If you play a word association game based on The Netherlands I guarantee that within three guesses you’ll mention tulips. In fact you might even mention them before clogs and windmills!
And its not surprising as tulips aren’t just a cliché, they really are a defining feature of Spring in The Netherlands.
I’ve written other posts about The Keukenhof and Fam Flower Farm. Both are amazing places to enjoy tulips in The Bollenstreek area around Lisse. Whilst its probably the most accessible area to Amsterdam its also heavily touristed in the short tulip window as a result. Don’t get me wrong, its relatively easy to get there from the city, you can cycle around the local fields with bikes hired from The Keukenhof and there is lots to see, however if you want to get into the real Dutch countryside, with huge skies, straight roads, open farmland and of course miles and miles of stunning tulip fields then I highly recommend the area of Flevoland.
Flevoland is the newest province of The Netherlands and in fact was only established in 1986. It used to be underwater – the ZuiderZee to be precise – and is now characterised by big skies, windmills (wind turbines), long straight roads and dozens of farms and orchards.
In Spring it’s one of the largest tulip regions in The Netherlands, and an absolutely brilliant area to enjoy the breathtaking strips of colour that seem to stretch for miles.
My one caveat is that you really need a car to get here. Even though there are hiking and cycling routes once you arrive, its not that easy to get into the countryside on public transport. But if you make the effort, you will be richly rewarded.
Tulip season is usually the last couple of weeks of April BUT, this is nature, a prolonged Winter frost, or an unseasonably warm start to the year can shift things by a few days or even a week. So, look at relevant websites closer to the time if you want to make sure the flowers will be in full bloom. And in truth, if they’re not, it’s probably not worth making the effort to get to Flevoland. One year I drove out a week too early and probably shouldn’t have bothered. The journey is about an hour from Amsterdam and I arrived to mostly green fields and hardly any signs of colour.
This year, however, was a very different story. Saturday 19th April 2025 was when it all came together – Easter. Sunshine. And peak tulip weekend.
In 17 years of coming to The Netherlands, I’ve never been lucky enough to have the trifecta!
So, with three generations in the car – me, my mum and mini-me, we set off to Dronten.
I wanted to start at Hanneke’s Pluktuin. I absolutely love flower picking farms (Pluktuinen) in The Netherlands. In fact I wish there were more of them. And whilst many offer a chance to pick wildflowers in Summer, it is of course tulip picking in Spring that is the biggest draw. There are a few options in Lisse, but I was keen to visit this particular spot over in north east of the country.
And boy was it worth it. We arrived just as they opened in the morning and walked through their lovely greenhouse and cafe to the hectare and a half of tulips. Armed with a basket for our finds, Hanneke explained how to pick the tulips which were charged at €14.95 for 20 or €7.50 for 10.
With dozens of varieties to pull from the ground (some with bulbs, some without) we chose carefully and filled our arms with the most incredible flowers. The experience was utterly joyful. There are so many different types of tulips when you look carefully and we absolutely loved taking time to find the perfect specimens of frilly, parrot, variegated and standard varieties.
But eventually it was time to tear ourselves away and explore the rest of the region and in particular the ‘Tulpenroute’. Each year Flevoland produces a series of routes – for cars, bikes and hikers – showcasing the best of the local tulip fields and the businesses that surround them. The route can be downloaded via an app available from TulpenrouteFlevoland that has an accompanying audio in English.
We picked up our route sticker from Fruithuis Smits.- a lovely organic farm and much to our surprise we discovered about 50 Ferraris in the parking area about to set off on a tulip rally. Given there are only two weekends a year when the tulips are blooming, there are dozens of local events from cycling races to children’s festivals so it was perhaps less surprising than it might have been to see so many of these Italian beauties.
Whilst we had mixed success with the navigation and audio guide on the app, we were still able to follow the map and what we discovered blew us away. The fields in this area are nothing short of magnificent.
It’s at this point I want to point out something I feel incredibly strongly about
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WALK INTO THE TULIP FIELDS
I can’t believe I have to point this out so specifically but the message is simply not landing.
In fact I’m going to quote from another blogger who blogs at Visiting The Dutch Countryside. Manon does biking tours of the tulip fields in the west of North Holland which could be a great option if you don’t have a car as she can meet you at the train station. Her site is a wealth of information but critically, I couldn’t put it better than her when she says the following:
Tulip fields – and any other flower field in The Netherlands – do NOT exist for your Instagram or TikTok photo or video. It’s a billion-euro industry, and tourists have damaged many fields over the years, leading to a decrease in income for the tulip farmers.
Walking inside flower fields, you will transfer fungi, bacteria and diseases from field to field. This destroys tens of thousands of bulbs. And when people lay in the rows of tulips, they break the flower prematurely, increasing the chance of disease on that bulb and the surrounding ones.
So, can you walk into flower fields in The Netherlands? No. If you still think you can do so, please stay home. Farmers have lost tens of thousands of euros because of ignorant tourists, which will not happen on my watch.
There are a few places in The Netherlands where you can visit and enter a field of tulips for a paid and reserved photoshoot, which can be visited in Zuid (South)- Holland. But, in general, you should never walk inside tulip fields in Holland or elsewhere in the country. and if you see people walking in the fields, taking photos, lying down, etc., please tell them to get out.
And indeed, that’s exactly what I did on this trip when I had to tell numerous visitors to step out of the fields. Its such a shame that many tourists are so disrespectful. They are ruining it for everyone. So please, don’t do what idiotic TikTokkers and Instagram influencers are doing. Photograph the fields from the edge which I can assure you is just as incredible as you can see from my shots below.
Although we didn’t head there this time, this area is also home to an incredible (and huge) fairytale pancake house and play park called Hans en Grietje (Hansel and Gretel). If you have young kids (or even big ones) you could easily spend a few hours here. In fact if they are anything like ours you’ll struggle to get them away at all. This extraordinary place even has magical Harry Potter style ‘moving’ tables and secret indoor slides.
These days its so popular that you need to book in advance. On weekends and in the holidays they suggest doing so at least three to four days beforehand.
We had the most fabulous day out. I’m sure further North the views in the North East polder are similarly spectacular and there are other areas too which are less trafficked than the routes around the Bollenstreek but wherever you go, do visit (respectfully) if you possibly can. There is truly nothing like the intensity of colour that you get from rows of tulips glittering in the sunshine.
