Sailing the Eleven Cities Tour with a classic boat

Sailing the Eleven Cities Tour with a classic boat is possible with Varen met Sil. Our motorboats are all about 2.40 meters high with the masts down. With our Eleven Cities route, you can discover the Frisian Eleven Cities from the water. In 10 to 15 days, you will sail approximately 200 kilometers along the Frisian Eleven Cities and the most beautiful nature areas. Which motorboat will you take to sail the Eleven Cities Tour through Friesland this summer?

The sailing route to Dokkum

Day 1 – Dokkum – 12 km – 2.5 hours of sailing

Our Eleven Cities route starts from Jachthaven Lunegat. From there, you go via the Dokkumer Diep through the lock onto the Dokkumer Ee towards Dokkum. Dokkum is the first Eleven Cities town you will encounter. You can moor here along the ramparts or right in the center. Take a city walk along the ramparts or view the statue of Saint Boniface.

Nice restaurants:

• Hotel Café Restaurant de Posthoorn
• Pizzeria d’Angelo
• De Waegh

From Dokkum to the capital of Friesland

Day 2 – Leeuwarden – 23 km – 3 hours

From Dokkum, you follow the Dokkumer Ee to Leeuwarden. You pass through the villages of Burdaard, Bartlehiem, Wyns, and Lekkum. In Leeuwarden, keep to the right. You will then pass the Prinsentuin, the park of Leeuwarden. Here you can moor and easily enter the city. Leeuwarden is the capital of Friesland and the end of the Frisian ice skating Eleven Cities Tour. You can climb the Oldehove, visit the Frisian Museum, or shop in the center of Leeuwarden.

Nice stops and restaurants:

• It Posthûs in Burdaard
• Grutte Pier Brewery in Bartlehiem
• Humpreys Leeuwarden
• Tao Leeuwarden
• Stek Leeuwarden

From Leeuwarden to Franeker

Day 3 – Franeker – 19 km – 2.5 hours

On day three, you continue the Eleven Cities sailing route to Franeker. From Leeuwarden, you follow the Harlingervaart and the Verbindingskanaal to the van Harinxmakanaal.

*Note! Large ships also sail here, these ships always have the right of way.*

You stay on the van Harinxmakanaal until you reach Franeker, where you can sail towards the town and moor at the ramparts. Franeker was once a university town and has a planetarium.

Nice stops and restaurants:

• The planetarium in Franeker
• Van der Kloet Bread & Pastry

From Franeker to Harlingen

Day 4 – Harlingen – 17 km – 2 hours

From Franeker, you continue sailing on the canal and eventually arrive in Harlingen. Before the lock, turn left into Harlingen. You can moor at the Engelsetuin. From Harlingen, you can take the ferry to Vlieland or Terschelling. You can view the Fishing Port or take a nice city walk.

Nice stops and restaurants:

• Watch the sunset at the Wadden Sea
• Levels in Harlingen
• Take the ferry for a day trip to Vlieland or Terschelling

From Harlingen to Bolsward

Day 5 – Bolsward – 19 km – 3 hours

From Harlingen, you sail into the Harlinger/Bolswardervaart. You sail through Kimswerd, the birthplace of Grutte Pier. After that, you continue along the canal and pass through Arum. After Arum, you turn right at the intersection towards Witmarsum.

*Note! The sailing water here is very narrow, you cannot encounter oncoming traffic here!*

From there, you follow the Witmarsumervaart to Bolsward.

In Bolsward, you will find the Sonnema Berenburg factory, see if you can score a bottle of the famous Frisian drink.

From Bolsward to Workum

Day 6 – Workum – 12 km – 1.5 hours

On day five, you go from Bolsward to Workum via the Workumervaart. From here, it is very nice to rent a bike and cycle to Hindeloopen (7 km) or Stavoren (17 km).

You can also choose to continue sailing to Hindeloopen or Stavoren (you will sail a bit over the IJsselmeer).

Nice stops:

• Jopie Huisman Museum Workum
• Frisian Skating Museum Hindeloopen
• Blue Lifesaving House Hindeloopen
• 11 fountains

From Workum to Sloten

Day 7 – Sloten – 22 km – 3.5 hours

From Workum, Hindeloopen, or Stavoren, you go to Sloten.

