What our travellers say

I took their Netherlands horticulture tour last wk. I travelled as a solo traveler. Everything from start to end was thoughtfully planned and organized. Miranda was a good driver, driving the big bus in narrow streets. Bret was our guide. Everything including Keukenhof gardens, tulip fields, private gardens, museum visit, palace garden and the final dinner at the Indonesian restaurant was very good. We were a small group of 8 during this trip. Had a good time seeing places with thoughtful and easy going fellow travelers. This was my first tour with this company. I am looking forward to the next trip with this company in 2027 in a different country . Hotels were good and the airport hotel (Amsterdam) at the beginning and end was very comfortable and convenient.

We absolutely loved our tour; it was excellent. We appreciated our careful, fun bus driver, Arend, who did a great job navigating the narrow roads throughout the countryside. We also enjoyed Kitty, our guide, who took good care of our nice small group of 13. She prepared us for each day, described each garden while on the bus and accompanied us throughout the gardens. She also created a What’s Ap group to keep us informed about details. Our days were busy; up at 7:00, breakfast with the group at 8:00 and off to our gardens by 9:00. We returned back to our hotel 6:00-6:30PM. We choose this tour because of the gardens to be visited, the time of year, (beautiful summer blooming time) and the fact of staying in one hotel in Tunbridge Wells for the majority of the trip; plus the benefit of someone else driving on the opposite side of the road! Our hotel in Tunbridge Wells was a typical English historic hotel with character and period type furnishings with a comfortable bed and chairs and a large bathroom. The dining room and outside dining was nice and the breakfasts offered a good selection with friendly staff. We even walked into town 20 minutes away for dinner on our own two nights. The Crown Plaza Heathrow made for a convenient beginning and end of tour location. My husband and I liked the mix of beautiful, public and private gardens with a few villages and towns like Canterbury and Rye also visited with some free time. The visit to KEW gardens on day one was great but I would eliminate the visit to the Olympic Park totally. Whenever I’m traveling in Europe and the UK I always am curious to see what is behind the tall private hedge rows and walls, and this time we could - what a delight!! Plus, what a joy to meet some of the owners, learn about the history of the garden, house and occupants, and have the gardens to ourselves in many cases. We enjoyed the tea and cakes each day. We were blessed with beautiful weather and a great group of friendly, like-minded travelers from Australia, New Zealand and the US. Thank you for such a great tour - it was our 50th wedding anniversary gift to ourselves.

We enjoyed our 6 days of visiting both private and Public Gardens. A good cross section of gardens provided opportunities to compare and provide insight and information alongside inspiration for one’s own garden projects. Transport arrangements worked well. Accomodation at Royal Spa Hotel was set in nice grounds with gardens . Tour guide and bus driver had a lot of experience which enhanced the overall experience and quality of the tour.

I was primarily interested in seeing Keukenhof Gardens when I booked my tour. I was very pleased to see many more gardens that I never would have been able to find on my own. A very enjoyable tour!

Beautiful gardens and estates - well done tour. Not rushed and lots of time to cherish the grounds of the parks and gardens toured. Very nice hotels too with delicious food.

From the beginning when I booked the tour, until the last day when we moved on, our tour was excellent! The staff helped me with my reservation and sent necessary information about our travel well in advance so we had time to complete it. On the tour, we visited both private and public gardens that had different plant varieties and layouts for everyone! Our guide and bus driver were excellent - engaging, thoughtful, caring, and knowledgeable. The coach was comfortable and in excellent condition and Ronald was an expert driving on the small country roads we found ourselves on! The hotels we stayed in were fabulous and well situated for entertainment beyond the group activities. I can't wait to plan another trip with you guys!

The garden tour was stellar! Weather, guides, gardens, lodging, and other participants made it a wonderful week. Thoroughly enjoyed Ronald and Renanna--terrific guides. Ways to improve: better communications from Garden Tours, and more information on gardens.

We had a nice time touring the gardens. I would have preferred to have more guidance with a docent at the large gardens. Those tours were often in the afternoon when we were on to the next location. It was difficult to follow the maps when just dropped at the Entrance. I think it was at Sissinghurst that we joined a guided tour by one of their volunteers and it was so interesting and he got us to the highlights. The Audley’s Wood Manir was lovely but the 2 hour bus ride to a garden and two hours back was a lot of time on the bus to go to the same area three days in a row. A 3:30 pick up time for the Chelsea Flower Show would have been sufficient time. We took a cab back to the hotel and still had time to have a glass of champagne before leaving. We especially liked the gardens that had an estate house to tour. At Lonely Gardens many of us paid for the house tour before our yea that afternoon. We could have spent more time there. Miranda was a terrific bus driver getting us safely to all the locations. She was especially appreciated when on the bus as much as we were. Riu Plaza was very accommodating in London.

