[Practical Guide] Tulip Festival in Amsterdam 2025 (Netherlands): Keukenhof & Access to the Fields

That’s it, the famous park Keukenhof has opened its doors: from March 20 to May 11, 2025, the whole world comes to admire millions of tulips, of all varieties and all colors near Amsterdam. How to make the most of it? We have just spent a few wonderful days in Lisse and Amsterdam, and here are our best tips.

Accommodation

It’s better to choose accommodation around Amsterdam

During tulip season, accommodations are sky-high. But Dutch public transport is plentiful, and shuttle buses are set up to make your travel easier. So instead of staying in the center of Amsterdam at a premium (count €200/night), you can choose the following cities and opt for hotels around €100/night. I know it’s still expensive, but these are high-season rates.

1. Near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (20 min by train from Amsterdam city center and where a shuttle to Keukenhof departs): we recommend the Intercity Hotel (Booking link)
2. Near Leiden Centraal (with several trains to the airport/Amsterdam (32 minutes) and a shuttle to Keukenhof): we recommend ibis Leiden (Booking link), right opposite the station and the bus that goes to Keukenhof
3. Near Lisse (bus + train to Amsterdam, and just next to Keukenhof): Boutique Suites Lisse (Booking link)
4. Near Den Haag Centraal (The Hague): with several trains to the airport/Amsterdam (48 minutes) and Leiden Centraal (12 minutes). From Leiden Centraal, you can take a bus to Keukenhof. We really liked our hotel ibis Styles The Hague (Booking link), a 15-minute walk from the station, and 3 min from a tram. The Hague is a very pleasant city, and I really liked its restaurants
5. In Haarlem (with several trains to the airport/Amsterdam (35 minutes) and a shuttle to Keukenhof): we recommend Het Hart hotel (Booking link).
6. If you insist on being in Amsterdam itself, note that we stayed at the Tribe Amsterdam hotel (Booking link), only 10 minutes from the city center by metro. On weekdays, rates are more affordable (avoid the weekend)

Transport

from France: take either the plane or Flixbus because the train has become too expensive.

From Schiphol Airport: Schiphol Airport is well served by public transport. From the airport, you can take the NS train to the cities I mentioned (Leiden, Den Haag, Haarlem). Before arriving in the Netherlands, install the NSapp, which will save you €1.5 per ticket (the physical ticket costs €1.5 just for the printing, it’s better to buy through the app). If you have a French mobile plan, you can use internet in the Netherlands without extra charges. Free Wi-Fi is plentiful, especially at the airport.

The tram : There is a ticket machine at the level of the second carriage at the front. For The Hague, I found the fares quite high (about €4 per trip and €8 for a day pass) and the machine only sells day passes or 2-hour tickets. So if you can walk, walk! 😀

Bicycle: The Netherlands is designed for cycling! There are even well-protected bike lanes, running parallel to the highway. So you can easily rent bikes to visit the tulip fields. One of the best deals is to rent a bike from Keukenhof. You have hundreds of tulip fields within a 2km radius.

Car rental: you can opt for the MyWheels service, the equivalent of Autolib in France. You rent a car via the app and can open it via your smartphone. You pay by the hour and per kilometer. For a day trip from The Hague, we paid about €60. We used the car from mywheels.nl (JB shows you how here), however for foreigners, payment is now only possible with a Revolut account (a Dutch neobank). This account can be opened in minutes, you can benefit from my referral here. Then, you can close your account very easily.

How to get to Keukenhof by public transport

There are buses that go to the park Keukenhof from:

1. Amsterdam RAI
2. Schiphol Airport
3. Leiden Centraal
4. Harleem Centraal

These buses are very easy to spot: just exit the station and look for signs with tulip photos. Normally, there’s always a crowd waiting for the bus.

I recommend buying the bus ticket (and park entry) in advance. You can’t buy the bus ticket from the driver, so you might as well buy it comfortably at home (between €31 and €36/person BUS + PARK ENTRY included, official website). Note that there are specific times when you purchase it, but in reality, you can board the first bus that comes, it just has to be the right day. For the return trip, you can board any bus, there’s no schedule. When you board, just show the QR code, and that’s it!

Please note that seating is limited, and buses run approximately every 20 to 30 minutes. If you absolutely must have a seat, tell the controller and they’ll let you board first on the next bus.

Keukenhof: practical info

• Once you arrive at Keukenhof, just show your QR code again to get through the gate. There’s a park map at the entrance, in the small baskets. It’ll help you navigate.
• There are stands selling sandwiches, burgers, waffles, coffee, etc. inside the park, but they’re overpriced (€3 for a bottle of water, €8 for a not-so-big burger). You can bring your own food and have a picnic on site. It’s really nice, especially surrounded by thousands of tulips.

