Can anyone tell me about Keukenhaf. I have the hours and dates for spring of 2018 but wonder about how long do you spend there. I know that always depend on personal interest but just a ballpark amount of time.

So I found a bit of information and it it looks like we will need at least a half of a day.

It's not that big but there can be lines to get into hothouses - the marquee attractions - I spent justa few hours there and saw it all BUT walking around the flower fields outside the gardens is neat too.

I'd avoid weekends too as on a Sunday when I went it was super crowded - locals visit on weekends.

you will need at least ½ a day to see Keukenhof [note spelling] because it's far too wonderful to spend less than that amount of time there. We have been twice, once with our kids and again with my DM, and both times we all loved it. The colours and they way they are out together are spectacular and you'll need time in the hothouses too.

And yes there may be some queues.

I would not schedule anything else for that day.

Nearby Leiden however would be a natural pairing with Keukenhof for the other 1/2 day. especially if going to Keukenhof by train - you go to Leiden and pick up shuttle buses to the gardens from Leiden station. OP is driving so may want to drive thru the tulip fields in the vicinity of the gardens.

Haarlem would be another nice pairing by car or train.

tell me a bit about Leiden. also, i am terrible with abbreviations, what does OP stand for.

OP- Original Post -person who started the thread - you.

Leiden is a beautiful canal laced university town. John Quincy Adams was a student there. Take a canal boat rour to get an overview of this small city(100,00.) We spwnt a week there in August and will return. It is where the Pilgrims lived for ten years after they fled England and before they sailed to North America.
We spent a half a day at Keukenhof seceral years ago in late April, an incredible sight.

If interested in seeing tons of cut flowers check out the Aalsmeer Flower Auction near Schiphol Airport: easy to reach by car or bus from Amsterdam or other places.

https://www.google.com/search?q=aals...w=1920&bih=949

https://www.royalfloraholland.com/en...flower-auction

thanks for clarification on OP, now just hope it will stay in my memory bank...brain
great photos of flower auction

If driving to Keukenhof I'd suggest taking the back roads north towards Haarlem as they go right thru the heart of the flower fields. Just need to drive a few miles or even as I said above walk from the gardens to tiptoe thru the tulips (not allowed of course).

Is it better to go on a tour or by some sort of public transportation?

Depends - all-inclusive tours from Amsterdam make it so easy but you are stuck on the tour's schedule - and it may also include other sights like driving thru miles of folwer fields, maybe Zaanse Schans or Kinderdijk for windmills, etc.

But very easy to go on your own - train to Leiden - about an hour or even less from Amsterdam then shuttle buses from station to the gardens.

Just a note about tulips "in the wild", so to speak. First of all, the period when they bloom is hard to predict: all depends on the weather. We've had a few very cold weather periods, so tulips might be late, but if the weather suddenly warms up, they'll flower more quickly.

Secondly: IF there are tulips in the field, they'll be there for a week or two, then the growers will decapitate the plants, to conserve the plant's strength. They're not grown for the flowers, but for the bulbs. So, your window of opportunity is small.

There's a website called Tulips in Holland that will answer all your questions. It's been a very cold winter here in Europe, so I would expect the tulips to be late this year.

menachem don't the Keukenhof somehow have some tulips blooming during the whole blooming time it's open - think I read that - still though seeing fields for miles of tulips around the Keukenhof in real farms is mesmerizing - be sure to walk outside the gardens and tiptoe not into but by the fields. There was an elevation view point inside gardens when I was there to see the adjacent fields.

At least a half day. No need for an organized tour - you can wander the gardens, and most all the beds are labeled.

Yes, Keukenhof has, because they manipulate them into blooming on tome. But NOT THE FIELDS. You keep going on about tiptoeing through the tulips on one's way to Keukenhof. But I say there's a pretty slim chance of that. A day can already make a difference in what's out on the fields.

The best way to see tulip fields imo is on the train ride from Leiden to Haarlem.

I'd say bus from Haarlem to Leiden is just as good or better for seeing tulip fields than the faster trains.