13 Things You Need to Know Before Visiting the Netherlands to See the Tulips

If you’re thinking of visiting the Netherlands to see the tulips, this guide is for you! We just got back from an amazing trip to see the tulips with our kids, and I highly recommend it. Check out our 2-day itinerary if you’re visiting as a family.

The flower fields are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. There was SO MUCH COLOR! And we saw so many unique and beautiful varieties of tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths that I had no idea even existed.

This post compiles all the things I learned from my hours of research about seeing tulips in Holland. I’m putting it all in one place to hopefully help make your planning easier.

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13 Tips for seeing the tulips in Holland

1. Holland is an area of the Netherlands, not an alternate name for the Country

First things first: What is Holland, and what is the Netherlands? You’ll hear these two words used interchangeably, but that’s not totally correct.

Holland is an AREA of the country called the Netherlands. There are two Holland provinces, North Holland and South Holland. Lisse, the largest area of tulips in the Netherlands, is located in South Holland.

So yes, you can say you are going to Holland or the Netherlands to see the tulips, and both are correct.

2. The flowers in the Netherlands are only in bloom for about 6 weeks a year

The flowers in the Netherlands bloom for about 6 weeks per year from the end of March to early May. When you think of seeing the flowers, tulips are usually the first thing that come to mind.

However, there are loads of other beautiful varieties as well, such as daffodils and hyacinths.

Keukenhof Gardens has a great flower report page that talks about the blooming timeframe of the different flowers, and they even post up-to-date photos for you to see what the current year’s bloom looks like.

Here is a general overview of the blooming calendar:

• Early Spring (March to early April): Crocuses, Anemones, Muscari, early Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths
• Mid Spring (early April to mid-April): Daffodils, mid-season Tulips, Fritillaria Imperialis, Muscari, Hyacinths
• Late Spring (mid-April to early May): Long-stem Tulips, Irises, Alliums, long-stem Daffodils

Something that can be tricky about planning a trip to see the tulips in peak bloom is that the blooming changes year by year based on the weather (obviously, we are talking about nature after all).

If it’s a cold, long winter, the peak bloom will be later. Conversely, if it’s a short winter with a quick warm spring, the peak bloom will be earlier.

However, peak bloom will usually fall about mid-April.

We visited from April 17-21 and lucked out to see the fields and Keukenhof Gardens in peak bloom. It was amazing. However, we have friends who visited on the same days but the year prior, and many of the blossoms of the flower fields had already been harvested because there was an earlier peak bloom.

Generally, I’d say visiting from mid-April rather than the end of March will improve your chances of seeing the peak bloom.

3. The weather in the Netherlands in Spring can vary greatly

Spring in the Netherlands (and Northern Europe in general) is an absolute gamble. You could be in for grey, cold, drizzly days in the 50°s F, or you could be in for gorgeous sunny days hitting 70°F.

We visited the third week of April and needed a jacket or sweater in the morning, but could take it off by the afternoon. We felt very fortunate.

I suggest coming equipped with layers, whether you are visiting at the end of March or early May. I’ve lived in Northern Europe for 6+ years and know to never trust the weather in spring.

My favorite way to research the weather is to use AccuWeather.com. Input your desired location in the location bar and then in the top bar select ‘monthly’ (you may have to scroll to the right to find the monthly tab).

This pulls up a monthly calendar where you can see the average high and low temperatures for each day of the month for the upcoming year.

However, my favorite feature on Accuweather is the ability to view the actual highs and lows of the previous year.

In the dropdown menu, I selected the month in question of the previous year instead of the current year. Looking at the past year’s actual temps and the current year’s expected temps can give you a pretty good comprehensive view of what the weather might be during your trip.

Keep in mind that a sunny 60° F in the Netherlands seems to feel much warmer than a sunny 60° F in the US. But you keep some cloud cover and a breeze, and it can feel much cooler.

