Dutch Wave Tour: Exploring the Best Gardens and Parks in the Netherlands

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Tour Summary – What’s Included

• Visit of Dutch Wave gardens including the JP Thyssepark, Vlinderhof, Palace Het Loo, Kröller Muller Museum & Garden, Kasteel Twickel, and De Wiersse.
• Accommodation at the excellent 4* Hyatt Amsterdam Airport, (or similar),  Hotel Mooirivier (or similar) and Hotel Halbert (or similar).
• Transportation by comfortable private coach.
• Entrance fees for all gardens and Lunches
• Accompanied by experienced local tour guide with botanical knowledge.
• Complimentary welcome drinks on arrival.  5 nights on half board basis (Airport Hotel and Hotel Moorivier), 2 nights on bed and breakfast basis (Hotel Halbert)

Tour Description

The Dutch wave tour is an eight-day excursion that takes visitors on a journey through the most beautiful gardens and parks in the Netherlands. The tour begins with an overnight stay at the Hyatt Amsterdam Airport, where guests have the chance to meet their tour leader and fellow garden visitors over complementary drinks.

The itinerary is carefully curated to include visits to some of the most iconic and influential Dutch gardens, such as JP Thyssepark, Vlinderhof, Palace Het Loo, Kröller Muller Museum & Garden, Kasteel Twickel, and De Wiersse, among others. These gardens are renowned for their natural beauty, creative design, and artistic inspiration, and visitors will have the opportunity to explore each site with expert guidance and learn about the history, design philosophy, and unique features of each garden.

In addition to garden visits, the tour also includes visits to historical buildings and museums, such as Het Loo Palace, Menkemaborg, and the Kröller Muller Museum, where visitors can learn about the history and culture of the country. There are also stops at garden shops, including Garden Tools DeWit and DuoGarden, where visitors can purchase high-quality garden tools and plants to take home.

Throughout the tour, visitors will enjoy comfortable accommodations at hotels such as Hotel Mooirivier Dalfsen and Hotel Halbert, and delicious meals are included in the itinerary. The tour concludes with a canal cruise in Amsterdam and departure from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

Overall, the Dutch wave tour is an exceptional experience for garden enthusiasts, nature lovers, and cultural explorers. The tour provides an opportunity to discover the unique beauty of Dutch gardens and landscapes, learn about the rich cultural history of the country, and enjoy the best of Dutch hospitality.

Itinerary

Day 1 – 25 August 2023 – Arrival at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport – Complimentary Drinks

• Upon arrival, check-in to the Hyatt Amsterdam Airport for an overnight stay and meet your tour leader and fellow garden visitors over complementary drinks in the early evening. Dinner is on your own.

Accommodation:  Hyatt Amsterdam Airport

Day 2 – 26 August 2023 – JP Thyssepark, Vlinderhof – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included

• After breakfast and check-out, we will travel a short distance to JP Thyssepark in Amstelveen. Named after the ecologist JP Thysse, this park was designed by Christiaan P. Broerse (1902-1995) and makes pioneering use of wild flowers.
• After our visit, we’ll have lunch at Hotel/Café Restaurant Koekenbier before we leave for Vlinderhof garden in the heart of Leidsche Rijn on the west side of Utrecht. The garden was designed by Piet Oudolf and is one of 6 sections of over 5000m2 of parkland in what is now known as Netherlands Maxima park.

Accommodation:  Hotel Mooirivier Dalfsen

Day 3 – 27 August 2023 – Palace Het Loo, Kröller Muller Museum & Garden – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

• Today we visit two very different gardens. First, we travel to Het Loo Palace. Built between 1684 and 1686 for King William III and Mary II of England, the palace is a fine example of Dutch Baroque architecture and is now a state museum. The palace garden was designed by Le Nôtre’s nephew, Claude Desgotz. In keeping with Baroque style, it is perfectly symmetrical, has an axial design with radiating gravel walks, and includes parterres with fountains, basins, and statues.
• From Het Loo Palace, we make our way by coach to the Kröller Muller Museum & Sculpture Garden located in the splendid Hogh Veluwe National Park. The museum was opened in 1938 and has the second-largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. Adjacent to the museum is one of the largest sculpture gardens in Europe. Set in more than 75 acres (30 ha), it has a fine collection of modern and contemporary sculptures. The museum, its design and sculpture garden perfectly reflect its founders’ conception of a symbiosis between art, architecture, and nature. It’s a very special place.

