Keukenhof Gardens -- Amsterdam

[jbtimetotravel]

After our Tauck cruise from Brussels to Amsterdam in April 2013, we will be in Amsterdam for five days. We want to visit the Keukenhof Gardens several times. We have booked a hotel (Frita) in Amsterdam , but wonder if we should try to get a place nearer the Keukenhof. We are also wondering about transportation to Keukenhof from Amsterdam.

Anyone have any experience along these lines?

[boomerone]

After our Tauck cruise from Brussels to Amsterdam in April 2013, we will be in Amsterdam for five days. We want to visit the Keukenhof Gardens several times. We have booked a hotel (Frita) in Amsterdam , but wonder if we should try to get a place nearer the Keukenhof. We are also wondering about transportation to Keukenhof from Amsterdam.

Anyone have any experience along these lines?

jbtimetotravel----We are sailing with Viking on 23 March from Amsterdam and have done a lot of digging regarding a visit to Keukenhof. Bus transportation will be available from Leiden (a nice seaside town) which is a good distance from Amsterdam so I doubt you want to get involved with that. A bus schedule to the Gardens is supposedly coming out in the near future from Schipohl Airport and there might even be a bus schedule from downtown Amsterdam. Can't find any info to nail down the latter. I'm told the time between Keukenhof and both of these places is about 30 minutes. Combination bus/garden admission tickets are due to go on sale soon so keep checking the Keukenhof website. If you have not been to the Gardens before I would be wary of getting involved with an organized tour as you will fall into their time constraints and it will likely be more expensive and you'll spend a shorter amount of time there. Last time we went to the Gardens we stayed there well over 4 hours and I daresay we could have happily stayed longer. Many displays require a second look. Also if you have not been to the Aalsmeer Flower Auction next to the Schipohl Airport, I would strongly recommend that to you. You must arrive there early---7am---to get the full impact of that event. The pace really slows after 8:30am and its pretty much done by 9am.

Happy and safe travels, boomerone

[jbtimetotravel]

Thank you for the great information. Do you think you will be making any posts during your travels? Do you suggest getting tickets online for Anne Frank House and Museums?

Judy

[texassteve]

Thank you for the great information. Do you think you will be making any posts during your travels? Do you suggest getting tickets online for Anne Frank House and Museums?

Judy

 

It is wise to get your Anne Frank House tickets in advance via the web. This allows you to skip the long lines when you arrive at your appointed time. Buses to Keukenhof run from the airport which is accessible by train from central Amsterdam - we used that connection in 2011 and had no problems.

 

Steve

[franski]

Do you suggest getting tickets online for Anne Frank House and Museums? Judy

 

Hi Judy -

 

I would suggest getting your tickets on line before you go.

 

We booked an entrance that included a lecture before we started the tour. You can spend as much time as you wish in the museum after the lecture.

 

There was a time line that the lecturer spoke to - and she explained what was happening with the Frank family in relation to other events in the context of the war, and the presence of the ****s.

 

I would suggest booking early - as some days can be sold out.

 

Fran

[kylea_s]

Although our trip is next April, we have a very active group looking to get to the gardens. Our roll call is April 12 2014, Avalon Visionary. Its likely that this post may get moved to the ports section so you might want to check in there to see what we find out. I know we are looking at getting there with just private transportation (no guide). Also if you discover any transportation source, we'd appreciate your input. TY

[boomerone]

Thank you for the great information. Do you think you will be making any posts during your travels? Do you suggest getting tickets online for Anne Frank House and Museums?

Judy

Judy--we make no posts during our travels but write a review at the end of our journeys. Purchasing Anne Frank tickets ahead of time is good advice.

[agabbymama]

If this link doesn't work, go to the Keukenhof Gardens website and look under "your visit" then "overnight"

 

http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/462/van-der-valk-hotel-casino-sassenheim.html

 

 

This hotel has a two day package, 10 minutes from the gardens and has a shuttle for a fee to take you back and forth. I'd stay a night or two in Amsterdam and see a little of it, then head on the train to Keukenhof and stay at this hotel.

 

We took the train/bus combo to Keukenhof, but stayed in Amsterdam.

 

This Pass might also be good for you. http://www.hollandpass.com/?lang=en

 

Enjoy Amsterdam, I think it has been my 2nd favorite city in Europe after Budapest.

[Hlitner]

Getting to Keukenhoff from Amsterdam is really not too difficult and the place is absolutely amazing as long as you are there when the tulips are blooming. You have several options from Amsterdam including local tour operators that provide transportation (your hotel can arrange this) or by simply taking the train/bus combination. We did the latter which proved quite easy. You can buy a combination ticket at the Amsterdam train station which includes the train/bus and admission to the gardens.

 

Hank

[jbtimetotravel]

To Hitner--

Thank you for you information.

 

Do you take train and bus to get to Gardens?? How long does it take?

 

Judy

[Mairnealach]

Getting to Keukenhoff from Amsterdam is really not too difficult and the place is absolutely amazing as long as you are there when the tulips are blooming. You have several options from Amsterdam including local tour operators that provide transportation (your hotel can arrange this) or by simply taking the train/bus combination. We did the latter which proved quite easy. You can buy a combination ticket at the Amsterdam train station which includes the train/bus and admission to the gardens.

