Tip Toe Through the Tulips in Michigan

Day 1

Day 1: Monday, April 29
Meet your friendly Trailways Tour Host and Driver at the available departure location of your choice and relax as we make our way to Holland, MI. We will be making some rest and refresh stops along the way including time for lunch, on your own, before arriving at Windmill Island Gardens. This beautiful oasis is on the edge of downtown Holland and features an original working Dutch windmill named “De Zwann” (the Swan). It was brought over from the Netherlands in 1964. The windmill, which reaches 125 feet from the ground to the top of the blades, towers over 36 acres of gardens, dikes, canals, and picnic areas. The gardens feature dozens of varieties of annuals and perennials in bloom throughout the season including over 150,000 tulips that bloom in the spring. While here you can also view the ‘Four Columns’ street organ that was a gift from the City of Amsterdam to the City of Holland, an Antique Dutch Carousel featuring hand-carved and painted wooden horses, The Posthouse Visitor Center which is an exact replica of a 14th-century wayside inn, the gift shop featuring local and Dutch souvenirs, and the Little Netherlands Village Display.
After your visit to the Windmill Island Gardens, enjoy dinner at Applebee’s before continuing to Drury Inn & Suites Grand Rapids and checking in for your 3-night stay.

Day 2

Day 2: Tuesday, April 30
Wake up and enjoy breakfast this morning at your hotel before becoming immersed in the history of Holland and how the Dutch culture played its role with your Step-On Guide. Your step-on guide will take you on a Tulip Time tour through Holland and share Holland’s founding, history, and continued growth.
Next, take a step back in time, 150 years, to a quaint, authentic Dutch Village. From authentic Dutch architecture, flowering gardens, canals, and windmills, Nelli’s Dutch Village brings the history and culture of the Dutch to life. Enjoy craftsmen and women demonstrating their Dutch works and delight in Dutch foods and cheeses. While here enjoy lunch with an included voucher at the Hungry Dutchman Café.
This afternoon, you will head Veldheer’s Tulip Gardens where you will find acres of beautiful blooms at Holland’s only Tulip Farm. Here you can see over 4 million tulips, 50,000 daffodils, 10,000 hyacinths, and 20,000 crocus, all providing a continuous parade of color for garden enthusiasts.
Once you have had some time to enjoy the gardens, venture on over to DeKlomp Wooden Shoe & Delft Factory. From the time you walk through the door your eyes will not believe the beauty and splendor of all the items on their shelves. You can see the detail and pride of work that goes into each of the products they make. While there you can talk with the artists as they hand carve your very own wooden shoes or hand paint blue and white delftware.
After a full afternoon, you will head back to your hotel and enjoy the Drury Inn’s “Kickback Reception” available from 5:30 to 7:00 pm daily with a rotating menu of hot and cold foods along with a couple of ‘adult’ drinks included with a choice of some wines, beers and cocktails. Of course, soft drinks and water are also available. If you would rather have something more than this for dinner, there are restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. Rest up, tomorrow we explore Grand Rapids!

Day 3

Day 3: Wednesday, May 1
Start your morning off with a hot breakfast at the hotel this morning before we depart for the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Wind through the pathways in comfort during a narrated tram tour and enjoy one of the nation’s most significant sculpture and botanic experiences. The 158-acre botanical garden, art museum, and outdoor sculpture park is ranked in the top 45 most visited museums in the world. Don’t forget to enjoy lunch with your included voucher at the James & Shirley Balk Café, with its dazzling glass ceiling sculpture by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. Named Lena’s Garden in honor of Lena Meijer, the sculpture – comprising dozens of individual blown-glass pieces – spans the ceiling in a continuum of colors, from cool greens, cobalt blues and purples to brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds.
After lunch, you will tour the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. America’s most entertaining presidential museum is both a loving tribute to the U.S. president who grew up in Grand Rapids and a fascinating exploration of the turbulent times our country experienced during his lifetime. Enjoy interactive exhibits of Gerald Ford’s journey from boyhood to life after the White House, emphasizing the responsibilities of democratic citizenship and service to the country. The museum is also the burial place of 38th president of the United States, and his wife Betty Ford.
Next, enjoy a Grand Rapids’ tour with our step-on guide. Soak up Grand Rapids’ rich history, beginning thousands of years ago with native tribes on the banks of the Grand River to the jaw-dropping 1915 hotel lobby with one of the largest gold ceilings in the world. You’ll see where the Grand Rapids’ first settler had his fur trading post, buildings that made Grand Rapids the Furniture Capital of the World and learn about the many buildings where President Ford worked or lived. In the city’s unique historic home district with 1,300 homes, you’ll see how its homes reflect the personalities of its original owners, but also hear how most of it nearly fell to the wrecking ball. We’ll step off in some spots during this tour, including seeing (from the outside) what’s considered the “most authentic” Frank Lloyd Wright in existence.
With a packed day behind you, you will head to Texas Roadhouse to relax and enjoy some legendary food before heading back to your hotel for the evening.

Day 4

Day 4: Thursday, May 2
Pack up and enjoy a great breakfast at the hotel this morning before returning home. Today you’ll make one last stop in Saugatuck, MI. Here you’ll get to go on a Saugatuck Dune Ride where you’ll enjoy 40 minutes of entertainment, fun, and excitement while you see local wildlife and learn about the lost city of Singapore, one of Michigan’s most famous ghost towns. Founded in the 1830’s it was hoped to have rivaled Chicago and Milwaukee as a lake port. After your ride, enjoy some time on your own to explore Saugatuck and have lunch on your own at The Butler. Then it is time to load back up and reminisce on all the great memories you made tip toeing through the tulips in Michigan.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner