How to Visit the Tulip Fields Near Amsterdam (2024) (2024)

Amsterdam has many wonderful attributes, but one of the main reasons I wanted to visit was to experience the tulip season in the Netherlands. If you’re a flower lover like me, you won’t regret visiting the tulip fields near Amsterdam, as this experience truly exceeded my expectations!

You will find tulips blooming around Amsterdam from the end of March to mid-May (depending on the weather), but the giant fields are actually not in Amsterdam. My favorite areas to see huge tulip fields near Amsterdam are located in Lisse and Keukenhof, which are just a little over 30 minutes away.

In this tulip fields travel guide, I will help you find the best flower fields near Amsterdam, walk you through what we did, travel tips I learned, and more!

All the options below can be done as a day trip from Amsterdam, and you can expect to spend half a day exploring. By the time you get back to Amsterdam, you should still have plenty of time to explore the city before the sun goes down.

If this is your first time in Amsterdam, I also suggest checking these Amsterdam travel tips as well as my detailed 3 Days in Amsterdam itinerary.

How to Get to the Tulip Fields in Amsterdam

Below, I will discuss 4 different ways to visit the tulip fields, what my mom and I did, and which way I think is the best to reach these beautiful flower fields.

Tulip Fields By Tour – What We Did

I did a ton of research to find out the best way to visit tulip fields and ended up taking a coach bus tour. I am not one to usually take tours, but this was more so just booking transportation. We got the Go City Pass, which includes transportation and skip-the-line tickets to Keukenhof Gardens.

Once you have your pass, you just have to book your time slot for the tour. We really loved using the Go City Pass because it included so much, but you can also just book transportation on Viator if you don’t want the Go City Pass.

Tulips Travel Tip: I highly recommend booking an early slot because the crowds get very crazy here, plus you want to give yourself enough time to explore.

These coach buses usually leave from Amsterdam Centraal and bring you to the parking lot of Keukenhof Garden – also known as the Garden of Europe.

In fact, it is one of the world’s largest flower gardens! The journey takes around 45-50 minutes, and then buses will do pick-ups and drop-offs throughout the day.

This gives you the opportunity to explore the area and gardens at your leisure and just hop back on the bus when you’re ready to go home.

Tulip Fields By Car

If you flew into Amsterdam, renting a car really doesn’t make sense unless you are planning to do a road trip. If so, renting a car can actually be the best and quickest way to visit the gardens. This will allow you full control of your day and even allow you to visit more tulip farms.

The only downside to driving is that parking lots fill up quickly, but you’ll want a head start anyway.

If you are driving from a nearby country or doing a road trip through Europe, I would highly recommend driving. However, if you’re only in Amsterdam for a couple of days, it really is not worth renting a car since parking is extremely difficult in the city as well.

If you wish to visit the Keukenhof Gardens, you will also need to purchase your tickets directly on their website. Technically, you can show up and buy them, however, I wouldn’t recommend it. This is one of the most crowded, if not the most crowded, gardens I have ever seen.

Tulip Farms by Public Transportation

The Netherlands is known for its excellent public transportation, and it’s true, the Dutch make it very easy to get around. However, getting to the tulip farms from Amsterdam is not that seamless…yet.

This is because you first have to take a train from Amsterdam Centraal to Schiphol Airport and catch the Keukenhof Express bus 858. They offer combo tickets directly from Keukenhof’s official website, but this is probably the most tedious way to get here, and it takes the longest. Furthermore, it costs almost the same as doing a coach tour bus.

A lot of people ask if they can take Uber to the tulip fields near Amsterdam, and you can. But I wouldn’t advise it because it is way more expensive than taking a coach bus and the travel time is not much quicker. An Uber or Bolt ride to the Keukenhof area can cost over €60 one way.

Visiting the Tulip Farms Near Amsterdam

Once you figure out which method of transportation you want to take, next is actually enjoying the tulip fields! You may be surprised to learn that Keukenhof Gardens does not have the large rows of tulips you pictured. Instead, they have organized flower displays, so we only used Keukenhof as a starting point.

