Bicycle day trips / where to base that is NOT Amsterdam?

1). Can you suggest one or two towns to base in (with accommodation price points lower than Amsterdam and Utrecht!) from which I could take interesting daily rides?

We haven't spent much time yet in eastern NL, but have had a tone of fun riding in the western bit. We have had great riding out of Amsterdam, but understand the worry of higher prices there.

In addition to Amsterdam, we've stayed in Delft and in Leiden. Both had super fun areas to explore by bike. We would generally plan a big loop out of our home base - using the fietsroutes - and go. Super easy, super navigable, and filled with variety.

2) what are some of your favorite rides (20-40km)? If possible I prefer not to be right on the sea coast and battling winds!

We've done loops from Haarlem to Zaandvort (15 miles/24km) and back, Haarlem<->Amsterdam (16m/25km each way), Leiden "Landscape" route (26m/41km), Leiden "Dune & Sea" route (22m/35km), Leiden "Cheese" route (13m/21km), Delft<->Rotterdam (~10m/16km each way), Delft countryside figure 8 (37m/60km), and plenty of Amsterdam and out loops (Zaanse Schans, Volendam/Edam, Ams->Watergam->Uitdam->Durgerdam->Ams loop), and more.

There are tons of options out there. I have more suggestions and ideas, but you can really just dive in to cycling for fun in the Netherlands. It's a cycling wonderland - even if there can be wind or rain.

And bikes are a great way to get around town as well. In Amsterdam, it was so easy to get across town - smiling the whole time - in a fraction of the time it would take to walk, take transit (also easy and relatively quick) or some car-centric option. Most smaller cities are super walkable, so a bike isn't a "must", but a bike is still super versatile across the towns and cities there.

Thank you — this is very helpful. I will look at Delft and Leiden, as well as Den Haag. —MJ

I will look at Delft and Leiden, as well as Den Haag.

Haarlem works too. But also, probably many smaller Dutch cities. The key take-away would be how easy it is to ride between a multitude of cities in that part of the country, and even to dip down into Belgium. I think you could flip through the RS guidebook or other reputable ones and easily choose any of the non-Amsterdam city options for a home base and still find a huge variety of rides.

That being written, if you haven't already spent time in Amsterdam, you really ought to consider staying there even with its usually higher hotel rates. We did the "stay in Amsterdam, ride to xyz", and I do think there is a big benefit of being "local" in Amsterdam for at least some portion of a trip to the Netherlands. Eating and being out late in Amsterdam is part of the fun, and a bit harder when trying to factor in a return ride (or train) to an outlying location.

for something completely different: we were based in Hoogeveen (in Drenthe) for three days last year, and enjoyed a couple of rides. (Our AirBnB came with bikes!) We went to see a couple hunebedden the first day, and then the second day we did a more round-about route to and through the Dwingelderveld Park. (There's a great restaurant in that area called The Bos Pub.) We hadn't planned it ahead of time, but lucked out with access to the bikes. This year we'll be "glamping" for 3 days outside Hoge Veluwe and then moving to Nijmegen for 3 days, and plan to explore the countryside via bikes.

So my suggestion would be to find a location that interests you, and know that you'll be able to take advantage of the bike routes.

Thank you. This is all very helpful. And the NL guidebook finally became available at my Public library today, so I have oodles of planning to do.

Thanks to MJ for posing the question and to Tom R for your very helpful info. I have bookmarked this post as my sister-in-law and I are taking my teenaged nieces on August 1 for a few days to Haarlem - and then three nights in Amsterdam.

There are a lot of bicycle routes (fietsknooppunten) with marked points along the route. You can plan your route of course using google maps although I do not think it considers these bicycle routes. You can plan your trip also using the ANWB fietsplanner using this network of interconnected bicycle routes: https://www.anwb.nl/fietsroutes/fietsknooppuntenplanner. Although in Dutch, it may help discover interesting routes where you are staying at the moment.

When in Haarlem, do cycle in the Kennemerduinen: https://www.np-zuidkennemerland.nl/6738/national-park-zuidkennemerland/to-do/cycling.

There are a lot of bicycle routes (fietsknooppunten) with marked points along the route. You can plan your route of course using google maps although I do not think it considers these bicycle routes. You can plan your trip also using the ANWB fietsplanner using this network of interconnected bicycle routes:

I installed the "Fietsknoop" app on my phone (from the app store). With a free account, it is paired with their website, so I can build desired routes on my PC, save them, and then follow them on the app when I'm in the Netherlands.

I have an inexpensive iPhone mount I bring with me on all my vacations that I mount on the rental bike handle bars. With my phone on the bars, I simply use the Fietsknoop app to navigate from waypoint to waypoint. Super easy. I usually toss a battery charger for my iPhone in my bag, as if it's an all day adventure, the battery on my older iPhone will be drained over the hours of a ride, picture taking, and other odds and ends.

I've also used Google Maps for quick and dirty "get across town" navigation, but that often opts for the most direct (and less scenic) route, so if I'm doing, say, the Leiden Dune & Sea route (from their visitors site), I could either use the GPX file there (with my Garmin) or go into the Fietsknoop planner and match up my own route which takes into account my desired starting and ending point in Leiden. I then have a straightforward path to follow like "Start: 86 (1.7 km); 02 (0.2 km); 53 (1.4 km); 79 (0.9 km); 49 (2.0 km);…" where the waypoint is given and the distance to the next one and so on. On the app, it indicates which direction/turns you need, and will interrupt you with a "are you sure you're on the right track" if you deviate too far from the route.

Signage is great with the exception being in the heart of somewhere like Amsterdam where the system is not used until out of the core.

Thank you. I am now trying to sort through accommodation options, knowing there will be cycling adventures from everywhere!