GardenTours.com draws on more than 35 years of experience organising specialist escorted garden tours. What began as a programme for Dutch garden enthusiasts has grown into a wider international offering for travellers from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Each year we organise around 100 specialist tours and journeys. Independent travellers are welcome on all scheduled departures — you do not need to be part of a group to join.
Our Programme
Our tours are designed for garden enthusiasts who want more than a hurried overview. Itineraries are built around the gardens themselves — their character, their seasonal timing, and the quality of what each visit offers. We focus on thoughtful pacing, comfortable logistics, and a programme depth that rewards serious garden interest.
Most of our garden tours are in the United Kingdom and Europe, with particular strength in the great gardens of England in late spring and early summer — the period when they are most rewarding to visit.
Gardens and Access
Over many decades we have visited an exceptionally wide range of public and private gardens, building the knowledge needed to select destinations that offer genuine horticultural value — not simply gardens that are well known or convenient.
We have also developed long-standing relationships with private garden owners whose properties are not regularly open to the public. These relationships, built on trust over many years, give our guests access to gardens and garden owners that are genuinely difficult to reach independently. Visiting a private garden through an invited group is a different experience from visiting a public attraction, and it is one we have worked hard to make available to our guests.
Our Guides
Our tours are accompanied by professional English-speaking guides employed directly by us — not contracted through agencies. Many are multilingual, which is a practical advantage for international group travel and for mixed-nationality departures.
What distinguishes our guides is not only their horticultural knowledge but their broader engagement with garden culture. Many work professionally as garden writers, photographers, or designers outside their tour-leading work. They bring a depth of observation and contextual knowledge to each visit that goes well beyond what a generalist guide can offer, and many of our guests have told us that the quality of the guiding is central to why they return.
Comfort, Safety and Security
The comfort and safety of our guests have always been central to how we work. We travel in high-quality, air-conditioned coaches operated by experienced, reputable transport partners. Hotels are chosen carefully for their character and comfort, and for how well they suit the rhythm of the itinerary.
We monitor official travel advisories and adapt our plans when required. GardenTours.com BV is registered with the SGR (Stichting Garantiefonds Reisgelden) and is a member of the Stichting Calamiteitenfonds Reizen, providing independent financial protection for guest payments. We are also a member of ETOA, the European Tourism Association. Full details of your financial protection are set out in our Booking Conditions.
Custom Group Tours
We have extensive experience developing bespoke tours for botanic societies, garden clubs, media organisations, associations, and other specialist audiences. Our custom programme can be built around very specific horticultural interests, group sizes, budgets, and schedules. We work in multiple languages and have organised custom tours for organisations across Europe and North America.
If you represent an organisation interested in offering a dedicated garden journey to your members or audience, we would be glad to discuss what is possible. Please get in touch.
Stay in Touch
To hear about new tours and upcoming departures, sign up for our newsletter. For questions about any of our tours, room options, or suitability, please contact us — we are happy to help before you book.