Keukenhof (koh-kuhn-hawf) is a very popular tourist destination in The Netherlands. But how do you know when it’s best to go? The Spring gardens are only open for a couple of months, and to make the most of seeing the famous Amsterdam tulips, you need to pick the right time to visit.
Read on below for the best time to visit the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in 2025.
What is Keukenhof Gardens?
Keukenhof, located in Lisse in The Netherlands, is one of the world’s largest flowers gardens. It has a history that dates back to the 15th century, and was originally the kitchen gardens of Teylingen Castle. It went through a redesign in 1857 which became the foundation of the park as it’s known today.
In 1949 it was established as a Spring park by a group of leading flower bulb growers and exporters, who opened it to the public to showcase their products. It received over 200,000 visitors in it’s first year!
The park covers an area of 79 acres. While it’s mainly known for its tulips, it also features many other flowers like hyacinths, daffodils, lillies and roses. Roughly 7 million flower bulbs are planted in the gardens every year, including 800 varieties of tulips.
The best time to visit Keukenhof
While you can see flowers blooming in the gardens at the start of the Spring season like crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths, the best time to visit Keukenhof is early April, when the tulips are in bloom.
Bear in mind that this will also be the busiest period, so make sure to book your tickets well ahead of time. If you can, visit on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, when it’s a little quieter.
What to see and do
Keukenhof Windmill
One of the most photographed windmills in The Netherlands, the Keukenhof Windmill was built in Scharmer in 1892 and moved to the gardens in 1975. You can enter the windmill and view the gardens from its terrace, or take your picture with it from below, complete with moving sails.
Whisper Boat Trip
Take the 45-minute trip around the tulip fields on the electric Whisper Boat while listening to the audio tour.
The boat departs from behind the windmill and a round trip costs €10 for adults and €5 for children. Tickets can be bought from the small wooden ticket counter to the left of the windmill (next to the waffle hut), on online beforehand. But be sure to get there early, as time slots fill up quickly, and you may have to wait a few hours to board if you’re unlucky.
Buy Tulip Bulbs
Unsurprisingly, you can buy tulip bulbs at Keukenhof, and they make a beautiful souvenir for your garden. Why not go shopping in the specialist shops and chat to the experts about what to buy.
Remember: If you buy flower bulbs in The Netherlands, you must ensure that they’ve been approved to take back to your home country. If you also live in an EU country, you shouldn’t have a problem, but you may not be allowed to travel with them to a non-EU country. Check your government/airline guidelines.
Explore the gardens
There are five different gardens to visit within the park that all feature different themes and flowers. While you wander from one to the other, you’ll come across various art pieces and sculptures dotted through the gardens as well.
There are events and flower shows throughout March and April, so if you’re interested in something in particular, time your visit correctly. Flowers shows are held in the Willem-Alexander pavilion and you can see beautiful arrangements of flowers in there, or shop for flower-inspired souvenirs.
The Oranje Nassau pavillion also presents flower arrangements and art to admire, and you can discover incredible orchid varieties and more in the Beatrix pavillion.
You can encouter various animals at the animal meadow, including sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, pigs and peacocks, and right next to the meadow is a huge hedge maze to try and get lost in.
Have a picnic
There are a few restaurants around the park that you can eat at, or snack huts for something small like waffles or frozen yogurt. Jacoba’s Kitchen in the Oranje Nassau Pavilion is fully vegetarian.
But the best thing to do is to bring your own picnic and enjoy your lunch under the cherry blossom trees, or surrounded by fragrant flowers.
How to get to Keukenhof Gardens
You can take the Keukenhof Express Bus from four different places in The Netherlands. You can purchase a return bus ticket as part of a combi ticket, which combines the trip with the entrance ticket. It costs €31.50 (or €37 from RAI) for adults, and €17.50 for children.
You can also purchase a bus ticket separately to the entrance ticket, which costs €17 for a round trip for adults, and €12 for children.
You can take the bus from:
- Amsterdam RAI: 35-Minute Journey. Take metro M52 from Amsterdam Central to RAI, exit at Europlein and walk to bus stop line 852. This bus departs up to ten times an hour.
- Amsterdam Schiphol Airport: 30-Minute Journey. Walk to bus stop line 858, located at the exit of arrivals hall 1. This bus departs up to six times an hour.
- Leiden Central: 30-Minute Journey. Exit the station and walk to bus stop line 854. This bus departs up to six times an hour.
- Haarlem: 40-Minute Journey. Exit the station on the centre side and walk to bus stop line 850. This bus runs up to twice an hour.
Opening Times and Tickets
In 2025, Keukenhof opens daily from 20 March to 11 May, from 8am to 7pm.
You can buy an entrance ticket online which costs €20 for adults, and €9 for children (4-17 years).
You can also buy the combi ticket which combines a return bus trip to the park with the entrance ticket (see above).
You can purchase a ticket on the door, but you run the risk of tickets being sold out before you get there.
There is no time limit once inside, and you can stay until closing. On average, it takes around 3-4 hours to see the gardens.
Where to stay to visit Keukenhof
There aren’t many hotels near Keukenhof, so the easiest thing to do is stay in a city with a direct route to the gardens, like Leiden, Amsterdam, or Haarlem.
Compare hotels on sites like Booking.com, Expedia.com and Hotels.com for the best prices on the days you want to stay.
Check out other places to visit in The Netherlands!