Tulips in Holland: Experience the most beautiful travel time in the Netherlands

A trip to the tulips in Holland at Keukenhof

See tulips in Holland when they are in bloom at Keukenhof. The time of the tulip bloom is in spring one of the most beautiful travel times in Holland, Between late March and mid-May, it blooms in the region west and north of Amsterdam , Tulips in all shapes and colors. On Visit to Keukenhof Hollandis a must for anyone interested in tulips. Together with thousands of other visitors from all over the world, we stroll through the show gardens of Keukenhof near Amsterdam. This is one of the beautiful day trips from Amsterdam.

 

 

 

Where are the tulips in bloom most beautiful in Holland?

I can answer that question quickly: at the Keukenhof near Lisse. I had expected to see flower fields with tulips in all colors. Instead, the Keukenhof is a park in whose flowerbeds, in addition to tulips, hyacinths and daffodils vie for the attention of flower lovers. We do see a few tulip fields in the area around the park, but we find none of them in other regions of North Hollandmore. Even on the TexelIn the Wadden Sea there are fields of tulips as well as daffodils. The most beautiful Tulip Routes in Hollandwe introduce here.

The best time to visit the tulips in the Netherlands

The best time to visit the tulips in the Netherlands is mid-April to early May, when the fields are in full bloom. The famous Keukenhof is open from March 20 to May 11, 2025 and is a highlight for flower lovers. The tulip routes in the Bollenstreek, Noordoostpolder and Flevoland are particularly worthwhile. Early in the morning or late in the afternoon, the fields are less crowded and offer perfect photo opportunities. If you want to enjoy the sea of ​​tulips, you should book early!

Tulip Festivals in the Netherlands: The Tulp Festival in Amsterdam

Also worth a visit is the Tulp Festival, which takes place in April at over 85 locations in Amsterdam. You can find an overview of the tulip festivals in the Netherlands in the Flower Calendar 2025.

 

 

Keukenhof Holland - a paradise for tulip lovers

The Keukenhof is an exhibition area for tulips in Holland. The flowers in it come from farms in North Holland. Buyers come to the Keukenhof to find out about new tulip varieties. There are countless types. The variety of colors of the spring flowers ranges from violet to pastel colors to magnificent specimens in many colors. Some of them are hardly reminiscent of tulips in their shape. We can hardly get enough of the flower shapes and colors.

There are flower shows in the pavilions where you can see tulips in all their variety. Exhibitions show how to display tulips decoratively. You can also buy tulips and tulip bulbs.

 

 

Visit the Keukenhof Holland

Keukenhof opening times 2025

The Keukenhof is open from 20 March to 11 May 2025 from 8.00 a.m. to 19.00 p.m.
If you would like to see what Keukenhof looks like today, you can do so via @visitkeukenhof on Facebook and Instagram. see

In 2025, Keukenhof admission is only available online

From autumn onwards, you can only buy Keukenhof tickets online. The tickets are only available for a specific time slot. This controls the number of visitors. Alternatively, you can book a tour to Keukenhof. Early booking is also recommended here.

Adults (18 years and older): €20,50
Children (4 to 17 years): €9,00
Children under 4 years: free
Car Parking € 9,00
Parking for campers: € 12,50
(Address for sat nav: Stationsweg 166A, 2161 AM Lisse.Parking is available and should be booked online in advance.)

 

Keukenhof ticket included in tours from places in the area

If you live in Amsterdam, it is best to book a transfer. With these, entry to the gardens is included in the fare.

Arrival by public transport

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There are special shuttle buses, e.g. from Amsterdam RAI, Schiphol Airport, Leiden and Haarlem. Combined tickets including entrance and transport are available.
From Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: Keukenhof Express Bus 858
from Leiden Central Station: Keukenhof Express Bus 854
If you plan to travel to Keukenhof by car, you are likely to be stuck in a traffic jam.

Parking and access by car

There is a car park right next to Keukenhof. However, it fills up quickly, especially on weekends. There is only one access road to the gardens. You should therefore allow plenty of time for the journey, as traffic is often backed up over long stretches. We therefore recommend staying overnight nearby and cycling to the gardens. You can book accommodation nearby using the link in this article (see above) and the map from our partner booking.com.

Keukenhof map

Here you will find one Orientation map for the Keukenhof.

Keukenhof best time

The best time to visit Keukenhof depends on which flowers you particularly love. If you like crocuses and daffodils, you should come at the end of March. However, if you want to experience the tulips in full bloom, mid- to late April is ideal. This is when the beds are vibrantly colored and the scent of spring fills the air. Plan your visit early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the large crowds and enjoy the gardens in a relaxed manner.

Visit the Keukenhof with dog

Dogs can be taken as long as they are kept on a leash.

tulips blooming in Holland

The tulip fields in Holland bloom from late March to mid-May.

Keukenhof address

Keukenhof Lisse, Stationsweg 166A 2161 AM Lisse, The Netherlands

 

 

The tulips in Holland come from Turkey and China

Did you know that the tulips originally come from a mountain region between Turkey and China? Not me. Turkish sultans celebrated the tulips in spring - just like the Dutch today, by the way Tulip festivals in Holland, Specialized tulip varieties have even been published as illustrated books. The tulip was a decorative motif on tiles and other utensils.

