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You’re here because you want to visit tulips in Holland, and I’m here to help you with that. The Netherlands and the tulip go hand in hand, and they are found in most provinces of the country. This travel blog about tulips in Holland will tell you where you can find tulip fields in the South Holland province. Tulips are found in specific parts of South Holland, and you can find all the information you need to discover Holland and its tulips here.
Whether you want to visit tulip fields near The Hague or wish to see tulip fields in Lisse or near Leiden, you will get the answers to your questions here. This way, you can visit this part of the Holland region for the best tulip vacation.
Why should you trust me? I’m a born and raised Dutch local – and I have been around tulips in Holland all my life. I have also been helping people visit the Dutch countryside – and the hidden gems of The Netherlands – on this travel blog since 2018. I’ve so far helped hundreds of thousands of people with their visit to The Netherlands, so you will not just discover the beauty of The Netherlands but also that the spread of tourism will become more sustainable in my tiny country.
Visit the tulips in Zuid/ South- Holland
The Netherlands is home to twelve provinces, two of which are part of the Holland region: Noord (North)- Holland and Zuid (South)- Holland. In this blog about tulips in Holland, I will tell you where you can find tulips in Zuid (South)- Holland, the province home to cities likeRotterdam, The Hague and Delft. Check outthis blog if you want to know where you can visit tulip fields in Noord (North)- Holland, which is home to cities like Amsterdam, Haarlem, Enkhuizen and Alkmaar.
Zuid- Holland is The Netherlands’ most famous province for visiting tulip fields. Most visitors head directly to a region called ‘De Bollenstreek’- or the bulb region. This is where you can find the largest flower garden in the world: De Keukenhof. But, there are more places where you can find tons of blooming flower fields in Zuid- Holland during spring.
Whether you’re considering visiting the area around De Keukenhof flower garden or want to head to the more unknown locations, there’s one thing for sure: the blooming tulip fields will blow your mind. Tulips sometimes bloom earlier in the Bollenstreek region due to a layer of plastic that some tulip farmers will install on top of the bulbs. Because of this, they tend to grow and bloom earlier and can be harvested sooner. The tulip fields in Goeree-Overflakkee bloom generally like those in the rest of the country.
When does tulip season start in Holland?
When you visit the flower fields in Holland, you want to see them bloom. It would be a shame if you visited The Netherlands and all you can see are green fields with – young or beheaded tulips – while expecting a beautiful sea of colours. That’s why I’m here to tell you that tulips in Holland bloom on the fields roughly from mid-April until roughly somewhere in the first first week of May. The best time to visit The Netherlands for tulip season is roughly the last week of April.
Hyacinth and daffodil fields in Holland bloom earlier: they start showing their colours around the end of March and the beginning of April.
Now you know when you must visit Holland for tulip season. Remember that the exact times depend on the winter that we’ve had. If we have a severe and late winter, this means that the tulips will bloom later in Holland. If we have a warm winter, then the flower fields in Holland will be earlier (the case this year!!). The best time to see tulip fields in bloom is generally the last week of April.
Update Dutch tulip fields in The Netherlands 22nd of April: Tulip season 2024 is an early one: some field are being cut off already, but there are still plenty of beautiful fields around.
Tulip fields in 2024 are early (due to warm weather and winter) and regular timed (due to later planting times because of rainfall). So, I recommend you to visit in April: Join me on a hidden tulip fields bike tour here!
Can I walk inside flower fields in The Netherlands?
Absolutely not. I’ve told people for years that they should not walk inside tulip fields in The Netherlands. The tulips are part of a billion-euro industry and are not here for your Instagram or TikTok photo or video. Tourists have been causing tens of thousands of euros of damage to Dutch tulip farmers. You do not want to be one of those.
Walking in the tulip fields in Holland, you will spread fungi, insects and bacteria from one field to the next, which is a massive problem. And, if you lay or sit between the (rows of) tulips in The Netherlands, you will crack the stems prematurely, which makes them more prone to diseases. Diseases kill not just one bulb but many. Besides that, the fields are private property.
So, please stay out of the tulips in Holland. This way, you will be a great tourist, and we will happily welcome you again next time. If you still think you’re a particular person who can do whatever they please, please stay home. You’re destroying the income of tulip farmers in The Netherlands. You do not want people to ruin your job, so please don’t ruin theirs.
Randstad region
This is The Netherlands’ most famous tulip region – where you could find the most tulip fields in the country in the middle of the last century. If you’re looking to see tulip fields in The Netherlands with little tourism, you should not head to the Randstad region, especially Lisse and its surroundings. Then I recommend you to head to Goeree-Overflakkee for tulips (scroll down to the other part of this article).
