How To See Fields of Tulips In Bloom Near Amsterdam

Tulips have always been my favourite flower and I have long held the wish of cycling through fields of tulips ablaze with colour.  But, as it turns out, it’s not that simple to get right and requires some carefully planning.  So here are my tips on how to see the tulips in full bloom…

Where is the best place to see the tulips in bloom?

The Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse

The best, and easiest, place to see tulips in bloom is at the Keukenhof Gardens, just outside the town of Lisse, about 40km south-west of Amsterdam, making it a lovely day out from the City of Amsterdam. The Keukenhof Gardens has amazing displays of different varieties of tulips creatively displayed in different ways each year, however as a result attracting large crowds.

The Tulip Festival Period

The Keukenhof Gardens are open for a 60-day period each year, a period otherwise known as the Tulip Festival. During this time, and for the full duration of this time, the tulips can be seen in bloom inside the Gardens due to the way they are planted, maintained and displayed. Whilst the exact dates for the Tulip Festival change each year, it generally runs from mid-March until mid-May. Check the dates on line at Tulip Festival Amsterdam before you plan your visit.

Annual Flower Parade

During the Tulip Festival, there are other notable events, like the annual Flower Parade, with gorgeous flower-covered floats which travel from the Netherlands coast and pass through towns (and the Keukenhof Gardens) on the way to Haarlem. Details can be found on the Tulip Festival Amsterdam website.

Tulip fields in bloom

If, however, you would prefer to see tulip fields in bloom, rather than displays of tulips within a formal garden setting, then you will need to explore the tulip fields outside the Keukenhof Gardens. This can be done independently by bicycle or on a guided bike tour.

Where can I hire bikes to cycle around the tulip fields?

You can hire bikes from Rent-a-bike van Dam Keukenhof which is situated in front of the Keukenhof Gardens, on the edge of the car park. They have lots of orange bikes (pedal or eBikes) for hire and give guidance on the best routes to take, issuing a map with coloured routes of varying lengths, so you can plan how long you cycle for (in theory at least). We hired our bikes for 1-3 hours which gave us time for exploring, stopping to take lots of photographs and getting lost a couple of times!

Other ways to visit the tulip fields

Alternatively, if cycling is not your thing, there are other options available to tour the tulip fields, for example, tours in Smart cars, by boat or even by helicopter – the Tulip Festival Amsterdam website gives lots of ideas for tours but try and book early as they are very popular and likely to sell out.

Visit a Tulip Farm

As well as seeing tulips sitting pretty in brightly coloured rows in the fields, you can also tour Tulip Farm de Tulperij, a tulip farm, visit the Tulip Experience Amsterdam or The Tulip Barn. These are easily explored as your cycle around the area outside the Keukenhof Gardens.

How do I get to the Keukenhof Gardens?

The Keukenhof Express Bus

The easiest way to get to the Keukenhof Gardens is by taking the Keukenhof Express, a bus which goes directly to the Keukenhof Gardens from either Schipol Airport (#858 bus) or from the Damrak in the centre of Amsterdam (#852).

We bought tickets on-line for the Keukenhof Express and jumped on the bus at Schipol Airport as soon as we arrived in the Netherlands – we just followed the ‘Buses’ signs to exit the airport and then picked up the signs for the Keukenhof Express once outside the airport terminal.

The Keukenhof Express buses arrive at and depart from the left-hand side of the Keukenhof Gardens. If you are visiting the Gardens then it is obvious where to go – just follow the crowds!

When is the best time to catch the tulips in full bloom?

April is generally the best month to see the tulips in the Netherlands, with peak bloom time usually running from mid-April to the beginning of May. However, please note that this is in a ‘normal year’ when the weather has been kind to the bulbs – blooming may be delayed if it has been a cold winter/spring, or may be early if it has been a particularly warm winter/spring.

When nature keeps you on your toes

A couple of years ago we visited in the middle of April, hoping to cycle through fields of blooming tulips, but, after a particularly cold and wet Spring, the tulips were late flowering and therefore we left disappointed. The second time we left it later and visited towards the end of April, but had the opposite problem as the peak bloom time had happened two weeks early – most (but not all) of the tulips had bloomed and gone!

However, because of our trial and error, I now have some good tips to increase your chances of enjoying an explosion of colour and joy from tulips in full bloom:

1. Use the Flower Forecast

Before you book your trip, because of the impact of the weather, it is useful to have insider knowledge about the progress of the tulips in that particular year. I would therefore advise looking at the Flower Forecast on the Tulip Festival Amsterdam website, following them on social media and signing up to their newsletter for bloom updates. I only wish I had discovered this website before our recent visit as it is so useful.

2. Be flexible about when you visit

If you can be flexible about when you travel, this will increase your chances of arriving at the right time, particularly if you use the Flower Forecast to inform your travel dates. This is an example of when planning too far in advance might not actually be that helpful!

What happens if I miss the tulips?

The area around the Keukenhof Gardens is very pretty, perfect for getting outdoors and enjoying some fresh air. If the tulips are not in full bloom when you visit, there are likely to be plenty of other flowers in the Bollenstreek (flower region) to enjoy. For example, in the year when we were too early for the tulips, we enjoyed fields of bright yellow daffodils and purple hyacinths so all was not lost. I particularly enjoyed the novelty of cycling a long way without encountering any hills but whilst working up an appetite for more Stroopwaffles.

Are the Keukenhof Gardens worth visiting?

Whilst the Keukenhof Gardens themselves are often high on most visitors lists, our experience of the Keukenhof Gardens was that they were too busy to fully enjoy the tulip experience. Whilst they had some stunning displays, and it was great to see so many different varieties and colours of tulips in one place, the sheer number of people meant that you were shuffling along the pathways and struggling to get a clear view of the displays at times. Maybe we hit the gardens at the wrong time of day, but it was bad enough to prevent me wanting to return.

Final thoughts on chasing the tulips in bloom

We enjoyed simply exploring the area on bikes, trying to follow the map and enjoying discovering a burst of colour in a tulip field when you find one. Combining a general cycle with the Tulip Barn or one of the other Tulip experiences in the fields should give you the tulip joy that you are hoping for.

However you decide to take on the ‘tulip challenge’, this is a great day out and can easily be incorporated into a short stay in Amsterdam.

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