Frequently asked questions

Do you live in Belgium or Germany?
Then as a new Friend, you will receive an address guide with Guest Addresses and a route map.

Do you live outside the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany?
Then you become an online Friend, but -don't worry- you are just as good a Friend as everyone else. And to be honest: online you will find the most up-to-date information about Guest Addresses and their availability .

o you want to know more about how to become a Friend?

Then click here

In fact, the site IS an app.
Or better: you can use it as an app.
How?

Do you have an iPhone?

Step 1
Open the website in Safari.
Go to your home screen and click on the circled icon

Step 2
Click on: Put on home screen

Do you have an Android?
Go to our website via Chrome.
- Tap an icon with three dots in the top right.
- Tap Add to home screen.
- Give the site the title: Vrienden op de Fiets or whatever you find convenient.
- Tap Add and, if necessary, tap Add again.

If you live in the Netherlands and you want to become a Friend of Vrienden op de Fiets, you pay € 8 per calendar year*. This will give you online access to all Guest Addresses.

As a new Friend, you will also receive our address guide with a map of the Netherlands and your own Friend card.

The costs of an overnight stay (€ 25 per person) are to be paid to the Guest Address.

Our site offers a global view of the locations of our Guest Addresses. Their exact locations can only be accessed by our Friends. Vrienden op de Fiets counts over 5000 Guest Addresses. These are often located near long distance routes for bikers or hikers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the rest of the world.

Click here to register as Friend.

An overnight stay at a Vrienden op de Fiets Guest Address costs 25 euro^* per person, provided that you can show a valid Friend card. For this price, you can expect a good and clean bed and an energizing breakfast.
Tourist tax is often added to this price. The amount may vary per municipality. For children up to and including 12 years of age, you pay 14 euro* per child.

Guest Addresses can ask for a deposit of 12.50 euro p.p.

If a Friend cancels within 24 hours before the agreed upon time of arrival, then the Guest Address can charge 12.50 euro cancellation costs per person.

A stay at a Guest Address of Vrienden op de Fiets is just for one night. A Friend arrives at the end of the afternoon and continues his/her trip the next morning after an energizing breakfast.

This is one of our basic principles; Vrienden op de Fiets is meant for sporty Friends who undertake multi-day biking and hiking trips and each day search out a new Guest Address for an overnight stay.

The short answer? Yes. It’s a nice way for you and for the Guest Address to get to know each other a bit in advance. And it allows you to check dates and also to agree upon particulars. Real adventurers can of course take a chance and just see where they will end up en route. But the chances of finding a Guest Address on the day itself are few, of course.

Not months in advance
Vrienden op de Fiets is a relaxed and flexible network. Most Guest Addresses see offering an overnight stay to a Friend as a good turn, and do not like to commit themselves to this months in advance. That affords them the freedom to plan other activities too.

We do understand that a sporty trip requires a certain amount of planning. But we’d nevertheless request you not to make reservations for a stay at a Guest Address months in advance. Most Guest Addresses do not appreciate this. And we’d also like Friends who turn each day of their trip into an adventure to be able to find a place to stay en route.

Thank you, and either way, enjoy your trip!

The Vrienden op de Fiets website functions on almost all (mobile) devices and with all browsers. However, it is possible that you cannot view the map and that the flags, which mark Guest Addresses, take a long time to load and you eventually receive an error code. Or the screen might freeze when you try to log in. In all these cases, we advise you to update your browser or to change to Chrome. It often also helps to clear some or all of your browsing history.

There may be several reasons why you can’t log in.
1. You’ve lost your login data
To log in, you need two things:
A. Your Friend number (if you are a Friend), your Registration number (if you are a Guest Address) or your email address.
Your Friend number can be found on the card we send you each year, or at the top of the page of our latest newsletter.
Your Registration number can be found at the top of our latest newsletter.
B. Your password
You created and registered this, and we don’t know your password.

You have none of the above data at hand?
Please check the foot of this page and contact the Help Desk.

2. You have lost or forgotten your password
Please click on the blue button: Forgot my password and enter your Friend number (Friend) or Registration number (Guest Address). We will then send you an email to enable you to create a new password.

