Tulips Fields in The Netherlands with Kids: 2 Day Itinerary
We recently returned from a trip to see the tulip fields in the Netherlands, and let me just say that it was amazing. We lucked out to be in Holland during the peak bloom, and the fields were absolutely stunning.
I had decently high expectations (I love myself a good flower field), but my expectations were so exceeded.
Many people opt to see the flowers in the Netherlands on a day trip from Amsterdam, however, we spent two full days enjoying the flowers with our kids, and it was a great choice.
This guide is to help you know how to spend 2 days having a fun, relaxed time seeing the tulip fields in the Netherlands with kids.
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✈️OUR TRIED-AND-TRUE FAVORITES✈️
📸 Tours/Excursions: Viator & Get Your Guide
🚕 Airport Transfers with Car Seats: Welcome Pickups
👉 Travel Strollers: Zoe Traveler & Zoe Double
🍼 Baby Carriers: Tula Carriers, Wildride Hip Carriers
📱 International Data Phone eSIM: Airalo
🚗 Cheap Rental Cars: Economy Bookings
🏠 Accomodations: Booking,Expedia,VRBO,Airbnb
🌎 Travel Insurance: World Nomads
Is seeing the Tulips in Holland family-friendly?
Definitely! Our kids loved riding in the cargo bike past the gorgeous tulip fields, diving into a scavenger hunt at Keukenhof Gardens, and, naturally, our playground stops each day.
There are also other ‘tulip experiences’ such as De Tulperij, which is a gorgeous family-run farm with a picking garden, plus fields for photos and local treats. Or, larger ‘tulip experiences’ such as The Tulip Experience or The Tulip Barn. Or you can book a time at Fam Flower Farm to have stroopwafels and coffee/tea next to the tulip fields and photo opportunities with limited visitors.
We visited or biked past all of these experiences and our kids loved or would have loved or would have loved all of them.
When are the Tulips at Peak Bloom?
The flowering bulbs in the Netherlands are only in bloom for about 6 weeks per year from the last week of March through the first week of May. The peak bloom usually occurs in mid-April.
We visited from April 17-21, which happened to be during peak bloom- it was AMAZING. There were SO many gorgeous fields in bloom and it looked like you couldn’t fit one more flower into Keukenhof Gardens because there were so many blooms.
Conversely, our friends visited Holland the year prior during the same dates and the peak bloom had already happened so a lot of the fields were cut.
If it’s a longer winter, the peak bloom will be later; if it’s an earlier spring, the bloom will be earlier.
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
All of this is to say you will want to visit mid-April for the highest chances of seeing fields in bloom, but temper your expectations in case the weather decides to change things up.
How far are the Tulip Fields from Amsterdam?
The main area of tulip fields in the Netherlands is located in Lisse, about 45 minutes west of central Amsterdam.
If you only want to visit Keukenhof Gardens from Amsterdam, it’s very easy. You can combination Keukenhof entrance tickets with transportation from multiple spots across Amsterdam. Check out those ticket prices here.
If you’re interested in day trips from Amsterdam, I recommend checking out Viator or Get Your Guide (my favorite tour/experience search engines).
Day Trips from Amsterdam to the Tulips :
- Keukenhof Gardens Entrance + Transportation
- Small-Group Bike Tour Through Tulip Fields
- Keukenhof and Zaanse Schans Windmills Guided Day Tour
- PRIVATE Tour Including Tulip Fields, Keukenhof, Windmill & Dutch Cheese
Lisse isn’t the ONLY area of flower fields in Holland. Another area with gorgeous tulip fields is Noordoostpolder, which is about 1 hour northeast of central Amsterdam.
If you want to do more than a day trip from the city to see the tulips, I recommend renting a car. We had a car with us and it was super easy to get to everywhere we wanted to go
How to get pictures in the flower fields
You may think that you can enter any tulip fields you see because you’ve seen SO many photos online of people walking through the tulip fields. However, that’s not the case.
