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A Photography & Travel Guide to Keukenhof, Holland Updated in 2022

One of my favorite places to visit every April - May is Keukenhof in the Netherlands. I have put together this Photography & Travel Guide to give you some tips about visiting and photographing the beautiful Tulips in Keukenfof.

Using my Macro Lens
What is Keukenhof? I have never heard of it

The Keukenhof Tulip Festival takes place each year in Holland between April - May. However, the dates change each year depending on weather and when the Tulips will bloom. People fly in from all over the world to see the Tulips. There is even a bus that takes you right from the Amsterdam airport to Keukenhof.

How cute is this young photographer?

Keukenhof means "Kitchen garden" in Dutch and it also known as the Garden of Europe. It is one of the world's largest flower gardens, and is located in Lisse, which is about 45 minutes from Amsterdam. Keukenhof is 80 acres in size (32 Hectares) and has more than 7 million bulbs and 800 varieties of tulips. You will never see so many flowers in your life. It is truly incredible!!

Endless Tulip Fields

I love the water drops

Those colors

I have visited almost every year over the past 8 years and just love it. Here is a map of the park. There are 2 entrances one for Busses and the second for cars. I have always arrived by car so I usually park by the Main Entrance. There is tons of parking available and it's a good idea to pay for parking online in advance.

Map of Keukenhof

How to Get There?

Pink Tulips early in the Morning

The easiest way to get to Keukenhof is to drive. I would strongly encourage you to drive, because after your visit, you can visit the Tulip fields of Lisse. Another option is to go by Taxi/Uber or there are even busses that go there several times a day.

Route From Amsterdam to Keukenhof

More information can be found on the Keukenhof Website.

Good Things to Know before visiting Keukenhof

I would strongly encourage you to purchase your entry ticket & parking ticket online a few days before your visit. You can purchase your tickets on the Keukenhof Website. It is about 17 Euros per Person as of May 2022. You can download your electronic ticket (including parking ticket) to your Mobile Phone. This will allow you to skip the lines.

All Sorts of Visitors Come to see the Tulips

You can pick up a free map upon entering Keukenhof. The maps are helpful in letting you know where the different flower exhibits, toilets and food spots are located. What I usually do is visit the park in a clockwise pattern however there is no wrong way to visit the park.

There is also free WiFi so you can just use your phone to guide you through the park.

When to Go?

In my opinion, it is best to visit the park as early as possible in the morning. You will beat the crowds and especially the tour buses. The flowers also look better early in the morning. People fly from all over the world to see the tulips each year. .

Carpets of Flowers

The tulips look a lot better early in the morning and you will often find water droplets on the tulips. I would bring a medium telephoto lens like a 70-200mm or a 100mm macro lens. You are allowed to bring a tripod into the park as well. One other tip is to shoot the tulips from below. You can easily do this with an iPhone

Visiting the Tulip Fields Around Lisse

After visiting Keukenhof, I would highly recommend visiting the Tulip Fields around Lisse. If you drive around Lisse look for a small villages called Noordwijk (check Het Laantje Road and Gerleeweg Road), Voorhout (Corner of New Duinweg and Johan Speelmanweg Roads) Bennebroek, and Heemstede. You will literally find tulip fields everywhere. We would see Tulip fields from the highway and take the next Exit to explore them.

Fields Around Lisse
A Great Place for a Drone

One of the few times I really wanted a drone was while visiting the Tulip Fields. Photographing with a drone gives you a completely different perspective. To be able to photography the vast fields would be amazing. Just make sure you're allowed to fly a drone in the area that you are stopped.

Shooting from Below

There is even a Tulip Route in Holland (from the Photographer Albert Dros).

From Albert Dros Website
Just Love this Carpet of Flowers

I hope you have enjoyed this short guide on Keukenhof. You can find my other Photography & Travel Guides by clicking this link.

Created By
Vito L Tanzi
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