Everything you need to know about visiting Keukenhof Gardens

When visiting The Netherlands in April 2022, we were lucky enough to be able to visit the beautiful Keukenhof Gardens.

Here is a guide to everything you need to know if you also want to visit!

What is Keukenhof?

In English, Keukenhof translates into kitchen garden, a fitting name as it was originally the kitchen garden for Teylingen Castle.

Every year, seven million bulbs are planted around Keukenhof, making it one of the best ways to see tulips in The Netherlands if that is something that you definitely want to do while in the country.

When is the best time to visit Keukenhof gardens?

Keukenhof is only open for a few months of the year due to the flowers needing to be in bloom.

In 2023, Keukenhof will be open from 23 March – 14 May between 08:00 – 19:30.

According to Tulip Festival Amsterdam, the best time to visit Holland to see tulips is between mid-April and early May in 2023.

The Flowerparade is scheduled to take place on Saturday 22 April 2023. The parade will see floats travelling through The Netherlands, travelling from Noordwijk to Haarlem. If you are planning to visit on the day of the Flowerparade it is advisable to take the train to the park as the roads are often very busy.

We visited at the end of April in 2022 and, while the majority of the park was in full bloom and absolutely stunning, the whisper boat ride was through mostly empty fields devoid of flowers. If this boat is something that you are hoping to do, I would recommend going earlier in the season.

How do I get to Keukenhof?

The park is accessible via public transport from major bus stations around Holland. The park offers Combitickets which include both park entry and public transport tickets which, when we went, was the cheapest travel option.

On our trip we got on the 852 Keukenhof bus from Amsterdam RAI which took about 35 minutes.

You can drive to Keukenhof and park on site if you have pre-purchased a parking token alongside your entrance ticket.

You can also cycle into Keukenhof with bike racks available at both entrances for guests to use for free.

While I didn’t do this on my visit, I think this would be an incredible way to visit the gardens and would add to an already incredible day.

The final option for transport is to go on an organised tour by a company. We decided against this option as it was quite a lot more expensive than what we wanted to pay for the experience.

How much does it cost?

Tickets into Keukenhof start at €19.00 with additional costs of €6 for parking if you are driving in.

We opted to use the combiticket, which cost €33.50 per person, for transport from Amsterdam RAI.

If you are looking to do a guided tour then options range from €40 – €100 depending on what the trip offers and where it departs from.

While we didn’t do this ourselves, I have read online that, if you have an I Amsterdam card, you are able to use this for entry free of charge.

Essential Information

There are plenty of facilities around Keukenhof including toilets and cafes. You are also able to bring in your own food and drinks, which is what we did, to help keep costs down.

You can also purchase tulip bulbs in the park if you are a gardener – a great way to take a bit of The Netherlands back home with you.

The park covers 32 hectares of land and, according to the Keukenhof website, the average length of a stay in the gardens is 3 hours.

Dogs are also allowed in the park however there is a one dog per person rule.

Is Keukenhof worth visiting?

Keukenhof is a bit more expensive than most activities that I would typically lean towards when travelling. Saying that, I think it is definitely worth the price if you want to see tulips.

Despite this being my third time in the Netherlands, I hadn’t seen tulips until this trip so it was definitely a bucket list item for me.

The park is beautiful and there is so much to see and do while walking around that, in my opinion, it was well worth the cost.

You can definitely make this trip as expensive as you want to with food vendors, the boat ride and plentiful other activities available.

Do you have any questions that I havent answered? If so let me know and I will be happy to help.

Have you ever been to Keukenhof gardens? Do you want to visit? Have you been to see the tulips in The Netherlands?

Thanks for reading!