Karin our tour guide made this trip even more special along with our experienced coach driver Rene. I will start my review with our 1st Hotel in London, The Rui Plaza is not a luxury hotel as expected. The location is not the best and I would not opt to stay there on my own. The rooms are too small especially for a shared room. We stayed in 2 different style rooms. We opted to arrive 4 days early and paid for our room. This room was larger than the room we were given upon our return to London for the last night. This second room was even smaller with 1 luggage rack and no drawers except a small one in the night stand. There was 1 night stand between the beds, we ended up using a suitcase for a night stand. The restaurant was only open for breakfast so no room service or any where to eat otherwise. I highly recommend a hotel change. The Ashdown was what I would have expected, it was wonderful, helpful staff, beautiful large rooms and bathroom. The restaurant was nice with good food. The garden twe visited were beautiful with a good verity. The only one I would suggest replacing is Coddard Green. I see originally we were scheduled to visit Pashley Manor.

Itinerary, guide, driver, Arden Hotel all outstanding. My only disappointment was the farewell dinner: chaotic and very unpleasant. Left early. Service was robotic, irritating, and intrusive. Suggest u do round tables next time.

The tour led by Karin and driven by Rene was more than I ever hoped it would be. Karin is delightful and comes with serious garden cred; Rene is a paragon of patience and skill, particularly in narrow hedge-rowed rural lanes and ancient villages. The Kent/Sussex hotel property, Ashdown Park, was lovely. The Riu Plaza in London left a lot to be desired - stingy with space and storage facilities for double-room occupancy; terrible WiFi; no lunch or dinner service in its restaurant; sketchy neighborhood immediately adjacent to Victoria Station. Administratively, communication and organization could have been a lot better - for instance, late notification about the restaurant situation and changes to the garden visit itinerary. Four of the six outlying gardens were spectacular. The gardens at Leonardslee and High Beeches were subpar, by comparison. The tour is expensive, and so many greater gardens could have been visited instead. I would hesitate to recommend the tour to others, in this regard. If I could break out the star rating for Karin and Rene, I would award them all five. Same is true for Ashdown Park. The Riu Plaza is a complete failure as a business our tour hotel.

The gardens chosen were spectacular and the sequence of gardens visited arranged artfully from small to massive. The first stop, Pettifers, was an example of what one person achieved on her own, but maybe a bit of a letdown to people expecting grandiosity everywhere . Then on to Boughten Castle which included the tour of the interior of the building and spectacular views. Next day we had a lovely time in the town of Stratford Upon Avon and toured or just enjoyed the historic town, the birthplace of Shakespeare. I appreciate that we were given the option of seeing a Shakespeare play and Rianne, our guide arranged for us to change our meal time for this. By the way, the Arden Hotel there was lovely and the provided meals amazing. We also spent a half day at Broughton Grange Gardens which was a mix of formal and wild. Next day we moved on to the more famous and typical when you think of Grand English Gardens to visit, Hidcote and Kiftsgate with their garden rooms. The following day was the best and were visits to grand estates, Morton Hall and Upton Wold, both with talks and walks speaking about vision and landscape design, outlining principles we could use in our own gardens despite the size difference. My favorite part of the trip was the invigorating talk by the head gardener at Morton Hall. Next day we were back in London with our driver Ronald navigating the busy and cramped London streets expertly. this was the day for the Chelsea Flower show and then free time, where on my own, visited the nearby Physic Garden (recommended if you are into plants) and the V and A museum. Last day on to Kew Gardens. If you are into plants then the time allowed wasn't enough. Then back to London proper to have a half day free. The only parts I would mark down would be that sometimes the meals were crammed together in the first part of the day (breakfast, tea, Lunch) so that they became hard to enjoy, or partake fully. The schedule would change often by 15 minutes, and it was easy to miss the announcement and have to keep asking. The best part to me was that the tour was not constant gardens,(even though I am an avid gardener). I appreciated the visit to the memorable Stratford- upon- Avon. Not so much Chipping Campden, another town we stopped at, with tiny shops and restaurants and a tiny museum ,nothing else that we were made aware of.

I’d give it 4.5 ⭐️’s, but it won’t let me! Most of the stars go to the gardens themselves! They should be the hit of the garden tour, right?! Lots of stars for our guide Karin Stolker and our driver Rene! Karin was so wonderful and knowledgeable about the places we were visiting! Rene was a brilliant driver and navigated England’s tiny roads with ease! Each of the hotels we stayed in were great! Loved the RIU in London for its location, cleanliness and modernity! On the opposite end, we loved The Ashdown out in the country for its quaint and quiet location and the breathtaking beauty of the 400-year-old architecture! Only downside to Ashdown was the no lifts! But also added to its quaintness! And the staff were wonderful and carried up our luggage to our rooms! A few suggestions: name tags on lanyards would be helpful! Also, maybe the guide should slow down a bit when entering and leaving locations as not everyone is as fast as her. We were left behind at Chelsea Flower Show because I walk a bit slower with knee arthritis! Luckily we had our own printed tickets. Better form of communication with host might be appropriate?! Maybe texting or WhatsApp?! Only other suggestion for this tour route is a full day at Kew Gardens would be amazing! Just 2 hours at the last day was not nearly enough! Having said that, it all worked out fine! And we truly enjoyed the coach rides each day and all of the fine gardens we saw!! We will do it again! Thank you!

