FLOWERS OF HOLLAND 7 nights ALL INCLUSIVE from £1649 Includes insurance and cancellation cover§ Price reduction available if not required.
aboard Spirit of the Rhine
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– see pages 144-149 for details No fly option
SPIRIT OF THE RHINE DUTCH AND BELGIAN WATERWAYS
Discover the floral highlights of the lowlands...
Marvel at the majesty of Keukenhof Gardens
Day 1: UK to Amsterdam. Travel to Amsterdam to embark Spirit of the Rhine and enjoy a welcome reception and dinner on board as you moor here overnight. Day 2: Amsterdam This morning choose from an included city tour or culinary themed walking tour of Amsterdam. Later, why not accompany your expert gardens host on an optional excursion to Hortus Botanicus – Amsterdam’s botanical gardens, one of the oldest in the world – or join an excursion to Vondelpark. Sail to Zaandam this evening for an overnight mooring. Day 3: Zaandam . Enjoy an included fullday excursion to Keukenhof Gardens, also known as the ‘Garden of Europe’, where over seven million bulbs fill the park. The first open-air exhibition, to promote the region’s bulb growers and flower exporters, was held here in 1949. Now the exhibition is an annual event lasting eight weeks. Admire displays of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths and visit flower and plant shows in the pavilions. Perhaps pick up ideas for your own garden…. Of course, the tulip displays are weather dependent, but they’re normally in bloom from mid-March to mid-May. Day 4: Zaandam to Beverwijk . Continue your cruise to Beverwijk this morning, arriving at lunch time. Explore at leisure this
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afternoon or join an optional walking tour of Alkmaar and its Cheese Museum. Your ship remains moored in Beverwijk overnight. Day 5: Beverwijk. This morning you have a choice of included excursions: a trip tour of a tulip farm and scenic drive, or a visit to the Frans Hals Museum. Your ship sets sail again at lunchtime for an overnight cruise to Antwerp. Day 6: Antwerp. Arrive in Antwerp early this morning and join an included half-day excursion to the 18th annual Floralia Brussels flower show in the grounds and greenhouses of the castle of Groot-Bijgaarden. The 14 hectares incorporates more than one million bulbs with nearly 400 types of tulips on display. The rest of the day is at leisure in Belgium’s second city. Your ship departs late tonight and begins the overnight journey to Utrecht. Day 7: Utrecht to Amsterdam. Arrive in Utrecht after lunch for an included halfday trip to the Botanical Gardens which incorporate six different areas, including a Rock Garden, Tropical Greenhouses and an Outer Fort where marsh marigold and huge skunk cabbage flourish in the spring. At dinner sail on to moor in Amsterdam overnight.
Contact your preferred travel agent
Day 8: Amsterdam to UK. Disembark Spirit of the Rhine after breakfast ahead of your return journey or continue your holiday with an optional two-night hotel stay in Amsterdam.
EXTEND YOUR HOLIDAY Amsterdam 2 night with breakfasts included. After your cruise stay two nights in Amsterdam at the locally rated 4-star Westcord Fashion Hotel (4Q). The hotel has great links to be able to explore at your leisure – located five minutes from the tram which arrives into Amsterdam Central 15 minutes later. Available only when you fly or travel by Eurostar. Please see page 143 for details.
LOOK WHO’LL BE JOINING YOU ON BOARD… Charlie Dimmock The gardening expert and television presenter will deliver a series of talks and join you on your included excursions.
