After loading up on hotel breakfast we waved goodbye to Graham who was heading back to the UK for a cycling event, and we set off in the direction of Den Haag.
Today’s forcecast was dry. Yeah! Once the sun made its way through the morning mist, everything looked shiny and new.
The route I had picked passed through the midde of Den Haag, but sadly I should have done a bit more planning as it was the shopping streets rather than the historic centre that we saw.
After Den Haag and a coffee stop we made our way over to the coast to do the reverse of the route we had cycled last year when cycling Berlin>London via Amsterdam. 
The coastal route took us on an amazing cycle path for about 35km, through breathtaking scenery on gently undulating roads. When we had cycled it last year on a weekday in early October we hardly saw anyone else, and there wasn’t much open on the way. By contrast, today’s hot and sunny weekend weather had brought out lots of locals.
There was also lots of places open to get food, so we stopped off at a place with outdoor shaded seating to have a proper lunch. We got there just at the right moment too, as we managed to get in our orders before a dozen-strong ladies cycling club showed up.
A short way along the coast there was a small fayre. Amongst the attractions on display were a helicopter, another airport fire engine, and a re-enactment of a car-crash scene.
We headed inland and through Haarlem – very picturesque and with a bustling town centre.
We were now heading East towards Amsterdam with the sun warming our backs. The scenery sped by effortlessly and we made it to our hotel in central Amsterdam by early evening.
We met up again with Khoi, who had travelled up from Rotterdam by train, and went out to dinner with Sarah who we’d recently met on a Brompton ride and was in Amsterdam with work. We found a nice Thai restaurant and celebrated making it to Amsterdam.
Rotterdam to Amsterdam, 104.7km (65.1 miles) Strava
James, thank you for recording and sharing this trip with the world. Really interesting read, greatly assisted by the maps, photos and videos. I am interested as to which Bromptons you rode.
Thanks George. We are both on M6Rs with standard gearing.
Hello, I have been reading all the information on your trip and it sounds great. I am planning a trip from London to Berlin via Amsterdam and I notice you mention you have done that in reverse. Have you got a right up for this? Any tips, must visit places?
Routes? Thanks Lauren
Hi Lauren, thanks for reading! That trip sounds like it will be brilliant. It’s been ages since I’ve been touring and I miss it. Yes I’ve done that in reverse, and have also cycled up to Amsterdam a couple of times. I will try to gather some bits together for you and will report back.
I cycled back from Berlin to London over two weeks in 2015, to get back to London after a long weekend in Berlin, which had included running the Berlin Marathon. Loved Berlin! Running not so much!
If I were doing it again the other way I’d probably start with a train from London to Harwich (to have more time cycling abroad), and a berth on the overnight ferry which is good value for a nights accomodation to arrive at Hook of Holland port early. Then up the coastline to follow this route from where it goes along the coast all the way to Amsterdam. I’ve stayed in a few bad hotels in Amsterdam but found Apple Inn Hotel and Hotel Espresso to be ok. Then I would follow the Berlin-London route I did previously, but I’d check the latest Eurovelo EV2 route to see if there are any major changes.
Sadly I didn’t write a diary as I went along as I had company, so I’ve now forgotten which towns and villages I enjoyed most. Some of the route I had ridden before as part of my trip to Munich and I remember experiencing a lot of the places differently the two times, for example Munster and Utrecht which were magical on my first visit, but less so on my second visit. I guess what I’m trying to say is Your Mileage May Vary, and it might depend as much on the day of the week / time of day / weather as you pass through as to your experience.
Anyhow here is a map of the route I cycled:
https://api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/jimlondon/cklb978kr2njp17nseslbmhdm.html?fresh=true&title=view&access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoiamltbG9uZG9uIiwiYSI6ImNqeWlseHpqcTBhcTUzY25yOHVwOHc2ZXQifQ.xU3HWRyVGAUl9HouvaMiAQ
And the individual days.
Day 1 – Berlin to Borne
https://www.strava.com/activities/lunch-ride-404896424
Day 2 – Borne to Köthe
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-404895842
Day 3 – Köthe to Ballenstedt – cobbles!
https://www.strava.com/activities/pav%C3%A9-405612337
Day 4 – Ballenstedt to Langelsheim – hilly
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-406288080
Day 5 – Langelsheim to Holzminden
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-406967662
Day 6 – Holzminden to Bielefeld
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-407608560
Day 7 – Bielefeld to Münster
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-408172003
Day 8 – Münster to Vreden
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-408905397
Day 9 – Vreden to Arnhem
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-409504952
Day 10 – Arnhem to Utrecht
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-410216157
Day 11 – Utrecht to Amsterdam
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-410862651
Day 12 – Amsterdam to Hook of Holland
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-413775938
Day 13 – Harwich to London
https://www.strava.com/activities/morning-ride-413776704
Thank you James for all the information above, it’s fantastic and really helpful. Thanks Lauren