The Lisse flower area is called the ‘Bollenstreek’ or dune and bulb region, home to many blooming tulip and flower fields. Millions of people visit this picturesque region during the tulip season. If you are okay with these crowds and you want to visit the world’s largest flower garden, then this is the perfect region for you to visit.
Another great plus about Lisse and its surroundings being a famous region is the fact that there are many activities to do: from going with a boat alongside the tulip fields to canoeing to a yearly flower parade. It’s a perfect place to see the tulips in Holland and to experience other parts of Dutch culture.
Most tulip fields are found close to Amsterdam: South (Zuid- Holland), North (Noord- Holland)and North East of the city (Flevoland). This is also one of the areas where you can see the tulip fields near Amsterdam for free. This blog is great if you want to find more tulip fields near Amsterdam.
1. Lisse
Lisse and its tulip fields are the most famous town in this entire region. Because it is home to the world’s largest flower garden: De Keukenhof, this is why you can find most tourists during tulip season in this Dutch town. Lisse is a town and municipality home to around 23,000 people. This is the town that most people visit who want to see blooming tulips from Amsterdam. It is also home to the Keukenhof gardens. This means that this is the busiest place that you can visit.
2. Sassenheim
The town of Sassenheim is found in the municipality of Teylingen and is home to around 15,500 people. The area where Sassenheim is located is one of the oldest inhabited areas of the Holland region and is currently found nearby one of The Netherlands’ most beautiful lakes. It is also found in the Bollenstreek region but gets fewer visitors than neighbouring Lisse, so I recommend you to visit Sassenheim for tulip fields.
3. Noordwijk
Noordwijk is both a municipality as well as a town and is home to around 44,000 people. People have been living in the region of Noordwijk for millennia, but the first larger settlement was created around the 1200s. Noordwijk has the best of both worlds: the sea and the blooming flowers. That makes Noordwijk a great town to visit for tulip fields.
4. Hillegom
Hillegom is a municipality and town home to around 22,000 people. Hillegom became a settlement in the early Middle Ages. Hillegom is found in the northern part of the Bollenstreek region, which used to be The Netherlands’ largest bulb region that was started here around the middle of the 19th century. The tulip fields in Hillegom are all around the outskirts of the town.
5. Noordwijkerhout
Noordwijkerhout is a town in the municipality of Noordwijk and is found in the middle of the so-called Bollenstreek, or bulb region. Noordwijkerhout is home to around 15,000 people and is located just behind the dunes and the North Sea. So you’ve got the beach, dunes, Noordwijkerhout and tulip fields right next to each other.
Goeree- Overflakkee
The island of Goeree- Overflakkee is often mistaken for being a part of the Zeeland province, but that isn’t the case: the town of Sommelsdijk was the only town on the island which has been a part of Zeeland until 1805.
On Goeree- Overflakkee, you can find beautiful places like Goedereede and Middelharnis and some of the best beaches in The Netherlands. In the East and centre part of the Dutch island of Goeree- Overflakkee, you can find many tulip fields during spring. And, while it is also found in the province of Zuid- Holland, there are few tourists in this part of the province. Compare it to the Randstad region, and you’d think that this area is completely deserted from people. This makes Goeree-Overflakkee the perfect place to see the tulips in Holland without mass tourism.
1. Dirksland
The town of Dirksland is one of the larger towns in the municipality Goeree-Overflakkee and is home to around 6,000 inhabitants. You can find the largest town on the island, Middelharnis, nearby.
2. Middelharnis
Middelharnis is the largest town on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee and is home to around 7,600 people. It’s essentially the island’s centre as it’s home to many important functions.
3. Oude- Tonge
Oude-Tonge is one of the places located in Zeeland that suffered the most during the big disaster of the flood in 1953: almost ten per cent of its population died. Currently, Oude- Tonge is home to around 5,100 people.
4. Nieuwe- Tonge
The village of Nieuwe-Tonge is home to roughly 2,500 people and is one of the places that heavily suffered during the big flood of 1953: most of the houses were completely destroyed. This used to be a region that grew a lot of onions, but that has partly been replaced by flower bulbs, which is why you will be able to admire beautiful flower fields in the region.
5. Ooltgensplaat
Ooltgensplaat is one of the typical villages in this part of The Netherlands. It’s a church ring village; this means that the church is found in the central part of the ring, which is surrounded by a canal, and that area is where the houses and other buildings are located. Ooltgensplaat is home to around 2,700 people.
More things to do in Zuid/South – Holland this flower season
Admire the flower parade
TheBloemencorso Bollenstreek, or flower parade of the Bollenstreek, is the only flower parade in the country that takes place during spring. It generally takes place at the end of the third week of April. The main highlight is always the parade on Saturday, which is filled with colourful floats and vehicles decorated with flowers, that travel a route of 42 km.