4. Temper your expectations in case the bloom happens earlier or later than you expect

If you’re traveling from the US to see the tulips, I’d suggest having additional stops on your itinerary that you’re just as excited for. It would be such a bummer to have a big European trip planned based solely on seeing the flowers in peak bloom, and then the blooming period being off.

In general, sources say that mid-April has the best chances for peak bloom. However, that can always change a bit each year.

5. You are not allowed to walk through the flowers unless invited to do so

This seems like a hard one for people to comprehend, but you are not allowed to walk through the tulip fields unless specifically invited to do so. Any photos of us in the flower fields that you see in this post are from a super cute family-run field we biked past, offering photo opportunities for just €5 per family.

We saw SO many people breaking this rule by walking through the fields. It’s become such a problem that the Netherlands Board of Tourism has a campaign complete with signage and barriers they put around some fields. Even with this, you could see where people had moved the barriers and entered anyway.

Even if a field doesn’t have specific signs asking you not to enter, that is not considered an invitation to enter. There must be a sign or person giving you permission to enter the field in order for it to be ok.

Remember, these are working fields and people’s livelihoods we are talking about. There are multiple experiences that offer photo opportunities in the tulip fields that I talk more about in the next point.

6. There are multiple ‘tulip experiences’ where you can pay to take pictures in a tulip field

• Keukenhof Gardens: The largest and most famous of the tulip experiences. Beautiful gardens filled with over 7 million spring-flowering bulbs. A must-do if visiting Holland to see the tulips.
• De Tulperij: A more low-key, family-run tulip experience. We stayed down the road from De Tulperij, and it was beautiful. It seemed to be less busy than other flower experiences we saw because it’s located in the opposite direction from Keukenhof Gardens than the others. This guided biking experience takes you to De Tulperij and amongst the fields!

• The Tulip Barn: Flower fields for photo taking, food and drinks, and a small kids play area. We stopped here for a food and play stop.
• The Tulip Experience: Flower fields for photo taking, indoor picking garden, museum, plus food and drinks. We would have stopped here but we were in the groove with biking and continued on. This day trip from Amsterdam includes a stop at The Tulip Experience.
• Fam Flower Farm: Local farm with limited visiting days per season. For €45 per person your visit includes photo taking in the flower fields, coffee, tea, stroopwaffles and a bunch of tulips. 

7. The Tulip Fields and Most Tulip experiences are about 45 minutes from central Amsterdam

You probably have heard people say they are going to Amsterdam to see the tulips but that’s not exactly accurate.

During the spring, Amsterdam will have pots of tulips around the city; however, to see the flower fields and gardens, you need to travel to Lisse, which is about a 45-minute drive from central Amsterdam.

But while in Amsterdam, you may want to swing by The Tulip Museum if you have time!

8. Lisse is not the only area to see tulips in the Netherlands

Although Lisse is the largest area of tulips in the Netherlands, it is not the ONLY area. Another area with gorgeous tulip fields is Noordoostpolder. This is a much less-frequented area than Lisse so you may be able to avoid some crowds by visiting here.

We haven’t been to Noordoostpolder, but it’s about 1 hour and 15 minutes northeast of Lisse by car. If you do visit Noordoostpolder, I’d still recommend visiting the Lisse area as well.

9. It’s very easy to take a day trip from Amsterdam to see the Tulips

The tulips are obviously a huge tourist attraction in the Netherlands, and because of that, there are plenty of easy ways to see them without a car.

If you want to visit Keukenhof Gardens, you can purchase a combination ticket that includes transportation on a luxury coach from Amsterdam and entrance to Keukenhof Gardens.

If you don’t have an interest in Keukenhof and just want to experience the flower fields, this day trip to the flower fields from Amsterdam is a great option. You get picked up in Amsterdam, driven to the flower fields, get to visit De Tulperij for photo opportunities, and even get to taste traditional Dutch apple pie.

If we had had more time, I would have loved to see more Dutch windmills. A great way to do that is to book this day trip from Amsterdam that takes you on a windmill cruise plus to Keukenhof Gardens. Seems like a pretty perfect experience to tack onto your day at Keukenhof Gardens.

