The iconic photos of endless, colorful tulip fields in the Netherlands had me hooked the moment I saw them, and I knew this was something I had to experience in person! If you’re anything like me and have the exact same dream, let me help you plan the perfect weekend trip to Amsterdam to see the tulips.
This itinerary is completely dedicated to tulips. From exploring the world-famous tulip fields to finding hidden gems around Amsterdam, this trip was an unforgettable springtime experience for me, and I hope you find it as memorable as I did. You don’t have to worry about planning logistics and finding the best place to see the tulips; I go over everything for you based on my research for my own trip.
This itinerary will walk you through the best weekend for seeing tulips in Amsterdam in 2025. I’ll share day-by-day plans, up-to-date tips, and practical advice to help you maximize your time.
Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway or using this as a stop in a longer trip, this itinerary will go over how to make the most of your time visiting the tulip fields near Amsterdam.
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Tulips in Amsterdam Itinerary Outline
- 🏨 Where to stay to see the tulips
- 🛶 Day 1: Arrive and explore Amsterdam
- 🌷 Day 2: Visit the tulip fields and Keukenhof Gardens
- 🇳🇱 Day 3: Admire Windmills at Zaanse Schans and head home
- 💡 Tips for visiting the tulips in Amsterdam
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Where to stay to see the tulips
When we followed this itinerary, we decided to stay outside of Amsterdam. Since we had access to a car, we chose to stay in the Dutch countryside – it was a bit cheaper and meant we were a bit closer to the tulip fields. We stayed in a small farmhouse in Warverveen that we found on Airbnb that was super cute!
Alternative: Where to stay in Amsterdam
Amsterdam has always been one of the most difficult cities for me to find affordable accommodations. Each time I’ve visited, the options were either slim, or the prices were too expensive.
Here are some tips I’ll share from personal experience:
📍 No Car? Stay in or near Amsterdam: If you don’t have access to a car, I recommend staying in the city center or nearby. This will make it much easier to use public transportation for the rest of your weekend, especially when visiting the tulip fields and other attractions (more on that below). You’ll want to find a place that has easy access to Amsterdam RAI station or Amsterdam Centraal Station.
⛪️ Where I recommend staying in Amsterdam: On my most recent visit to Amsterdam, we stayed at Bunk and it was one of the coolest places I’ve ever stayed in. Its a hotel and a hostel so they have various room prices, its walking distance to a subway station AND its built inside a reconverted church. Its very artsy and they’ll often have pop ups going on – super cool spot and the food was amazing!
🚗 Looking for a rental car? We always go with rentalcars.com – we’ve been using them for years on all of our European road trips and have found the best deals that way.
⏰ Book Early: Like I’ve experienced first hand, accommodation in Amsterdam can get expensive, especially during tulip season. The earlier you book, the better your chances of finding reasonably priced options!
Whether you choose to stay in the city or in the countryside, plan ahead to find a place that suits your budget and itinerary.
Day 1: Arrive and explore Amsterdam
Morning: Arriving in Amsterdam
No matter how or where you’re coming from, Amsterdam is one of the easiest cities to reach, making it the perfect starting point for your weekend getaway!
To make the most of your weekend, aim to arrive in Amsterdam early in the morning. This will give you almost a full day to explore! While a half-day or even a full day in Amsterdam only gives you a taste of the city, it’s more than enough time to enjoy the highlights.
Here’s how to get to Amsterdam, depending on your mode of transportation:
🚗 Arriving by car: Driving to Amsterdam? This was how we arrived, traveling from Lille in France. We left early on a Saturday morning to maximize our day in the city. Depending on where you’re driving from, I would strongly advise doing the same so you can maximize your day in Amsterdam!
PRO TIP: Avoid parking in the city centre – its expensive and complicated. Park on the outskirts of the city and use public transit!
🚂 Arriving by train: If you’re arriving by train, your journey will most likely end at Amsterdam Centraal Station, conveniently located in the heart of the city. This is a very central spot and the perfect place to start off your day! During another visit to Amsterdam, I booked my train tickets using Omio! I’ve been using the platform for over 4 years for all of my train travels! Its the best platform to find affordable train tickets.
✈️ Arriving by plane: If you’re arriving by plane, you’ll land at Schiphol Airport which is just a short 15-minute train ride from Amsterdam Centraal Station. The train station is just a few minutes’ walk from the arrivals area, making it super straightforward to get into the city quickly.
