Over the fourth of July holiday, Kevin’s family rented two houses near South Haven, MI for the entire week. The joys of West Michigan are still very new to me, and since we were planning to visit for the entire week, we figured we’d take a day trip during our time there and settled on Holland.
As you would guess, Holland is known for its Dutch heritage and culture. The best time to visit is in early May, which is “Tulip Time,” when the town boasts over five million tulips, throughout city parks, public attractions and along city streets.
Even without the tulips, the town of Holland is full of charm, great boutiques and modern breweries. Below is a great way to spend a day trip if you’re within driving distance.
9AM Grab Coffee at Ferris or Lemonjellos
While planning this trip, Lemonjellos came up a lot as a Holland favorite and they specialize in “mood lattes,” lattes with flavor combinations based on your mood. I’m not a huge fan of syrup-y lattes, so I opted for the “Buzzed,” which featured local honey, usually my go-to when spicing up a plain iced soy latte.
Although we opted for Lemonjellos, later in the afternoon we came across Ferris Coffee, which was just a block away. It’s on the main drag of downtown and was much more my vibe. Turns out Ferris Coffee is based in Grand Rapids and they just recently opened up a Holland location earlier this Spring—which is always why I keep an open mind when planning because some new gems won’t pop up a lot in your research.
Once you grab your coffee, take it to go and walk around Hope College, just across the street. If you’ve read my Boston post, you’ll see tons of pictures from our afternoon stroll in Cambridge, and Hope College reminds me a lot of the charm and beautiful buildings we saw there. I’d also recommend walking through downtown, scoping out a few places to hit later in the day.
10AM Head to de Boer’s Bakkerij for a Pastry
When I schedule day trips or vacations to places I’ve never been (and might not be back to any time soon) I love splitting up my coffee and breakfast spots in order to try more places. De Boer’s Bakery (or Bakkerij) is currently run by the fourth generation de Boer and his sons and in the last 20 years, they’ve expanded the bakery into a breakfast and lunch restaurant.
While you could sit down and enjoy breakfast, grab a pastry from the huge assortment and eat it outside at one of their many outdoor tables. My favorites: Maple Coffeecake donut, sausage pastry and the classic, Dutch Kraklingen. Also, had I not already consumed my caffeine for the day, I would have 100% tried the Whiskey Barrel-Aged Coffee… My tip: Get a lot and share everything.
10:30AM Visit the Windmill Island Gardens ($10 admission)
Hopefully you’ve timed your trip just right and you can visit the Windmill Island Gardens during Tulip Time (early May,) Peak Week (Late July) or Lavender Living (End of July) to fully enjoy what they have to offer. Even without a big event, the gardens are beautiful and the entire space is influenced by Dutch culture, from the windmill, to the shops and the types of flowers on display.
The windmill, DeZwaan, is the only authentic, working Dutch windmill in the US and it grinds locally-grown wheat into flour, which you can then purchase at their gift shop. Most days, they run tours within the windmill, led by costumed guides, where you can learn about the process of the windmill, and the history of how DeZwaan was used as a lookout tower in World War II, when it was still located in Europe.
One of my favorite spots within the gardens was the conservatory, a tiny building, but I was feeling all of the outdoor patio-inspiration in this corner with the beautiful green door. And don’t miss the gift shop, where you can purchase Dutch pastries, cookies and delicacies. My mother is always bringing me back Stroopwafels, and they had a great assortment of those and other favorites.
12PM Head Back Downtown for Lunch at Butch’s Dry Dock
Butch’s, located right downtown, is the perfect spot for a light lunch after walking around the gardens. The front half of their restaurant is more upscale, but the back bar area and the patio are perfect for grabbing a quick bite. My favorites: Turkey Club and the Spicy Paloma.
1PM Relax on the Patio at New Holland Brewing’s Pub on 8th
Odds are if you’ve been walking around town for a bit, you’ll have seen New Holland Brewing’s outdoor beer garden. Head there for a beer or a flight, but don’t forget to check out their cocktail list.
I wasn’t in the mood for any of their beers, but their blueberry gin cocktail was so refreshing on a hot day. (At the time of writing this, I noticed a Pina Colada Kombucha (4.0% ABC) on their menu, which I’m sure is amazing.)
2PM Hit the Shops
While I’m usually quite picky about where I shop, Holland’s downtown had two great shops that caught my eye, just in the single block we walked earlier in the day.
Frances Jaye had an excellent curated selection of men’s and women’s clothing, jewelry and décor, while Spring Sweet, which doubles as a bridal boutique, was perfect for wedding guest dress shopping.
3PM Head Down the Street to Our Brewing
We could have stayed at New Holland Brewing for a few hours, but we were in the mood to switch things up. After visiting a few shops, we headed over to Our Brewing, which was just a few doors down. Quite unassuming from the outside, but the vibe was much more relaxed, with board and card games.
If you’ve got the time, settle in for an hour or two, grab a game and try a few of their unique beers. My favorites: Strawberry Wheat and Coffee Blonde.
4PM Walk Around Downtown
Spend the rest of the afternoon checking out other shops and stores before driving home. If you’ve got time, hit one of Holland’s restaurants on the river.