During your Elfstedentocht by motorhome, you can do all kinds of active things.
Bikes
We took the bikes and our sups with us, so at any beautiful spot you can enjoy this. And we did that a lot. The bikes on the back is really a godsend, park the camper in a city just outside the center and then go into the center by bike, ideal.
For example, we grabbed a bike in Harlingen and Dokkum. We parked the camper at a camper park and took the bike to get to the center easily. Cycling in a city is a completely different experience than walking, for example! You move around easily and get to places you want to see or visit faster. In Harlingen it was especially nice to see a lot in the city, so you could cycle through the harbor, but also through the center and you can see a lot in a short time. Lovely in the wind along the sea….
Sailing
Sailing can of course be done very well in one of the Eleven Cities, because yes; there is water everywhere ;) We take to the water in Sneek, with a beautiful sloop of De Kajuit. We sail a bit towards the center, which is about 20 minutes by boat from the marina where the boat is moored. You can of course choose to go into the center, but you can also go on the waters around Sneek which is also very nice to experience!
Hiking
Also on the second day we grabbed a bike again and this time in Stavoren. Again ideal, because the camper is just outside the center and so we can easily bike into town again. In town we put the bike down again anyway, because we are going to walk a walk from Waterland of Friesland, namely the walk here in Stavoren :) A nice route with beautiful sights and stories can be found in the guide they made for this. This walk is 4 kilometers, very doable!
Among other things, this route leads you past the Vrouwtje van Stavoren, this statue was made in 1969 and represents the extremely rich merchant woman from the Middle Ages, who, according to the legend, fell into great poverty because of her haughty character. Full of longing, she still looks forward to returning ships with valuables. A story to dwell on they say, for dare you be modest? The route then leads us along the historic harbor to the Blokhuis. Here, from 1522, stood a military fortress which had to protect Stavoren and its harbor. On the spot where this once stood there are still foundations and on top of them this work of art has been built, beautifully done and so striking in this city! Besides Stavoren, Waterland of Friesland has also set out such a nice walk in Hindeloopen!
Pedal boats
What is also a very fun activity to do is water cycling and we got to try it out. This is something very unique in the Netherlands because you can only do it in 1 city and that is Workum! Through waterfietsfriesland.nl you can rent a bike. It is a bike on the water with on the side a kind of raft made of air. You sit nice and high so you can see a lot. It takes some effort to get on, but it works :)
Once on the water you get used to it quickly, steering is easy and pedaling is not heavy. We do get hot though, because it is quite intensive! Through the beautiful waters we cycle towards the center, but you can also choose to cycle more between the meadows and really go into nature. In the center we moor the bikes and can easily walk to see things in Workum.
We have a lot of spectators on the pedal boats, we look like the queen haha, everyone is waving at us, people are taking pictures from the shore and the bridge keepers are busy with us because they open them for us too. What a cool adventure this is and how much we are enjoying this. We are having the greatest fun on these special bikes!
Suppen
We really wanted to go supping on the last day, but unfortunately the weather was not kind to us. But before that I have already supped in IJlst, what a beautiful experience that was! Supping through the most beautiful cities in Friesland, actually you can take a sup in every city, because there is water everywhere! You can suppp through the city itself, but you can also choose to go into nature and be active outside the city! Another fun thing to do, while you’re on the sup on the water anyway, is to pick trash out of the water and take it with you on your tour. That way you are both active and doing good for nature :)
Besides all these activities we were privileged to experience these 3 days, you can of course do much more active things in the Eleven Cities. Think of canoeing, kite surfing or for example ice skating in winter ;) That is the most beautiful thing to do, when you do the Eleven Cities tour in winter and there is ice, that is an ultimate experience!
And what’s also fun to do? Look up all 11 fountains of all 11 cities and enjoy them! Each city has his/her unique fountain, each with a unique story. Can you find all 11 of them?
For now, we have been doing and experiencing a lot throughout the days. Great way to be active and see a lot of a city at the same time! We enjoyed!
Want to know more about what to do in the Eleven Cities? We share many more tips for each city! So we tell you where you can eat well, what museums there are and even more relevant information. Look at the mapped out route for that.
Lydia from Ontdek Je Plekje drove the Camperelfstedentocht. She wrote several blogs about her camper trip! In this article, she shares more about what to do in the Eleven Cities and active activities.