From Hindeloopen and Stavoren, you sail back via the Fluessen. If you come from Workum, you will sail via the Lange and the korte vaart to the Gaastmeer. From the lake, you follow the Yntemasleat to the Fluessen.

From the Fluessen, you go on to the Heegermeer and then to the Woudsenderrakken. You will pass through Woudsend. You continue sailing on the Ie and cross the Slotermeer to Sloten.

Sloten is the smallest Eleven Cities town and was once of strategic importance because it was located in the waterway from Sneek to the Zuiderzee.

Nice stops:

• Omke Jan in Woudsend
• Windmills in Woudsend
• Fortified town Sloten
• De Mallemok

From Sloten to the cities of Sneek or IJlst

Day 8 – Sneek or IJlst – 18 km – 2.5 hours

Today you will go via IJlst to Sneek. From Sloten, you go back over the Slotermeer through Woudsend, through the Nauwe Wijmerts and the Wijde Wijmerts towards IJlst.

You can choose to stay overnight in IJlst or continue sailing to Sneek. From IJlst, you can reach Sneek in several ways. For this, take a look at your water map. The easiest route is via the Geau.

IJlst has three churches, two windmills, a museum, a protected village view, and a train station. The town was known as a wood city. Logs were sawn into planks here. Check the website Visit IJlst for many more tips.

Sneek was briefly the capital of Friesland in the fifteenth century. Logical, if you are the Central Station for all Frisian water traffic. That center is still Sneek, and the annual Sneekweek reminds us of that.

Nice stops:

• Museum and workshop wood city IJlst – The coat of arms of IJlst
• The Water Gate Sneek
• Frisian Shipping Museum Sneek
• Texas Steak Sneek
• The Walrus Sneek

From Sneek to Earnewoude and the Alde Feanen

Day 9 – Earnewoude – 26km – 3.5 hours

You have now visited all Eleven Cities. Our route now takes us through a number of charming villages and nature reserves back towards the home port.

From Sneek, you sail towards the Sneekermeer.

*Attention! Large ships also navigate here, these ships always have the right of way.*

You head towards Terherne on the lake. This village is known from the Kameleon films and there is plenty to experience here. From Terherne, you will take the inland route to Akkrum, another watersport village. From Akkrum, you will go via the Zijlroede and the Burstummerrak to the Wide Ie. After that, you will enter the Alde Feanen National Park. Here you can find a nice spot to spend the night or continue sailing to the village of Earnewoude.

From the Alde Feanen to Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen

Day 10 – Home Port – 35km – 4.5 hours

From Earnewoude, you can sail via the Prinses Margrietkanaal to Burgum. At the Burgumer Mar, you can enter the Kuikhornstervaart. This waterway eventually leads to Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen.

Moanne in Barthlehiem

Tips for sailing the Eleven Cities route through Friesland

Bring some extra small change for bridges, water, and showers. Usually, you need to drop 50 cents into the machines.

Most marinas have toilets and showers. If you want to use these, we recommend mooring at a marina overnight.

In this route, we have not accounted for mooring fees in the harbors. This is the responsibility of the renter.

Use the Watersport App to plan your trip, which also contains all bridge and lock information.

Read the blog of Waterland of Friesland for more tips on sailing the Eleven Cities route. Or go sailing the Eleven Cities route from Friesland.nl

Which motorboat will you choose to sail the Eleven Cities route?

With Varen met Sil, you can rent a boat to sail the Eleven Cities route! Book your sailing holiday today and visit all the cities of Friesland. You can visit the cities almost all year round.

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  How many kilometers is the Eleven Cities route?

  The Eleven Cities route is about 200 kilometers. We recommend taking 10 to 15 days to complete the route.

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  How long does it take to sail the Eleven Cities route?

  We recommend taking 10 to 15 days for the Eleven Cities route.

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  With which boat can you sail the Eleven Cities route?

  To sail the Eleven Cities route, you need a low boat. The boat must have a clearance of less than 2.5m. All our motorboats are suitable for this journey.