Visit a picking garden
At Pluktuin Noordwijkerhout at Leeweg 8, you can visit their seasonal picking garden. You can pick the most beautiful tulips from roughly the middle of April until the beginning of May. It’s around five euros for twenty-five tulips. They also have a summer picking garden, which is also great to visit during the warmest season in The Netherlands. Entry to the picking garden is free, and you can pay for the picked flowers in cash. This way, you can admire some beautiful tulips in Holland and take them with you simultaneously because you obviously cannot pick tulips from random fields.
Discover a tulip experience
The tulip experience has a great mission that helps to inform visitors about the tulip industry, why they shouldn’t walk in tulip fields and more. At Tulip Experience Amsterdam, you can visit a show garden that is filled with around one million tulips and hundreds of species, and it also has a picking garden. It’s also home to a museum, which showcases the history of the tulip and the process of the tulips.Tulip Experience Amsterdamis located in Noordwijkerhout, and it has no connection to Amsterdam. But it does have the name because people often search for tulips and Amsterdam.
Explore a tulip museum
Museum De Zwarte Tulpis a museum that showcases the Dutch flower bulb culture. Here you can learn about not only the history of the flower bulb but also get an impression of the flower bulb trade and see a ton of tulip-related art.
Visit a tulip farm
The Tulip Barnis found just outside Hillegom and is a great place to visit when you’re there/ It is home to a tulip garden, where you can take photos between thousands of tulips. It is primarily created so visitors will leave the actual tulip fields alone and won’t damage them. Then you also have Bloomeffect and Famflowerfarm, where you can also walk between some tulip fields at a specific time for photoshoots.
Head to the world’s largest flower garden
More than a million people visit the Keukenhof flower garden in the town of Lisse every year. It generally opens from the end of March until the middle of May. The most visited times of De Keukenhof are between 10:30 and 16:00. So, if you want to see the most extensive flower garden in the world during tulip season, then the best time to visit Keukenhof gardens is outside of those hours. The Keukenhof is less busy on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Or, take aboat tour from the Keukenhofalong the flower fields. It can take two hours to see the Keukenhof gardens, but it depends on the person and their preferences. It is effortless to travel to the Keukenhof gardens; check out one of thegreat travel apps for The Netherlands.
Stay at the best Keukenhof hotels!
Do you want to know more? Get 30+ pages of tulip field tips for Zuid (South)- Holland right inside your pocket!
Including:
- Things to know before you visit tulip fields in The Netherlands
- Exact locations of flower fields in all these locations (and more!) in Zuid/ South- Holland
- Walking, cycling and car routes for tulip fields in South- Holland
- Things to do in its surroundings
- & more!
Buy my Zuid- Holland Tulip Ebook now for only €7,99!
Join me on a tulip fields bike tour!
Have you always wanted to see tulips in The Netherlands with a Dutch local? Then you’re in luck! Join me on a tulip fields bike tour along the hidden blooming flower fields in the province of Noord- Holland.
Important information to know about this bike tour:
- The tours are held from the 15th of April until the 4th of May (the last week of April is often the best time)
- Starts at 10:00 every morning
- Bike rental is included
- Tours last around 4 hours
- Only 7 people can join every day
Check prices and availability for tulip tour 2024 via ‘book now’ below!
HELP OTHERS DISCOVER THESE BEAUTIFUL PLACES! PIN THIS TO YOUR TRAVEL PINTEREST BOARDS!
Other The Netherlands travel blogs and guides you’ll love
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Tulip fields in Flevoland
Visit tulip fields in Noord (North)- Holland
Things to do in spring in The Netherlands
Spring road trip itinerary for The Netherlands
What to pack for The Netherlands this spring
Best travel jackets and coats for The Netherlands in spring
I hope you enjoyed this blog about seeing and finding tulips in Holland. Now you know where in this part of The Netherlands you can find tulip fields. The tulip fields in Zuid (South)- Holland, are a perfect place to visit if you find yourself in the area of the largestcities in The Netherlands.
Goeree- Overflakkee is fantastic to visit for its flower fields if you want to look at the rustic and calm Dutch countryside in Zuid- Holland, with its tulips. The tulip fields near Delft and Rotterdam are obviously more crowded as they are easier to reach.
I hope you will have a fantastic time exploring the tulips in South- Holland and that you get to admire many endless free tulip fields in Holland. It’s a spectacular sight, and I can guarantee you will love the view. Please stay respectful, so locals are more than happy to welcome you again another time. Thank you for reading my travel guide on visiting the Zuid- Holland flower fields. Remember to share this post, so your family and friends can also discover beautiful tulip fields in The Netherlands.