You are not allowed to enter any tulip fields unless invited to do so. The Netherlands have even started an entire educational campaign trying to encourage tourists to stay out of the fields. Even with signs saying ‘do not enter’ and fields being taped off, you’ll still see so many people illegally entering fields (it’s disappointing to see).
Any photos you see in this post of our family in the tulip fields were taken at a beautiful family-run field offering entrance for 5 euros for families that we passed on our bike ride.
Other great places to take photos in tulip fields:
How to Get Around to See the Flowers in the Netherlands
If you want to take more than a day trip from Amsterdam to see the tulips, I recommend renting a car.
We opted to roadtrip down to the Netherlands from our home in Denmark. It was really nice to have the car in Lisse (where the tulip fields are) because things are spread out, and navigating with public transit wouldn’t be easy.
After seeing the tulip fields, we continued our Dutch road trip and visited a beautiful theme park called Efteling, which is a 1.5-hour drive away.
Our Airbnb with Flower Field Views
One of the best decisions we made on this trip to see Dutch tulips was booking this amazing Airbnb. Our Airbnb was down the most perfect country road ride in the middle of tulip fields. There were even tulip field views from the shower!
It was the upstairs apartment of the kindest Dutch Grandma and Grandpa who offered their trampoline, their grandchildren’s toys, plus super fun vehicles to take with us on evening walks.
The Airbnb is just two houses down from De Tulperij, which is perfect if you’re looking to visit without any crowds (and trust me, some of the tulip places get CROWDED).
We found it so nice to stay out in the country in Lisse rather than in Lisse city center or central Amsterdam. It was amazing to have views of tulip fields from our windows and take evening walks amongst the tulips.
Not only was our Airbnb amazing, but it was crazy affordable. You can check it out here.
Day 1: Keukenhof Gardens
Highlights: 7 million Blooming flowers, Scavenger Hunt & Playground
Our first full day in the Netherlands was dedicated to Keukenhof Gardens. Keukenhof Gardens touts itself as the most beautiful spring garden in the world, and I think it might just be!
Keukenhof Gardens are only open for 6 weeks a year from the last week in March through the first week of May (coinciding with the blooming period). The peak blooming period is GENERALLY in mid-April; however, depending on the weather, that can change.
The gardens are home to 7 million (yes, that many) bulbs that flower in spring. They plant the bulbs in layers to extend the blooming period (how genius is that).
We picked up a scavenger hunt paper/pencil from the information center next to the entrance gate and our kids were immediately excited to get exploring.
The scavenger hunt includes many of the main highlights of the gardens, such as the windmill, the playground, the boats, the goats etc. It made it easy to encourage our kids to walk through the park when they were on the lookout for something.
Keukenhof has a great playground with play areas for both younger and older kids. It’s right in the middle of the gardens and next to the food trucks.
Our kids had a great time at the playground and it was the perfect break from walking around the flowers.
There are a lot of food options at Keukenhof with both indoor and outdoor seating, plus stands throughout the park selling strawberries and ice cream.
We opted for a quick lunch from the food trucks next to the playground (as I’m sure many parents do 😅). When we were there there were 3 trucks by the playground selling pasta, fries and drinks with other trucks around the park as well.
We ordered two types of pasta to share and our kids devoured it on the lawn next to the playground.
You’ll find yummy, traditional Dutch treats throughout Keukenhof such as stroopwafels, Dutch apple pie, and mini pancakes.
We picked up warm, fresh stroopwafels from the stand next to the windmill, and they were delicious. You can even get cans of them to take home with you (the perfect souvenir/gift).
The gardens are very stroller-friendly and if you have young ones, I recommend bringing one.
Our 6-year-old even wanted a ride in the stroller towards the end of the day because she had been running around the gardens so much.
You’ll want to book your tickets in advance because they can sell out. When we visited over Easter weekend, the gardens were sold out on at least one of the days.
You can check out tickets here or purchase a combo entrance/transit ticket here.
