Bike Tour on the Fen Route

This bike tour on the Fen Route runs in Germany and the Netherlands in the Ems region, in the old marsh and moor landscape made usable by the Fehn/Veen culture, and along the Dollart, the sea inlet at the mouth of the Ems. Emden and Groningen are the two urban highlights of this otherwise rural bike tour, which is also perfectly suitable for the inexperienced.

Day 1 Arrival in Emden
The starting point of your journey is the Reformation town of Emden, birthplace of Karl Dall and Otto Walkes. Visit the harbour, the art gallery or the Otto-Huus.

Day 2 Emden - Leer, approx. 35 km / 22 mi
By ferry you cross over to the left bank of the Ems, which is still very maritime here, and cycle to Leer, once a chieftain's town, today the gateway to East Frisia with an excellently preserved old town.

Day 3 Leer - Papenburg, approx. 35 km / 22 mi
Today you cycle through the once impassable moorland that separated East Frisia from the hinterland and was made arable by the Fehn colonisation. Papenburg was the centre of this process and is famous for the Meyer shipyard for cruise ships.

Day 4 Papenburg - Stadskanaal, approx. 55 km / 34 mi
In the middle of the marshes, the Bourtange fortress was built in the 16th century. The cycle tour ends today at Stadskanaal in the town of the same name, a popular stopover for motorboat travellers.

Day 5 Stadskanaal - Groningen, approx. 45 km / 28 mi
The farmsteads in the rural province of Drenthe are impressively large. The Hanseatic and university city of Groningen is the only large city in the north-east of the Netherlands, the Groningen Museum is important.

Day 6 Groningen - Delfzijl, approx. 60 km / 37 mi
Today you cycle to the sea, to Uithuizen with the impressive Menkemaburg. Along the Wadden Sea and the Ems estuary you reach Delfzijl, where a small maritime museum is located in a former bunker.

Day 7 Delfzijl - Emden, 50 km / 31 mi or boat trip
Enthusiastic cyclists take the route along the Dollart bay, crossing the Ems in Ditzum. Those who no longer feel like cycling can take the Delfzijl-Emden ferry in the afternoon and explore the town and surrounding area until then.

Day 8 Return or Extension
The tour ends after breakfast. If you like, extend your bike tour on the Fen Route.

Included in "Bike Tour on the Fen Route":

• 7 overnight stays incl. breakfast
• luggage transport from hotel to hotel,
  no maximum number of items,
  maximum weight: 20 kg/ item (44 lbs/ item)
• travel documents and maps in english
• GPS tracks
• 7-day customer helpline
• visitor's tax to be paid on site
• optional rental bike

Accommodation:

• Category M:
  Guesthouses and hotels at the international 2*-4* level as per Hotelstars Union. All rooms are en suite with bath or shower.

Bikes for hire:

• Comfortable unisex bikes available in different frame sizes with 7 gears/rear brake or 21 gears/freewheel. Equipped with panniers, lock and repair kit. Premium rental bikes with 30-speed/freewheel and e-bikes also available on request.
• If you choose to wear a helmet, we recommend using your own due to the variety of head sizes and shapes and for hygienic reasons.

Travel time 2026:

• arrival on sundays from 19.04. to 27.09.
• the day of arrival determines the price of your tour

Prices:

All prices apply per person in a double room, incl. breakfast.

• 819 € saver price
  19.04.-09.05.
• 859 € basic price
  10.05.-23.05. + 20.09.-27.09.
• 919 € seasonal price
  24.05.-19.09.

• 300 € single room surcharge
• 100 € rental bike
• 180 € rental bike premium
• 290 € e-bike

•   80 € extra night Emden, double room, B&B
• 125 € extra night Emden, single room, B&B

• booking code "Bike Tour on the Fen Route":
  NS-EE-7M
• how you can save some money

Additional costs:

• ferry Petkum-Ditzum, approx. 3 € incl. bike
• ferry Delfzijl-Emden, approx. 26 € incl. bike

The booking process

Arrival to "Bike Tour on the Fen Route":

• Parking facilities in Emden:
  Parking house "Am Wasserturm", costs approx. 35 €/week
  Public parking nearby the hotel without fee

• Arrival via train:
  Emden train station

• Arrival at Hamburg airport:
  by train, every hour, duration approx. 3,5 h, 2 changes, normal fee approx. 45 €

• Pre-booked rental bikes are ready for you in your hotel.

Perfectly looked after:

• During your tour, we are available between 8 am and 8 pm, 7 days a week. We are happy to help with any kind of problems you might be having. You will find this emergency number in your travel documents.