No email?
Please check whether the email ended up in a different mailbox than your normal inbox. These mailboxes have names like ‘Spam’, ‘Junk’ or, for example, ‘Promotions’.
Still haven’t received anything after half an hour?
Please send another request by clicking the button Forgot my password.
Still no email?
Then a different, wrong or old email address of yours might still be registered with us. In that case, please send an email to the Help Desk from the correct email address.

After our confirmation by e-mail, you will be able to create a new password via the link Forgot password.

A final tip
Is this a recurring problem? Then you might be using a (too) old browser version. Please check whether you can update your browser. You can also try to clear the history of our site in your browser. This clears all previous actions and allows you to start again with a clean slate.

Don’t worry!
Click here to create a new password.

Follow the instructions to quickly solve this problem.

Would you like to become Friend? Great!
Before you register, we would like to ask you to first read the Ground rules for Friends. We feel this is important to be (almost) certain that everybody understands that Vrienden op de Fiets does not offer hotel stays. Please register with us after reading our ground rules.

Would you like to register as a Guest Address?

That’s really great! We are very happy to welcome you.
Please go to this page to register, you will find that the process is self-explanatory.

Most Dutch municipalities require our Guest Addresses to collect and pay tourist tax. This tourist tax is added to the price of 25 euro per person for an overnight stay. The tax amounts vary per municipality and range between two to ten euro per person. The big cities levy the highest tourist tax amounts. 

Vrienden op de Fiets is a not-for-profit foundation. We work with a small team of professionals to provide our Guest Addresses and Friends the best possible service and, at the same time, control costs. That is one of the reasons why you can’t reach the Help Desk by telephone 24/7.

You can find most answers to your questions here, in the FAQ.
Please enter your search term and you will be directed to the right questions.

Can’t find the answer to your question? You can always contact the Help Desk.

Meestal niet, maar als we een vacature hebben, dan plaatsen we hier een linkje.

Vandaag dus niet helaas...

At some Guest Addresses you can join them for a hot meal in the evening. Your hosts like it when people not only come to sleep and have breakfast, but also spend more time with their temporary Friends.

If you search for a Guest Address online, it will usually state whether you can join them for dinner.

TIP: if you want to join, ask at the first contact.

Host addresses decide for themselves what they charge for a dinner. Vrienden op de Fiets has set guide prices for this, but also for making packed lunches or charging electric bikes.

These are the guide prices:
- Hot meal: €10 per person
- Packed lunch: € 5 per person
- Charging an electric bicycle: € 0.50 per bicycle

Just to be sure...
So you are not supposed to turn the available breakfast into a packed lunch and then put it in your luggage without asking.... Yes, that happens regularly and is not really Friends on a Bike, is it?

When you search for a Guest Address on your smartphone, you only see a small part of the map. You can scroll the map by 'swiping' with two fingers at a time on your screen in any direction. The same principle applies to a tablet.

Want to scroll the map on a laptop or desktop?

Then hold down your left mouse button. Even then you can slide the map in any direction you want.

The Fiets- en Wandelfonds, or biking and hiking fund, is an initiative of the foundation Vrienden op de Fiets.
The coffers of the fund are filled with reserves from the foundation and with sustainable savings as well. For every Friend who (no longer) wants to receive the guide and route map by mail, the foundation Vrienden op de Fiets donates 1 euro per year to this fund. With it, we support initiatives that contribute to recreational biking and hiking in the Netherlands.

New Friends usually receive the guide with Guest Addresses, the route map and their Friend card by post within two weeks.

Would you like to set out earlier? Once you have registered as a Friend, you will receive an email with your Friend number. With this number, you will be able to log in to the site and look for a Guest Address. You will find your digital Friend card listed as part of your personal data. It’s handy to take a picture of the card; just in case you cannot access internet on your way to your Guest Address.

*New Friends receive the guide with Guest Addresses, the route map and their Friend card by post. You don’t use the guide? Then please log in to the site and go to your profile to uncheck this box:

O I want to receive the booklet

Friends are usually bikers or hikers who, at the end of a sporty day, would like to relax in a homely environment. Both Friends and Guest Addresses enjoy the friendly contact during these occasions. For most Friends, not knowing exactly where you’ll end up is part of the adventure as well.
After a good night’s sleep and an energizing breakfast, Friends go on their way again refreshed.
Friends are guests, who become part of the lives of their hosts for one night. They do not look for luxury, but are mostly interested in a good bed and a relaxed evening with like-minded people.

