It doesn’t get more typically Dutch than tulips and bikes, so why not book a tour this spring that takes you through the tulip fields on a bike? Verita’s Visit Holland creates customized bike tours and day trips around typical Dutch themes like windmills, cheese, and tulips. The tours are great no matter the season and come highly recommended because there’s no better way to “go Dutch” than by getting on a bike and taking in the sights and sounds of the beautiful Netherlands.
The Bike Tour
I opted for a bike tour of the tulip fields around Keukenhof, which happened on the most glorious spring day. I, along with the others on the tour, gathered in front of Keukenhof where we met our guide and picked up our bikes before embarking on a 20-kilometer bike tour through Lisse. Don’t be intimidated by the distance; there are plenty of stops along the way to smell the roses (well, maybe not roses).
The bollenstreek was in full bloom as we passed fields filled with bright and cheerful daffodils, beautiful hyacinths with their intoxicating perfume permeating the air, and of course, the beloved tulips. We stopped at a couple of the flower fields to admire their beauty, and to take selfies.
Forget what you heard about tiptoeing through the tulips. It’s a big NO. There are strict rules about walking in the flower fields because of the possibility of damaging the flowers and bulbs or spreading diseases among them. Also because most flower fields are private property. Our tour guide had permission to take us into a few of the fields and showed us how to carefully navigate between the rows to get those perfect pictures.
Next, we rode to a tulip farm where we had the opportunity to talk to the bulb grower. This was also our chance to have a coffee break* and enjoy delicious Dutch treats like stroopwafels and appeltaart (Dutch apple cake/pie). The more adventurous ones of the group indulged in a shot of tulip vodka, but only one shot because it wasn’t even noon and because we still had plenty of kilometers ahead of us.
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Downtown Lisse was our next destination where we got a little behind-the-scenes look at one of the floats for the Bloemencorso Bollenstreek (flower parade), The Netherlands’ famous flower parade that welcomes more than a million visitors from all the over the world. We even got to add a few flowers to the float, though based on the anxious look on the person’s face we were “helping”, I’m sure she promptly undid our handiwork as soon as we left.
Lisse was the last stop on the tour. We left this charming little Dutch town and made our way back to Keukenhof where we returned the bikes and said our goodbyes. I recommend making the most of your day by combining the bike tour with a visit to Keukenhof*, which you can read about here.
About Verita’s Visit Holland
Verita’s Visit Holland has a number of Dutch-themed tours to choose from such as tulips, windmills, water, and cheese, and all are easy day trips from Amsterdam. For flower lovers, there’s also the tulip and windmills tour in Leiden, and the summer flower fields bike tour for those who are in The Netherlands from July – October. Verita’s Visit Holland also offers customized group tours, workshops, and team challenges.
The tours are family-friendly, and Verita’s Visit Holland owner, Vera, is an engaging and informative guide. Bikes are available in a variety of sizes, and E-bikes, parent-child tandems, and child seats are available for an extra fee. Prices for tours range from €38 – €60 per person (including the rental of a regular bike).
For more information, visit the Verita’s Visit Holland website.
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*Not included in the price of the bike tour.
