MAY 2024
I am on a quest to see all the tulip regions in the Netherlands. While Lisse is arguably the most famous one, there are many other corners to explore. This year I decided I wanted to visit the tulip fields in Noord-Holland province. I had seen lots of pictures of old windmills surrounded by tulip fields, so that was something I really wanted to experience. So at the end of April we spent a weekend camping near the tulip fields. Find out whether this area was as magical as expected!
Our experience in the tulip fields
We visited tulip fields in West-Friesland and in Kop van Noord-Holland, in between Hoorn, Schagen, Alkmaar and Anna Paulowna. If you decide to skip highways and take the local roads, you will continuously see tulip fields. We visited in the third weekend of April, usually this is the peak moment, but this year it was slightly late. Lots of tulips had reached peak earlier and were already deadheaded. Still, as the area is massive, lots of tulips fields everywhere. I loved driving around, as the towns we were passing were so picturesque and we had to drive on dykes, which really gave a holiday feel. In general I found this area less touristy than Lisse and Flevoland. This also meant that there are less stalls at the road where you could buy tulips and bulbs. I expected lots of tulip fields near old windmills, but you really had to search for those. We ended up finding windmills near Obdam and Spanbroek, but you have to be lucky to find a tulip field right next to a windmill. I ended up asking a farmer for permission to enter their terrain so I could take a picture. In general I found the area more industrial than I expected, but still loved the variety in fields and bulbs and the occasional windmill. We also found the people very nice. Dutch people can keep a bit to themselves, but we had lots of conversations with local people.
Picking garden
I always love to visit a picking garden and was recommended one in the area by my cousin. We picked tulips at Pluktuin Bloemfontein in Bergen which had loads of tulips. During the week it has a self service system but in weekends there is a little stall with drinks and cake, where you can pay what you picked. I picked about 50 tulips for € 17,50. My 3 year old son absolutely loved this activity!
Poldertuin
A must in North-Holland during tulip season is visiting the Poldertuin in Anna Paulowna. It is a free garden, which has a splendid display of tulips, daffodils and muscari. Definitely a good alternative for the crowded Keukenhof. I loved the Poldertuin so much that I gave it a separate blogpost, which you can find here.
Hoorn
One of the most lively towns in the tulip region is Hoorn. Hoorn is a harbor city which has a good offering of restaurants and shops. I would have loved to explore Hoorn some more, but due to my herniated disc I couldn’t do too much. I did some research on a good restaurant in Hoorn and we ended up at De Tuynkamer and were impressed with the service and food. I would recommend to make reservations, we scooped the last table on a Saturday eve.
Campsites
On our trip we stayed at two campsites. First one was De Tulpentuin Slootdorp, where you stay between the tulip fields with a tulip farmer. They usually have some spots available and you can just roll up. Our second evening we stayed at the Jachthaven van Hoorn (Grashaven), which has a harbor view and is a short walk to the old town. We entered this one with a code and just booked when we arrived. I can imagine it getting busy during the high season, but there were quite a lot of spots. The facilities at Jachthaven were great, they even had a little playground for kids.
