Waterland Loop

Thirty-two kilometres of polder, dyke villages and open sky, starting with a free ferry from Centraal Station. This is the longest ride on the site and the one that feels least like a city trip — half a day, and worth every kilometre.

The route, step by step

1. IJplein ferry (0 km). Cross from behind Centraal Station and ride north-east out of Noord towards Schellingwoude.
2. Durgerdam (8 km). A single street of wooden houses on a dyke above the IJmeer, with a harbour and a café. The first place where the city disappears completely.
3. Uitdam and the sea dyke (14 km). The path runs along the top of the dyke with water on one side and grazing land below on the other. Exposed and beautiful.
4. Monnickendam (20 km). A small harbour town with a smokehouse, a weigh house and boats. Lunch stop, and the point of no return for a half-day plan.
5. Back through the polder (12 km). Return inland via Zuiderwoude, Holysloot, Ransdorp with its stump-towered church, and Zunderdorp — four hamlets of a few hundred people each, connected by single-lane roads with cows on both sides.

Worth stopping for

The harbour at Durgerdam. The smoked-eel stalls in Monnickendam. Ransdorp church tower, unfinished since the sixteenth century. Marken, a former island connected by a causeway, is a 6 km detour from Monnickendam and worth it if you have the legs.

Practical notes

Wind is the real difficulty, not distance: the polder is flat and completely exposed, and a headwind on the dyke can halve your speed. Check the direction before you set out and ride into it first if you can. Bring water and something to eat — outside Durgerdam and Monnickendam there is nothing for long stretches. A three-speed rental bike is fine; a coaster brake is fine too. Some polder roads are shared with farm traffic. Ferries back to Centraal run late, but check the GVB app.

Shorter version

Ride to Durgerdam and back via Ransdorp for a 20 km loop that keeps the best scenery and cuts two hours.