Tulip Tour Review: How To See the Tulips in Amsterdam

Amsterdam may be most famous for its charming canals, legal weed, and Red Light District, but there was something else that I didn’t expect during my first visit: Tulips are a huge part of Amsterdam and the Netherlands’ culture. Despite the fact that I had visited during October in the past, tulips in Amsterdam were everywhere — from the Tulip Museum, to the “floating flower market,” to the magnets in every souvenir shop.

When we moved to Alicante, Spain, in January, I decided I wanted to take the opportunity to see the real tulips in Amsterdam, during tulip season! We booked our flights with Transavia Airlines and anxiously awaited our trip to the Netherlands. So here’s everything you need to know about seeing the tulips in Amsterdam and booking your very own Amsterdam tulip tour.

When Do Tulips Bloom in Amsterdam/When are Tulips in Season?

The tulips in Amsterdam typically bloom from late March to mid-May. The peak time is typically somewhere in mid-April, when most flowers will be at their very best.

Of course, while it’s possible to make predictions, it’s impossible to know how things will actually play out. We booked our tulip tour for April 19, which should have been when tulips were at their peak bloom, but our tour guide said the flowers had other plans this year: they bloomed two weeks early throughout the whole country, and many fields had already been razed.

Luckily, we still were able to see three amazing tulip fields! Just keep in mind that things may not work out exactly how you planned. 😉

Where To See Tulips in Amsterdam

There are many different places to see tulips in Amsterdam — though most of them aren’t really *in* Amsterdam. Amsterdam is really just the starting point for most tulip tours.

One of the most famous places to see tulips near Amsterdam is called Keukenhof, which is a botanical garden about 40 minutes away from Amsterdam. (In fact, it’s pretty close to Haarlem, where we stayed on this trip.) Keukenhof is famous because it’s one of the biggest gardens in the world, with more than 7 million tulip bulbs!

However, with how famous it is, it can get quite busy. And it’s definitely not the only place you can see tulips in Amsterdam! Most of Holland, which consists of the Dutch provinces of North-Holland and South-Holland, is full of tulip fields planted by independent tulip farmers.

Booking Your Amsterdam Tulip Tour

If you search “tulips in amsterdam” or “tulip tour amsterdam,” a lot of results are going to come up, but make sure you pay attention to the fine print. Because this is such a popular activity, you’ll want to make sure you choose an Amsterdam tulip excursion that fits what you want to get out of your day!

For example, if you don’t mind the crowds, going to Keukenhof could be the best option for you. If you’re not a fan of crowds and prefer a more private experience, consider going on your tulip excursion with Tulip Tours Holland, like we did. Book with Tulip Tours Holland on Viator or GetYourGuide.

One reason I love booking with Viator is their Viator Rewards Program. Basically, each time you book with Viator, you’ll earn cash rewards after your experience to use toward your next Viator experience! The best part? You can use them to save actual money on future bookings. I’m really happy we chose to book with Viator for our Amsterdam tulip tour!

Why We Chose Tulip Tours Holland

Lots of reading and lots of research led me to choose Tulip Tours Holland for our Amsterdam tulip experience. There were a few main reasons for this.

• What Was Included: I’ll explain more about what the day included later, but there were a few things that Tulip Tours Holland offered that other companies weren’t. Instead of just giving round-trip transportation to the tulip fields, they also provided lunch and tickets to a windmill museum.
• Private Experience: The older I get, the less I like to be around crowds of people 😅 I’m definitely much happier in a smaller group, so when I saw that Tulip Tours Holland provided a semi-private experience at individual tulip farmers’ tulip fields, it felt like it was more my speed. In fact, on their page they stated this: “While most tulip-viewing tours from Amsterdam take participants to the flower-growing fields around Lisse in South Holland, this tour takes you to a less-frequented tulip bulb farm in North Holland.”
• Reviews: Many of the companies that popped up had good reviews, but reading the reviews about Tulip Tours Holland made me feel like we were going to get a more personal experience. So I decided to go with it!

What Our Day Looked Like: Best Tulip Tour Amsterdam

Before I dive in to the details about what our day looked like, I need to mention something important: We learned from our guide, Roel, that every experience with Tulip Tours Holland looks a little bit different! They don’t always go to the same tulip fields every day. In fact, they scope out different tulip fields throughout North Holland and contact the farmers to ask whether they can add them to their list of fields they visit.

So when you have your own tulip tour with Tulip Tours Holland, you will very likely have a different experience than we did. Which is fun and keeps it exciting! Here’s a general timeline of our day, but I’m sure you’ll be in for some surprises, too. 🙂

8:45am Meetup with Coffee & Snacks

We booked a 9 a.m. excursion, but the tour information stated that we should meet at Buiksloterweg 30 in Amsterdam at 8:45 a.m. In order to get there, you’ll likely need to take the F3 ferry from Amsterdam Centraal Station. The ferry is free and runs every few minutes. (Citymapper will help you with your transport around Amsterdam.)

While the address was stated to be Buiksloterweg 30, we found that Tulip Tours Holland’s building didn’t really align with the address on the map. You’re looking for the building above! It has two red tulips flanking the front door and a chalkboard that says “Tulip Tours Holland.”

