The 2018 guidebook mentions a ferry behind Central Station that puts you on a bike path that goes north along the North Holland Canal. Is this still possible? Are the "wide-open polder land and villages" to which this path leads pretty? My husband and I are looking for biking in the Amsterdam area, but not in the city. Thank you for any suggestions you may have.
I don’t have the guidebook, so I don’t know which exact route is recommended, but you can definitely do some great biking on that side of Amsterdam. I don’t know the route, so perhaps it will already take you there, but instead of following the canal all the way to Purmerend and far beyond, I would turn right fairly early and bike to Broek in Waterland, Monnickendam and if you’re up for it; Marken.
It all depends on how experienced you are with biking, what time of year you’ll be visiting and most importantly the weather on the day you will be doing this. There is no shelter from the wind in the flat polder landscape, so you don’t want to do this on a windy day.
my knowledge is pre-covid so things may have changed.
There are several free ferries behind Centraal station going across the water. The developments on the north side are not old. The land is very flat as you get out into the polders but good for cycling if the wind is not up...