Tulips and Kings Day

One long day at Keukenhof is sufficient. Your husband will take hundreds of photos. You cannot bicycle inside Keukenhof, but if you want to ride a bicycle in the surrounding area and tulip fields, you could. I think one day is sufficient unless you are an avid bicyclist and really want to bicycle.

We saw the floats in Haarlem on the Sunday after the parade. They are viewable just about all day

We were in Amsterdam on Kings Day, and I started my day at 8:00 am, walking around the city. But the people didn't come out to sell their goods until almost 10 a.m. I'm saying it was quiet and not crowded in the early AM.
By noon, though, the party boats were filling up and starting to prowl the canals., especially in the Jordaan area. The free ferries to/from Amsterdam Noord were crowded with people going and coming into Amsterdam. There were areas where events were happening and those places were crowded. But it wasn't crazy crowded as I had assumed it would be.
Amsterdam was closed to vehicular traffic all day, so the taxis and buses weren't running.
I think celebrating Kings Day in one of the cities you mention would be fine. Just wear an orange shirt and walk around.
If I had to give you advice for King's Day, I'd say choose a small town like Delft or Haarlem.

My husband and I were in Den Haag for King’s Day this past April and it was very pleasant and not crazy at all.

The evening before, April 26, several music performance stages were set up in the area around our hotel. There was a big party that night but nothing that kept us from moving about or getting to sleep at a decent hour. When we woke up the next morning most traces of the party the night before were gone.

On the morning of the 27th, we visited the Kunstmuseum and spent the afternoon leisurely walking back to our hotel near the Parliament building. Along the way we stopped at a few big neighborhood, family-oriented celebrations/markets and individual flea markets.

@derek - thanks. I will try not to over-do it on things tulips. I guess sometimes less is more. We will have already been in Harlem - this would have been my first choice as well.

@jen - that is what I am looking for. Did you spend the night in The Hague? Do you feel it was a good choice for you?

@Marie, at the end of our 3 weeks in the Netherlands and Belgium we had 5 nights at the Staybridge Suites in Den Haag, April 25-30. It was a very good choice for us. From that base we had a lovely King’s Day and found it convenient to take day trips to Delft, Leiden, the Keukenhof and Rotterdam. We had a very easy connection to Schipol airport for our return home. Earlier in the trip we stayed in Otterlo and Amsterdam.

Our daughter had been in Amsterdam on April 27 the previous year and based on her reported experience we decided that a quieter city would be the best King’s Day fit for us.

Two more things -

Both my husband and I were prepared with orange accessories to wear on King’s Day; so that we would fit in. Since the atmosphere was so low-key, we thought that it would not have made a difference if we hadn’t.

And, unlike Amsterdam, public transportation was running mostly as usual. Some tram stops were closed and some tram routes near our hotel were diverted on the 26th. These changes were clearly posted at stops so that we didn’t have any issues.

The Netherlands is one of our favorite destinations. Please let me know if you have more questions.

@jens - Thank you! I have been reading that The Hague is not a very exciting city to use as a base, so I am happy to hear you enjoyed it. Logistically, to me, it seems great. And I need a place for Kings Day that is not Amsterdam. I live in New Orleans so I understand the big party crowds, but I get that enough here! Did you like your base? Would you pick it again vs. say Leiden? I am really debating what to do in this particular time frame. Have you been to Dorecht?

@Marie, I’ve sent you a PM.