Any time of year, you’ll enjoy flowers in the Netherlands (as the Dutch are experts in greenhouse technology). But if traveling to Holland in May, be sure to visit Keukenhof, just half an hour south of Amsterdam. The park is well-connected by public transport and a delight even if you think flowers are overrated.
We work very hard to flex our tour itineraries in order to take advantage of any special opportunities. In May, our tours in the Netherlands trade a stop at the open-air folk museum in Arnhem for the amazing tulip festival at Keukenhof. The huge park is bursting with color and dotted with Dutch clichés (windmills, wooden shoes, and pancakes).
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
Exploring polder land with Majel, our Wetlands Safari guide, we learn that the ground is just a mat of vegetation, and below it is the inland sea — and when you throw your weight around, the world becomes your own private trampoline.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
An amazing thing about Amsterdam is that, in 10 minutes (by bike or public bus), you can be in the wide-open polder land — the vast fields reclaimed from the sea where cows graze, tiny canals function as fences, and only church spires interrupt the horizon. A fun way to experience this is by canoe with a local guide. And that’s the mission of Majel Tromp, a friend who runs Wetlands Safari (which I’ve recommended in my guidebook for many years). In a couple of months, I’ll be taking my film crew on a canoe ride with Majel.
The TV crew has flown home with two great new shows in the can, and I’m in the Netherlands. How do I know? Where else would you find a “marching band” on bicycles!
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.