7 tips for your visit to Keukenhof

There are several bus lines that go straight to Keukenhof. From Schipol Airport, the Keukenhof Express (Buses 858 and 854). From Harlem, the Bus 50 and from Katwijk, Noordwijk and Noordwijkerhout, the bus 90. The best option is to book a Combi-Ticket, which includes the bus (or even the train ticket) and the entrance fee to the park.

Bringing your car or mobile home is also possible, but parking is not free (6€).

According to the official website, the prices are:

• Adult ticket €17.00
• Children (4 – 17 years) €8.00
• Groups (from 20 persons) €14.75

If you are planning to go by bus, the Combi Ticket is your best choice. Buy your tickets online to skip the line.

It depends on the weather during the previous seasons, but usually mid-April to the beginning of May are the weeks when more tulips are blossoming at the same time. A curious thing is that there are 15 kinds of tulips and each of them with several cultivars.

Avoid the weekends and Holidays. Skip the yearly Flower Parade, unless you really want to see it. If so, don’t forget to check the traffic restrictions.

Early/birds for sure will enjoy a less crowded visit. But it is also more relaxed in the afternoon. I would not spend more than 4 hours unless you are a true flower-lover. I would recommend you to combine it with another activity, as discovering the beautiful Delft or a walk through the dunes.

If the tulips haven’t bloomed yet or if it is rainy outside, there are several buildings which host different indoor exhibits. Free maps are available at the entrance (or online). If you like macro and/or flower photography, you will definitely enjoy the orchid greenhouse.

There are people dressed in Dutch national costumes and dancing traditional tunes, and free samples of “haring” and cheese. You can reach the top of a windmill and have a view of the tulip fields, paid a boat ride to sail through the canal or rent a bike. It is as Dutch as it can be.

There are six restaurants and one coffee shop inside, plus a picnic area.  If you are traveling with your dog, it is allowed to enter, always with the lease. There are also lockers to store luggage at the main entrance and wheelchair rental.

The biggest tulip fields are, in fact, surrounding the park. Just by paying the price of the parking, you can already wander or pedal across the colorful meadow.

Another alternative is to bike the fields of the Bulb belt area, especially the surroundings of Hillegom and Bennebroek, and Sassenheim.

For a depth understanding of the story of tulips, close to Lisse and Keukenhof, you will find the Museum of the Black Tulip. Also, close by, in Aalsmeer, you could see how tulips and other flowers are sold in one of the largest trading centers in the world.