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Keukenhof Visit Experience

First Off, thanks to Rick Steves Europe for great Travel resources. The PBS TV show, Monday Night Travel, and the “Amsterdam and the Netherlands” guide book were great support for a successful visit to the Netherlands.

Word of advice on Keukenhof. If you reserve tickets that include the Keukenhof Express to and from the Tulip Gardens’ make sure you give your self lots of time before booking the Canal Cruise.

We reserved for transportation from Amsterdam Rai for a 1330 departure on Monday . We showed up at 1250, well in advance of our booked time. There was a massive line up.. and the busses were basically “load and go”. We did not get on the bus until 2 pm. Moral of the story is your reserved time for the Keukenhof Express is not guaranteed during peake season.

We booked a Canal Cruise for 1600, so fortunately we had time. For those who book a Canal time shortly after their planned arrival by the Keukenhof Express may be out of luck . It was a great day at Keukenhof. Cold and windy the day we were there, but still a beautiful sight.

We can’t wait to plan our next trip to Europe.

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The best time to go to any major tourists site is between when they open usually around 9 am and 11am and after 3pm. Avoid arriving between 11 am and 2 pm if you can help it.

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435 posts

I'm glad that you got to go to Keukenhof! It was an amazing experience that I won't forget.

I reserved a slot for for the Keukenhof Express from Schiphol Airport for 4:00 p.m. when I went a couple of weeks ago. I arrived early (about 2:45 p.m.). There were only about twenty people in line ahead of me and they let me go on the bus at that time, rather than wait for the 4:00 p.m. bus, which was much appreciated. I will say that the location of the bus from Schiphol wasn't right outside the doors of the airport, but probably a ten minute walk from the exit of the airport, so make sure that you give yourself enough time to walk to the bus if you take it from Schiphol.

Another thing that might be of interest is that cash is not accepted anywhere at Keukenhof, including the restaurants/snack bars.