bikes on the train if you buy a ticket for them and it's not rush hour. I used that option a lot to make the riding easier but it would be a little bit more expensive for a family.
Bike paths are well marked and have their own traffic signals. If your kids can ride a bike in the US they can ride in the Netherlands. I got a dutch SIM card for 15 euro at vodaphone and used it for 7 days of navigation and web surfing without having to buy more 'minutes' if you have any concerns about navigation. It's pretty well signposted. It is really a beautiful place to ride a bike.

Thanks for the info!

One day we were thinking of taking the waterland bus up to Edam and then somewhere else... can we rent and ride up there somewhere? Is there somewhere especially scenic? I have looked at a bunch of info and still unsure exactly how to attack that day.... Maybe to Monnickendam and Voldendam - can't figure out if we can ride to those places....

Thanks!
Kim

I´m not that familiar with biking around Amsterdam, but I know that Waterland, the area just north-east of Amsterdam is to my opinion nice for biking around. Places like Durgerdam, Ransdorp, Holysloot, Broek in Waterland and further Monnickendam, Edam and Marken are really lovely, skip to my opinion tourist trap Volendam. The route Amsterdam Central Station to Monnickendam is about 25km, needing some 1½hour.

I think you can rent bikes in several places outside Amsterdam and go to there with the bus. TI´s (VVV´s) can provide more info about the most scenic / interesting routes. If there is wind to deal with or you want to cover larger distances you can think about an e-bike.

You might be able to book a private tour?? Try Joy Ride, we just returned and did a group tour with them.. Amazing. Is it hard to ride in the city????Yes... Crazy!!!

Hi Kim. My husband and I took the Mike's Bikes Countryside tour a few years ago-but without kids. For what it's worth, we only rode a for a short distance in the city to the ferry, parked the bikes on the boat and then resumed our ride once we were across and in the countryside. It was both beautiful scenery, a very easy ride and a truly wonderful day. The guide was friendly, experienced, helpful and fun! It was a wonderful tour and we both enjoyed it very much. Depending on how competent you feel your children are on bikes, I'd say there's very little riding in town to worry you and they could handle everything after that. We even stopped for "pancakes" and drinks. Yum! I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Bike riding in central Amsterdam can be a pretty daunting experience. I frankly wouldn't recommend it with a 10 year old. The area north of the river, once across on the little ferry that leaves from behind the train station, is much more mellow and is probably more what you had in mind for a bike tour thru the countryside. After only a few minutes navigating your way thru a developed area, all on dedicated bike paths and with light traffic, you emerge onto the dike that parallels the water all the way up to Marken. Alternatively you can just meander thru the poulders, enjoying the day and stopping off in little villages along the way to break up the ride.
This place http://www.starbikesrental.com/ is located right next to the train station so you could rent the bikes there and pedal a few yards directly to the ferry.
One issue you may have is finding bikes sized for 10-12 year olds. We only saw adult-sized bikes for rent. The place linked above does have tandem bikes which might be fun for your family.
The rental shops have a terrific map available for a couple of Euros that shows in great detail where all of the dedicated bike paths are located. That's about all you'd need for a pleasant family day out.