Afternoon: Sightseeing in Amsterdam
My best advice for anyone exploring Amsterdam is to walk around, wander and get lost. Get yourself next to a canal and just explore. There are countless numbers of canals and bridges that any one of them are more than picturesque!
READ MORE: Amsterdam layover: what to do in one day
Begin your afternoon by heading to one of Amsterdam’s many iconic canals. The Damrak Canal/Harbour is a great starting point and its just down the way from the Centraal Station! Here, you’ll find the famous tall, narrow Dutch buildings making it the perfect photo spot!
Right next to the Damrak is Tony’s Chocolonely Superstore, a must-visit for chocolate lovers. This massive fair-trade chocolate shop is one of my favorite chocolate brands and I always stock up when I’m in Amsterdam. Inside, you can make your own personalized chocolate bar – this is at the top of my bucketlist for my next visit!
From there you can make your way to Ouderkerksplein, a cute square located near the Red Light District. This is another side of Amsterdam that is iconic and if it’s something you’re interested in checking out, it’s just across the canal!
You can wander your way down the canals toward a really tasty place to grab an afternoon snack: Van Wonderen Stroopwafels! Stroopwafels are 2 Dutch thin round waffles that are held together by caramel. They are super tasty and this classy shop offers a bunch of different toppings to try! The lines can get long, but they move quickly, so don’t let that deter you. Grab your stroopwafel, find a nearby canal, and enjoy the view.
Stroopwafel Alternative:
If your visit to Amsterdam takes place Monday, Tuesday, Friday or Saturday, I encourage you to visit a local market to try an even more authentic stroopwafle. Don’t get me wrong, the Van Wonderen ones are delicious, but visiting a market is fun, unique experience you won’t want to miss.
The Albert Cuyp Market runs every day except on Sundays and here you can visit Rudi’s Original Stroopwafels. This little food truck serves freshly baked stroopwafels, made the authentic way. Definitely worth giving them a try!
Where to see the tulips in Amsterdam
Did you know you can start your tulip adventure right in the heart of Amsterdam? While the tulip fields are the main highlight of any tulip-themed trip (we’ll dive into that tomorrow), there’s a spot in the city where you can get your first taste: the Bloemenmarkt.
Visit the Floating Flower Market
The Bloemenmarkt, Amsterdam’s iconic floating flower market, is a must-see for any trip to Amsterdam. Located along the Singel Canal, this market is unique because it actually sits on floating barges.
While it’s quite touristy, the Bloemenmarkt is covered with vibrant flowers, including tulips. It’s a fun place to wander, take in the colors and scents, and even pick up some tulip bulbs to bring a piece of the Netherlands home with you.
PRO TIP: if you want to buy tulip bulbs, check the regulations for your home country. Bringing bulbs into other EU countries is fine, but, bringing them overseas has special requirements.
If you have extra time in Amsterdam…
Amsterdam has so much to offer, and one day is never enough to see it all! If you have the flexibility to add an extra day or a few hours to your itinerary, here are some top activities to check out:
Anne Frank House
One of Amsterdam’s most visited attractions – its really worth it in my opinion but can be complicated to get tickets.
💰 It costs 16 euros per person to visit
⏰ You need at least 1 hour in the museum
📆 Tickets can ONLY be booked online with a time slot and they sell out quickly. I HIGHLY recommend booking well in advance. I tried visiting this museum on 2 separate occasions and both times I could not go because tickets were sold out – I only managed to go on my third visit to Amsterdam and I booked them first thing!
Rembrandt Museum
Rembrandt is one of the Netherlands’ most famous painters – this museum and gallery is where you’ll learn more about his life and artistic career.
💰 It costs 19.50 euros to visit
⏰ A visit tends to take between 1-1.5 hours
📆 You can book your tickets online here!
Heineken Experience
This factory tour takes you through the history and brewing process of one of the world’s most famous beers.
💰 There are a few different tour options but the basic ticket which is a self-guided tour costs 23 euros
⏰ Visitors take around 1.5 hours to visit
📆 Tickets can be booked online for different time slots!
Day 2: Visit the tulip fields and Keukenhof Gardens
Today is the day! This was the day we’ve all been waiting for! Today is dedicated to experiencing the colorful flowers in bloom and witnessing the magic firsthand! The coastal regions of the Netherlands have the best-growing conditions for these flowers so you’re most likely able to find the fields quite easily in this region.
The BEST and easiest place to visit tulips near Amsterdam is Lisse.
