Best Time to Visit Amsterdam: A Month-by-Month Guide

Six steps take you from a goal to a month. The table shows the whole plan, and each step below gives the detail.

Step 1: Pick your reason for the best time to visit Amsterdam

The best time to visit Amsterdam is the month that matches the thing you want most. Tulips are in spring. The warmest weather is in July and August. The Light Festival is in winter, and the lowest hotel prices are in January.

Most visitors want more than one of these. Choose the one you would be sad to miss, and let the others follow.

The best month for a trip is the one that fits the main thing you came to see.

Key Takeaway Amsterdam has no dry season. The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) counts about 133 days a year with at least 1 mm of rain, so a rain jacket belongs in every bag.

Step 2: Read the weather in Amsterdam month by month

Amsterdam is mild all year, with average highs from 6.2 °C in January to 22.5 °C in July. These numbers are the averages for 1991 to 2020 at Schiphol airport, which sits right next to the city, as published by KNMI. Rain days count days with at least 1 mm of rain, from the KNMI table of rain days.

April is the driest month, with 39.6 mm of rain, and August is the wettest, with 98.6 mm. May is the sunniest month, with 231 hours of sunshine. December is the darkest, with 58.

Read the table by what you plan to do. March is cool, with highs of 10.1 °C. April and May are mild, with highs of 14.3 °C and 17.8 °C. June and July are the warmest, and July has 7.6 days a year above 25 °C. Warm days stay rare, and the average yearly count above 30 °C is 3.7.

No official source rates comfort, so this is our reading of the averages. At 10.1 °C, March calls for a warm coat, and sitting outside for long is cold. At 17.8 °C, May is mild enough to sit outside in a light jacket on a dry day.

Pro Tip Check the rain-day column, not only the millimetres. October has 12.4 rain days and November 13.4, so autumn feels wetter than its totals suggest.

Step 3: Plan spring around Keukenhof and King's Day

Spring is the best time to visit Amsterdam for tulips, and the main reason is Keukenhof, the flower park near Lisse. Keukenhof is open from Thursday 18 March to Sunday 9 May 2027, daily from 8:00 to 19:00, and entry closes at 18:15, according to the park's frequently asked questions. Outside those dates the park is closed.

Bloom follows the weather, so Keukenhof does not promise flowers on a given day. The park says crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths and early tulips come first and larger tulips bloom later. Plan for the second half of the season if tulips are your goal. April is also the driest month, which helps.

Every ticket is for one date and one time slot. You cannot enter earlier or later with an online ticket. You can reschedule an online ticket bought on the official site up to 24 hours ahead if the slot is free. Read the full dates, prices and slot rules on the page for keukenhof garden tickets, and see when the fields peak in the guide to keukenhof gardens tulip season.

If you would rather not organise the trip yourself, a Keukenhof tour with a windmill cruise costs from €65 per person and is rated 4.5 from 3,418 reviews on GetYourGuide. The day takes about 8 hours and includes the Keukenhof entry ticket and a 60-minute windmill cruise. It starts at Overhoeksplein 51 in Amsterdam, not at your hotel, and it is run by HopOn HopOff Holland. The listing shows free cancellation. Wheelchair users are listed as not suited, and the listing gives no group size. Doing it on your own costs less in fares but means planning the bus and the time slot yourself. The tour saves that planning and gives you a guaranteed coach seat.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide. We do not rate tours ourselves.

King's Day falls on Tuesday 27 April 2027, inside the Keukenhof season, according to the Dutch government's list of holidays. I amsterdam says that day brings crowds, and that overcrowding and congestion can be a problem. Most big museums close, but the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House usually stay open. Book a different day if crowds are the thing you want to avoid.

No official source names the busiest month in Amsterdam. For Keukenhof, the park says it is less crowded before 10:30 or after 16:00. It also warns of an exceptionally busy day on Saturday 17 April 2027, the Bollenstreek Flower Parade, and advises another day if you only want the park.

