Keukenhof and flower fields---Belgium&Holland in the spring

Dixie Chick

We will be on this river cruise in April, 2018. I am wondering about the amount of time that we will have to go through
Keukenhof Gardens. One morning doesn't sound like enough. Also, will we see the flower fields on the way to Lisse? The tulips and gardens are the main reason we are going on this trip.

I am also wondering about the choice of day trips---Bruges or Ghent.
Nancy

joycesw

Never been to Ghent, but Bruges is wonderful!

Kathy18

A few years ago I did this tour in early April. We saw some fields of flowers as well as some at Keukenhof, however since it was so early in the season, there were not as many as there might be later. If you are interested in spending time observing various flowers in detail, the morning at the gardens will fly by.

As to whether to go to Bruges or Ghent, I would suggest Bruges. My tour started in Brussels and since I wanted to see both, I went out a day early and took a local tour to Bruges and then did Ghent with Tauck. Both are fascinating, but Ghent is much smaller.

mazalea

Hi - Check out the Amsterdam spring tulip festival that will be going on just before Easter - when we will be there!--
at tulipfestival.com
It looks like there are tulips, and places to buy them, all across Amsterdam.

Kathy0529

Hi, I'm on this cruise right now and wanted to let you know that we had about 2 hours and 20 minutes at the garden. It is a large area, but we were able to cover a lot of the gardens and also order bulbs to be shipped home in that time.

Also, today would have been the Bruges or Ghent day, but they changed it to just Ghent, then if you want Bruges they will be taking us on Friday in the afternoon. It's about 1.5 hours to Bruges from Antwerp.

Hope that helps!

wanderingstar

Keukenhof is very beautiful and affords a Tauck guest a few hours of tulips. Tauck took us there on Sunday. April 23rd and my friend and I headed for the boat ride which took us into the fields. If you want to see more tulips with less people, google the village of Limmen which is about 20 miles north of Amsterdam. The village has 4 acres of tulips in a historical setting.

Bruge is absolutely beautiful and Dumon has the best chocolates.

KathrynH

From the discussion on this thread, it would appear that travelers find a way to see both Bruges and Ghent. The area traveled is not vast; it would be easy to see one or the other during the free time offered. For our particular tour, the TDs found a way for travelers to do Ghent after spending the morning at Bruges. It was a remarkable tour that had far more "surprises" than could be expected.

Keukenhof Gardens poses a problem if you want to do everything. Take the path to the boat rides first if you want to see the fields where the flowers are nurtured; there is scarcely enough time to take a later sailing. Similarly, you will have to race through some exhibits if you want to lounge by the lake and taste the good Dutch beer. (Did you know that the Dutch and Belgians compete about whose bear is best?)

We recently arrived in Amsterdam from a northbound Romantic Rhine sailing. The first choice for a free afternoon in Amsterdam was to return to the Keukenhof Gardens on our own nickel. This time, we knew exactly how to run through the paths and see everything that we cared about!

AshvEd

We're booked on the trip beginning April 21, 2018 from Amsterdam on the MS Esprit. Are there others out there? Ed and Vicki (Asheville, NC)

Shayne Lee Raze

Yes, there are others. We are Dan and Shayne from Belle Harbor, NY.We are also on the MS Esprit on 4/21. Look forward to meeting you both. Shayne

AshvEd

Hello Shayne and Dan. Good to hear from you. We’re arriving Amsterdam on April 19 at noon so we can do some extra things that Tauck doesn’t include. When do you arrive? All the best. Ed and Vicki

Mopsy220

Hello fellow travelers. My husband and I are booked on the April 7, 2018 trip to Holland. Is there anyone who has traveled there around the same time as this? I am concerned about whether or not there will be any flowers in bloom this early in the season.

AshvEd

Here is a quote from Tulips in Holland and the best time is clearly weather related. "Due all this change in weather it is hardly possible to give good advice what the best time is to travel in 2018 to the Keukenhof. Based on the past couple of years the best chance to see the blooming at the Keukenhof is the last 2 weeks of April and the first week of May. But we don’t know exactly when the best time will be for next spring." It seems to be a bit like asking when the fall foliage will peak. No one really knows. Hope that we all get to see the beauty of Keukenhof.

KathrynH

We went to Keukenhof with Tauck in 2016 during the first week of April. Different varieties of tulips, muscari, hyacinth, daffodil, and crocus were blooming at that time. The later-blooming tulip varieties were exhibited in a hall (so we saw examples of the parrot tulip, fringed tulip, double tulip, and other late-blooming varieties). It was evident as we wandered along the paths that certain varieties of bulb had already finished blooming (and were being allowed to gather strength for the next year). There were empty strips in the arrangements for the later-blooming bulbs. Since it takes two months for all of the spring bulbs to bloom and flower (and they do not all flower in the same week), there will flowers at Keukenhof in the first week of April, but not necessarily the same varieties that typically bloom in May. For example, we saw only peonies and alliums in bloom indoors in the Exhibition Hall. I'm told that they also bloom outdoors later. Mopsy220 need not worry about seeing beautiful flowers!

cpgotti

AshvEd wrote:

We're booked on the trip beginning April 21, 2018 from Amsterdam on the MS Esprit. Are there others out there? Ed and Vicki (Asheville, NC)

We are also booked on that same trip and live in Haywood County, NC. Claudia and Frank

cpgotti

AshvEd wrote:

Hello Shayne and Dan. Good to hear from you. We’re arriving Amsterdam on April 19 at noon so we can do some extra things that Tauck doesn’t include. When do you arrive? All the best. Ed and Vicki

We are arriving on April 19 and plan on doing some extra things as well. Claudia and Frank

AshvEd

Claudia and Frank. Nice to hear WNC will be well represented. Would you like to connect off the Forum before the trip?

Linda Wince

Hi there, traveling with 3 girlfriends... we are from Virginia, Texas, Florida, and California and are so excited about our trip in the Esprit in April 21.Decidong what to pack is a challenge!!!!!!!!! So looking forward to meeting fellow passengers! Linda

AshvEd

Linda. We’ll be looking for the party girls tiptoeing thru the tulips. Look forward to meeting you. Ed and Vicki

cpgotti

AshvEd wrote:

Claudia and Frank. Nice to hear WNC will be well represented. Would you like to connect off the Forum before the trip?

Yes, we would. claudiagrice@yahoo.com

cpgotti

Linda Wince wrote:

Hi there, traveling with 3 girlfriends... we are from Virginia, Texas, Florida, and California and are so excited about our trip in the Esprit in April 21.Decidong what to pack is a challenge!!!!!!!!! So looking forward to meeting fellow passengers! Linda

Sounds like fun! Look forward to meeting you. Claudia and Frank

cpgotti

Shayne Lee Raze wrote:

Yes, there are others. We are Dan and Shayne from Belle Harbor, NY.We are also on the MS Esprit on 4/21. Look forward to meeting you both. Shayne

We are also on the Esprit on 4-21. Look forward to meeting you and Dan. Claudia and Frank