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Drenthe is nature. Pure and simple.

Cycling holiday The heart of Drenthe

The moment you hop on your bike for this tour, a sense of pure relaxation sets in.
It’s no surprise, in this province, life moves at its own unhurried pace. Along the way, you’ll cycle through beautiful and varied landscapes: peaceful forests, expansive heathlands, picturesque villages, and remarkable cultural gems. » read more about Cycling holiday The heart of Drenthe

The Hondsrug, Dwingelderveld, Drents-Friese Wold National Park, Fochteloërveen
Picturesque village squares: Rolde, Orvelte, Dwingeloo, Ruinen, and Havelte
Dolmen & Prison Museum Veenhuizen

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Cycling holiday
Trekking tour
4 or 7 days
Individual

from 345 p.p.
excl. additional costs

Prices and dates

from 345 p.p.
excl. additional costs

Prices and dates

Prehistoric Cycling in Drenthe

"Prehistoric" stands for robust and authentic. It’s no wonder this province is known as the "Prehistoric Province" of the Netherlands. As you cycle through landscapes so natural they seem untouched by human hands, you'll find forests and heathlands in their purest form, places where the present and distant past blend effortlessly. This feeling is central to the experience of this cycling tour. Whether you choose the 4-day or 7-day route, you'll pass through Assen, Odoorn, and Dwingeloo, with plenty of prehistoric wonders and natural beauty in between.

Culture and Nature

Speaking of prehistoric: you’ll visit the brinkdorp (historic farming village) of Rolde, pass several hunebedden (dolmens), cycle through the museum village of Orvelte (perhaps a little less ancient, but still a remarkable historic gem), and stop off in the picturesque brinkdorpen of Dwingeloo, Ruinen, and Havelte. You'll also pay a visit to the Prison Museum in Veenhuizen. And we haven’t even touched on the stunning and soothing landscapes: the Dwingeloosche Heide, the heathlands and forests of Uffelter-, Holtinger-, Wester-, and Oosterzand, and the national parks Drents-Friese Wold and Fochteloërveen. You’d never expect that just one day of prehistoric cycling in one of the Netherlands’ most beautiful regions could leave a deeper impact than an entire month of meditation.

Centuries-old Bog Body

In Assen, just outside the Drents Museum, you come face to face with Bartje, the well-known little boy who refused to say grace for “brown beans.” Inside, you might find yourself whispering a silent prayer for the Yde Girl: a 16-year-old who ended up in the peat bog some two thousand years ago. Around her neck, a woolen scarf. In her neck, a stab wound. Researchers have since discovered that she was murdered, or rather, sacrificed to the gods, at the start of our era, likely in response to the looming threat of the advancing Romans. It’s believed the scarf was used to strangle her. A real cold case. Still, it’s an extraordinary experience to come face to face with someone so remarkably preserved by the peat, after twenty centuries.

A Dolmen Built with Prehistoric Strength

Arrived in Borger? Park your bike for a moment at dolmen D27. This impressive burial monument, like all the other dolmens here, was built over five thousand years ago. During the Ice Age, giant stones were carried here by glaciers from Scandinavia. When the ice melted, these boulders were left behind. Using tree trunks as tools, the builders stacked the enormous stones on top of each other, usually on higher ground. With combined strength, they hauled these massive stones into place. Pure human effort, talk about prehistoric power. Take a moment to let that sink in: the largest stone here weighs more than 20,000 kilograms. The dolmen itself is 22.6 meters long. It’s the largest dolmen in the Netherlands.

Hunebed

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Cycling holiday The heart of Drenthe

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