Step 4: Weigh summer and autumn before you choose

Summer is the best time to visit Amsterdam if you want warm evenings and long days outdoors, and autumn is the time for fewer visitors and more rain. June to August has highs of 20.3 to 22.5 °C and 204 to 225 hours of sunshine a month. August is also the wettest month, so one warm day does not mean the week stays dry.

Warm evenings suit the water. An evening canal cruise costs from €17 per person and is rated 4.8 from 5,403 reviews on GetYourGuide. The cruise lasts one hour and leaves from Stationsplein 18, by Amsterdam Centraal station. Eco Boats Amsterdam runs it, and the boat is open or partly covered depending on the weather. The listing shows free cancellation.

Autumn cools quickly. September still reaches 19.2 °C, but October falls to 14.7 °C with 12.4 rain days. By November the average high is 10.0 °C and the sun shines about 67 hours all month. Plan indoor days for October and November.

A museum is the safest wet-weather plan. A timed Van Gogh Museum ticket costs from €27 per person and is rated 4.7 from 58,275 reviews on GetYourGuide. You choose the entry time, and the listing shows free cancellation. For more indoor choices, see the guide to Amsterdam museums.

For the cruise and the museum ticket, prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide. The museum ticket is sold by GetYourGuide Tours & Tickets GmbH, and the listing does not state a group size.

The honest limit: summer is the best time for weather, but not for your budget or for quiet. June is the priciest month for hotels in the study below, and none of the warm months is dry.

Step 5: Weigh winter and the Light Festival

Winter is the best time to visit Amsterdam if you want lower prices and the Light Festival, but you give up warmth and daylight. January highs average 6.2 °C, December has 14.1 rain days, and the sun shines only 58 hours in December. Frost is common, with 42.8 days a year when the temperature drops below 0 °C. So is winter worth it? Yes, if you want the lights and low prices and can accept short, cold days. No, if you want warm weather.

The Amsterdam Light Festival runs from Thursday 26 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027. The lights are on every day from 16:30 to 23:00, and the festival closes at 21:00 on 31 December. Seeing the art on foot needs no ticket, so the festival works on a small budget.

The canal is the classic way to see the lights. A Light Festival cruise with a drink option costs from €24.40 per person and is rated 4.6 from 2,016 reviews on GetYourGuide. The cruise takes about 75 minutes in a small group of up to 28 people, and the listing shows free cancellation. Eco Boats Amsterdam runs it from Stationsplein 18. Drinks are added only if you choose that option. For other boats and walks, see the pages on an Amsterdam Light Festival canal cruise.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide. A cruise is optional, since the art can be seen on foot for free.

Check hours before you go in the holiday weeks. Dutch public holidays in 2027 include Christmas Day and Boxing Day on 25 and 26 December and New Year's Day on 1 January, and many attractions change their hours on those days.

Step 6: Compare hotel prices and book your dates

Hotel prices change a lot by month, and the cheapest months cost less than half of the priciest. In the 2026 Amsterdam Travel Cost Study of prices read in October 2026, a 4-star hotel room for two adults in Amsterdam was cheapest in January 2027, at a median €125 a night, and priciest in June 2027, at €293.

So January is the month to pick for price, and June is the one to avoid if budget matters more than weather. Spring and summer cost more because they are when most people want to come. Keukenhof dates are fixed, so book a room for the spring weeks early.

Two hotels fit a first trip in any season. Hotel Estheréa is a historic hotel on the Singel canal, a 10-minute walk from Dam Square. Conscious Hotel Vondelpark is on Overtoom, about a 5-minute walk from Vondelpark, and rents bikes. For more areas, see where to stay on the Amsterdam where to stay page.

Both seasons have plenty to book. The Best Travel Destinations' count of GetYourGuide listings for Amsterdam found 23 Keukenhof or tulip trips for spring and 17 Light Festival cruises and walks for winter. Book the activity that sets your dates first, then fit the rest around it.