Chasing tulips in Amsterdam

Is it crazy to visit Amsterdam (from Singapore) over a long weekend (Good friday to be precise). We certainly don’t think so. With some proper planning and forceful sleeping schedule changes its very much doable. Let us show you how!

The sole purpose of this trip was to see tulips in full bloom. Tulip season in Holland runs from mid-April to mid-May, with peak bloom usually towards the end of April. However, this window is subject to change depending on the weather in the months prior, so it is best to check before you book tickets. End of April though is a pretty safe bet, considering people with regular jobs like us have to book somewhat in advance. 

Getting to Amsterdam and getting around

Our plan was simple, we would take Thursday off, and with Good Friday included, that gave us four days to play with and we planned to be back in office Monday morning. From Singapore, we took a wednesday night red-eye flight to Amsterdam, landing there around 7am thursday morning. For our flight back, we planned to fly out Saturday night, reaching Singapore on sunday afternoon, which would give us enough time to recover and hit the office the next day. This itinerary can be easily modified if you’re flying from India since similar flights can be found, not to mention flying time will be lesser as well.

So, come wednesday night, we headed over to Changi airport (one of the perks of living in Singapore, seriously the airport is ultra-efficient), checked into a lounge (thank you Priority Pass) and filled up on some red wine to enhance our sleep enroute. The plan worked, and we landed in Amsterdam, bright and early, and were greeted by sunny skies. Perfect!

For getting around Amsterdam, I highly recommend getting the Regional Pass. We got the 3 day pass and it saved us a ton of money as we used trams and buses extensively to get around town. This pass also includes travel on some local trains that will help you get to other spots like Zaanse Schans and even the beach at Zandvoort. We made full use of it as it helped us to get to a car rental outside the city as well, more on that later!

Keukenhof Gardens without the crowds

Our first stop was Keukenhof, the most famous place to see tulips in Amsterdam. This place gets super crowded just a couple of hours after opening, so your best bet is to get here as soon as the park opens!

Try to book a flight which lands in Amsterdam early in the morning (we landed in Schipol around 7am). Clear immigration and customs at Schipol airport, store your luggage at the airport (best to travel light, we managed with one carry on between the two of us) and head to Arrival Hall 4 (next to Starbucks). This is where bus 858 departs for Keukenhof, travel time is around 40 mins (more if it is a weekend). If you plan to use public transport in Amsterdam, buy the Amsterdam regional pass that I mentioned above (it includes bus 858 to Keukenhof and you can just buy the entry ticket to Keukenhof online). Otherwise, any convenience store in the airport will sell you bus tickets, although you can save time and buy them online here (RT bus tickets are €27.5 pp & include entry to Keukenhof as well). It is cheaper to just buy the regional pass and get the entry tickets to Keukenhof separately, as Amsterdam is best explored by public transit!

We were in line for the bus by 8 am (our flight landed before time, plus immigration is super quick in the morning). Even so, there was quite a line at the bus stop, and we had to wait about 20 mins to board. We were in Keukenhof before 9am and didn’t waste any time since we had booked tickets online, so we went straight in.

Keukenhof is known as the Garden of Europe, and is one of the largest gardens in the world, covering almost 80 acres! More than 7 million bulbs are planted annually, and each year they have a theme that dictates the flower arrangements throughout the park. It is only open to the public during a 8 week period from mid March to mid May, and averages more than 25,000 visitors per day! See, that’s why we told you to come early! 

Once inside, get a map and decide on a route to follow. The entire park is very pretty, so you cannot go wrong whichever way you go. The key is to get early, because by 1030-11am the park starts crowding up and it is no longer fun. I’ll stop now about the crowds now. Below are more pictures from the 2019 display although pictures really don’t do the place justice! It is touristy, but for a good reason.

Exploring Zaanse Schans

We finished exploring Keukenhof by mid-day and took the same bus back to Schipol. We retrieved our luggage and then took one of the many trains to Amsterdam-Centraal. Our hotel was a very short (free) ferry ride across from Centraal and right in front of the infamous IAMSTERDAM sign. More details about the excellent hotel at the end of the post. We checked in and then decided to take a trip to the windmills at Zaanse Schans. It is about a 45 min ride by public transport (very straightforward to get to, just follow google maps directions). The whole place has a touristy vibe, but is scenic nonetheless.

The trio of windmills on the canal are a throwback to the earlier times in Holland where they were used to mill grain or crush wood. The village near the windmills is worth a stroll as it has the cute dutch houses and shops selling excellent Gouda cheese (with free samples!). We picked up some cheese to bring back home, our particular favorite was this goat milk gouda with peppercorns! About 60-90 minutes is enough for exploring this town and then you can take one of the many trains back to Amsterdam-Centraal.

Exploring Amsterdam

We spent both of our evenings walking around Amsterdam. It is a very pedestrian friendly city and the criss-cross of canals and walking paths make it a very interesting place to explore. There is no set route per se, as most of the fun is walking up unknown alleys and getting lost, then finding a cafe or bar, grab a beer or wine, people watch, and then continue strolling around. Jordaan district is one I would highly recommend with its superb selection of eateries and bars.

