I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure a garden could live up to the hype. But when I walked into the pavilion and saw tulips I didn’t know existed, fringed petals, near-black blooms, colours that looked engineered, I got it. Keukenhof is the world’s largest flower garden: seven million tulips, eight weeks each spring, then it closes for another year.
Keukenhof Tulip Gardens 2026
Dates – Confirmed
Dates: 19th March to 10th May 2026.
Opening times: 8am to 7pm daily.
Plan Your Trip
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Get Tickets
There are two main ticket options: one for visitors from Amsterdam and another for those who just want the entry ticket.
Get the Entry Ticket with Shuttle Bus from Amsterdam.
or
Buy an Entry Only Ticket and make your own way there.
- Tickets are only available online.
- You can’t purchase cash tickets at the gate.
- They are valid on a fixed date and start time.
- Once inside, you can stay as long as you like.
- You don’t need to print out your ticket; just show it on your phone when you arrive.
- Tickets can be cancelled before your time slot for a full refund.
Convenient Hotels
Keukenhof is located in the small town of Lisse, Netherlands. There are plenty of places to stay, but the better hotels book out early.
I recommend staying at the Boutique Suites Lisse as it’s within walking distance of Keukenhof.
However, most visitors prefer to visit Keukenhof on a day trip from Amsterdam, and in that case, I recommend the Sir Albert Hotel due to its excellent location and helpful staff.
You might also consider staying in the nearby town of Leiden, which has more hotel options than Lisse. Leiden is a 20-minute drive from Keukenhof and less than an hour by train. Hotel Steenhof is a highly-rated option there.
Read my full guide to the best hotels near Keukenhof Gardens.
Best Time to Visit
Best time to visit Keukenhof Gardens: Mid-April to early May.
Quietest time of day: Before 10am or after 4pm.
The flowers you see at Keukenhof vary from week to week. During my visit in early April, the tulips were starting to bloom in the outdoor gardens, while inside the pavilion, thousands were already in full bloom. I feel like the outdoor displays would be more impressive a couple of weeks later. This is why I recommend visiting in mid-April.
Some of the best and most interesting tulips are in the indoor pavilions. The pavilions are where you’ll see almost every tulip colour and type imaginable, which are in flower for the entire festival. They’re always experimenting with new colours and types of tulips. You’ll find singles and doubles in the most amazing colours.
My Experience
Amsterdam Tulip Festival
It had always been a dream of mine to visit Amsterdam to see the tulips, and the festival didn’t disappoint. While walking around the gardens, you’ll see expansive flower beds of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and many other flowering bulbs. Special tulips and orchards are located in the indoor pavilion.
If you love tulips, flowers, or gardening in general, you’ll likely love the Amsterdam Tulip Festival.
Include your visit as part Netherlands road trip.
My favourite was probably this blue and pink fringed tulip. It’s such a special tulip. It’s very cool to see something like that in person. The black (or near black) tulips are unique and unusual too. Each year at the tulip festival in the Netherlands, new varieties of tulips are on display, so you can visit multiple years and see different tulips each time.
Beyond the Tulips: Hyacinths
If you visit the gardens in April, you’ll also see many different colours of sweet-scented hyacinths, an underrated flowering bulb, in my opinion. I love them, even the cute little grape hyacinths I’d never seen close up.
The pavilion has flower beds filled with pink, white, blue, yellow, and mauve hyacinths and different pot varieties. This changes constantly, so expect to see new and heirloom flowers. These are good plants to buy at Keukenhof as they are easy to grow in pots and perfect for a desk or windowsill.
Indoor Pavilion: Orchids Exhibition
I was surprised to find an indoor area for orchids, something I hadn’t expected before I went. I have never seen such a huge variety of orchids before. If only I could grow these myself. I tried once, but they never flowered again after the initial bloom. Don’t miss this section of the flower festival; they are located in one of the larger pavilions separate from the indoor tulips.
You can buy some tulip bulbs to try to grow at home if you like. You can get them directly at the festival in Lisse or the floating garden centres on the canals in Amsterdam.
Travel tip: Make sure your country allows you to bring home plants before buying tulip bulbs.
Travel Tips
Tulips Bike Tour
For a classic Dutch experience, you can cycle around the tulip fields in Lisse. This is a fun way to see the colourful tulip fields and take photos away from the crowds at Keukenhof.
Keukenhof bike tour: Book this 3-hour guided tour.
You can rent a bike at the Keukenhof bike rental station or take a tour with a local guide. The guided tour is a nice way to go, as you’ll hear about the history and culture of tulips in the Netherlands and how Keukenhof came to be.
Electric Car Tour
If you’re not feeling up to riding a bike or mobility is an issue, a unique way to see the tulip fields is by driving yourself around in a mini electric vehicle.
Drive yourself tour: Book your electric buggy online before you go.
The vehicle is actually more like a golf buggy than a car, and you can hire one to drive yourself around the tulip fields in an eco-friendly way. Don’t worry if you’re not confident driving in a foreign country; this is a self-guided tour on a set trail. You follow the road through the Keukenhof forest and around the tulip fields. You can stop and take photos as often as you like.
Note: You must have your driver’s license for at least three years to drive these buggies.
No matter when you visit, there will always be 1000s of bulbs flowering throughout the gardens. If you can’t be in the Netherlands during the Keukenhof festival, National Tulip Day is held in Amsterdam each January. This is the start of Amsterdam’s tulip season, and there’s a temporary tulip garden in Dam Square where you can pick a tulip for free.
Find the best time to visit the Netherlands.
The Tulip Fields
Don’t forget that there are massive fields of tulips around Keukenhof’s botanical garden. These are almost better than the festival itself, and it’s not unusual to see tourists stopped by the side of the road trying to get photos, often just for Instagram. Try to visit for sunrise or sunset for the best photos.
Travel tip: Sunrise and sunset times in Lisse in spring this year.
It can be a pain to get up for sunrise, but it’s worth it. You’ll need to allow plenty of time to scope out a location, which is another reason to stay in Lisse. Staying in Leiden is also a good option for this reason.
Getting to Keukenhof
Keukenhof is in Lisse, about 40km southwest of Amsterdam. There’s no direct train, so most visitors take the bus or join a tour.
From Amsterdam: The easiest option is the direct shuttle bus from Amsterdam Centraal or Europaplein, which is included in the entry ticket with shuttle bus I linked above. It takes around 40 minutes and drops you at the entrance.
By public transport: Take a train to Leiden Centraal or Schiphol Airport, then catch bus 854 (the Keukenhof Express) to the gardens. Buses run every 15 minutes during the festival. You can plan your journey at 9292.nl.
By car: There’s parking at Keukenhof (around €15), but the roads get clogged on weekends. If you’re driving, go early or on a weekday.
Official Website
For more information on Keukenhof, visit the official site.
Sustainability
- Stay in hotels that are energy-efficient and use renewable energy sources.
- Minimise food waste by only purchasing what you can eat and taking leftovers with you to eat later. You can use leftovers for a picnic in one of Amsterdam’s beautiful parks or on the road near the tulip fields.
- Limit consumerism by only purchasing necessary items and supporting local businesses. For example, if you want to buy some tulip bulbs to take home, buy them from a small local supplier rather than a major supermarket.
- Consider adopting a sustainable diet with locally grown, seasonal produce and plant-based proteins. This is very easy to do in Amsterdam, where many cafes and restaurants provide sustainable foods at a reasonable price.
- Be careful and respectful when visiting the tulip fields to avoid damaging flowers. Please don’t pick the tulips. These are grown using considerable resources and contribute to local livelihoods.
- Use sustainable modes of transportation, such as trains, buses, and bikes, instead of flying or driving. I recommend taking the train or bus to Keukenhof and biking around when you’re there, if you’re able.
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Recommendations are independently chosen based on personal travel experiences and extensive research.