The beautiful flower farms you are picturing are around the area of Keukenhof and Lisse. So, no matter what mode of transportation you choose, I highly recommend renting bikes… now because they sell out fast.

We rented our bikes with Rent-A-Bike Van Dam, which is located at the Keukenhof Garden parking lot, and I suggest at least a 3-hour rental. This is because it is the best way to see the tulip farms (unless you have a car). I emailed back and forth with them a bit and they were very responsive if you have any questions.

There are 4 routes, and we did the Blue, Green, and part of the Red. We chose our routes based on the time to complete the route and the fields that were in full bloom, which the kind people at Rent-A-Bike Van Dam helped us figure out! They also provide a map, but the paths are marked well, so you shouldn’t run into issues.

The map they provide also marks other points of interest, including restaurants, museums, and flower picking. You could also join a guided bike tour, but we really enjoyed exploring on our own.

Tulip Farm Tip: PLEASE NOTE, you can NOT WALK through the flower rows, and you can NOT PICK any of the flowers unless otherwise noted. The flowers and tulip bulbs are the farmer’s livelihood. Therefore, I am giving you photo options below!

Where to Take Photos in Tulip Fields

As mentioned above, you can’t actually walk through the rows of flowers unless the farmer states otherwise. These fields are private property, even though you can walk right up to them. Please respect these fields so we can all continue to enjoy them. For taking photos with tulips and other flowers, I have recommendations for you below!

Aside from biking by the tulip farms, we also visited The Tulip Barn. They allow you to go through their flower fields for photos and put up Instagram-worthy decorations. It is also a nice place to grab a bite to eat or coffee.

You can also visit the Tulip Experience Amsterdam. They offer more history about the tulip industry while also being able to go and take photos through their flower fields. We wanted to visit but ran out of time, unfortunately. I have heard nice reviews, however.

Something a little unique and fun you can do is plan a photoshoot with a photographer that already has permission with the farmer. If you’re on a budget, you can stand at the front of some fields to take photos as long as you don’t walk down the rows.

Visiting Keukenhof Gardens

After you have explored all the nearby farms, you will head back to Keukenhof to return your bikes and visit the gardens. In my honest opinion, Keukenhof was overwhelming, so we didn’t spend too much time here. It is definitely beautiful, but the sheer amount of people took away from the experience.

I don’t think you should skip it, especially if you love gardens, but it was my least favorite activity of the day, so take that how ever you want.

Tips for Visiting Tulip Farms Near Amsterdam

Now that you know how to explore the tulip fields around Amsterdam, here are some additional tips to keep in mind.

• Flower blooms are dependent on the weather, but the end of April tends to be the best time to see tulips in full bloom. I visited at the end of April and the tulip fields were beautiful. You can also check this flower forecast map that gets updated with blooms.
• Pack layers since the weather is unpredictable in Spring, and you will be outdoors the entire time. I even packed hand warmers and a folded-up raincoat.
• When you hear the bells ringing, move out of the way. These are bikes coming through, and locals take the bike lane very seriously.
• If you really want photos in the tulip fields, you can hire a photographer who has arrangements with a farm. This is very popular.
• The fields that you are allowed to walk through may be muddy, so don’t wear your favorite shoes.
• Don’t pick any of the flowers unless otherwise stated.
• Most fields also include beautiful Hyacinth blooms.
• Aside from doing a day trip to the flower fields near Keukenhof, you can also participate in the Tulip Festival Noordoostpolder if you’re in the Netherlands during the event. This annual event has a giant flower float parade and celebrations. You can learn more about the tulip festival here.

Tulip Farms Near Amsterdam Wrap-up

This concludes how to reach the tulip farms near Amsterdam. I hope you have the best time visiting the flowers and the rest of Holland! If Amsterdam is just a part of a larger Eurotrip, check out some of my other guides below. During my last trip, we visited Amsterdam, Belgium, and Paris all within 10 days.

If you have any questions or think I missed something, feel free to leave a comment below and I will do my best to help you out!

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