Bike/Barge Trip in April

I did a tulip time tour aboard the Gandalf with Yubike! a few years ago end of April/early May. Daytime temps were great with a fleece on and long pants. But we had at least one night that went down to freezing and some of those boats are not particulary well-insulated or heated well in the guest cabins. I had gloves and a hat with me but I recall that being an uncomfortable night. I'm not saying don't do it but do go into it prepared.

I've been to Amsterdam in mid May with cold rainy weather. It was in the 50's I believe.

We loved our bike/barge trip! However, we went in early May so I'm not too helpful. It was unusually warm and sunny, so they said. There was one rainy day, which didn't stop any of us. We enjoyed every bit of it. There is no guarantee about weather so I suggest you go when you can and take your chances. The tulips had just peaked the week before. April would be lovely for that. The Netherlands is a beautiful country to see by bike. Have a great time.

The thing I remember - vividly - about my trip to the Netherlands in April 2012 was how damp it was. I always say the region has a "maritime climate," which is a euphemism for 1000% humidity. This means that it feels far colder than the thermometer indicates. Even though it felt cold, I couldn't wear my wool sweater, because I was roasting in it. You need several cotton or fleece layers to feel comfortable. I had brought only one cotton sweater, and wore it every single day for 10 days, whether it matched my clothes or not; and this was in addition to a coat with a liner, gloves, and scarf.

As long as you're prepared for 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit and 1000% humidity (meaning it feels 10-15 degrees colder), you'll be fine. I ended up having a great trip. But if this doesn't sound good to you, go later in the year.

We were just there this past April (Apr 9 on). Arrival day in Ams was beautiful - warm enough for a t-shirt (well, I'll wear a t-shirt when it's 20C). Then - it cooled right off. It was still mostly sunny, but only 10-12C during the day. Unfortunately, I only packed one long sleeve fleece pullover, and ended up wearing that for about 10 days in a row, with a tshirt underneath and my summer jacket on top. Hindsight (and if I went back in Spring) - I should have packed a few sweatshirts or sweaters, taken a slightly warmer jacket (not a winter jacket, but something with a bit of a lining) and really lamented not packing some thin gloves. (Especially on the cold windy day we went to Kinderdijk).

We did bike around the flower fields by Keukenhof (Apr 13) - that day wasn't too bad other than a stiff breeze. But we decided which day to go to Keu depending on the weather, so we tried to pick what we believed would be the warmest day.

Compared to home here in NS - Netherlands were well into spring by then - tulips up, trees getting leaves - at home, spring doesn't kick in until about mid-May - when we got home near the end of April, there was barely a leaf bud on our trees.

(on the flip side, a few weeks later by the time we got to Paris - it was really warm and I got a sunburn one day! At which point, my lined jacket would have been too hot).

Sounds like Nicole and I had very similar experiences. We were prepared for "warm" and we were prepared for "cold," but we weren't prepared for "the thermometer says it's not that cold, but it sure FEELS cold!"

So true Harold. I live in Nova Scotia, so I'm used to cooler spring weather and actually a few of our days in NL were lovely - sunny, hint of a breeze...the afternoons were pretty much great - but once the sun starts to go down, or it was a bit overcast or if there was a good stiff breeze (like at Kinderdijk, which is very open) is when I started getting cold.

But rain wise - we did really well - we had one rainy evening in Ams - which pretty much happened while we were sitting eating supper, then was over...and one passing rain shower in Bruges that lasted all of 10 min.

Just take some light warm layers and some gloves/hat and you'll be fine.

So true Harold. I live in Nova Scotia, so I'm used to cooler spring weather and actually a few of our days in NL were lovely - sunny, hint of a breeze...the afternoons were pretty much great - but once the sun starts to go down, or it was a bit overcast or if there was a good stiff breeze (like at Kinderdijk, which is very open) is when I started getting cold.

But rain wise - we did really well - we had one rainy evening in Ams - which pretty much happened while we were sitting eating supper, then was over...and one passing rain shower in Bruges that lasted all of 10 min.

Just take some light warm layers and some gloves/hat and you'll be fine.

Thanks everyone for the great tips and info. We will wait until we can go in May. I understand it’s still no guarantee but very early April seems too risky.