Tulip Festival Amsterdam: The Ultimate Guide
Written by Audrey Marie
A flower shop in Haarlem sells an assortment of tulip bouquets.
“Grown in Holland.” “Dutch Grown.” “Product of the Netherlands.”
As a flower enthusiast, chances are you’ve seen a variation of these words before. Stamped on crinkly bags of bulbs. Attached to the cellophane surrounding supermarket flowers. It’s just a sticker: and yet it connects us to another place, calling up images of brilliant colors and never-ending rows of tulips.
What if that connection didn’t have to end with a simple label? Every spring the world’s most famous tulip growing region hosts the Tulip Festival Amsterdam. In this article, I’ll share my own festival experience and provide the ultimate guide to making your tulip-tinged dreams a reality.
Tulip Festival Amsterdam
This is an organization that compiles all tulip-related places and events onto one helpful website. The exact dates vary yearly, but the 2024 festival will take place from March 21st to May 12th. Most of the activities in this article are only available during these dates. The festival encompasses all spring flowering bulbs. If you want to see tulips, they recommend going in April. For exact planning, check out their flower forecast.
Holland or theNetherlands?
Amsterdam, the capital city, is located in the province of North Holland.
You’re wheeling your suitcase through the airport, your boarding pass brightly displayed on your phone. But hold up, where exactly is your destination? Holland? Or the Netherlands? Or is it all just the same thing? If you’re unsure: you’re not alone. The terms are often used interchangeably. Let’s clear up any confusion before we dive head-first into the tulips.
“The Netherlands” refers to the country. A country that’s divided into 12 diverse provinces, two of which are called Noord-Holland, or “North Holland,” and Zuid-Holland, or “South Holland.” You guessed it: the term “Holland” only refers to these two provinces.
This pair of provinces is home to many icons of Dutch culture, from windmills to Delftware. More importantly, Holland is also where our Tulip Festival takes place.
Transportation
Traveling by train is a great way to see the countryside and maybe even tulip fields.
When arriving at Schiphol airport, the first thing you’ll want to know is how to get around. You can, of course, rent a car. However, I love using public transport while traveling. It’s an authentic way to get to know new surroundings. Plus, the Netherlands has a fantastic transport system.
To use metros, trams or buses, you’ll want an OV-chipkaart: a prepaid, reloadable card.
Follow the signs toward the metro till you reach a series of bright yellow and blue machines. Select the option to buy an anonymous card. The card itself costs €7.50, plus the amount of credit you want to upload.
To board any form of transport, simply swipe your card at the machine upon entry and exit; the cost of your trip will be deducted from your balance. To reload your card, head to an OV-chipkaart machine. They’re located at any metro or bus station across the country.
So swipe that blue card, enjoy the rush of accomplishment, and hit the rails like a local. Tulips await.
Other Transport Options
Your transport should be tailored to your needs. Here are some alternative options:
• Tulip Festival Card: This gets you into Keukenhof, we’ll get to that soon, plus unlimited transport in the Amsterdam region for 1 to 3 days, depending on your selected option. You also get a 10% discount on other attractions.
• Amsterdam Region Travel Ticket: This allows you to use the unlimited public transport of the above option, but without entrance to Keukenhof or the discount.
Around Amsterdam
Although festival activities happen throughout Holland, our journey starts in Amsterdam.
Take the time to wander the streets — and canals — of this stunning capital city. Soak in that moment when buying tulips from the Netherlands is replaced by seeing them in the Netherlands. During the festival, large pots with every hue and variety of tulip are posted around Amsterdam. They’re on street corners, along canal bridges, and around lamp posts.
A pot of tulips guards a canal bridge in Amsterdam.
Next on our itinerary is the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. I’ve been to large, famous, and elegant museums. This isn’t any of that. But I can honestly say there’s no museum I’ve loved more in my travels.
The museum is small, but beautifully done. It’s not for everyone; but if you love flowers, their impact on history, and especially tulips, I know you too will fall in love with it.
A collection of six small rooms, the museum guides you through the journey of the tulip, from its origins in Central Asia, to the “Tulip Mania,” to modern-day cultivation.
Also, make sure to check out the darling gift shop on the ground level. You can buy flower bulbs, Christmas ornaments, hand-painted tiles, and many other things. If you’re looking for a quality, tulip-related keepsake from your time in the Netherlands, this shop is one of my top recommendations.
Amsterdam Tips
Entry to the Amsterdam Tulip Museum costs €5.00.
Another place I visited is the Bloemenmarkt, a floating flower market situated along Singel Canal. However, I don’t recommend it. It might have been an authentic flower market in the past, but nowadays it’s a tourist-trap, primarily selling cheap knickknacks, and last year’s bulbs.
