If you have only one day to see the array of flowers in the Netherlands, your best bet is to sign up with one of several Amsterdam-based tour companies that will take you by bus into the countryside. Acre upon acre is planted with tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other eye-pleasing varieties. The TourCorp, based in Amsterdam, offers several different countryside tours that include a stop at the famous Keukenhof Gardens, an 88-acre open-air floral exhibition that began in 1949. Keukenhof has attracted more than 44 million visitors to more than 100 varieties of tulips. TourCorp offers half-, three-quarters and full-day tours that include bus transportation, driving tours of fields en route and entrance to Keukenhof. After booking online with TourCorp, you will receive a confirmation with contact information for the local operator responsible for your tour.
TourCorp International Headquarters
165 Jefferson St. Suite 2E
San Fransisco, CA 94133
415-474-9855
partner.viator.com/en/3142/tours/Amsterdam/Keukenhof-Gardens-and-Tulip-Fields-Tour-from-Amsterdam/d525-2550LIN12A#additional
If your idea of a perfect vacation involves capturing the beauty of flowers with your camera, then a week-long photo safari of the tulip fields is an ideal choice. The Holland at Tulip Time photo tour is offered by the Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris company based in Vashon, Washington. It provides two full days dedicated solely to clicking and filling up your memory card at Keukenhof. Other highlights include a day of photography in the commercial bulb fields of the Dutch province of Noord Holland. This tour also has a contract for photography on nearby private land, where a remote windmill is surrounded by wildflowers. You spend the remainder of the week-plus tour photographing villages, windmills and stopping in Bruges, Belgium, before returning to Amsterdam.
Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris
P.O. Box 655
Vashon Island, WA 98070
206-463-5383
photosafaris.com/photography-trips-2011/holland-photo-tour/
Several companies offer week-plus tours that incorporate windmills, one or two days to explore Amsterdam, a stop at the Hague and time floating on the canals. The Garden Tours from Holland Specialty Travel offers all of these things while keeping in mind floral enthusiasts, too. The eight-day trip includes a lunchtime stop at the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, which is one of the world's oldest botanical gardens and features more than 4,000 species. One day is dedicated to visits to private gardens owned by Riet Brinkhof, Huize Bingerden and Piet Oudolf. The latter is renowned for the design and planting of the Battery Park Conservancy Garden of Remembrance in Manhattan, dedicated to the victims and survivors of 9/11.
Holland Specialty Travel
Brittenburg 11 Amsterdam
North Holland
8302 BS
The Netherlands
011-31-20-7535-1515
hollandguides.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=43&Itemid=68
This type of tour takes its participants on an unique adventure. It combines barge travel down some of the Netherlands' most picturesque rivers and pedal power as visitors ride bicycles to various destinations. A tour advertised on Info Hub Specialty Travel offers the services of various Amsterdam-based tour companies and lists a visit to the Aalsmeer Flower Auction, where visitors get a glimpse into the financial side of the floral industry. Other highlights include pedaling through what is known as the Green Hart of Holland, farmland dotted with lakes and windmills. The tour travels through the commercial bulb fields and takes a detour to Keukenhof. While in nearby Lisse, bikers can stop at the Museum of the Black Tulip. While cycling in the Dutch countryside, this tour also stops at the Panorama Tulipland in Voorhout, where artist Leo van de Ende began painting a scene of tulip fields 62 meters long by 4 meters high. He paints nearly every day, and cyclists can stop to watch his work.
InfoHub Inc.
1256 Arabelle Way
San Jose, CA 95132
408-329-1125
infohub.com/vacation_packages/996.html