Than in the 16. In the 20th century, when Dutch international trade became increasingly important, Turkey became the focus of the Dutchman. Constantinople was a trading port, and the Tulip pleased the traders from Holland well. Botanists like Carolus Clusius wrote about the tulip bulbs and exchanged them within their network. 1593 became Clusius director of the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden, where he planted tulips. So the tulip found its way to Holland.

 

 

Tulips in Holland were once a luxury item

Tulips quickly became a luxury item in Holland. They reproduce only slowly, and so the value of the tulip soon rose to dizzying heights. The "Anvers" tulip achieved a maximum price of 510 guilders. At that time (in the 17th century) a teacher received an annual salary of around 200 guilders. Between 1634 and 1637 the reached Tulpenmanieculminating.

 

 

Holland tulips are available in an enormous variety of colors and shapes in the Tulip Park

I could continue the photo gallery here, the selection of colors, shapes and sizes of tulip flowers is so large. They are all beautiful. But apparently some buyers prefer short tulips, while others prefer the long-stemmed ones. When it comes to colors, preferences are even more diverse. The hunt for the black tulip once caused a sensation. In 1850 Alexandre Dumas published his book “The Black Tulip”. In it he reported on a competition in Haarlem in 1672 in which high prize money was offered for the new breeding of a black tulip variety.

Nature does not know the color black. Tulips are dark red or purple. At the end of the 19th century, the Dutch managed to cultivate varieties of tulips that came close to the color black. "The Queen of the Night" and the "Black Parrot" still exist today. If you want, you can find these rarities in the Keukenhof. However, we did not discover them on our tour, although we take an entire afternoon to visit Keukenhof. We'd rather let the flowers work on us during a break on one of the benches or watch the swans as they make their way to the centrally located lake on one of the canals in the park, with an island in the middle.

 

 

When is flowering time?

From mid-March to mid-May, flowering is in North Holland. This is celebrated every year, such as the Bollenstreek flower corso. This year it will take place on April 12, 2025. The main flowering period for tulips is in April. Then the North in Holland to a sea of ​​colors and flowers, On our onward journey through the Villages in Hollandwe already come across the first colorful tulip fields. At Bloeiend Zijpe in St. Martinzee we finally learn more about the problems that tulip growers face when producing tulip varieties. "We had a light frost here last night," says Miranda van Straten, who runs a tulip farm with her husband. "We have to think about how we can protect the shoots against this."

 

We learn that the tulips thrive particularly well in the fields along the sea coast. The wind from the sea also keeps pests away. The flowers in these fields are not intended for sale, but are in a kind of intermediate stage. When the tulips bloom, a selection takes place to sort out diseased plants. Plants whose flowers do not correspond to what is supposed to grow in the field are also removed.

 

 

What happens after the selection?

Once the selection has taken place, the flowers are cut off. This ensures that the plant's strength flows into the bulb. This produces tulip bulbs, which are harvested in autumn and then sold on flower markets around the world. The requirements of the buyer regions vary: in Russia, tall tulips are preferred, while in other countries, certain colors are in demand.

"We are busy all year round looking after the tulips so that they deliver the best possible result at harvest time," explains Miranda van Straten. “This also means that we plant varieties that mature at different times. This is the only way we can give the individual varieties the right care.” For this reason, the van Stratens also grow lilies in addition to tulips, which are only harvested in November. "It's a better way to distribute our workforce," says Miranda.

 

 

Flower sea to the horizon

In the north of Holland, in the land behind the dykes, we can still see the huge areas with tulips in different colors, which I had already expected in this form at the Keukenhof. In the future I will definitely look at the bouquets of tulips in our supermarkets with different eyes and with a good pinch of memory of the tulip fields from the polder landscapes in Holland.

You can't go to Holland to see the tulips bloom? On these Excursion destinations in Germany in springit also blooms profusely.

Have you ever experienced the tulips yourself in Holland at Keukenhof?

Then tell us about your impressions and experiences in a comment. Perhaps you have special tips that might be interesting for other visitors? We are always happy to receive your contributions and our readers are guaranteed to appreciate them.

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Travel Arrangements:

Parking at the airport

Here you can reserve your parking space at the airport.

Arrival to the tulips in Holland at Keukenhof

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Car Rentals:

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Keukenhof 
Stationsweg 166A
2161 AM Lisse

Opening hours:

March 20th to May 11th, 2025, daily from 8am to 19.00pm. Tickets are only sold online. Visit times are fixed.

Excursions from Amsterdam and sightseeing tours to the tulips in Holland:

If you book one of these offers, we receive a commission, which we use to run this blog.

Accommodation near Keukenhof:

Hotels around Keukenhof *(advertisement) you can also book through our partner booking.com using this link.

Bloeiend Zijpe
Groteweg 9
1756 CK 't Zand
In April, hikes, treks and bike tours through the tulip fields are offered here. current dates for these toursyou can also find out here.

For overnight we recommend this
Landgoed Duin en Kruidberg
Duin en Kruidbergerweg 60
2071 LE Santpoort
Information, availability query and online booking *
If you book through one of these offers, we receive a commission, which we use to run this blog.

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Further Slow TravelYou can find travel destinations here, for example. Furthermore, discover others Gardens and parks.
More tips for tulips in Hollandcan also be found on Simone's travel blog

 

Do you know this?

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• Compare motorhome prices here.
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Source: own research on site. We would definitely like to thank you for the invitation from iamsterdam and the Dutch office for tourism. Our opinions definitely remain our own.

Text Tulips in Holland Keukenhof: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Video: © Copyright Petar Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline