Keukenhof Gardens 2025 is the home of the Amsterdam Tulip Festival in the Netherlands. It takes place each spring in the small town of Lisse, an hour south of Amsterdam.
This guide to Keukenhof includes dates, opening times, how to get there, how to buy tickets and the best time to visit.
Keukenhof Tulip Gardens 2025
Dates – Confirmed
2025 Dates: 20th March to 11th May 2025.
Opening times: 8am to 7pm daily.
Plan Your Trip
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Get Tickets
There are two main ticket options depending on if you’re visiting from Amsterdam or just want the entry ticket only.
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 in Leiden.
Read my full guide to the best hotels near Keukenhof Gardens.
I suggest booking Keukenhof hotels early if you want to stay in a good location, as the best hotels book up quickly, often months in advance.
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 or flowers or gardening in general, you’ll likely love the Amsterdam Tulip Festival.
The tulip festival and fields is a fun day trip from the Amsterstam or you could include your visit as part of a longer 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.
I’m looking forward to my next visit to Keukenhof.
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 see an indoor area for orchids, something I wasn’t expecting 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. They are incredible and so delicate looking.
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
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.
When booking your trip, reserve enough time to explore the area outside the festival to see the famous tulip fields. Try to visit for sunrise or sunset if you want 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; it’ll give you plenty of time to take photos of the tulip fields. Staying in Leiden is also a good option for this reason.
Recommended Tours
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 hire a bike from the bike rental station at Keukenhof 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.
Your guide will show you all of Keukenhof’s best spots and the most beautiful tulip fields.
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. You are given a GPS, but you can’t get lost; they make it really straightforward.
The tour lasts 90 minutes, and pick-up is in Lisse.
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 year, National Tulip Day takes place on 17th January 2025 from 1pm to 5pm.
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.
If you’re still not sure when to go, this post on the best time to visit the Netherlands might help you decide.
Official Website
For more information on Keukenhof, visit the official site.
That’s it for my review of Keukenhof tulip gardens. It has been a while now since I visited, but it’s a traditional event that doesn’t change that much.
Brand new varieties of tulips are displayed each year, but that’s the biggest change you’ll find from year to year.
I loved my visit and look forward to visiting again in the future.
Responsible Travel Ideas
- 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 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 getting the train or bus to Keukenhof and riding a bike to get around when you’re there if you’re able to.
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Recommendations are independently chosen based on personal travel experiences and extensive research.