 

Hank

 

I would like to reiterate Hank's proviso about going to Keukenhof when the tulips are in bloom. The weather has been unseasonably cold for March over northern Europe; we had snow in Dublin today. I visited Keukenhof on last Saturday, 23 March, and the tulips were not in bloom, nor were they near flowering. The weather has remained very cold over the past week with a biting easterly wind blowing all the way from Siberia. To my untutored eyes, it will be a few weeks yet before the tulips bloom.

 

I still enjoyed my visit as there are some fine displays of exotic flowers in the indoor pavilions, especially the arthuriums and orchids, but anyone expecting to see tulip fields ablaze in a riot of colour, as on the Keukenhof website, would have been disappointed.

 

I was staying in The Hague and took the train to Leiden, ten minutes, followed by the number 854 bus to Keukenhof, twenty five minutes.

 

Dermot

[Ine]

Indeed weather is far too cold this spring, so flowers will bloom later also. However there always will be an indoor glasshouse with blooming flowers.

From Schiphol airport there is a regular busservice to Keukenhof. So take a train to the airport and then this bus, very easy to do.

[Riviera bound]

After our Tauck cruise from Brussels to Amsterdam in April 2013, we will be in Amsterdam for five days. We want to visit the Keukenhof Gardens several times. We have booked a hotel (Frita) in Amsterdam , but wonder if we should try to get a place nearer the Keukenhof. We are also wondering about transportation to Keukenhof from Amsterdam.

Anyone have any experience along these lines?

 

We did the gardens last year on April 9th. There is always something in bloom, even when it has been cold. We were a group of 6 who had been on a river cruise and spent several days post cruise in Amsterdam. Although our hotel was near the train station and the dock, we decided to do a Viator three fourths day tour to the gardens since none of us. at that point, had done much train travel in Europe. They have some commentary on the bus on the way down and take you right to the entrance of the gardens and pick you up there at a specified time. It basically is just transportation to and from, but quite convenient. We were happy with the three fourths day time frame and would suggest you plan on spending most of the day. There are places to eat and benches to sit and enjoy the beauty.

[Ine]

We did the gardens last year on April 9th. There is always something in bloom, even when it has been cold. We were a group of 6 who had been on a river cruise and spent several days post cruise in Amsterdam. Although our hotel was near the train station and the dock, we decided to do a Viator three fourths day tour to the gardens since none of us. at that point, had done much train travel in Europe. They have some commentary on the bus on the way down and take you right to the entrance of the gardens and pick you up there at a specified time. It basically is just transportation to and from, but quite convenient. We were happy with the three fourths day time frame and would suggest you plan on spending most of the day. There are places to eat and benches to sit and enjoy the beauty.

 

Last year March was a beautiful month with far higher temperatures then this year. Of course that can make a big difference for blooming flowers.

[jbtimetotravel]

We got to Keukenhof twice. April 15 and April 20, 2013. Although the fields were not in bloom( a little on the 20th) on the 15th they had big pallets of fabulous tulips of many varieties along the walkways. and inside the exhibit halls so many different types of tulips.

We got some very beautiful photos. Someone told us this was the coldest spring in 50 years so the tulips were blooming later than normal. We truly enjoyed the gardens both times.

we did bus 197 to airport and then got Keukenhof bus. at airport you buy a combo ticket for bus ride and admission to gardens. well run.

[twotravel1565]

we are booked on Tauck Amsterdam to Brussels (April2014) and would like some helpful hints on making this trip as perfect as possible. Tauck offers some options and I would like to hear from some people about why they chose one option over another. Also we want to go to Brugge after the trip - any suggestions about getting there & hotels (Tuack no longer includes it in their sailing) Thank You!

[jms]

Hi

 

We just got home from a 2 week river cruise ending in Amsterdam and took a day trip to Brugge as it was on our bucket list. I can't tell you how disappointed we were. It was so touristy - overcrowded, expensive dining and horse drawn carriages everywhere making walking an issue without looking down! My advice would be to buy a video instead :)

It's a 3 hour trip one way from Amsterdam to Brugge making it a very long day.

 

On the other hand, we loved Keukenhof gardens and Kinderdjik (wind mills) visits. I believe there is also a tour you can take to Volendam and Markam that does the wind mills. From what I understand you will love the Tauck experience. We used them for a Scotland trip many years ago and loved them - although we had to leave the tour early because of a family crisis.

 

Also in Amsterdam I would highly recommend a walking tour experience since you can learn so much about the city in just a few hours - instead of a bus tour. Google Amsterdam walking tours and hopefully you will find the site which we used - a young American girl with whom we spent 3 hours + just a few days ago. I don't think I can use her website here but if you want the specifics email me - joann@speicher.org. Tour cost us 30 Euro pp. and well worth it.

[travelfirst]

A few years ago four of us went on a river cruise from Amsterdam but we took the train to Brugge first and stayed there in a hotel for two days before going back to Amsterdam to get on the river cruise.

It was a totally different experience. I loved going and staying in Brugge for two days and looking around ourselves and always wanted to go back.

 

I just came back from a Viking cruise in April. We had a tour to Brugge one day and they took us on a walking tour.

I wished later that we would have gone off on our own to look around.