Guest Addresses do their utmost, but

a Guest Address is not a hotel,
it’s much nicer!

Certainly not to all Guest Addresses, but some hosts do welcome dogs. You can check this in the features listed by the Guest Address.
Our advice? To be sure, check whether dogs are welcome when you and your host discuss the date for an overnight stay.

In searching for a Guest Address, it is also possible to enable the filter ‘Pets welcome’.

De regels voor het aanbieden van particuliere logies zijn in elke gemeente anders. Wij raden je aan contact op te nemen met de gemeente van je woonplaats om te overleggen in hoeverre de lokale regelgeving op jou van toepassing is.

Op deze pagina gaan we wat dieper in op de regelgeving. 

Ben je al Logeeradres en heb je te maken met veranderende regelgeving?
Ook in dat geval staat de meest actuele informatie op de pagina met regelgeving en belasting.

Inhoudelijk kunnen wij helaas weinig voor je doen. De regelgeving van ruim 300 gemeenten is overal anders. Het is voor ons onmogelijk om al die ontwikkelingen bij te houden.

You can map out your own biking or hiking trip via Vrienden op de Fiets.
In the Netherlands, you can use several sources of inspiration, such as the route planner of the Dutch Cyclists’ Union (De Fietsersbond).
Several of our Guest Addresses can be found as Points of Interest (POI) on the route planner of the Dutch Cyclists’ Union.

Our own online map provides a global view of your route and a detailed view of the location of our Guest Addresses.

When you click our map, you can enhance it with countrywide long distance routes like the Dutch LF and LAW routes, and with other bicycle networks in the Netherlands as well.

Yes, of course! Indeed, the founder of Vrienden op de Fiets started her initiative partly for this reason. Nel de Blécourt often undertook multi-day trips without her husband. She discovered that is was (more) difficult to find a place to stay as a single traveller, besides which it was also quite pricey. That was one of the reasons she placed this ad in a local Dutch newspaper: “Do you have a room to spare? And would you like to make it available for one night against a small fee?”
She received more than 80 enthusiastic responses to this ad. The rest is history...

So, in short the answer is: Yes! Vrienden op de Fiets is precisely (also) meant for single travellers and you pay the same price as any other Friend.

TIP
Filter your search for ‘single bed’ when looking for a suitable Guest Address online.

Both Friends and Guest Addresses might cause damages. A Friend could, for example, unintentionally damage or drop something at a Guest Address. Conversely, a Friend might have an accident at a Guest Address as well, for instance because of an unstable handrail on the stairs at the Guest Address. What possibilities are there to recover such damages?

First of all, let us state that the foundation Vrienden op de Fiets can never be held liable for damages suffered. A private liability insurance and/or a good travel insurance may cover the costs. This very much depends on the kind of insurance policy you took out. Every insurance policy has different provisions, so you should check your policies before you register as Guest Address or Friend.

For the function 'Guest Addresses nearby', you need to switch on ‘Location features’. You will receive an onscreen notification for this. You may need to reset your location and privacy settings once in a while. This differs per type of laptop, smartphone or tablet.

The Friend card is valid for single travellers, couples who live together (registered at the same address) and also for children up to 18 years, who live at home, and for (great) grandchildren. 

Friends who travel together, each need their own card.

Good question. Simple answer: no.

Our Guest Addresses are kind enough to provide a clean towel for every Friend.
Isn't that nice?

Thank you Guest Addresses!

Do you want to go on a multi-day trip and prefer not to go alone?
If you are logged in as a Friend, you can take a look at our Message Board. Here you will find calls from other Friends who are looking for a sports buddy to go on a trip - or part of a trip - together. 

Of course, you can also place a call yourself. 

Hiking or biking on your own can be nice, but it's not necessary.
Have a good trip together.

You can map out your own biking or hiking trip via Vrienden op de Fiets.
In the Netherlands, you can use several sources of inspiration, such as the route planner of the Dutch Cyclists’ Union (De Fietsersbond).
Several of our Guest Addresses can be found as Points of Interest (POI) on the route planner of the Dutch Cyclists’ Union.

