Group Travel Tour Operator and DMC for London
Kew Gardens Orchid Festival
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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, London - Hannah Button, botanical horticulturist at Kew, putting the finishing touches at Orchid Festival © Jeff Eden, RBG Kew
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Kew Gardens, London - Orchid festival in Winter ©citycruises.com
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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, London - Phalaenopsis columns at Orchid Festival © Jeff Eden, RBG Kew
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Orchid Festival © Jeff Eden, RBG Kew
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Kew Gardens, London - Palm House©citycruises.com
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Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, London - Centre Court
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The Musical Museum, Kew, London - Gallery
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Musical Museum, London, Kew
`Includes entrance to Kew Gardens and the Orchid Festival
The Orchidaceae are a diverse and widespread family of flowering plants, with blooms that are often colourful and often fragrant, commonly known as the orchid family. A sight to behold at Kew Gardens.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering plants. The Orchidaceae have about 28,000 currently accepted species, distributed in about 763 genera. The determination of which family is larger is still under debate, because verified data on the members of such enormous families are continually in flux. Regardless, the number of orchid species nearly equals the number of bony fish and is more than twice the number of bird species, and about four times the number of mammal species. The family also encompasses about 6–11% of all seed plants. The largest genera are Bulbophyllum (2,000 species), Epidendrum (1,500 species), Dendrobium (1,400 species) and Pleurothallis (1,000 species).
The family also includes Vanilla (the genus of the vanilla plant), Orchis (type genus), and many commonly cultivated plants such as Phalaenopsis and Cattleya. Moreover, since the introduction of tropical species into cultivation in the 19th century, horticulturists have produced more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars.
Every year, become immersed in a celebration of vibrant colours, culture and magnificent plant life inside the tropical paradise of Kew Gardens’ Princess of Wales Conservatory. Each year, Kew brings a new theme to this magnificent festival.
Dates
February - March (exact dates TBC)
Suggested itinerary by coach
Day 1
Travel to London and arrive at your hotel
On route to the hotel why not stop at one of the many attractions in the area, such as The Musical Museum, the Water & Steam Museum, the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum or maybe Windsor and the Castle. We will be delighted to make the arrangements for you, or offer some alternative suggestions.
Continue to your hotel for an overnight stay.
Day 2
Kew Gardens and the Orchid Festival
You will take breakfast in your hotel, then drive to Kew Gardens.
Kew contains the most diverse collection of living plants of any botanic garden in the world. The collection contains plants from tropical, temperate, arid and alpine climates, which are grown out in the gardens and in controlled conditions within glasshouses and nurseries. The Orchid Festival will be a marvellous spectacle to see – the theme is under wraps at the moment, but it’s bound to be something spectacular.
We have also included the Kew Gardens hop-on hop-off land train in the tour. This 72 seat vehicle (which will be shared with other guests), will take you on a 45 minute tour around the Gardens on the Kew Explorer land train. The knowledgeable drivers will give a commentary about Kew’s flora and fauna, historic buildings and vital conservation work.
You can get on and off at any stop on the route (seven stops in total) or stay on for a full circuit.
When you feel like a break, there are four restaurants/cafes in the gardens offering everything from a cup of tea and a piece of cake, to full meals. Don’t forget to visit one of the shops before you leave.
Return home in the afternoon.
Suggested Hotels
We offer a selection of 3 and 4 star hotels in the area, including the Copthorne Hotel Slough/Windsor, Holiday Inn Shepperton, Ibis Hotel Heathrow, Sheraton Heathrow and Doubletree Slough/ Windsor
Time to spare?
This tour is also available on 3 day/2 night itinerary, visiting the Orchid Festival at Kew Gardens for a full day and can be combined with other attractions in the area.
Prices start from £129.00 per person.
Please enquire for further details and information.
| Dates | 2 days / 1 night | 3 days / 2 nights |
| 2024 dates | On request | On request |
A single room supplement will apply and this varies between hotels – details on request.
Dinner is available at the hotels – prices on request