Accommodation:  Hotel Mooirivier Dalfsen

Day 4 – 28 August 2023 – Fortmond garden, Dutch Dreams, Appeltern Gardens – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included

• After breakfast and check out, we travel to visit private garden Fortmond, a garden that has been inspired by the Dutch Wave style and which merges with the surrounding natural landscape. Recently the park ‘Dutch Dreams’ was opened including the work of several designers, all inspired by the Dutch Wave style
• On arrival at Appeltern gardens, we will have lunch. In the early 1980s, Ben Oojen = Ben van Ooijen decided to create a series of small model gardens as a way of selling his garden design services. This grew into what is now known as De Tuinen van Appeltern, which showcases the best of Dutch horticulture. This place is a major source of garden inspiration and welcomes visitors from all over the world.

Accommodation:  Hotel Mooirivier Dalfsen

Day 5 – 29 August 2023 – Lianne’s Siergassen, Kleine Plantage, Tuinfleur incl. lunch –  Menkemaborg – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included

• After driving to the province of Groningen we visit ‘Lianne’s Siergassen’ first: a nursery with a show and prairie garden. Here, more than 300 different grass species are on display in the show garden and used in many different ways – alone, as ground cover, or in borders. Home to the Dutch collection of Poaceae (ornamental grasses), this is a very special place, and you will leave with inspiration on how to include grasses in your garden or patio to maximum effect.
• We’ll have lunch at Abraham’s Mosterdmolen before traveling to visit Kleine Plantage, a small-scale nursery with gardens located in the Groningse Hogeland. The basic structure of the garden was laid out in the fall of 1986 when hedges and trees were planted. In the following years, the borders and gardens were added. The garden is constantly changing, and as a visitor, you will notice how it uses hedging to ensure that you are constantly connected to the surrounding Groninger Hogeland landscape.

Accommodation:  Hotel Halbert

Day 6 – 30 August 2023 – Garden Tools deWit, DuoGarden, City Visit Groningen – Breakfast & Dinner included

• Today, we start with something different. For over 115 years, the name of DeWit® has been synonymous with craftsmanship, reliability, and quality in forged garden tools. We’ll visit the factory, see how the tools are made, and have plenty of time to look at the various garden tools for sale in the shop.
• Next, we visit DuoGarden, a Dutch wave inspired perennial garden.  Afterwards, we travel back to Groningen for lunch (on your own) and for some free time to explore this fascinating and largely unspoilt Dutch city.

Accommodation: Hotel Halbert

Day 7 – 01 September 2023 – De Wiersse, Mien Ruys Garden – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included

• After breakfast and check-out, we travel to Gelderland to visit the moated manor house of De Wiersse. With 38 acres of garden and 74 acres of landscape park, the house and its surroundings have been lived in, designed, and managed by the same family since 1678. With pergolas, fountains, and statues, meadows and formal parterres, a kitchen garden, and mixed borders, there is a great deal of interest here.
• After lunch, we visit Mien Ruys Garden. For 70 years, Mien Ruys developed her creative ideas here on 6.2 acres. Now a sequence of thirty gardens, it is the experimental character of these gardens that make them so important to garden lovers and garden specialists worldwide. The Mien Ruys garden is a source of inspiration for those interested in gardens and garden architecture as well as an oasis of peace for anyone who just wants to enjoy a few hours of peace and quiet. After the garden visit, we will enjoy a canal cruise in Amsterdam including dinner at 7:00 pm. Later, we will check in for an overnight stay at Hyatt Amsterdam Airport.

Accommodation:  Hyatt Amsterdam Airport.

Day 8 – 02 September 2023 – Departure

After breakfast, it is time to say goodbye as the tour comes to an end. Departure from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.