An 8-day spring garden journey through the Dutch bulb fields, Keukenhof, the Bloemencorso Flower Parade, private gardens, historic estates and botanical collections.
Deposit: US$1,000
Step beyond the typical tourist trail and experience Holland at the height of its spring flowering season. This 8-day garden tour is designed for travellers who want more than a standard visit to Keukenhof. You will explore the Dutch bulb fields, visit specialist nurseries, see the preparations for the famous Bloemencorso Flower Parade, and enjoy Keukenhof when its spring displays are at their most spectacular.
The itinerary combines public horticultural highlights with more intimate garden experiences. Alongside Keukenhof and the flower parade, you will visit private and specialist gardens including Braamboschhoeve, Het Zwaluwhuis, the Tulpensoortentuin at Espel and De Stekkentuin. These visits offer a deeper view of Dutch garden culture, from bulb planting and nursery traditions to personal gardens shaped by years of horticultural passion.
This is also a tour of Dutch art, history and landscape. You will visit Het Loo Palace, one of the great formal gardens of the Netherlands, and the Kröller-Müller Museum, set within the Hoge Veluwe National Park and home to an exceptional Van Gogh collection and sculpture garden. In Utrecht and Leiden, two of the Netherlands' most atmospheric historic cities, the tour includes botanical gardens, free time and a guided walk through Leiden.
The tour begins and ends in the Amsterdam airport area, with four nights in Utrecht at the heart of the itinerary. With comfortable hotels, private coach travel, included entrance fees and carefully planned garden visits, this is a richly varied introduction to Holland's spring garden season.
A day-by-day guide to the gardens visited, hotels and the shape of the journey.
Arrive independently and check in to your Amsterdam airport-area hotel. This evening, meet your tour leader and fellow travellers for a welcome dinner. It is a relaxed introduction to the days ahead, as we prepare to explore Holland's spring bulb fields, gardens, museums and historic cities.
After breakfast, we begin with a tour by coach through the spring bulb fields. This is one of the great seasonal spectacles of the Netherlands, with ribbons of colour stretching across the flat Dutch landscape.
We visit Nursery Meeuwissen, a specialist bulb nursery where you will gain insight into the skill, labour and patience behind Dutch bulb cultivation. We also visit the Tulip Store Showgarden, where carefully planted displays reveal the variety and range of modern tulip breeding.
Later, we see the preparations for the Bloemencorso Flower Parade. This behind-the-scenes visit gives a fascinating view of the work involved in decorating the floats with thousands of spring flowers before they take to the road.
Today is devoted to two of the great highlights of the Dutch spring season: Keukenhof and the Bloemencorso Flower Parade.
We travel to Keukenhof, the world-famous spring garden where millions of bulbs are planted each year in carefully designed displays. It is a chance to see tulips, narcissi, hyacinths and other spring bulbs at peak season, arranged in a scale and density found nowhere else.
After lunch, we take our places for the Bloemencorso Flower Parade. The floats, decorated with tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other spring flowers, pass in a spectacular procession of colour, fragrance and Dutch floral craftsmanship.
Later, we continue to Utrecht and check in to our hotel.
After breakfast, we set out on a full day of garden visits along a carefully chosen garden route. This is a day for those who enjoy seeing how private gardeners, collectors and plantspeople shape their own spaces.
Our visits include Braamboschhoeve, Het Zwaluwhuis, the Tulpensoortentuin bij Espel and De Stekkentuin. Together, these gardens and collections offer a varied picture of Dutch garden-making, from spring planting and tulip varieties to personal design choices, plant combinations and the horticultural culture of the Dutch landscape.
Lunch is included during the day before we return to Utrecht.
Today we combine art, landscape and formal garden history.
We visit the Kröller-Müller Museum, set within the Hoge Veluwe National Park. The museum is renowned for its Van Gogh collection and its sculpture garden, where art, architecture and nature are brought into close conversation.
We then continue to Het Loo Palace. Built for William III and Mary II, Het Loo is one of the great historic estates of the Netherlands. Its restored formal gardens, with their symmetry, clipped structure, fountains and parterres, offer a striking contrast to the informal and plantsman-led gardens visited elsewhere on the tour.
This morning we visit Op de Haar, a richly planted garden known for its woodland atmosphere and wide range of shade-loving plants. It offers a different side of Dutch garden-making: quieter, more intimate and deeply plant-focused.
We then return to Utrecht, where there will be free time to enjoy the city at your own pace. Utrecht's canals, historic centre, cafés and independent shops make it one of the Netherlands' most rewarding cities to explore.
Later, we visit Utrecht Botanical Garden. Connected with Utrecht University and laid out around Fort Hoofddijk, this garden brings together history, plant science and contemporary botanical collections.
After breakfast, we check out and begin our final full day of visits. We visit a waterside garden before continuing to Leiden, one of the most beautiful historic cities in the Netherlands.
In Leiden, we visit the Botanical Garden, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the country. Its collections reflect centuries of botanical exploration, scholarship and plant exchange. We also enjoy a walking tour of Leiden, with its canals, university history, courtyards and associations with Rembrandt.
This evening, we gather for a farewell dinner at Restaurant Blaauw, known for Indonesian cuisine — a fitting final meal in a country whose food culture still reflects its historic global connections.
After breakfast, check out and continue your onward journey.
A selection of gardens, planting details and places featured in the journey.
Explore our other 2027 departures, or read more about visiting Holland in spring.
Helpful articles on visiting Holland in spring, Keukenhof and the tulip season, and what to expect on an escorted garden tour.
A full programme designed for garden enthusiasts — specialist-led, unhurried, and well-paced.
A simple route overview showing the main area covered by this itinerary.
Booking options
Select a departure date and room type to book your place on this tour.
A non-refundable deposit secures your place. See Booking Conditions.
Related reading
These guides help you understand the gardens, regions and practical planning questions connected with this itinerary.