On the first day of your package, travel to Veenhuizen, to hotel Bitter&Zoet to check in, or drive to the overnight address listed in the booking confirmation. Address details and check-in times are given in the booking details.

Want to make the most of your three days? Then make a whole day of it, and arrive as early as the morning.

As soon as you arrive in Veenhuizen, you will experience that this is a very fascinating place indeed. Centrally located throughout the complex is Veenhuizen's 'famous', (or infamous) prison museum. Feel free to set aside a couple of hours for a visit to the museum. Part of the visit is a ride on the so-called prison bus. You can also opt for an audio-guided walk through Veenhuizen. Stroll through the streets with houses with the educating texts, marvel at the former, large hospital complex, or walk in to the Maallust beer brewery. Would you like to know and see much more of the unique social experiment of the Colony of Weldadigheid? Then be sure to visit Museum De Proefkolonie in Frederiksoord. That is about half an hour's drive from Veenhuizen, including through the beautiful Drents-Friese Wold.

Are you arriving later in the day, or would you rather see a bit more of the area first? With the tips you have been given, you can go in many directions from Veenhuizen to make your own day.

For dinner, the Bitter&Zoet restaurant or, for example, De Jufferen Lunsingh in Westervelde are highly recommended.

After breakfast, you will discover the UNESCO Global Geopark De Hondsrug on the basis of the car puzzle tour "Hondsrug and Hunzedal". Prepare for a day where your eyes will be in short supply, and be sure to bring your camera and binoculars.

You can choose from riding with route book on your lap, or with the route app with audio support. It is a puzzle route, but riding the route without worrying about the questions is of course also possible. Just relaxed touring, with plenty of moments along the way to get out for new discoveries.

Drive to the route's start location, in the village of Eext. That's about 30 minutes from Veenhuizen. On the way, you will already encounter some beautiful and unique spots, such as a couple of dolmens, the village of Donderen and the Zeegser Dunes.

For drinks and snacks along the way, we have chosen a few cosy locations. Addresses are listed in the booking confirmation.

While riding, you go back to the Ice Ages. The route goes through the rolling landscape of the Hondsrug with sand drifts, moors, forests. Also beautiful are the panoramic views of the Hunzedal and the winding river valleys of the many small rivers, which flow into the Hunze. When you see that, it might be hard to imagine that this Hunze was once an impressive tidal channel, running right through Groningen and flowing into the Wadden Sea. Mighty it must have been, and still is today, but different.

Did you know that many landscape photographers rank this area among the most photogenic landscapes in the Netherlands?

Along the way, much is told about the origins of this unique landscape, as well as the steps taken to preserve the quality of nature and water. This is how Drenthe connects the 'ancient' with the future. The future comes full circle when you drive into the Lofar area. This is a large nature reserve with thousands of small antennas, which together form a global radio telescopic network. From here, they look back - or forward - thousands of light years. Who knows.

It is precisely this contrast that makes this route and Drenthe so fascinating.

The tour ends at the village of Valthe, which is considered an archaeological wonder. Also special: an old defensive entrenchment from the Eighty Years' War has been rebuilt and can be visited.

A whole day like this with so many impressions makes you hungry and thirsty. In Valthe, you can very well go to restaurant De Gaffel or Grand-Café Het Perron. Or drive back to Veenhuizen and have something to eat nearby.

After breakfast, it is already time to check out.

Luckily, there is still a whole day ahead of you to get out and about. Didn't manage to visit Veenhuizen and the prison museum on the first day? Then you could use this day for that.

Other recommendations:

• The hunebed centre in Borger
• Veenhuizen borders the large nature reserve Fochteloërveen. Here you can take lovely walks and climb one of the watchtowers.
• A tour from Westerbork (2nd World War Remembrance Camp), to Orvelte, Schoonoord and Norg; three of Drenthe's most photogenic esdorpen.
• A city walk through Assen, past its green parks and Asser palaces.

All in all, there is so much to experience. Your three days will be more than filled. If you can't get enough and would like to book an extra night, you can certainly do so. We will gladly arrange it for you.