Our own online map provides a global view of your route and a detailed view of the location of our Guest Addresses.

When you click our map, you can enhance it with countrywide long distance routes like the Dutch LF and LAW routes, and with other bicycle networks in the Netherlands as well.

The short answer? Yes. It’s a nice way for you and for the Guest Address to get to know each other a bit in advance. And it allows you to check dates and also to agree upon particulars. Real adventurers can of course take a chance and just see where they will end up en route. But the chances of finding a Guest Address on the day itself are few, of course.

Not months in advance
Vrienden op de Fiets is a relaxed and flexible network. Most Guest Addresses see offering an overnight stay to a Friend as a good turn, and do not like to commit themselves to this months in advance. That affords them the freedom to plan other activities too.

We do understand that a sporty trip requires a certain amount of planning. But we’d nevertheless request you not to make reservations for a stay at a Guest Address months in advance. Most Guest Addresses do not appreciate this. And we’d also like Friends who turn each day of their trip into an adventure to be able to find a place to stay en route.

Thank you, and either way, enjoy your trip!

Some Guest Addresses allow for reservations by email. If the host just lists a telephone number, you can call them. It is not possible to make reservations via the site. This is a conscious choice, which perfectly aligns with the Vrienden op de Fiets philosophy. The fact that Friends and Guest Addresses contact each other in advance, fits our intentions well; this way, you can already get to know each other a bit better beforehand.

At some Guest Addresses you can join them for a hot meal in the evening. Your hosts like it when people not only come to sleep and have breakfast, but also spend more time with their temporary Friends.

If you search for a Guest Address online, it will usually state whether you can join them for dinner.

TIP: if you want to join, ask at the first contact.

Host addresses decide for themselves what they charge for a dinner. Vrienden op de Fiets has set guide prices for this, but also for making packed lunches or charging electric bikes.

These are the guide prices:
- Hot meal: €10 per person
- Packed lunch: € 5 per person
- Charging an electric bicycle: € 0.50 per bicycle

Just to be sure...
So you are not supposed to turn the available breakfast into a packed lunch and then put it in your luggage without asking.... Yes, that happens regularly and is not really Friends on a Bike, is it?

An overnight stay at a Vrienden op de Fiets Guest Address costs 25 euro^* per person, provided that you can show a valid Friend card. For this price, you can expect a good and clean bed and an energizing breakfast.
Tourist tax is often added to this price. The amount may vary per municipality. For children up to and including 12 years of age, you pay 14 euro* per child.

Guest Addresses can ask for a deposit of 12.50 euro p.p.

If a Friend cancels within 24 hours before the agreed upon time of arrival, then the Guest Address can charge 12.50 euro cancellation costs per person.

Let’s start with an important point: A Guest Address is not a hotel. And for many, that is exactly the charm of Vrienden op de Fiets. Guest Addresses are private persons who like to share their homes and enjoy doing sporty Friends on a multi-day trip a good turn by giving them a place to stay for one night. The stay does not need to be luxurious, as long as the welcome is friendly, the room clean and the bed(s) freshly made. This is why members get to pay a modest, friendly price for an overnight stay.

Vrienden op de Fiets sets very few conditions for Guest Addresses: anybody can register as guest address. The foundation does not inspect guest addresses and does not employ mystery guests. We consciously do not publish reviews on our website either. The surprise is another of the charms of the Vrienden op de Fiets concept.
The many thousands of Friends that stay with our guest addresses every year are our ears and eyes in the field: if they consistently indicate that the welcome by a certain Guest Address is below par, then we will contact it. If, after hearing the side of the Guest Address, the problem cannot be/has not been resolved, then we may proceed to remove the address in question. This, incidentally, happens only very rarely.

Real Friends do not entertain too high expectations of the luxury and comfort a Guest Address can offer. They keep to their hosts’ house rules and are not easily bothered by a lack of privacy. For these kinds of Friends, staying at a Vrienden op de Fiets Guest Address is often a special experience. Others would perhaps be happier staying in a hotel...

Vrienden op de Fiets does not sell data of Friends or Guest Addresses. Never and not to anyone. Your personal data are secured and encrypted. You can check this by looking for the little lock in the web address. Please read our privacy statement for more information about how we keep your data safe.