Tulip Time in Holland!

Fly into Amsterdam airport (AMS) and grab a taxi. (They are clean and plentiful at the airport and all the drivers will speak English). If you're flying overnight to get to Holland, you may want to consider arriving a day early to rest, relax and get used to the local time zone. Either way, take your taxi to the Hotel Estherea on one of the oldest canals in Amsterdam, the Singel. 

We’ll meet in the lobby at 1:30 p.m. for a private boat tour of the Amsterdam Historical Canal with a glass of bubbly in hand. It's a wonderful way to explore the city via its iconic waterways.

Later in the afternoon, we'll visit the Anne Frank House - always a profoundly moving experience. The preserved rooms and Anne's poignant diary entries vividly convey the fear, hope, and humanity that she embodied. 

Tonight, we’ll head to one of the historic, traditional brown bars in town, such as The Pantry to sample some typical Dutch cheese and sausages washed down by a local beer or two 

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll head over to the famous Rijksmuseum to see some of the Dutch masterpieces that tell the story of 800 years of Dutch history.

We will have lunch at a local venue before we see the illustrious Van Gogh Museum. Here, we’ll wander around the refurbished museum with a guide and pick out our favorite Van Gogh.  

After a rest at the hotel, we’ll meet in the lobby to walk to Restaurant Ambassade for a lovely canal-side dinner. 

We'll walk to the Bloom Market after breakfast. The market is the world's only floating flower market. Founded in 1862, the market is on the Singel Canal between Muntplein and Koningsplein in the city's southern canal belt. It has 15 souvenir and gift shops, with only a few still selling fresh flowers. 

We’ll head to the town of Lisse to see the "Flower Parade" for 2025!  Lunch will be before the parade starts at a local restaurant. Then we'll head to our grandstand seats to watch the parade. 

Today is our BIG tulip day! We’ll explore the Tulip Bulb Fields and meet with a tulip grower. We’ll have lunch at a country cafe and stop to pick our own tulip bouquet. 

After a small break back at our hotel, we’ll dine this evening on the classic  rijsttaffel, a medley of small plate dishes from Indonesia, something every self-respecting Dutchman or woman adores. Why Indonesian food in the Netherlands, you ask? The Dutch colonized Indonesia back when colonization was in vogue. Among mostly horrible things, the one good thing to come of this colonial era is the elaborate meal, as interpreted by the Dutch, a never-ending parade of small Indonesian-inspired plates laid out to form a proper celebratory feast.  

Bon Appétite!  

Today, we leave Amsterdam and head for Delft, the small city famous for its porcelain and its gorgeous small canals. But first, we’ll stop at Rembrandt’s House.   

On route to Delft, we’ll stop and see the largest formal display of bulbs in Holland at the Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, established in the 15th century.  

We’ll fill up on lekker broodjes (tasty sandwiches) at lunch in Leiden at  Lot En De Walvis on the main canal.   

Then, we’ll arrive at Delft proper, where we’ll check in to the stylish Hotel Arsenaal. The hotel is a short 10-minute walk from the very center of Darling Delft.  

This afternoon, we’ll take a guided historical tour of this lovely city and learn about one of Delft’s most famous residents, Johannes Vermeer.  

Dinner tonight will be at a cozy, classic Dutch restaurant, Huszar, a local favorite.  

Before heading out today, we’ll try poffertjes, delicious Dutch pancakes. They’re scrumptious, so you’re in for a treat.  

Now, we’re off to a UNESCO World Heritage site about 40 minutes away. The village of Kinderdijk near Rotterdam is home to some of the Netherlands’ most famous windmills. Twenty windmills were built here in the 1700s and have kept this waterside town dry for hundreds of years. We’ll tour the mills and museum, ride a boat, and learn about life here with a guided tour. We’ll enjoy a healthy lunch with a riverside view.  

Back in Delft, you’ll have time to explore and shop on your own.  

We’ll convene for evening meal at a modern, lively cafe, the Post Office (in Dutch). 

Today,we'll spend our last day in the capital of the Netherlands, the Hague, where we’ll tour the town’s parliamentary buildings, the Binnenhof, originally built for the counts of Holland in the 13th century. These buildings are some of the world's oldest parliamentary buildings still in use and a top Netherlands heritage site. We’ll lunch at a charming city bistro.

Later, we’ll pop in to see the unspeakably famous painting, the Girl with Pearl Earring by Vermeer, and works by Rembrandt, housed in the small but lovely Mauritshuis Museum.

We will enjoy our final dinner tonight in the Hague and then head back to the hotel for our final sleep together. We’ll toast to our week in Tulip Heaven and the new friends we’ve made.

All good things must come to an end. After breakfast, we’ll say our goodbyes, share our photos, and depart with many fond memories and new friends. We will have a mid morning group transport to the airport.