Where to Go: the 15 Best Full-Day Garden Tours Worldwide

1.Versailles Full Day Bike Tour with Palace, Gardens, & Picnic

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2,217 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $131Our pick

Ride about 10 miles through Versailles with a guide such as Rory, Nick, Jessie, or Toby, stopping at the market for picnic supplies, the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, and Marie Antoinette’s hamlet. After lunch, enter the palace at your own pace, including the Royal Chapel and Hall of Mirrors. Bikes, helmets, and palace admission are included.

“It's been five years and it still remains one of my favorite excursions. I loved shopping in the market for our lunch, biking through the gardens, touring different areas and seeing Versailles.”

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2.Giverny Monet’s Garden & Auvers-sur-Oise with Van Gogh House Full Day From Paris

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 369 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $266

Travel from Paris in an air-conditioned minivan with up to seven other people. Visit Monet’s gardens and home in Giverny, then explore Van Gogh’s final lodging, village, and gravesite in Auvers-sur-Oise. Guides such as Alice, Izzy, Clement, and Brune add art stories, local advice, and an easy pace.

“Wonderful experience. Trip was seamless and very interesting. Van was comfortable and guide very knowledgeable”

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3.Valensole Lavender Full-Day tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 259 reviews · 9 hours · from $187

Travel from Marseille in an air-conditioned minibus with a French- or English-speaking guide. Stop at several Valensole lavender fields, visit a local producer, explore Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, and admire the Verdon River. Guides such as Alex, Elias, Mira, and Paolo are praised for local knowledge and flexible service.

“This was certainly an experience I would never forget! Florence, our guide, was incredibly knowledgeable, personable, and accommodating. We had a chance to get to Aix early enough to frequent the market and Florence continuously gave us good tips on shops and streets to check out along the way. Everything about seeing the lavender fields in person with your own two eyes is simply surreal. It is better than any postcard, that’s for sure! I loved the small villages and towns that we visited and ending our tour with a demonstration of organic lavender products made on site, complete with olive oil and almond tastings, was a perfect way to…”

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4.Valensole Lavender Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 222 reviews · 9 hours · from $182

Travel from Aix-en-Provence in a small, air-conditioned minibus to Valensole’s blooming lavender fields, a local producer, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the Verdon Gorge, and Lake Sainte-Croix. Guides such as Anthony, Margot, Gordon, and Sebastian have led informative, flexible days. Bring water, sun protection, and a swimsuit.

“This trip was fantastic! Our tour guide Michelle was so kind and provided us with so much information. It is a long trip, but you see so much! You personally see lavender fields that are privately owned by farmers. It was a wonderful day.”

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5.Versailles, Gardens & Hamlet: Full-Day Guided Small-Group Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 186 reviews · 6 to 7 hours (approx.) · from $131

Spend 6 to 7 hours at Versailles with Alistair Douglas and a maximum of 10 people. Walk the formal gardens, bosquets, fountains, Petit Trianon, and Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet, then explore the palace on your own with timed entry. The garden portion is guided, while palace admission is self-guided.

“Alistair was a great guide and provided a lot of information related to the history of Versailles and the nobility. He was knowledgeable and fun to listen provided stories. He was also willing to answer questions and kept the tur interesting for over 6 hours. Very much recommend this tour for anyone visiting Versailles for the first time or a follow-up.”

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6.Provence Lavender Full Day Tour from Avignon

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 130 reviews · 8 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $174

Spend a full day in Provence with a local English-speaking guide, traveling by air-conditioned minivan with no more than eight people. Visit lavender fields, a daily market, Roussillon or Sault, Gordes, and Sénanque Abbey. Guides such as Sam, Emilie, Jeremy, and Oliver are praised for local insight, careful driving, and friendly service.

“Our tour guide is very professional. He drives great and tells us history behind the scenes. It was a great day.”

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7.Lavender Villages Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 101 reviews · 8h 30m · from $171

Spend 510 minutes exploring Provence by minibus with an English- or French-speaking guide. Visit a local market, lavender fields, Sault or Roussillon, Gordes, and Sénanque Abbey. Guides such as Sam, Emilie, and Emily add local knowledge, photo stops, and useful insight into lavender production.

“I liked our guide, Emilie!! She was very knowledgable about lavender and the local fields. Loved the farm and distillery, Vallon. Learned about the process of harvesting and processing the flowers. Just what I wanted from the tour! We went to several fields that were awesome!! The highlight of my trip to France. Merci beaucoup!”

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8.Kanazawa: Samurai, Matcha, Gardens and Geisha Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 75 reviews · from $156

Spend a full day walking Kanazawa with an English-speaking guide, visiting Nagamachi’s samurai homes, Oyama Shrine, Kanazawa Castle, Kenroku-en, Higashi-chaya, and the historic Shima geisha house. Matcha and wagashi are included, while lunch is your choice. Guides such as Mike, Akari, Gareth, Lee, and Mohammed are praised for warmth, flexibility, and strong cultural insight.

