My First Keukenhof Experience in 2008

My First Keukenhof Experience in 2008

Wow… what an incredible tulip park. My name is Mike. I come from a small village in the north of the Netherlands, and when I was just 15 years old, I visited Keukenhof for the very first time. I am now 33 years old — so that was 18 years ago.

At that time, I had just finished school and decided to work on the land with my father, right in between the tulip fields. We were topping the tulips (cutting off the flowers), a typical student job. It was fun to do as a side job, but also quite special — not everyone gets to work every day surrounded by millions of colorful tulips.

How It All Started

The Moment That Changed Everything

One day, an American man arrived at our fields. He wanted to take photos. At that time, I had honestly never seen a tourist in my life. Our village was small, far away from the big cities, and tourists didn’t really come there yet. Someone speaking English in our village was something very unusual.

I was curious and asked my father what the man wanted. He told us that he was traveling through the Netherlands, buying tulip bulbs, and was completely fascinated by the tulip fields.

That moment stayed with me.

Discovering Amsterdam and the Tourists

Not long after that, I decided to visit Amsterdam for the first time. It was funny, because Amsterdam is only 30 minutes by train from my village, but I had almost never been there.

When I arrived, I was amazed. So many tourists. Such a beautiful and lively city — and so close to home.

That’s when I thought: Why don’t these people visit our tulip fields? They are so beautiful — but tourists simply don’t know they exist so close to Amsterdam.

Hotels in Amsterdam and Keukenhof Flyers

When I later visited hotels in Amsterdam, I noticed something interesting. Everywhere I looked, there were flyers for Keukenhof. Tourists were invited to travel from Amsterdam to this famous flower park.

So I decided to visit Keukenhof myself.

And wow… The park was enormous, incredibly beautiful, and truly unique. I immediately thought: This is something every tourist should see at least once in their life.

Keukenhof vs. the Tulip Fields

Keukenhof is often called the most beautiful spring park in the world — and I fully agree. Every year, Dutch designers create something completely new and unique. Many tulip growers participate to showcase their new tulip varieties, and the result is breathtaking.

But Keukenhof is different from the tulip fields.

Today, I notice that many visitors first visit Keukenhof — and after that, they start searching for the real tulip fields. They want to see where the tulips actually grow, right in the countryside.

Organising Tulip Tours

From One Bus to Thousands of Visitors

Now, 18 years later, after seeing Keukenhof myself and understanding how many tourists visit Amsterdam and the surrounding area, everything came together.

Today, we sell thousands of tickets to Keukenhof and tulip excursions every year. Around 1,500 people annually join our tulip field tours. We keep these tours exclusive, so visitors can truly enjoy walking between the fields and receive clear explanations about the tulip process.

The Start of Tulip Tours Holland

In 2018, I launched the website Tulip Tours Holland. Back then, I started with just one small bus from my father’s company. I picked up the very first tourists from their hotels in Amsterdam and drove them along the tulip fields.

It was amazing.

People were happy, excited, and deeply impressed. For many of them, it became a memory they would never forget — and that feeling still motivates me today.

The very first guests of the very first Tulip Tours ever

Visiting Keukenhof or the Tulip Fields Yourself?

Would you like to visit Keukenhof or explore the tulip fields with us? You can always send us a message or simply book a tour.

Still Personally Involved

Did you know that I still drive along on the tours myself? I regularly guide guests through the flower region and, of course, we still visit my father’s tulip fields as well. That’s something we will always continue to do.

Because for me, tulips are not just a business — they are where my story began