It may seem early to think about tulips in October. It isn’t. Spring is the busiest season in the Netherlands outside summer, Amsterdam hotels fill quickly in April, and the best-placed rooms go to the people who book first. If you would like to see the bulb fields next year, now is a good time to start.
When the tulips bloom
The flowering season runs in waves. Crocuses and early daffodils come first, in March. Hyacinths follow, and then the tulips, which usually reach their peak from mid to late April. The exact timing depends on the weather: a mild winter brings everything forward, a cold March holds it back. If tulips are the main reason for your trip, aim for the middle two weeks of April and keep a little flexibility.
Keukenhof
Keukenhof, near Lisse, is the best-known garden of spring bulbs in the world. It opens for around eight weeks each year, usually from late March to mid-May, and the dates are announced each autumn. Millions of bulbs are planted by hand, so the displays change through the season and look different on every visit.
A few practical points:
- Book tickets in advance. Entry is by timed or dated ticket, and popular days sell out.
- Arrive early or late. Mornings before ten and the last couple of hours of the day are noticeably quieter.
- Allow time. The gardens are large. Three to four hours is comfortable; a keen gardener could spend a day.
- Weekdays are calmer than weekends, and Easter weekend is especially busy.
The bulb fields
Keukenhof is the showpiece, but the working fields are what many visitors remember. The stretch between Haarlem and Leiden, known as the Bollenstreek, is covered in long stripes of colour at peak season. These are commercial farms, so please stay on the paths and roads rather than walking into the rows. The flowers are cut early to strengthen the bulbs, which is another reason not to leave your visit too late in the season.
By bike
Cycling is the most natural way to see the fields. The roads are flat, the cycle paths are excellent, and bikes can be hired in Lisse, Hillegom and around Keukenhof itself. A gentle loop of 20 to 30 kilometres takes in the best of the area in a morning.
King’s Day
On 27 April the Netherlands celebrates King’s Day, Koningsdag, and Amsterdam turns orange. There are street markets, music on the canals and parties across the city. It is great fun if you want to join in, but it is also one of the busiest days of the year for hotels and transport. If you would rather a quiet trip, plan around it. (When 27 April falls on a Sunday, the celebration moves to the Saturday before.)
Day trips from Amsterdam
Spring is also a lovely time for the countryside north of the city. Zaanse Schans, with its working windmills and wooden houses, is less than half an hour away. Volendam and Edam, on the old Zuiderzee coast, make a natural pair: one a fishing harbour, the other a small cheese town with a canal-lined centre.
To the south, a day can link Rotterdam’s modern architecture, the royal city of The Hague and Delft, with its blue pottery and canals. Our Keukenhof and Zaanse Schans day tour combines the gardens and the windmills in one trip, and we also run day tours to Volendam and Edam and to Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague.
Adding Belgium and France
The Netherlands sits at the start of one of Europe’s easiest rail routes. High-speed trains run from Amsterdam to Brussels in around two hours, with Bruges and Ghent a short hop further, and on to Paris. A spring week could be three nights in Amsterdam, two in Bruges and two in Paris, with the trains doing all the work. Our Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris rail tour follows exactly that line.
What to pack
Dutch spring weather changes quickly. Bring layers, a light waterproof and comfortable shoes. Mornings in the fields can be cool and breezy even when the afternoons are warm.
If you would like help putting a spring trip together, see our Netherlands tours or tell us what you have in mind, and we will suggest dates, hotels and day trips that fit.