For history buffs, a visit to Anne Frank Huis is a must (we didn’t have time as we were busy exploring tulips during daytime, but advance reservations are very much recommended). Neither of us are museum affectionados, but for those who are, Amsterdam has some excellent and funky museums to visit, the most famous of them being the Rjiksmuseum. The Pijp district is another must see, with the Albert Cuyp street market a must visit to sample the local cuisine!

Nordpordskod tulip fields

Day 2 of our trip was all about discovering the tulips in their native habitat. I had seen pictures of miles upon miles of tulip fields, in alternating colors, and was eager to go and explore these places. This is definitely off the beaten track and you will need your own car to best explore these areas. It doesn’t make sense to rent a car in Amsterdam, prices are high and getting out of the city isn’t exactly easy. Noordoostpolder district (in the Flevoland province) to the north-west of Amsterdam is one of the areas with extensive tulip farms and that is where we decided to head to. We rented a car from a local agency in Lelystad (the regional pass covers train rides till here, so that was a win), although the actual car rental place was quite far from the station and there was only one bus per hour. I would recommend renting from Almere which is a larger town and has many options to rent a car near the train station. 

From Lelystad, the drive to the Noordoostpolder district should take you less than 10 mins, after which you will see marking for the “tulip route”. The area has a tulip festival for a month each year, more details here about various driving, walking and biking routes that you can take. Once you find a sign, it is pretty easy driving as you follow them around to various stops in the tulip farms in the community. It’s a great way to contribute straight to the local community. 

Please be mindful of the fields though, the people here cultivate the tulips to sell all over the world, it is their livelihood. I saw plenty of tourists and so-called “influencers” who were purposely not heeding the signs and going into the fields and trampling on tulips to get their “shot”. This is irresponsible behavior as such pictures if they go viral mean that a lot more people try to come and recreate the shot. Sadly, I did see some farms where this was specifically called out in signage and the owners had to be present all the time to shoo-away such people, it was very sad to see indeed. There are dedicated spaces set aside for photography, where you can safely go in the fields and get your shot, please use them! We need to be mindful of the local community and understand that causing harm to their business will just mean they will not allow tourists to visit their fields from next season. 

We were fortunate to get amazing weather this day, with bright blue skies and sunshine. The vivid colors of the tulips were just stunning. Some of the red and orange hues were so bright that they actually were a bit harsh for our eyes! Imagine that. If you have a drone, I would highly recommend bringing it along, you get some amazing aerial shots of the fields with rows of alternate colors! The local website of the area has all the up to date information every year about routes and worthy stopping points. The website of the province of Flevoland has useful information as well and is worth checking out.

The driving routes take about half a day to cover depending on the number of photo stops you take. We started around 10am, and were done by 430pm, after which we returned our car. The rental guys were kind enough to drop us off at the station so that saved us a cab ride. From there it’s about 45 mins back to the city, where we chilled out by exploring and walking around the lovely streets some more. We also took a canal ride, which is a nice way to rest your legs after you’ve been walking around all day. They are not that expensive and taking one during your stay is highly recommended.

Eat your way through ‘dam

As self proclaimed gourmets, food is an important part of all our trips. I do a lot of research into restaurants and eateries for any city I visit, as well as local delicacies that are a must try. Here are a few that you shouldn’t miss!

Hummus bistro d&a for the best middle-eastern fare!

Blue amsterdam for views

Bhatti pasal – best momos!!

Grahams kitchen for fine dining by a Michelin star chef

Café ‘t Spui-tje for a funky bar experience

Stroopwafels – Albert Cuyp Market

De Laatste Kruimel for amazing baked goods!

In just three days, we obviously couldn’t go to all the places I had bookmarked. Have created a handy map for you all (that you can bookmark for offline use) which shows all of our favorite picks (we will return again for sure to check off a few more from this list!). 

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1MS_BIEhfQ8ab-lcBjqqO-0L1EC6-J3O1&w=640&h=480]

Where to stay

Ser Adam Hotel, a short (free) ferry ride from Amsterdam Centraal was our home base for 3 nights. Centrally located, with a boho-chic industrial design, we loved this quirky hotel. They had a gramophone player in each room with a vast collection of vinyl records to borrow from. I really enjoyed listening to the Carpenters and ABBA while looking out of the window and watching life go by! Thanks to Madhu and her Marriott points our stay was free, plus we also got upgraded to a corner suite with views of the city! 

For Madhu it was her 2nd trip to Amsterdam and first time for me, and we both enjoyed ourselves immensely. Even though we were short on time, since we were clear with what we wanted to see, even our 3 day itinerary never felt rushed. While our primary objective of seeing tulips was an overwhelming success, I must say we really enjoyed the charm and vibes of Amsterdam city. We would love to come back and stroll down the leafy streets, dotted with canals, sample the diverse range of food and drink on offer and enjoy the laid back charm of Amsterdam.