Keukenhof transport options

I bought the combo ticket (roundtrip plus entrance to Keukenof) on the official Keukenof site except since I was staying at the airport I caught the bus that leaves from there.

You will have to look on the official site to see the map where the stop is located in central Amsterdam in relation to where you are staying
https://keukenhof.nl/en/ov/

Going and coming the buses leave as they fill up meaning every seat is taken and no one is standing.

The best practice is to either get there as early as possible or after 3 pm. Avoid arriving between 10 am and 2 pm when most tourists groups come. I went after 3 pm and was able to take some great photos of the flowers without tourists spoiling them and there was more space to sit and relax. Also you want to give yourself more than one day of options to go so you are not set on one specific day and it happens to rain

Thank you. Good info. I didn’t think about booking a couple different refundable trips and then choosing based on weather. Thanks!

Did this just a few weeks ago and did the RAI (Europlein) pickup location. Could not have been easier. Got there earlier than our designated time (830) and they let us board early. Minimal lines and well organized (little bit of a wait on the way back although it was less than 15 min and gave us a chance to discuss what we’d just seen and what we wanted to do next). We were there by 930 or so and there were still a large crowd, although it was possible to get pictures and move about freely.

It is nice change of pace/contrast to busy Amsterdam (no bike dodging) and to be outside in aromatic, clean air. The gardens are immaculately manicured and the flowers are beautifully presented.

Vondelpark as offers these same great qualities right in Amsterdam minus the rows and rows of tulips. :)

You may want to consider taking some snacks or picnic food as the food/drink prices are high and subpar.

Thank you. Great tip on bringing food!

We had the combo ticket. We were staying in the Jordaan neighborhood. (Is that what you mean by Western Canal Zone?)
We walked to Amsterdam Centraal train station, took the train to the airport and caught the express bus at the airport. Since we had timed bus tickets, the wait was minimal. At the end of the day, it wasn't a long wait to take the bus back to the airport. Easy peasy.

Buy your combo ticket from the official Keukenhof website.

Just catch the bus closest to your hotel. For me in the Jordaan, it was a short walk to the train station. Western Canal Zone is too broad and too generic to give you better advice.

We are staying in the western canal ring, near Nine Little Streets on the Herengracht canal. So a little east and south of Jordaan. A 20(?) minute walk to Central Station. I've read mixed reviews on getting the Keukenhof Express bus at the airport. Some say long queue lines of an hour or more and others, like yourself, have said they get right on. Same with the return trip. Might have to do with time of day or traffic. Thanks for sharing your experience.