Motorcycle Itinerary for visiting the Tulip Fields in the Netherlands

Visiting the tulip fields in the Netherlands has always been a dream of mine, and it did not disappoint! Here is everything you need to know about visiting the Holland tulip fields by motorbike:

Tulip fields in the Netherlands

Since moving to Paris, I haven’t had the chance to do many long motorcycle trips.

As you’ve probably seen on almost every postcard of the Netherlands, there are fields known to boast thousands of tulips every year in the spring. I’ve always wanted to visit them while they’re in season, so when I saw that I could get to Amsterdam in 6 hours from Paris, I decided to go for it!

It was definitely an amazing experience and roadtrip that I won’t forget!

What is the best time of year to see tulip fields in the Netherlands?

April is the definitely the best month, as the flowers are blooming the entire month! Late March is also okay, as well as early May. If you time it right, you may even find yourself in Amsterdam during the King’s Day festival!

Normally, you can get some pretty good weather, although there’s always the risk of rain! April to May in the Netherlands is usually pretty warm out in the sun, but chilly at nighttime and in the shade.

I will admit that I had to buy a sweater once I arrived, as it was colder than I anticipated. Riding wasn’t so bad with the sun, but if it was cloudy of night I definitely would have needed more layers.

Driving a motorcycle in the Netherlands

The roads in the Netherlands tend to be either huge interstates or small country roads that go through random farmland. It’s pretty flat, so the ride may not be winding and full of curves, but still some lovely landscapes!

Lane-splitting is legal and common. Coming from Paris, I’m used to aggressive drivers, especially when it comes to lane-splitting. I found that in the Netherlands, people would still lane split but were FAR less aggressive than Parisians. In the city centers, most other motorcyclists wouldn’t even skip to the front of the line at red lights. However, no one thought it strange that I did.

Overview of motorcycle itinerary

I started my journey in Paris and spent the first day driving to Lille, a very lovely city near the border. I spent the night there and the next morning exploring the town, the park, and sampling the best croissants the city had to offer. I highly recommend a stop in Lille if you’re ever in the area!

Lille to Amsterdam was mostly on the interstate. There were other highways that I could have taken, but most are through farmland and I was a bit limited on time. After making it to Amsterdam, I spent a couple days exploring the city and its canals. I had been before, so I really didn’t need that much time there. I then made my way out of the city up to Zandvoort, because sometimes your girl just needs to breathe the sea air.

The drive through Haarlem was amazing with all the beautiful houses and greenery, and once I got to Zandvoort there were several other bikers. I had a nice chat with some (so many Dutch people speak English!) and dipped my toes in the sand for a little while.

Afterwards I went up to the town of Lisse and spent the afternoon and next morning exploring the tulip fields. On the way back to Paris, I stopped in Rotterdam for lunch and spent the night in Bruges, known to be the Venice of the North. Overall, a very successful trip!

Where can you see tulip fields in the Netherlands?

Before I went, I was expecting the entire country to be filled with fields of flowers! Heh, not so much.

The town closest to the fields is called Lisse, and is only about an hour train ride/drive away from Amsterdam. It’s the perfect day trip from Amsterdam! Most tulip fields and attractions are located close to Lisse, so it’s a good starting point for your trip!

The town is super cute, with Dutch style architecture, cute restaurants, and a really nice flower market. Be sure and plan some time to explore the town. Outside of the town you can find fields and fields of tulips.

Reaching the fields by motorbike

I discovered that motorbike was hands down the best way to visit the fields. For one, the fields are very spread out. Many people take a train to Lisse and then rent a bicycle for the day. This is great in that you can see many fields and even take the bike between different rows depending on the field. However, it takes awhile to get anywhere with a bicycle and you have quite a lot of ground to cover. If you rent a car, it’s difficult to find parking in the cities and sometimes near the fields, even if a car is faster. Having a motorcycle gives you the best of both worlds.

Tulip Fields vs. Tulip Gardens – What’s the difference?

There are two main ways to visit the tulips: through the fields or in gardens.

When I visited, every person asked me, “Are you going to Keukenhof?” They made it seem like Keukenhof was the only viable way to see the tulips, so of course I booked a ticket.

Keukenhof is a massive garden filled with lots of photo spots and flowers in basically any color imaginable. It’s gorgeous, and easy to visit if you don’t have a car, since there is direct transportation to the garden for a good price. If you’re coming by car, you will need to pay for parking (6 euros).

Since I was visiting by motorcycle, I noticed on my way to Keukenhof that there actually were fields of flowers just on the side of the road and on side streets. I was able to park and walk around the field a bit. Everyone else was in cars or bicycles, because it’s way better to have your own form of transportation than simply doing a tour! I stayed for a bit to take photos before heading to my scheduled visit at Keukenhof.

Forewarning if you walk through the fields though: MOST of the time, the gardeners do not like for tourists to climb around the fields and take photos. You used to be able to, sure, but after decades of tourists trampling around on their merchandise, the farmers got sick of it and there are many fields blocked off (and honestly, who can blame them?).

However, other residents don’t really care, and you can find some fields that are easily accessible to the public, like in the location I found here:

An alternative to this would be to visit the Tulip Barn! This place has a cheaper entrance fee than Keukenhof and more of the natural fields.

So what is my recommendation? Do both if you can!

It’s really cool to see the difference between fields and gardens and enjoy the tulips in all their splendor. After all, the tulips were the real reason to the area you came right?

Would you ever travel just to see the tulip fields in the Netherlands?