“Our guide Daniel was great! We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with him. He was very knowledgeable”

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9.Lavender Full-Day Trip to Sault

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 68 reviews · 10 hours · from $187

Spend 10 hours in an eight-seat minibus with an English or French-speaking guide such as Sebastian or Petra. Photograph Sault’s lavender fields, learn how flowers become essential oil, enjoy free time for lunch, and visit Sénanque Abbey and cliff-top Gordes. The route can change with the bloom.

“We are very exsited by the tour: the guide, the places we visited, lavender fields - everything was just amazing. Highly recommended! *Please, notice that the tour takes 10 hours, not 8 how it was written in the tour information.”

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10.Full-Day Tour from Kanazawa: Samurai, Matcha, Gardens and Geisha

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 68 reviews · from $151

Start at Kanazawa Station for a full day on foot with an English-speaking guide such as Mike, Garrett, Lee, or Akari. Visit samurai homes, Oyama Shrine, Kanazawa Castle, Kenrokuen Garden, Higashi Chaya, and a preserved geisha house. Matcha, wagashi sweets, and admissions are included. Expect roughly 10 to 12 kilometers of walking, plus a one-hour lunch break.

“Spent the day with Lee and it was perfect! Lee was very knowledgeable and provided great insight into past and present Japanese culture. The tour was flexible, catering to our group and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”

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11.Private Cape Peninsula + Kirstenbosch Garden Full Day Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 51 reviews · from $120

Spend about 8.5 hours with a private guide exploring Cape Town's Atlantic coast, Chapman's Peak, Boulders Beach, Cape Point, Scarborough, and Kirstenbosch. Guides such as Dave, Mike, Werner, and Chris tailor the day to your interests, while hotel pickup keeps the long route easy. Entrance fees and lunch cost extra.

“Dave picked us up from our hotel and was very friendly. The day tour was great and it was good that Dave picked us up early so we didn’t have to queue all day. We drove down the coast to the cape pensinsula. We got the fenicula up to the light house, be warned there are approx 150 steps still to get. We drove to cape of good hop and saw lots of wildlife!We went on to Simons Town for lunch at a place Dave recommended. This was excellent!!Our final stop was boulders beach and the penguins.The great thing about this tour is that it is personal, therefore you can…”

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12.Sault Lavender & Gordes Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 43 reviews · 9 hours · from $182

From Aix-en-Provence, ride in a small air-conditioned minivan across Provence with an English- or French-speaking guide. Stop for lavender photos, visit a local producer to learn about cultivation and distillation, and see Gordes and other villages when the day’s route allows. Guides such as Coco and Philippe are praised for their local stories and flexibility.

“fabulous day out in provence. Pasco was a great guide and driver - I really appreciated his sense of humour! I got great photos in the labendar fields and really enjoyed wandering the villages. I am not confident driving in France so would not have been able to do this on my own. highly recommend!”

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13.Discovering the North of Mauritius: Full-day incl Botanical garden & lunch

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 30 reviews · from $115

Spend 7 to 8 hours exploring northern Mauritius with a private guide and driver. Visit Cap Malheureux, Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, Citadelle, Aapravasi Ghat, the Blue Penny Museum, Caudan Waterfront, and Port Louis Central Market. Lunch, admissions to three attractions, bottled water, and hotel pickup are included.

“Had a lovely trip around the North of the island and our driver/guide Jeev was excellent. And good company”

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14.Private Car Full Day Tour of Osaka Temples, Gardens and Kofun Tombs

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 24 reviews

Spend about eight hours with a private guide such as Kevin, Jamie, Hugo, or Levy, traveling by car through Osaka and Sakai. Visit castle grounds, Buddhist and Shinto sites, Shinsekai, ancient kofun tombs, and Daisen Park. The route can change to suit your group, with hotel pickup and a kaiten-sushi lunch stop.

“This was an excellent tour, with our guide Kevin, who was the owner of the company. He picked us up at the port, and specifically tailored our tour to take in the sites that were interesting to us without any feeling of rushing to get back to the ship. We felt like we had a better understanding of the differences between Shinto and Buddhist temples and shrines, and experienced the gardens without hoards of other tourists.”

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15.Full-Day Provence and Lavender Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 17 reviews · 9 hours · from $234

Travel from Nice into Provence with a driver-guide, stopping at Valensole’s lavender fields, the family-run lavender shop and processing plant, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, Verdon Gorge, and Lac de Sainte-Croix. Choose a private or small-group outing, with English, French, or Spanish guidance. Francis has earned especially strong praise, though guide quality may vary.

“Our guide was great! I loved our stop at the lavender shop run by a family”

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