When we got inside, we checked in and had the opportunity to grab coffee, tea, and windmill cookies while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

9:00am Departure from Amsterdam

At 9 a.m., we all headed to the charter bus that would take us out to the tulip fields. The bus was really nice — in fact, I think we were its first passengers! — and it had a bathroom on board.

As we rode, our guide Roel told us about Holland’s tulip farms and the practice of tulip farming. And before we reached the first tulip field, he brought each person 3 sets of shoe covers. I think I’ve forgotten to mention until now that it was a super wet and rainy day. 🙃

9:50am Arrival at the first tulip field in Lutjebroek

When we arrived at the first tulip field, we put on our shoe covers and made our way off the bus into the field. We spent about 15 minutes there, walking through the aisles of pink tulips and taking photos. It was super slick and muddy, and one person slipped on the mud and fell. The shoe covers did help against the mud, but not so much against the water. Luckily, I was wearing my Vessi waterproof sneakers, which ended up being a huge blessing that day. 😂

But the tulips were so pretty! It was kind of crazy to just be out on a farm, where I would be used to seeing wheat or something (that’s the Midwesterner in me), but instead it was tulips!

10:30am Arrival at the second tulip field in Wijdenes

At the second field, we got to see even more tulips with even more colors! I think the white ones were my favorites from the entire day. They really just stood out against the gray sky, and they seemed to be so densely planted, which was really impressive.

While, at the first field, we were welcome to walk between the rows of flowers, that wasn’t the case at the second field. Roel told us that the farmer preferred for visitors to stay on the edge of the flowers, which was perfectly fine. It really made me think about the good relationship between Tulip Tours Holland and different tulip farmers.

11:10am Arrival at the third tulip field in Venhuizen

When we arrived at the last tulip field, the sky was just absolutely dumping rain on us. We were able to take shelter for a few minutes in a little barn near the field — it turns out that this particular tulip field was owned by a family member of one of Tulip Tours Hollands’ guides.

After the rain let up, we checked out the last field, which was the largest, with more colors than we had seen all day! We all took turns taking photos for each other frolicking (very tentatively) in the muddy rows between the flowers. Finally, it was time to say goodbye to the flowers and start the second half of our day.

11:50am Lunch in Onderdijk

When we were booking our tulips in Amsterdam experience, one of the major selling points about Tulip Tours Holland was the fact that lunch was included. We went to a tiny town called Onderdijk, on the IJsselmeer Lake, where we had lunch at a traditional Dutch restaurant.

Our group got our very own sandwich buffet with a variety of breads, meats, and cheeses. There was also mustard soup, which sounds a little weird, but trust me — it was delicious. Especially on a cold, rainy day! And there were a few sweet treats too, including hagelslag, or Dutch toast with sprinkles on it.

All of what I mentioned was included — along with water, juice, and a strawberry smoothie drink — but if you wanted coffee, tea, or something from the bar, you could order/pay for that separately.

1:15pm Schermerhorn Windmill & Museum Visit

The last stop on our excursion with Tulip Tours Holland was the Schermerhorn Windmill & Museum. Windmills are a traditional Dutch icon, but do you know why? With most of the country lying below sea level, windmills were an essential part of draining the wetlands for agriculture and settlements.

There were originally 52 windmills used to drain the Schermer Lake, and the famous three windmills of the Schermer Mill Complex are located near Schermerhorn. And inside one of these is the museum.

At the museum, we got to warm up for a bit as we learned about the history of windmills in the Netherlands and how they worked. We watched a video and Roel continued to provide commentary as we made our way through the museum. Matt loves learning about how things work, so he was very enthralled with learning about windmill technology. 🙂

3:15pm arrival back in Amsterdam

After about an hour or so at the museum, we hopped back on the bus for the last time to head back to Amsterdam. We probably got to the Tulip Tours Holland building around 3 p.m. Then, we boarded the free ferry back across the Amstel River to Amsterdam Centraal Station, where we continued on with our day visiting some Amsterdam museums.

Is an Amsterdam Tulip Tour Worth It?

If you want to see tulips in Amsterdam and learn about tulip farming and the history of tulips in the Netherlands, a tulip tour would be a great choice for you! With how important they are to the Dutch culture, I thought it was a great way to make the most of our April visit. So if you ever visit Amsterdam in April, late March, or early May, definitely consider a tulip tour.

A couple of other things to note: First, these tours can sell out fast. (Just like most things in Amsterdam.) Be sure to book as far in advance as you can.

Second, with that in mind, there’s no way to predict if you’ll have favorable weather. I was disappointed when I saw that it was going to rain the entire week we were in the Netherlands, with the worst day weather being the day of our tour. While it was a little unfortunate, there’s really nothing you can do, so just try your best to enjoy it however it looks!

And third: You will definitely enjoy it more if you aren’t too focused on trying to get that “perfect” Instagram photo. If you have great weather, you might be stressed about getting the perfect shot to the point that you aren’t even living in the moment. If you have terrible weather, you might feel upset and like the whole experience wasn’t even worth it.

So my best advice, no matter what happens, is to try to be present, get a few good shots, and then just smile and enjoy it — you’re in a field of tulips! 😍

 

Have you ever gone on an Amsterdam tulip tour, or would you give it a try? What questions do you have about tulips in Amsterdam? Leave me a comment — I’d love to hear from you!

-Cathy

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