We had a wonderful time! Our guide Karin and coach driver Rene were excellent. It exceeded our expectations. The people on our trip were lovely. The gardens and entire experience were truly remarkable.

Lovely trip; so many beautiful gardens. Small group of 20 and our guide Rianne was great and the driver Ronald was impressive. Accommodations and food were very nice.

Not only did we have the opportunity to visit a range of exceptional gardens (both private and public) with each one being unique, and an event (Chelsea Flower Show), we were ushered through the history and architecture of the region by local presenters. The selection of sites visited was indeed masterful. Our guide Rianne van Bergen made the process seamless and efficient. (I am a garden writer and will be writing about my week with GardenTours. I look forward to future adventures with your group.)

We visited 7 gardens on the way to/from and in the Cotswolds. Each one had its own personality and each offered insight for my own home garden in the States. Not everything has to be formal or grandiose, and it's always a work in progress. In most all cases, the master gardners and/or owners were very informative and each seemed very happy to share their eden with us. Tea or lunch at the gardens was an added benefit especially as "gardening" can be tiring. We ended the week with a day at The Chelsea Flower Show and then a partial day at Kew Gardens. The Flower Show may be more awe-inspiring if done at the start of the tour rather than after seeing so many full gardens in all their glory, but still quite an experience. We did have the option to stay longer at Kew Gardens which I wish I'd done, but I now have something to look forward to for my next visit to London. The hotel accommodations were lovely and comfortable, the food very good and our tour guide, Rianne, and bus driver, Ronald, were very professional, very personable and also quite fun. A truly delightful tour experience. [Note that understandably there was not much time to explore London, but I stayed on for 3 additional days to explore on my own which was quite worth it.]

We loved the variety and selection of gardens. It was so nice to meet many of the private estate owners and have coffee and cake with them with the ability to ask them lots of questions. We felt a real connection. The hotels were nice, especially the one in the country, Ashford Downs. A good size for a tour, Just 19 and our guide Karen was friendly and knowledgeable. Renee, our bus driver did an exceptional job maneuvering us through small villages.

The Garden Tour package for the Netherlands held in April was an excellent experience. The two Hotel choices were ideal for location and convenience. The Eye Hotel in Utrecht, used for the majority of the tour period, was fantastic for easy access to local restaurants and the town was tourist friendly. Each day of the tour was a full day, allowing personal time in the evening for dining a relaxing. Bert Vermeijden was a very good guide, with excellent knowledge. We particularly enjoyed touring the private gardens where the homeowners shared their gardens and hospitality. All homeowners provided, at minimum, refreshments and snacks with some offering home cooked treats. The sharing of local cultural history and experiences was very special. We also specifically enjoyed the unique private tour of the canals in Boskoop.

Starting with the selection of gardens the tour was exceptional as we visited Broughton Castle, Broughton Grange, Hidcote, Kiftsfate and Morton Hall Gardens. All features were notable from flowering to maintenance and design. Without the guides at each place, it would not have been as informative with the history and gardening. Then, our guides were charming + and very well organized pacing the small tour group around. Staying at the Arden Hotel Stratford, a peaceful, small boutique kind of stay, with superb dining just made this an 'over the top' tour.

first our bus driver: awesome. driving in the chaotic streets of London or the narrow lanes of the country. And always so cheerful and helpful. Then our wonderful tour guide: Patient, full of attention for the weaker ones, good at informing on the essential an d altogether the best tour guide I have ever had. Now the Tour itself: I would change the first day: it starts too early for the travelers coming from overseas. One less visit that day would not be amiss. The other visits, their welcome lunches etc : great. And the ending :...the excitement of the Chelsea flower show and in the afternoon the calm of Kewsf Garden: Perfect ending of a magic Tour with great guides and great friendly companions!!!! The Arden Hotel: Splendid, with good food. The RIU in London not so much but in London, near Victoria station..

I joined the England Garden Tour in late May 2025. The itinerary and tours were simply excellent and every day we learned a bit more about renowned English Gardens as we toured them throughout the Cotswolds and Stratford upon Avon. The hotels were wonderful and the meals were delicious. We had the perfect balance of touring 2 or 3 gardens a day and some time to tour or shop on our own. It was a great experience and I would definitely take another tour with Garden Tours.