Keukenhof in May

All three of my visits to Keukenhof have been in May....the last week of the show in fact. If your primary reason for visiting is too see tulips in bloom then stay away I guess because they will be in short supply at the gardens. Having said that, there is more to the gardens than tulips, there's lot of other lovely flowers to admire including a large orchid exhibit. Even though the gardens are only open to the public a few months of the year, they are maintained year round; the complex is used for trade shows in other months. Last year I visited on the very last day, and the gardeners were still busy planting new flowers.

Our first trip to Amsterdam was in early/mid May and the ticket agent at the city centre actually refused to sell us tickets to Keukenhof saying all the flowers had already bloomed. So for us that time of year was a bust, but I am sure that others who have actually visited the park in May will be able to give you more definitive floral/blooming information.

You would be catching it at the very end of the season. Although they rotate the flower beds to keep things fresh, you may or may not see many tulips.

We have a close family friend who has lived in Holland for nearly 60 yrs. She says that, on average, April 15th or so is about the peak of the tulip season. As James noted, the winter weather conditions, and how soon everything warms up in the spring can shift that date a bit one way or another. However, I think by the third week of May, even the late-blooming tulips would likely be just about finished. You could try calling or e-mailing Keukenhof right before you leave to find out what the conditions are there at the time. Most Dutch speak some English - I'd bet someone could tell you quickly and easily. Then you would know if a side trip would be worthwhile. That said, the last time I was in Holland, I travelled @ the very same time of year as you are planning to go. I knew we were going to be too late for the peak of the flower field color, but I was hoping we would still see something. However, though we travelled extensively throughout the entire tulip fields area, the only place we saw any tulips were at the flower stands on the streets of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, etc. Oh, well, it just gives me a reason to go back again !

with the extreme high temperatures we're seeing this year (I live close to the place) it is very unlikely that tulips will be around that time. In any case, Keukenhof 2012 is going to be open 22/3 - 20/5 only.

I agree that the Tulips will be well past prime, but you may consider investigating Floriade. It is a once every 10 years Horticultural Expo. We looked at going, but it may not work out. More info here: http://www.floriade.com/