Everything you should know about visiting and seeing the tulips in Holland in the spring! 2025 will be my 5th (*gasp* how time flies) year enjoying spring in this beautiful country. As I write this post it is gray and raining so I figured it would be great to reminisce on a better and sunny time of year that is just around the corner!
I already have many posts over the years on this topic. Here you can find 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Here in this post is a overall summary of options and activities that are tulip related updated to include all of my knowledge over the years. Hopefully, this will be streamline your planning so you can have the best trip for you!
First off, the most basic question is when and where to visit to see the tulips? The tulips tend to peak around April 15 which means you will see them in full bloom in the fields around then with the daffodils and hyacinth earlier. About the beginning of May the farmers go through and cut the tulips in the field so that the plant can focus its resources to the bulb since that is what gets actually harvested in the fall. For the tourist attractions such as Keukenhof, the season is a bit longer as they plan around different flower varieties blooming slightly earlier or later. I would recommend Keukenhof being nice to visit from Mid April to Early May. Of course, every year is different and sometimes the season is earlier or later! As for where, the main bulb region is centered in the province of South Holland around Lisse, but you can also find tulip fields in the North and around Flevoland for the more adventurous.
Options to see the tulips and tourist activities to participate in:
Bike Ride
For us, this is an annual tradition to rent e-bikes and bike through the the bulb region! It is always an absolute blast! Every year we round up a couple of friends and make a day of it. There are tons of maps you can use from tourist agencies and I have linked photos below of our routes as well. We will typically take the train to either Haarlem and go south or to Leiden and go north. My biggest tip for this is to one, dress warmer than you think you need to and two, make sure you get e-bikes and not regular bikes. It is a very flat region (just like the rest of the Netherlands) so the winds can be quite serious and e-bikes makes life so much easier and more fun. You can pick up fresh tulips directly at the stands from the farmers to support! Just be cautious and don’t walk between the rows of tulips (unless there is a sign that it is okay) this is the farmers livelihood.
Keukenhof
The classic tourist icon! Although a tourist attraction, it is a must-do if you are in the Netherlands in the Spring. Keuhenkof is open from mid-March to mid May with the best time to visit in the middle of those times. Although, they do a great job of having the tulips blooming throughout the entire season! The last 2 years I have gone the first week of May and it has been perfect.
There are 7 million flowers planted at Keukenhof every year and it is absolutely incredible to see! My favorite parts are how they design the gardens with similar/cohesive colors together and the unique tulips that are included in the gardens. Fun fact, that a lot of tulips aren’t allowed in the US as they are hybrids and considered “diseased” so you can see tons of varieties that aren’t available in the US! I have probably over a thousand pictures of Keukenhof from over the years, but here are some of my favorites that really highlight the experience.
A few tips would be to go early or go late to avoid the peak times of 11-3, try to go on a weekday, book your tickets in advance, and bring a sandwich for lunch to save time. Also, you can cancel within a few days before for almost a full refund. Since the weather is so unpredicatble in the Netherlands I personally book 2 days and then depending on the weather forecast will cancel one of them.
Amsterdam City Center
An easy place to also see the tulips and you don’t have to go too far is in Amsterdam city center! They tend to have beautiful flower displays around town! Here are a few of my favorites over the years. They tend to rotate a bit where they put the planters every year, but here are some suggestions. Also, the markets always are selling.
Tulip Farm Tour
Last year when my family came I really pulled out all of the stops for the Tulip trip! Online I found a tulip store garden and requested a tour of the fields. We got really luck and where there on a peak sunny day with great weather for April in Holland. We got to learn all about the different vareity of tulips, take a million photos in the fields, and ask all of our questions!
Flower Distribution Center
This is really cool and open year round! You can go near the airport and see how they auction and move flowers to all over the world!
Flower Parade
The flower parade takes place every year on a Saturday in mid April. It is super long and goes from the southern part of the tulip region and ends at the beach! One of the years that we rented e-bikes we happened to go on the flower parade day so we got to watch the festivities from Lisse. It was really fun to see all of the flower floats! I am glad I got to go, but not sure I need to go every year. I think I am a bit scared from trying to race back to Haarlem to return our bikes before the bike shop closed, but keep getting detours as the parade was blocking all of the major roads.
Other tourist attractions
There are a lot of other tourist attractions in the flower bulb area! I have been to a few of the ones listed, but not quite all of them. Maybe this year. Here are some ideas to get you started though!
- The Tulip Barn- we typically go by here on our bike ride and grab a coffee & use the bathroom. Great, especially, for families! I have never been into the paid part, but you can pay like €8 to walk in the fields.
- De tulperij- they have a cute shop and a lovely cafe you can go to as well as a lot of test gardens patches you can look at. Is free.
- The tulip experience- the main attraction that I haven’t been here that is super popular! Hopefully, I can visit this year.
Well, I think that is all of my knowledge of the tulips in Holland on one post! If I learn anything more in the next few years I will try to keep this post updated with any other fun activities.
Enjoy the flowers!
Melanie
Smiles from Miles Away 