From Amsterdam To Keukenhof – Located in Lisse, Keukenhof is a seasonal garden that is home to millions of Dutch flowers: tulips. Beautifully landscaped, it’s well worth a visit, and just 40km from Amsterdam, it makes an easy day trip from the city. During a recent trip to the Netherlands, my husband and I had a chance to visit Keukenhof, and what follows is an overview of our time spent in the gardens, including how we got there and what we did while we were there.
After a quick breakfast of oatmeal in our hotel room, we left for Keukenhof at 10:15am, later than scheduled. We had booked timed tickets for entry from 11:30 am to 12:00 pm, so we knew we’d have to scramble if we wanted to make our reservation. With this in mind, we opted to take the metro to Central Station instead of walking, which was our original plan. Once at Central, we purchased a roundtrip train ticket to Schiphol Airport from one of the self-service kiosks located near the station entrance.
From Amsterdam To Keukenhof
Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on our side as when we reached the train platform, we discovered that we had missed the train to Schiphol and would have to wait 20 minutes for the next train. This delay meant that by the time we arrived in Schiphol, we only had a little over 30 minutes to get to Keukenhof before we missed our reservation. We had planned to buy tickets at the airport for the 858 bus to Keukenhof, but with very little time, this was no longer an option. So, we begrudgingly took the help of Uber and paid €38 for the 20-minute ride to Keukenhof. We reached the gardens with four minutes to spare.
Amsterdam Tulip Season 2025
If you’re reading this post and planning a trip to Keukenhof, learn from our mistake and give yourself more time to visit the gardens. I would also recommend looking into combi tickets; This includes both admission to Keukenhof and transportation to the gardens via bus.
Upon entering Keukenhof, we were immediately greeted by a colorful display of tulips, and as spectacular as it was, it was a prelude to what was to come. We made our way through several beautiful gardens filled with fountains, statues and artfully arranged flowers before reaching the first visitor centre, the so-called Juliana/Tulpomania building. There, we grabbed some much-needed coffee as well as blueberry muffins to tide us over until lunch.
We spent the next hour exploring one breathtaking garden after another (and taking many indecent photos) as we headed to the Wilhelmina Building for lunch. Being used to the bland nature of visitor centers in the US, I was surprised by how nice it was. It was clean, spacious and had a variety of food options including several vegetarian options. I tried the quinoa salad and found it to be quite good.
Satisfied, we resumed our exploration of the gardens. It started to rain while we were having lunch, but luckily, we had checked the forecast that morning and brought our umbrellas. Under this cover, we kept roaming in the gardens for the next few hours.
Amsterdam Tulips: A Cruiser’s Guide To Experiencing The Blooms
Eventually, the rain stopped, and we had a mid-afternoon snack of hand-cut, Belgian fries from a food truck. As delicious as the fries looked, it didn’t take us long to cook them.
Before leaving Keukenhof we visited several more gardens as well as nearby commercial tulip fields. We also went to one of the gift shops to buy several souvenirs to take home for our families.
Since we weren’t racing against time like we were that morning, we were able to take a bus back to Amsterdam, which saved us some money. Given that we had purchased return tickets from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Centraal earlier that day, we took bus 858 to Schiphol. We arrived in Schiphol about 30 minutes after leaving Keukenhof.
Useful information – The bus stop in Keukenhof is located to the right of the main entrance (exit the main entrance, turn right, and walk until you see queues of people and signs for different buses). If you don’t already have a bus ticket (ie, you haven’t purchased a combi ticket), you can purchase the ticket at the bus stop via QR code, which is what we had to do.
Keukenhof Tulip Gardens & Fields Near Amsterdam
Once in Schiphol, we went inside and headed to the train platform. There, we boarded our train to Central Station, and from Central, we boarded the subway one stop to reach our hotel.
By the time we returned to our hotel, it was 5:00 pm; About seven hours had passed since we left for Tulip sightseeing. Despite the crowds at Keukenhof, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time there and would heartily recommend it to anyone visiting the Netherlands during the spring.
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Experience a convenient journey from Amsterdam to Keukenhof Flower Gardens with round trip transfers. Skip the long lines with your Keukenhof Fast Track ticket and enjoy the views of one of the world’s most famous and largest spring gardens! Relax in the comfortable bus while enjoying impressive views of the Dutch landscapes. Then, using your Fast Track ticket, enter directly into Keukenhof’s Spring Garden and you will be greeted by millions of blooming flowers of tulips, hyacinths, bluebells and many other types. Additionally, you have the option to visit the new exciting Observatory Tower and enjoy the elevator at Adam’s Lookout which takes you up to the 20th floor in just 22 seconds. Enjoy the views on the indoor panoramic deck with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The interactive exhibition gives great information about the history of the canals and much more. Absorb the view of the city from the 360-degree Sky Deck and be sure to take your digital memory photo of the one where you balance above the city without risking your life.
From Amsterdam: Keukenhof And Zaanse Schans Small Group Tour In Amsterdam
Explore Keukenhof Gardens at your own pace without waiting in lines. Capture beautiful photos of a variety of flowers like tulips, daffodils, bluebells and more. Stay as long or as late as you want in Europe’s famous gardens.
You can board any return bus to Amsterdam within operating hours. Buses depart every 30 minutes from 10:00 to 18:30. Magical spring flowers, tulips, are now synonymous with the Netherlands. The stunning tulip display takes place from March to May, making it well worth timing your visit to Keukenhof. With only 40 kilometers separating the two regions, embarking on a day trip from Amsterdam to Keukenhof is an obvious choice, especially during the spring season. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you prepare for your trip from Amsterdam to Keukenhof to see the tulips!
Opening hours: 8 am to 7:30 pm (slots open every 30 minutes) Distance: 40 km (25 mi) Duration: 35 minutes (by car) Best time to visit: April-May Best way to do: Train/shuttle service Estimated budget/peak: €150 per day Highlights: Keukenhof Gardens, Keukenhof Castle, Voonhuis ‘De Luster’, Boerderij Middelburg and Old Zandvliet Farm.
Holland is famous for its large tulip fields, and Lisse is known as one of the top places in Europe to see these colorful fields. The area is home to the Keukenhof Tulip Garden, one of the largest in the world. It is famous for the tulips and other flowers that bloom here every year. Tourists can see a variety of flowers including orchids, roses, carnations and lilies, creating a beautiful landscape full of vibrant colors and captivating aromas. Due to its special beauty this park attracts about one million tourists every year.
Visiting Keukenhof From Amsterdam — Bookish Wayfarer
The tulips are the center of attraction at Keukenhof, but the neighborhood also reflects Dutch history and tradition with older sites. If you like history, you’ll find a lot to enjoy here. There are beautiful palaces and art museums of the 17th century. Every corner of Keukenhof has something interesting to share about its tradition and history.
Keukenhof Park is only open during tulip season in Amsterdam. In 2022, the garden is open from 23 March to 14 May, including Easter (9 April), Kingsday (27 April) and Liberation Day (5 May).
Tulip season in the Netherlands lasts about eight weeks during spring, which is also the time when the Keukenhof Gardens are open to the public.
Mid-April to mid-May – This is the perfect time to visit the Keukenhof Tulip Garden. Spring is in full bloom with sunny days, making it ideal for a stroll among the blooming tulips. The colors come alive in sunlight, creating great photo opportunities.
Visiting Keukenhof Gardens, Holland
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