Very important: If you’re visiting Holland in the spring, don’t buy tulip bulbs! If you do, they’ll be from last-year’s harvest and have low viability. If you’d like to purchase them, order online in the fall to enjoy fresh, viable bulbs. You can, however, buy fall-blooming bulbs.
Keukenhof: the World’s Most Beautiful Spring Garden
Not shown: the crowd of visitors also visiting Keukenhof. Use creative angles to get flower-only pictures at popular sites!
Do you know the feeling you get when you have a cluster of spring flowers on your kitchen table? The sense of glee those cherry colors and intoxicating scents bring you?
Take that feeling and multiply it by 7 million. That’s how many flowering bulbs were planted at Keukenhof for the 2023 season.
Meaning the “kitchen garden,” Keukenhof is rightfully known as the world’s most beautiful spring garden. If there’s one place you can’t miss during the Tulip Festival, it’s this garden.
The tulip might be the star here, but you’ll find all sorts of flowering bulbs, including daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses.
Keukenhof is in the town of Lisse, in South Holland. Situated in the Bollenstreek, the “bulb region,” it’s surrounded by a beautiful tapestry of blooming fields. Although the country has other bulb regions, this is the most iconic one. On the way to the garden, enjoy your first glimpse of tulip fields.
Keukenhof Tips
Everyone else has the same fantastic idea as you, so buy tickets in advance! They can be purchased starting in mid-October, though I didn’t buy mine until two months out. When purchasing, select the date and entry time of your visit.
The garden can get crowded. Really crowded. It won’t diminish the experience, but that time with just you and the flowers is special. Like most places, the trick is to come early or stay late. Better yet, do both.
I recommend buying the combination Bus + Keukenhof ticket. This gives you transport there and back from several surrounding cities, as well as entry to the garden. The average price is € 31.00.
As you’ll see, the Bollenstreek is the heart of the Tulip Festival. Basing yourself in a town here, such as Lisse, Leiden or Haarlem would be a good idea. Book your accommodation as far in advance as possible!
Bikes and Tulips: Can it Get More Dutch?
Consider renting a bike bag if you plan to carry precious cargo.
Of course, the Netherlands isn’t only the land of tulips. It’s also the land of bikes. Perhaps you’ve already guessed from your harrowing run-ins with them in Amsterdam, but bikes actually outnumber people in this country.
Do you want to join in on the Dutch custom? There’s no better place to combine your love of tulips with a bike ride than the Bollenstreek.
In the parking lot across from Keukenhof, you’ll find a bike rental service. An app is also provided with a map of various routes to see the main tulip attractions in the Bollenstreek.
Out of all the activities I did, this was my favorite. There’s something about getting away from the more curated places and striking out on your own. Just you and your bike.
A peaceful tulip field in Lisse, South Holland.
Biking in this crisp air, the feeling is invigorating. But then you reach your first tulip field. Sherbet-orange. Ballet-pink. Or perhaps sunny-yellow. Whatever the color of tulip, there’re rows upon rows of them.
This time it’s not a picture on Instagram. This time it’s not even flashing past you through the smudged window of a bus. This time it’s real. It’s there. You’re there. No, those aren’t tears in your eyes, it’s just the early morning mist.
Bike Rental Tips
The bike rental service is called Rent-a-Bike Van Dam. It costs €11.00 for three hours, or €16.00 for the day. You don’t have to reserve in advance, but can if you like. Make sure to bring a form of identification with you.
Another great option is to take a guided bike tour. This is perfect if you’d prefer to ride with a group and also learn more about the Bollenstreek as you go.
Use caution while biking; parts of these routes are on bike trails, but most are on country lanes. However, remember Dutch drivers are far more accustomed to bikers than drivers in other countries. Be respectful of them and they’ll do the same.
Enjoy the rest of the spring-blooming gang, such as crocuses.
Field Guidelines
This point is so important, it merits a box all its own! While enjoying the tulip fields, please be a conscientious traveler.
The fields belong to private individuals: these flowers are their livelihoods. Never walk in the flowers or between the rows. This can cause disease or damage to the flowers.
Enjoy the view from outside the field. If you want to get better pictures or walk through a tulip field, don’t worry, we’ll talk about the right way to do that in the next section.
Go Ahead, Pick One!
Beautiful pink tulips — just begging to be picked.
“What’s the purpose of your visit?” The officer asks as you file through Border Control. Her eyes alternate between scanning your face and your passport.
“I’m here to see the tulips.”
Now, that might be what you say — an appropriate answer to gain entry into the Netherlands — but it’s not what you’re thinking. Or at least, not all you’re thinking. What you really want to say is “I’m here to pick the tulips.”
Do you harbor a tulip-picking dream? Well, like I said at the start, this guide is all about making those dreams happen.
