Holland · Floral Experience
Holland · 14 to 21 APR 2027
The flower parade, the Aalsmeer auction, the tulip fields and a flower-arranging class, between Amsterdam, Noordwijk, Haarlem and Leiden.
- 14 to 21 APR 2027
- 8 days
Why this trip and not another
- 01
The Bollenstreek flower parade happens once a year and we catch all of it: the start at the hotel door, the pass through Lisse mid-afternoon, and the night arrival in Haarlem, forty-two kilometres later.
- 02
A full day inside FAM Flower Farm, with access to the growing field and a maximum of twenty people per visit.
- 03
The week falls at peak bloom, which is when Keukenhof and the open fields coincide.
What you will see
The flower parade
Keukenhof first thing
FAM Flower Farm
Aalsmeer: the auction and the institute
Leiden and the Hortus Botanicus
What you will know how to do when you get back
- Floral design at the Boerma Instituut, the most recognised international school in the Netherlands, in a full-day workshop.
- How the bulb grows and how blooming works, explained inside the farm itself.
- To solve, on the same trip, the flower up close and the open field, which ask for two lights and two ways of looking.
What we will do
Day by day
Amsterdam · arrival and canals
Direct train from Schiphol and check-in at the hotel. In the afternoon, an orientation walk along the canals and the Jordaan, and the first photographs of the trip.
Aalsmeer · the day of the flower trade
Before dawn to Royal FloraHolland, the auction, with a guided visit from seven to nine. On the same street is the Boerma Instituut, the most recognised floral design school in the Netherlands, in two greenhouses: we spend the rest of the day there in the workshop.
Leiden on the way and the illuminated parade
Train to Leiden and bus to Noordwijk, with a free afternoon on the beach and in the town. At night, the illuminated parade of Noordwijkerhout, which starts at nine and crosses the whole town.
The parade, from start to finish
The parade starts literally at the hotel door: floats just assembled and still without crowds. At midday we move to Lisse to watch them pass again, and at night we follow to Haarlem, where the forty-two-kilometre route ends around nine.
Keukenhof early and the floats up close
We enter Keukenhof first thing, with the best light on the gardens. In the afternoon the parade floats are on display in the centre of Haarlem: that is the time to photograph the detail without the parade crowd.
A full day at the tulip farm
FAM Flower Farm, near Lisse, with real access to the growing field and a maximum of twenty people per visit, so you photograph calmly. During the visit they explain how the bulb grows and how blooming works on the farm.
Leiden · the first tulips in Europe
The Hortus Botanicus, founded in 1590, keeps the collection of the first tulips grown in Europe, those of Carolus Clusius. The rest of the day is for the canals, the university, and editing before the last day.
Departure
From Haarlem to Schiphol in under half an hour. Anyone who wants to stop in the centre before the flight can do it via Amsterdam Centraal.
What it costs and how it is paid
Price and booking
The deposit is not set yet. Write to me and I will tell you the amount and the payment dates before you decide anything: you are not going to commit to a figure you have not seen.
Payment schedule
You book with the deposit and the payment schedule reaches your inbox as soon as you book.
Cancellation policy
What happens if you cancel depends on when, and I tell you with the amounts in writing before you book. Never behind a legal link. Ask me and I will tell you today.
Coming?
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- 14 to 21 APR 2027
- 8 days
A question before booking? I answer myself, at +1 (305) 676.2982.
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