Day 2: Biking through Tulip Fields
Highlights: Cargo Biking, Gorgeous Tulip fields & fun Playground
By far, my favorite thing about our time in the Netherlands was biking through the tulip fields. I thought we’d be lucky to see a few fields blooming, and I thought it’d be maybe 10 minutes of biking between fields.
Oh, how I was wrong! Since we lucked out to be there during peak bloom, there were fields EVERYWHERE. We’d pass one to come up on another, and many times we were surrounded by blooming fields on all sides.
So many times we were just in awe at how many gorgeous, colorful fields we were surrounded by.
Since most of the tulips are grown for their bulb, they do cut the flowers soon after they have bloomed (we saw some fields that had been cut already). So keep that in mind when you are planning your trip. Aiming for mid-April will be the highest chances of seeing the peak bloom.
Renting bikes to see the fields is SUPER easy. We rented from the Keukenhof location of Rent a Bike Keukenhof, which is located literally in the parking lot of Keukenhof Gardens (which makes parking easy).
Rent a Bike Keukenhof has amazing options for families. Cargo bikes (which are bikes with a box for kids on the front) is very popular in the Netherlands and I highly recommend renting one.
You can fit 2 kids in one cargo bike. If you have a baby/young toddler, they also have bike seats for the back or front of a bike and bike trailers.
We booked a cargo bike for my husband to carry our 6-year-old and 3-year-old, plus a normal bike for me with a baby seat on the front for our 8-month-old. Your baby needs to be able to sit up unassisted to use a bike seat.
They even had a windscreen to keep the wind out of our baby’s face- it was perfect.
I’d recommend the cargo bike over a bike trailer because the kids are able to see the fields so much better and feel more a part of the experience.
Our kids loved cargo biking and enjoyed being along for the ride.
They also have kids’ bikes of varying sizes available if your kids are old enough for that. Keep in mind that we biked the suggested route, which was 15 kilometers/9 miles. So, your kids will need to have some stamina if they want to ride their own bikes.
We took the green bike route, which is 15 km or 9 miles and it was perfect. It’s a designated bike path with directional signs marked in green. It’s basically flat the whole way and my husband was fine with the cargo bike even though it wasn’t electric.
We passed SO many gorgeous tulip fields, charming neighborhoods, and some of the top ‘tulip attractions’ in the area such as The Tulip Barn and The Tulip Experience.
We stopped at The Tulip Barn for some food, and our kids loved playing at the small playground. They probably played for over an hour!
We lucked out and passed a gorgeous tulip field that was offering photo opportunities for just 5 euros per family. We also passed an adorable, small self-pick farm and a couple of other photo ops that aren’t the huge farms like The Tulip Barn and The Tulip Experience.
Remember- you’re not allowed to walk through a tulip field unless invited. Even if you see others walking in the field, it doesn’t mean they are doing the right thing.
All of the photos you see of us in a tulip field were at the super cute family-run field we passed on our bike ride which we paid a few euros to enter.
I’ve circled the areas on the map where we passed some of these cute stops with photo ops etc. They were right along the bike route; There’s no guarantee that the fields we saw will be there when you go since the fields may move each year. However, if you bike the green route, you’re bound to pass something!
We spent probably 6 hours biking the whole route with multiple stops. However, the actual biking time was WAY less than that.
And that’s our tried and true 2-day itinerary to the tulips near Amsterdam as a family! We spent our third day at the biggest theme park in the Netherlands, Efteling. It’s Disneyland-quality and our kids had a blast!
For everything I wish we had known before our trip to see the tulip fields with kids, check out this post.. Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions, I’ll try to get back as soon as I can.
Check out these other posts, I know you’ll love them:
- 13 Things You Need to Know Before Visiting the Netherlands to See the Tulips
- 22 Things to do with kids in Amsterdam + Where to Stay
- The Best Family Hotel in Amsterdam: Van der Valk Amsterdam Amstel
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