This private day trip from Amsterdam is the best of all the worlds as it includes Keukenhof Gardens, windmills, photo taking at The Tulip Experiences AND Dutch cheese. I really don’t know if it gets much better than that.

If you want to research more day trip options, I recommend checking out Viator and Get Your Guide. They are my favorite sites for booking tours/experiences. You can see photos and reviews from other travelers, which I always find helpful.

10. You may want more than one day to see the flowers in Holland

It’s very common to take a day trip from Amsterdam to see the tulips. However, we spent 3 nights in Lisse on a quiet country road and we loved it.

It was nice to have a full day for Keukenhof and a full day of biking past the fields. Plus, we were able to enjoy relaxed walks in the evening past the tulip fields with the crowds gone.

We stayed in this Airbnb right in the middle of the flower fields and loved it.

11. Biking past the Tulip Fields in Holland may be the Highlight of your Trip

My favorite thing we did in Holland was biking through the tulip fields. I had pretty high expectations for our bike ride, and they were very much exceeded.

Since we happened to be there during the peak bloom, there were fields on fields on fields of blossoming flowers. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

We biked a 9-mile (15 km) loop with blossoming tulip, daffodil, and hyacinth fields one after another. I thought it would be like biking for 10 minutes, see a field, then bike for another 10 minutes to see another field. It wasn’t like that at all- there were so many fields.

Once we reached the area of the fields, we were seeing them around every curve and multiple on the straightaways. It was amazing.

We rented our bikes from Rent-a-Bike Van Dam (Keukenhof location) and it couldn’t have been easier. You don’t have to reserve in advance, although during busy periods such as Easter, it’s recommended. It’s also recommended if you want to rent a specialty item such as a cargo bike or a tandem bike.

Since we were booking a cargo bike and a bike with a baby seat, we booked in advance. It was showing that one of the options wasn’t available online, but they responded promptly to a WhatsApp message and quickly sorted it.

For a traditional bike, you can book 3 hours for only €11 or 24 hours for only €16 (such a steal).

You can also book a guided, 2.5-hour bike tour that passes beautiful fields and takes you to visit De Tulperij to take photos and pick flowers. We stayed near De Tulperij and can confirm this is a beautiful area.

12. Seeing the Tulips in Holland can be Super fun for kids

We visited Holland with our three kids (ages 6, 3, and 8 months) and had a great time. We previously spent some time in Amsterdam with our kids, so we didn’t go there again this trip.

Rather, we spent two days and three nights enjoying the tulips, then headed to one of the most popular theme parks in Europe, Efteling, for a day.

Our kids loved seeing the flowers, doing a scavenger hunt in Keukenhof Gardens, and biking past the tulip fields.

Check out our 2-day itinerary to see the tulips here.

13. Staying outside of Central Amsterdam can be less expensive

Chances are, if you’re visiting the Netherlands to see the flowers, you’ll also be swinging by Amsterdam, and accommodations in Amsterdam can be pricey (to say the least).

It’s very common to take a day trip from Amsterdam to see the flowers; however, accommodations can be much less expensive if you want to stay closer to the flowers.

We stayed in this amazing Airbnb, and it was one of the best decisions of our trip. The price was half or more of what we would have paid in the city (it was only $150 per night for a two-bedroom apartment)!

But the best part is that we were situated in a home smack dab in the middle of the flower fields. Even the shower had views of flowers!

Right out the front door are stunning fields, and just a two-minute walk down the quiet, country road is De Tulperij, a gorgeous garden with smaller, family-run vibes.

If you’re going to be visiting Amsterdam with kids (along with the flowers) check out my list of things to do in Amsterdam with kids.

Those are my top tips for seeing tulips in the Netherlands! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below and I’ll be sure to get back to you!

Check out these other posts, I know you’ll love them:

• Our Perfect 2 Day Itinerary To See Tulips Fields in The Netherlands with Kids
• 22 Things To Do With Kids in Amsterdam + Where To Stay

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