From small village grocery stores to large supermarket chain stores - wherever you are cycling in Holland, there are plenty of places where you can do your shopping. Do be aware that limited shopping hours apply and not all rural towns have a supermarket. So don't leave your shopping to last minute, or you might find yourself going hungry!
Doing your shopping on route. Photo © Holland-Cycling.com
Shopping hours in Holland
Shops
Normal shopping hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Though many shops open later, or not at all on Monday. The latter applies for many bicycle shops. Most towns and villages have one late shopping day a week - either on Thursday or Friday. The shops are then open until 9 p.m.
Shopping on Sundays is still very much under debate. It's up to the local authorities to decide whether shops are allowed to open on Sundays. Unless you're in one of the larger cities, don't expect shops to be open on Sundays.
If you're in a rural area, you might find some small village shops close at lunchtime, on one weekday afternoon, or even for the summer holidays. In tourist areas shops might have longer opening hours during the high season.
Supermarkets
Normal opening hours for large supermarkets are Monday - Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., or to 9 p.m. on Thursday or Friday when it's late shopping day. Unless you're in one of the larger cities, don't expect supermarkets to be open on Sundays.
Shops closed on public holidays
Most shops are closed on public holidays. Though like shopping on Sundays, shopping on public holidays is slowly being introduced in Holland.