The Bollenstreek is home to De Tulperij, a small bulb farm. It’s a bike ride away from Keukenhof, and marked on the provided map. A family business, it’s run by Daan and Anja Jansze. Meaning “The Tulip House,” De Tulperij, offers the chance to get up close and personal to this flower.
There’s a charming cafe and gift shop inside a renovated greenhouse. Take a moment to browse and have a stroopwafel, or “syrup waffle.”
The picturesque interior of De Tulperij’s gift shop.
If you want to learn more about tulip production, I’d highly recommend taking the guided tour. Daan or Anja take visitors to their production fields, explaining the farm’s history, as well as challenges and strategies of modern-day bulb growers.
Afterwards you’re allowed a few minutes to walk through the rows of tulips and take pictures — a rare treat on an operating bulb farm!
Next, wander through the show garden. De Tulperij partners with an excellent bulb vendor, DutchGrown. At the farm there are dozens of plots showcasing DutchGrown’s bulbs.
Each plot contains the flower’s name and QR code, allowing you to easily preorder the very flower bulb you’re seeing and smelling. The cultivars are so beautiful and unique, you won’t know where to start. Good luck narrowing it down.
And finally, as promised, it’s time to fulfill the purpose of your visit. Grab a tin pail, listen to the instructions — even though you’re excited — and begin. There may only be a few rows and hues to choose from, but nothing beats picking your own tulips in Holland.
Flower Farm Tips
Sign up on the De Tulperij website for the guided tour. The cost is €7.95. I showed up 30 minutes before the tour time and signed up that way, though doing it online is probably the safer bet.
For pick-your-own tulips, cost is determined per stem.
DutchGrown bulbs can be ordered from the EU on their website, or from the US and UK from their country specific websites.
Hortus Botanicus: the Tulip’s Dutch Birthplace
This impressive glasshouse overlooks a plot of daffodils at the Hortus Botanicus.
Next, make your way to the vibrant college town of Leiden.
Wander through the levels of the large glasshouse. Step outside to the garden, and back into a different era. You’re at the Hortus Botanicus, or “botanical garden,” at Leiden University. Although not associated with the Tulip Festival, it’s actually the tulip’s Dutch birthplace.
In 1594 Carolus Clusius, a botany professor and the garden’s director, grew the Netherland’s first tulip flowers at the Hortus Botanicus. Bulbs were eventually stolen from this very garden, a portent of the “Tulip Mania” that would soon ricochet through Dutch society.
Now his garden, the Clusius Garden, comprises only a small portion of the Hortus Botanicus. Its academic purpose is clear: each orderly plot contains carefully labeled plants.
Walking through the rest of the garden, you’ll have the rare treat of seeing the same variety of tulip Clusius grew in his garden: a more angular, carefree plant than the modern tulips we’re accustomed to seeing.
Peer through the panes of the garden’s smallest glasshouse, a world in miniature. Bend down to smell the butter-yellow daffodils. Sit on the canal’s edge and watch the sunlight glint lazily off the water as you enjoy the peaceful Hortus Botanicus.
Visiting the Netherland’s Oldest Botanical Garden
Entrance costs € 9.00. You can book tickets online, or buy them in person.
Besides the garden, there’s also a beautiful cafe and a small gift shop, perfect for picking up a plant-themed keepsake.
Be sure to explore the town of Leiden: it has beautiful architecture and a great atmosphere.
Tulips Await
Now you’re ready to plan your own adventure. A journey where you’ll uncover surprises about this plant and its story. One that allows you to drink in the beauty of the tulip and its adopted country. A trip unlike any other, centered around this flower that’s fascinated us throughout history.
People aren’t the only ones attending the Tulip Festival Amsterdam.
Extra Expeditions
The Netherlands is a wealth of sweet surprises — it’d take a lifetime to discover them all. Unfortunately there’s not enough time to do everything. Here’re some bonus activities I was unable to visit:
Bloemencorso Bollenstreek: The “Flower Parade” is the culminating celebration of the tulip season. It’s supposed to be incredible. For the 2024 year, it will be held on April 20th.
Tulip Experience Amsterdam: Should you go to a museum? Walk through a tulip field? Or pick a bouquet? Here, there’s no need to choose.
Tulip Barn: Better have your camera ready, this place is all about that perfect, tulip-surrounded picture. Props are included.
Alasmeer Flower Auction: Want to see the commercial side of the tulip industry? Or perhaps, you just want to watch colorful bouquets wheeled past you. Either way, check it out.
Museum De Zwarte Tulp: Named after the most elusive color in tulip-growing history, the “Black Tulip Museum” is all about the Bollenstreek. Please note that although there are audio guides in English, all written signage is in Dutch.