Keukenhof Gardens: Visitors Guide
These gardens are an absolute must-see and are ONLY OPEN during tulip season. In 2025, Keukenhof will be open from March 20th until May 11th. With 800 different types of tulips spread across massive grounds, this is the quintessential way to experience the tulips in Amsterdam. It was, without a doubt, one of my most memorable travel days!
PRO TIP: Tulip season is March to May but April is peak season. I’d avoid visiting in May – friends of mine went in May and said all of the tulips were harvested.
💰 Entry Tickets: Entry tickets cost around 20.50 euros per adult plus 9 euros for parking. You can buy both your entry ticket and pay for parking here (under “Price Keukenhof Gardens”). We booked our tickets in advance and had a timed entry.
⏰ How long to spend here: We spent the entire day at the park. We arrived around 11 am, rented bikes at 12 pm (read more below), and stayed until around 7 pm.
🚨 IMPORTANT UPDATE: since 2023, you cannot exit and re-enter the park!!! This means if you plan on doing a tour of the fields or renting bikes, you should plan your itinerary so you either start or end your day with your excursion.
🌷 No car? Take a tour for a stress-free experience. There are plenty of tours that offer round trip transportation from Amsterdam to Keukenhof with the entry ticket price included – highly recommend if you don’t have access to a car and are looking for a stress-free experience!
🍟 Food Options: We ate our lunch and dinner inside the park. The food trucks were fantastic, and the fries were outstanding—seriously, don’t miss them! However, you are allowed to bring your own picnic lunch instead if you’d like!
🚌 Looking for public transit instead? There is a Keukenhof Express Bus that runs from the Amsterdam RAI station. You can purchase combination tickets that include your shuttle and entrance fee (costs roughly 30-35 euros). The Tulip Festival Amsterdam website has a tonne of useful information (under “How to travel to Keukenhof ?”)! You do have to book a time slot for your bus tickets! So book your tickets in advance!
Renting bikes to see the tulip fields
Of course, you can always drive, or take a personal tour but I personally thought that renting a bike was the most magical way to experience the tulips in Amsterdam! Biking allows you to get up close to the fields, breathe in the fresh countryside air, and soak in the beauty of this iconic landscape.
🗺️ Biking Routes: There are 4 different loops you can take, ranging from 5 km to 25 km in length. When you arrive, ask the rental staff for advice on which route has the most blooms. Some fields may be harvested throughout the season, and they’ll give you the most up-to-date advice on where to go to get the best experience possible.
🚲 Bike rental info: We rented with Rent-a-Bike Van Dam conveniently located in the Keukenhof parking lot, right in front of the main entrance. We booked our tickets in advance, so all we had to do is show up, grab our bikes and go!
⏰ Rental options: You can rent your bike for 3 hours or for the full day. We chose to rent it for the full day to avoid feeling rushed ! In the end, we used the bikes for around 4 hours – which still gave us plenty of time to visit the Keukenhof Gardens!
💰Costs: It costs 16 euros per standard bike for the full day! They also offer tandem bikes if you’re feeling adventurous!
PRO TIP: It’s really important to be respectful and mindful of the flowers when you’re out and exploring —don’t damage the blooms and respect the farmers fields.
You can find more information about the different routes, the different tour options and more about renting bikes on the Tulip Festival Amsterdam website!
Day 3: Admire Windmills at Zaanse Schans and head home
For the final morning of our long weekend getaway, we wanted to squeeze in one last dose of Dutch culture before heading back to reality in Lille. It was Easter Monday, and we set out to explore one of the most iconic sights in the Netherlands—windmills!
Morning: Zaanse Schans
This picturesque and traditional area of the Netherlands is located just north of Amsterdam and is easily accessible from the city.
How to get there:
🚗 By car: It’s a roughly 30-minute drive from Amsterdam but the bigger problem was finding parking. The parking lot was full and there weren’t many other choices for parking nearby. We ended up parking by the soccer fields across the street. It took us a while to find a spot as we had to wait for someone to leave.
🚌 By bus: There is a bus (Rnet-bus 391) from Amsterdam Centraal station that takes 40 minutes.
🚂 By train: You can take a 17-minute train from Amsterdam Centraal station to Zaandijk – Zane Schans. There is an additional 15-minute walk from the train station! Find cheap train prices on Omio!
What to do there?
