There’s a moment every spring when the Netherlands does something almost impossible.
Overnight, it seems, the entire countryside catches fire — not with flames, but with colour. Rows of tulips in every shade imaginable stretch across the fields as far as the eye can see: deep red, bright orange, the softest blush pink, almost-black purple. I’ve seen photos of it my entire life. But there’s something about standing there, with a slight morning chill still in the air and the smell of fresh earth around you, that no photo has ever quite captured.
In mid April the Amsterdam Tulip Festival is in full swing. Running from March 19 through May 10, the festival transforms the Bollenstreek region and the city itself into a living, breathing kaleidoscope — tulips blooming in parks, squares, and the gardens of the Rijksmuseum.
And just 40 minutes outside Amsterdam, Keukenhof Gardens welcomes visitors daily. The best window for vibrant fields and the most pleasant weather is April 10–25, and if you time it just right, the Bloemencorso flower parade rolls through on April 18–19 — a spectacular thing to witness.
Now, imagine seeing all of this from the water.
Here’s the thing most people don’t realize: the Netherlands was made to be seen by river. The country is laced with waterways, and a river cruise through Holland and Belgium in tulip season is one of the most magical travel experiences in the world. It’s not just the tulip fields you pass by — it’s windmills spinning slowly in the morning mist, medieval towns with cobblestone squares, and the kind of unhurried pace that reminds you why you travel in the first place.
These itineraries are timed perfectly with the annual tulip bloom — sailing roundtrip from Amsterdam, exploring medieval towns, iconic windmills, and architecturally rich cities like Ghent and Antwerp, with a spectacular visit to Keukenhof Gardens, where seven million bulbs burst into colour for just a short window each spring.
You might visit a working tulip farm, learn how Dutch farmers grow and maintain such perfect blooms, wander through flower fields, snap photos amongst the colour, and hop aboard a small wooden boat for a canal cruise the way locals do on weekends. You wake up in a new city every morning. Meals are included. Your luggage stays put. And outside your window, Europe floats by.
This is exactly the kind of travel that stays with you for years.
And while you’re in Amsterdam — you have to do this one thing.
I’m not usually someone who tells clients they have to do anything. Travel is personal. But I’ll make an exception for Van Stapele Koekmakerij.
Van Stapele sells exactly one type of cookie, ONLY ONE TYPE OF COOKIE— a dark chocolate dough with a white chocolate core, crisp around the edges and soft and gooey on the inside.
They bake all day long, so even at the end of the day, your cookie will be fresh from the oven.
The shop has never spent a single penny on marketing and there’s always a line, It grew entirely on word of mouth, on love, and on the conviction of its founder, Vera van Stapele, that one perfect thing done with complete devotion is worth more than a hundred things done halfway. She turned down investors. She refused to franchise. She wouldn’t even add a second cookie.
You’ll smell it before you even see it. The line is often out the door. Go anyway. Order online in advance if you want to skip the queue. Then find a bench somewhere along the canal, unwrap your cookie, take a bite, and just… be there for a moment.
That’s Amsterdam at its best.
Ready to see the tulips from the water?
2028 itineraries are just starting to open, and right now only Travel Advisors have access. I can secure your stateroom with a small deposit and lock in today’s pricing — which is typically the lowest before they’re released to the public and start increasing month after month.
If this has been on your list, now is the time.
