Last updated on June 30th, 2023 at 10:58 am
Seeing the Dutch tulips is a big bucket list item for anyone. And why not? The Netherlands has a multimillion-dollar floral industry built upon it. No kidding! You can even go see the Aalsmeer flower auction in Amsterdam.
Fun FACT: Tulips were introduced to the Dutch in the 16th century by Turkey (they are not native to Holland!). Since then, it has been one of the biggest trading commodities. But the big question is where to see these tulip fields near Amsterdam.
During our 3-days in Amsterdam in spring, we spent a day at the famous tulip garden, Keukenhof Park, located in Lisse. While Keukenhof garden has the largest display of bulbs (including tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, and many more), there are plenty of tulip and daffodil fields around the park that you can visit for free.
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What is the best time to see tulip fields in Holland?
Keukenhof Park is open from March 21st to May 10th in 2020. YOu have to check off this bucket list item if you are visiting Netherlands in spring. The weather plays a big role on how early or late the tulips will bloom. We visited at the end of April and quite a lot of tulip fields were empty i.e. already harvested post peak bloom. So it totally depends from season to season.
The best part about visiting Keukenhof is that it’s one of those easy day trips from the Amsterdam.
How to Get to Keukenhof from Amsterdam?
Keukenhof park is about 35 km south of the city center and 22 km south of Schiphol International Airport. I know many people prefer taking tulips day tours from Amsterdam but I can tell you from experience that it is super convenient to visit the park using public transportation. Read along for more information. We took the train from Amsterdam city center to Schipol airport first and then the Keukenhof Express bus to the park.
By Train
We took the train from Amsterdam city center to Schipol Airport. There are regular buses running to Keukenhof from outside the airport in this season. Alternatively, you could take a train to Leiden Central station and then hop on bus 854 to Keukenhof park. The trains to Leiden run from both Amsterdam or Haarlem Central stations based on which is closest to your accommodation in Amsterdam.
By Bus
From Schiphol Airport, take Keukenhof Express bus 858 that runs every 15 mins during the season that the garden is open. It barely takes half an hour to reach the park from the airport. Getting to the airport from Amsterdam city is fairly easy by local trains. Keukenhof Express bus stop is different than the local city bus stops although they are both right outside the airport. So ask around if you do not see tulip covered buses outside. We bought the combi ticket i.e. Entrance + Bus online at Keukenhof website.
By Car
Depending on where you are driving from, you will take the A4 highway if you are driving from the airport. There is a big parking lot at the park premises and you can pay for parking after getting there or online ahead of time.
Exploring Keukenhof Park
There is nothing like spring in Europe and Holland leads the way with tulips. It’s best to check the weather and tulip forecast before planning your trip to the famous Keukenhof park, the biggest flower garden near Amsterdam. This year, 2019, the park is open from March 21st to May 19th.
TIP: We recommend buying your tickets in advance online to avoid standing in a long ticket queue. In order to have ample time to see the park, as well as the tulip fields around it (more on that below), arrive early in the morning.
Do not underestimate the size of this park, give yourself at least 2-3 hours to see all the floral exhibits outdoors as well as indoors. There have quite a few indoor exhibits at different sections of the park. There are a few places inside the park for a snack and refreshment as well.
Biking along the tulip fields in Lisse
Let’s add a little more adventure to this fun day trip from Amsterdam. After you are done spending your time in the park, you must also check out the tulip fields nearby. A great way to do that is bicycling along the tulip and daffodil fields that is just around the corner from the park.
Bike rentals are conveniently located in the car park behind the main entrance of Keukenhof park. With your bike rental, you’ll get a map of various bike trails along all the colorful floral fields. TIP: If you don’t want to bike then you can take a leisurely walk around these fields for FREE.
They also have bike trails starting all the way from Haarlem heading south to Keukenhof. This trail can take a few hours to get it the park on a bicycle.
If you are still not sick of seeing flowers then read about the best of Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC.
I hope you guys got a chunky spring dosage of fresh flowers reading this! If you enjoyed this post then don’t forget to share the joy of spring with friends and family 🙂
Happy Traveling!
This is so great guide for Tulip garden bookmarking it for future reference
thanks for sharing it, beautiful captures keep sharing
Thank-you so much Mayuri! Cannot help but capture the beauty of flowers 🙂 Loved Holland region in spring time.
I’ve always thought the Dutch tulip fields were so breathtaking! Especially when they have a few colours of tulips planted in parallel rows like a rainbow, just like your featured image. I hope I can visit Keukenhof Park one day during tulip season!
Indeed, I used to love seeing travel magazines with those tulip field photos and I am so glad I was able to make it there for the season. I hope you can go soon too 🙂
Seeing the tulip fields in NL is on my travel to-do list! They look so beautiful..and I never knew they were originally from Turkey, that’s really interesting that it took off like crazy in the NL! I didn’t realize it was that super easy to get to as well..will definitely have to take a trip one spring 🙂
It is such a bucket list thing for sure. Wanna know something else interesting, something I learned recently (from Alina below), that there is a similar tulip garden in Turkey too. Guess what just got added to my bucket list now! 🙂
Thank you for such helpful information. I would love to visit the Tulip fields outside of Amsterdam and so happy I can do it via public transportation. Also good to know how HUgE this place is!!
You will love it Kelly! 🙂 And yes it’s so easily accessible via public transport that I don’t understand the big deal for a tour and shelling more $$
Such gorgeous pictures! I’m visiting Amsterdam this fall. Can’t wait to explore the beautiful countryside
I bet NL will be awesome in fall too 🙂 Perhaps you can go to Zaanse Schans as a day trip from Amsterdam instead of Lisse.
Thank you for the lil guide.I am planning to go on the last week of April , I never been yet and I live in Belgium not so far!
Wow! That’s awesome you can take a weekend trip to NL for tulips in the spring. Have a wonderful time 🙂
I did not know that the fields nearby are not part of the park and have to be visited seperately! And, now I see what you meant when you told me my Emirgan pics looked similar to Keukenhof, I somehow had thought that the large field is what Keukenhof is about, but the park with carpet-like displays us definitely a common theme!
I am so glad you found my blog on Keukenhof because it was hard for me to explain what I meant by the similarities in the two parks. The curated landscaping of the flowers is very much alike. And yes the fields of flowers nearby are totally free to watch and walk around unless you want to rent a bicycle to ride along.
This looks so beautiful! I would love to visit the tulips for so long and I hope I can make it this year.
I hope you can too, you still have time till they close mid-May 🙂 Thanks!