Beautiful tulips at Keukenhof (+ video)
From 24 March - 16 May 2016, you can view beautiful tulips at Keukenhof in the Netherlands. Just like with the Dutch windmills at Kinderdijk, it was the first time, I visited it. It really felt a bit strange to be like a tourist in my own country, but I did see many beautiful things that I hopefully managed to capture in this video.
The Keukenhof theme of 2016 is "The Golden Age" and the highlight is the large flower bulb mosaic (like a large painting made with flowers) beside the Oranje Nassau pavilion. It was the last sight on my walk through the large park and by then, I was so exhausted that I skipped it. I didn't realize that I missed out on the most important part of the park, but you can luckily find many pictures of that online.
Beforehand, I expected it to be quite boring and that it was just walking around and looking at flowers. But I was pleasantly surprised. The paths were clean and comfortable to walk on (wear good walking shoes, because you will do a lot of walking if you want to see everything). There were plenty of beautiful benches to sit on, when you get tired, and I was surprised to not find any litter on the ground with so many visitors. There were many interesting themed areas, free large picture props throughout the park, and a kids area with a playground, petting zoo (with pigs, goats, alpaca!, and so on), Miffy (Nijntje) playhouse, and a maze.
The Golden Age
The Keukenhof theme of 2016 is "The Golden Age" and the highlight is the large flower bulb mosaic (like a large painting made with flowers) beside the Oranje Nassau pavilion. It was the last sight on my walk through the large park and by then, I was so exhausted that I skipped it. I didn't realize that I missed out on the most important part of the park, but you can luckily find many pictures of that online.
Beforehand, I expected it to be quite boring and that it was just walking around and looking at flowers. But I was pleasantly surprised. The paths were clean and comfortable to walk on (wear good walking shoes, because you will do a lot of walking if you want to see everything). There were plenty of beautiful benches to sit on, when you get tired, and I was surprised to not find any litter on the ground with so many visitors. There were many interesting themed areas, free large picture props throughout the park, and a kids area with a playground, petting zoo (with pigs, goats, alpaca!, and so on), Miffy (Nijntje) playhouse, and a maze.
How to get to Keukenhof by bus
- From Leiden Central train station
The Keukenhof Express bus 854 runs 6 times per hour at most and it will bring you directly to Keukenhof in about 25 minutes. The bus stop is located right outside of the train station at the city center side (in Dutch: Centrumzijde).
- From Schiphol airport
The Keukenhof Express bus 858 runs 14 times per hour at most and it will bring you directly to Keukenhof in about 30 minutes. The bus stop is located right outside of the back exit (not the large main exit) of Arrivals hall 4 of Schiphol airport. After walking straight ahead, you will find the exit on the left of the Starbucks coffee shop.
There are more ways to reach Keukenhof, but the two above are the most practical for tourists.
Tickets for Keukenhof
You can buy tickets and combitickets well ahead of time at the official website of Keukenhof. That way, you can get straight on the bus and enter Keukenhof without any hassle.
Adults €16
Children (4-11 years) €8
Combi-tickets including bus to and from Keukenhof
Adults (Leaving from Schiphol, Leiden, or Haarlem) €24
Adults (Leaving from Amsterdam) €29
Children (4-11 years) €12.50
From 1 March - 16 May 2016, you can also buy the combi-ticket with train+bus+entrance ticket to Keukenhof for €35 (2nd class train) and €40 (1st class train) at the Spoordeelwinkel website. You get a return train ticket from any train station in the Netherlands, a return bus ticket to Keukenhof, and an entrance ticket to Keukenhof. It can save you a lot of money, as for example, a return ticket from Rotterdam Central station to Schiphol airport costs €24.40 + €4.80 (extra Intercity Direct train fee).
