Best time to see tulip fields in the Netherlands?
 

I haven't yet written my London travel report or put my photo album together and I'm already planning my next trip. To be honest, I had already started making plans in my head before I even left.

Anyway, I'm planning on starting off in Amsterdam, going through Belgium, the Normandy coast and finishing in Paris.

Tulip is my favorite flower and I would love to see fields and fields of tulips. I'm assuming that Spring time is the best, would the end of May still be good?

The end of May would probably be too late. The best time would be late April to mid May, and probably the best place is Keukenhof. Check out their web site for open hours next year. The best place to stay would probably be Haarlem. The annual Bloemen Curso parade usually takes place on the last Saturday in April, and ends in Haarlem. It's a mini mini rose bowl parade, but very well done.

I am afraid it would be too late at the end of May.

Once I travled around beginning of May,the flowers were beheaded in most fields. You could see piles of flower heads by roadsides. Once at the beginning of April, about half of fields were flowering, but most were hyacinths. Perhaps it would be a safe bet in the middle of April. However, it really depends on the weather.

lyb,
Last week of march to last week of may.
Be aware, hotels and hostels can fill up this time of year, like in the New England area when the leaves are turning.

Check out:

www.keukenhof.nl


Groetjes,
Craig

PS -- There is a heliport in Den Helder, about 45 minutes north of Amsterdam. Not sure if you can do it, but I've seen the Tulip fields fom the air via helicopter and it is quite a sight; row on row of vibrant color, crossing back and forth along the countryside.

If you type Keukenhof into the search box you will find many, many other threads answering this same question, along with information on how to get there and what to expect. I am also planning a trip in a year or two and I concluded that the very best time is the last two weeks in April. But as stated, it will also be the most crowded so you will want to make hotel reservations early.

Thank you everyone for your responses. Unfortunately, it seems like I'm going to have to see the tulips field another time, unfortunately, the earliest I can go is the end of May. Oh, well, I guess that means I will have to return a second time. :)

If you are anywhere near the Canadian border, Ottawa has a tulip festival that is considered second only to the displays at Keukenhof. It generally starts in early May and lasts two or three weeks.

Queen Juliana spent a part of World War II in Ottawa and even gave birth there to one of her children. (The hospital room was designated an extraterritorial part of the Netherlands for the occasion.)

After her return to the Netherlands, she sent millions and millions of tulip bulbs to Ottawa as an expression of thanks.