Visiting Zaanse Schans feels like stepping back in time—it’s a living museum of Dutch history! It’s a residential area made up of traditional 18th and 19th-century homes. There are several windmills on the bank of the river but there is so much more to see here than just the windmills!
🌿 Windmills: There are several windmills lining the riverbank, each with its own unique history. Some are open to visitors for an inside look at how they operate.
🧀 Cheese Factory: Learn about traditional cheese-making and sample some delicious local specialities!
👡 Clog Museum: Dive into the history of Dutch wooden shoes and see how they’re made.
🍞 Bakeries & Craft Shops: Taste some local treats or pick up handmade souvenirs.
🚲 Bike Routes: If you didn’t get a chance to bike the day before, now is an excellent opportunity!
🏠 Museums & Workshops: Visit various museums or participate in workshops to experience authentic Dutch crafts and culture.
Visiting Info:
⏰ Time Needed: We spent around 2 hours wandering through the area and visiting shops, but you could easily spend longer if you have time!
💰 Cost: It’s FREE to wander through Zaanse Schans. There are workshops, you can visit inside different mills, and a variety of museums and experiences you might have to pay for.
📜 Plan Ahead: Check out the Zaanse Schans official site for a full list of attractions and activities to make the most of your visit.
Tips for visiting the tulips in Amsterdam
📆 Best time to visit Amsterdam for tulip season: The tulips are typically in bloom from late March to early May, but the best time to visit is mid-April when most flowers are in full bloom. This is when the tulip fields are at their most vibrant and colorful! We visited the second weekend in April and it was PERFECT but friends of mine visited in early May and said all of the tulips were harvested already. So even if you’re visiting within the bloom window, aim for the middle of tulip season to avoid disappointment.
READ MORE: Best time to visit Amsterdam for Tulips: Tulip Season Guide
🌷Amsterdam Tulip Festival Events. Tulip season also coincides with the Amsterdam Tulip Festival which celebrates these iconic blooms with events and activities across the region. There are Flower Parades and tonnes of other local events and activities to allow people to admire the colourful flowers.
🏨 Book accommodations as soon as you can! This is a very popular time to visit the Netherlands so accommodations will fill up quickly! If you have access to a car, I’d advise not staying in Amsterdam but in the countryside, so you are closer to the tulip fields. If you don’t have access to a car, looking for accommodations in Amsterdam is perfectly fine because you will have plenty of tour and bus connections to get you to where you want to go!
✨ My recommendation: Cute farmhouse Airbnb for a countryside stay or Bunk for a stay in Amsterdam.
🚲 Avoid renting bikes in Amsterdam! Although it might be tempting to rent bikes IN Amsterdam, it’s actually recommended not to do that. There are TONNES of cyclists in Amsterdam, and unless you’re a pro and are very comfortable navigating the streets and respecting the bike and road rules, it’s best to avoid renting bikes in the city. BUT, renting bikes in the tulip fields is MUCH better, in my opinion, and will be less dangerous. On that note, having travel medical insurance is never a bad idea. We’ve been using SafetyWing as our go-to affordable insurance plan and have loved the experience. Read more below!
READ MORE: SafetyWing Nomad Insurance: My complete and honest review
Enjoy your weekend in Amsterdam
That’s everything we had time for during our spring visit to the Netherlands, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! The trip felt perfectly well-rounded—we explored the canals of Amsterdam, spent an entire day surrounded by the beauty of the tulip fields, and enjoyed a few hours immersed in traditional Dutch culture at Zaanse Schans.
READ MORE: Best time to visit Amsterdam for Tulips: Tulip Season Guide
I couldn’t have asked for a better visit to the Netherlands, and I hope this itinerary helps you plan your own adventure! Whether your goal is to see the tulips in Amsterdam or enjoy a well-balanced weekend getaway, you now have all the information you need to make your dream trip a reality.
If you’re nervous about missing the tulips or aren’t sure if the flowers will still be in bloom for your visit, the best travel planning resource I can direct you to is the Tulip Festival Amsterdam website. You probably already know since I referenced them a lot in this itinerary but the site is packed with valuable info beyond just the events and activities. They update it seasonally with flower forecasts, maps of the tulip fields and so much more!
Need help with your travel planning? If you don’t have the time, or energy to craft the best trip possible, let me help you take some of the weight off! I’ve helped clients plan trips to London, Paris, Normandy, and Italy and they all agree that having someone help you plan and research makes the process so much smoother! Check out my travel planning services on Thatch, I’d love to help you make the most of your trip!
