Kings Day elsewhere in Netherlands

“ What is the rest of the country like for Kings Day (and I presume rolling over into Friday and Sunday too?)”

Hi Nigel, I’m not really sure to answer your question, because I’m not sure what it is you’re asking. Are you looking to avoid Kingsday festivities? Or do you want to take part in it?
Kingsday is our national holiday, it’s celebrated in every single town, city and village of our country. How it’s celebrated depends on the size of the town in question. Small villages may only have a flea market and funny games organized for kids. Bigger towns may have that plus music performances and large cities have everything including complete music festivals.
I’m also not sure what you mean by rolling over into Friday and Sunday. The Kingsday festivities are limited to the actual day. The next day, even in Amsterdam, is just for cleaning up the city and taking down decorations etc. In some larger cities the festivities indeed do start in the evening/night before. The Hague for instance is notoriously famous for their Kingsnight. However the party doesn’t start until later in the evening.

If you wish to avoid the festivities, the Keukenhof may actually be a good option.

thanks very much Dutch_traveler...

crowds these days can be extremely difficult for the person who whom the visit is being organised, as is loud music and noise.

So you are right, as much as possible we try for a quiet uneventful time at this point in life. I remember lovely times in Haarlem for Queens Day but that was before and now we have a different reality.

It is important that we visit, but with weekly doctor visits the trip can only be max 6 days and we need to be here on Wednesdays and we need our car so either Hook of Holland or Calais.

We could cross on Thursday and take a couple of days in Belgium, maybe Mechelen, but would prefer somewhere between Bergen op Zoom to Dordrecht, or maybe just over the border in Germany, and then Keukenhof on the Monday and back across again on Tuesday... or wait a week which opens a lot up, but what condition will the Keukenhof be in into May????

it is difficult when adjustments need making

If you wish to avoid the festivities, the Keukenhof may actually be a good option.

I agree with Dutch_traveler - our visit to the Keukenhof on Kings Day 2023 was a good place to spend the day. It was no different than the time we had spent there several days earlier.

Is the purpose of your visit to go to the Keukenhof? In that case it’s important to know that the Keukenhof will be crowded no matter when you visit. The Keukenhof is only open for about 8 weeks and the sweet spot for the tulips in the area around the Keukenhof is even shorter. Last year, 1.4 million visitors came to the Keukenhof, that’s an average of 25.000 visitors per day. But the peak of the visitors is during the last 2 weeks of April, because that’s when the tulips in the fields that surround the Keukenhof are in bloom. So during these days, there will be even more visitors per day than the average.
What I’m trying to say is that, in terms of crowds, it won’t make a difference if you visit on Kingsday or on the days before or after that.
Another thing to consider is that the blooming of the tulips is way ahead of the normal schedule. The Keukenhof will try to have flowers on display for as long as possible, but last week the first production fields were already headed. Normally this isn’t done until the first week of May. So if I were you I would try to visit sooner rather than later.

Nigel, we went to Keukenhof on Kings Day two years ago and it was wonderful. We arrived around 1:00 or so and while there were other people there it wasn’t packed.

Edited to add that I think for your circumstances it would be doable.

Edited again to say I’m thinking of C. If you are referring to someone else I couldn’t say for sure.

yes, that's right Andrea

She has great memories - but rapidly fading ones - of previous trips so I'm trying to give her extra special memories

Sorry to hear that your wife has to live with dementia, it’s a serious challenge to deal with.

Dordrecht is certainly a nice place to stay, but as I always stay at home I have no experience about how busy or loud it is during Kingsday. Best is to look for a B&B or a small hotel away from the main streets and squares where most of the festivities take place.

Zierikzee south-west of Dordrecht is even being touristy a much quieter place and very nice. But a bit away from the main attractions in the Netherlands. You can look for a B&B or hotel there, they certainly will help if you contact them at forehand and explain what you are looking for.

Anyway good luck with your trip.

I’m glad you are making this trip and memories. We were in a costal town, Zandvoort, 5 years ago during the week of King’s Day. There were food and music venues and many people in the streets. Off of the Main Street were the front yard sales. Little orange flags were flapping everywhere. While we didn’t go to Keukenhof on King’s Day we went on a very busy, warm sunny day. What we observed were crowds of people in the morning and rapidly diminishing crowds in the afternoon. It was more pleasant to walk around from early afternoon to closing.

thanks for all the help. We're not able to travel this weekend now (car probs) so will manage at home this year. I hope that we can get back to the Keukenhof next year. Once again, thanks.

Nigel, I’m sorry you had to cancel your trip. I hope next year will work out for you. You know my story and traveling to Germany with someone with Alzheimer’s. We had a fabulous trip, but the reality was that the memories stay with the people involved without cognitive impairment. I treasure those memories.