Tulip Season in the Netherlands – best spots in Zeeland
Tulip Season in the Netherlands – best spots in Zeeland
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There are popular places to see the tulips in the Netherlands like Keukenhof or Lisse, but they are so crowded and expensive. Do you know there are massive tulip fields around the Dutch island Goeree-Overflakkee, you can visit for free? A big thanks to Hannah and Nick from saltinourhair, who shared the tips about the tulip fields in their home town! From mid April to early May you can gaze at the beauty of these colorful fields.
1. Why do the tulips grow here?
It starts with crocus season in March, which is followed by daffodils and hyacinths. Finally the tulips show their gorgeous colors. Its long spring season with cool nights makes Holland the perfect country for tulip growing. The soil in the polders is continuously drained, creating perfect growing conditions for tulip bulbs, which love well drained but moist soil.
Interestingly, the tulip is not native to Dutch countries. The plants were imported into Holland in the sixteenth century. In 1952 Carolis Clusius wrote the first major book about tulips and the flowers became popular. Commoners quickly began to notice that the price of bulbs was driven up due to the fascination with the flower.
2. Where can you find the most beautiful tulip fields?
Tulip fields are literally everywhere on the island Goeree-Overflakkee apart from the bigger streets. Just drive around and stop when you see beautiful ones. There are fields of red, orange, white and pink tulips. We found the most beautiful fields in the South-East of the island around Oude-Tonge and Nieuwe-Tonge. Check out these streets:
- Heerendijk
- Zuiddijk
- Blaakweg
- Langeweg
- Piersweg
- Westdijk
3. Best time to see the tulips?
From mid April to early May you can gaze at the beauty of the colorful tulip fields. In March you can see crocus, daffodils and hyacinths. Depending on the frost and cold nights harvest time can vary around 1 week. Friends of us even found tulip fields in mid May. You can find harvesting times of the farmers online.
4. How to take pictures in the tulip fields
Be creative with angles. Set your tripod pretty low to capture beautiful tulips in the front of your picture. And fly your drone if you have one! The symmetry of the tulip stripes looks incredible from above! Also you should bring some colorful clothes, so you can adapt to the different colors of the tulips. Please do not pick tulips or trample down the blooms while taking pictures! Keep in mind it’s the farmers property and they want to sell these flowers! It’s only still allowed to take pictures here because people are careful with the tulips!
5. Beach activities at Ouddorp beach – the North-West of the island
Goeree-Overflakkee is not only about the tulips. If you plan to come in another season, you can still explore the beach life here! Get a kite lesson, on the water, on a buggy or standing on the sand. Or go swimming! If the waves are higher, you can also try surfing. In October kite-surfers compete in the European Freestyle Windsurfing Championships.
6. Brouwersdam beach – Eat at Beachclub Natural High
From Ouddorp beach in the North-West of the island you can drive over the headland between the island Goeree-Overflakkee and the next island Schouwen-Duiveland. Beachclub Natural High is located at the beach between these two islands and offer a surf shop as well as a modern restaurant.
7. Go longboarding
The comparatively flat streets in the Netherlands are perfect for longboarding. Whether you choose tracks next to the tulip fields in the South-East of the island or tracks dircetly behing the dike, you will have a lot of fun!
8. Drive to the 3rd island Walcheren – Domburg and Westkapelle
The most Southern and 3rd island Walcheren has really beautiful cute towns like Domburg and Westkapelle. The beaches in Domburg are perfect for surfing! In Westkapelle you can visit the lighthouse.
How to get there? How to get around?
From Germany Aachen (our home town) it’s a 2,5-hour car ride to Zeeland, the three peninsulas. The easiest way is to rent a car. If you are coming from the Netherlands, Rotterdam is the closest city (around 50-minutes car ride). Also Belgium isn’t far away, from Antwerpen you will need around 1 hour and 15 minutes. Isn’t it cool that there are 3 countries so close together?
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