Here are a few points of interest:

1. Tulpomania : a small building that traces the history of tulips. For those who don’t speak English, plan to download the Google Translate app on your phone
2. Oranje Nassau : you’d think you’re at a florist’s. There are all sorts of flowers, but I didn’t find this building very pretty.
3. Willem-Alexander : this is my favorite, there are a multitude of tulip varieties, with signs indicating their names. You see many very rare and beautiful tulips that aren’t planted outside.
4. The Mill : you can go up to the first floor and have a view over the tulip fields stretching as far as the eye can see.
5. Beatrix : I really like this building too, where you can view thousands of orchids, in different varieties and colors.
6. See photo: You absolutely must find this magnificent spot where you feel like you’re standing on a carpet of flowers.

How to visit the tulip fields?

Within 2 kilometers of Keukenhof, there are thousands of tulip fields as far as the eye can see. Three options are available to you:

1. You can rent bikes from Lisse and/or from Keukenhof
2. You can take the train and explore the fields right next to the station.
3. You can rent a car by the hour like we did.
4. You can book guided field tours (GetYourGuide link from €42).

There are two types of fields:

• fields very close to the road, where you can access respectfully (i.e., don’t touch the flowers, don’t walk between the rows, stay away from the tulips). These fields are very impressive; there are two that I particularly like – here are their Google Maps coordinates. The first has limited parking for cars (Google Maps), the second has plenty of spaces along the road (Google Maps). Be aware, I don’t guarantee the results; you might find empty fields, it depends a lot on luck.

How to get there? Rent a bike from Keukenhof (8 minutes by bike) or rent a car.

There are fields right near the train station Hillegom for those who aren’t motorized or on a bike. Around the station, within a 10-minute walk max, there are plenty of tulip fields. Take a close look on Google Maps, and switch to satellite view.

How to get there? Simply by train! Then on foot

• paid fields where you can walk among the flowers and take as many photos as you like. There are three spots I’ve tried:
  • Tulip Experience : €9.5/person (book via this link) and you’ll also leave with 5 tulips from the nurseries. This field holds about 1 million tulips of over 500 varieties, with an emphasis on education, meaning you’ll learn a lot about the tulip industry through the signs and exhibits
    • How to get to Tulip Experience? Rent a bike from Keukenhof (8 minutes by bike) or rent a car
  • Tulip Barn : it’s a mix of real tulip fields and decorative props for Instagram photos. There’s no information about the tulips, but there are twice as many tulips, and accessible hyacinth fields that smell absolutely amazing. It costs €7.5/person
    • How to get to Tulip Barn? Rent a bike from Keukenhof (11 minutes by bike) or rent a car
  • A small field where you can pick your own tulips (Google Maps coordinates), and you pay 20 cents per tulip. It’s a spot I stumbled upon by chance; it’s not even on Google Maps. There are also daffodils to pick if you’re up for it. There’s less variety, but it’s fun to choose your own tulips; it’s one of my best experiences there.
    • How to get there? Rent a bike from Keukenhof (18 minutes by bike) or rent a car

Tulip Amsterdam

Tulip Barn

Pick-your-own field

Tulip fields: What to know

Farmers plant all sorts of tulips, and each variety has specific blooming dates. You’ll have the best chance of seeing the most varieties by coming in late April/early May.

When I visited the fields, I was really surprised to see fully open flowers. Who would want flowers like that at the florist? I did some research, and here’s the answer:

• The fields you see are meant to produce tulip bulbs, which are sold for more than the flowers and exported worldwide.
• When the flower is fully open, farmers can tell which ones are diseased, and they can remove them and keep only the healthy ones.
• A machine comes through to cut off the flowers’ heads—yes, just the heads 🙁 they don’t even collect them; they just fall onto the field like that
• The stems and leaves stay, and all the nutrients now go to feeding the bulbs. From the main bulb will sprout 2-3 small bulbs
• At the end, the farmer collects the bulbs, sorts them by size, and sells them, making more profit than selling flowers
• The cut flowers sold at florists are grown in nurseries and shipped worldwide while still closed. That way, they’ll be pretty when they reach you, instead of wilted

I know, I was a bit disappointed to learn that, but it’s why we get to admire such vibrant colors. It would be sadder to see a field of closed tulips, wouldn’t it?

Daffodil and hyacinth fields

You’ll also see plenty of other daffodil and hyacinth fields. Daffodils come in several varieties, but they always alternate between white and orange, while hyacinths not only smell fantastic but also come in many colors. These flowers are very fragile, so even if you pay to enter the fields, no one will let you walk between the rows. They’re meant to be admired, not touched.

Flower parade

We attended the flower parade on April 22, 2023. You can watch for free from the sidewalk or pay for a seat (which we did), but unfortunately the quality leaves much to be desired—don’t plan your trip around the parade.

Enjoy your trip, and I hope you see as many varieties as possible and get great weather, like we did!

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Planning a trip to the Netherlands? Our partner Get Your Guide offers entry tickets and guided tours with French-speaking guides at very reasonable rates. Click here to see what they offer and book online.