How long to get to Kew Gardens from Central London
 

I apologize in advance if this has been answered recently. I was unable to get this specific question to come up in a search.

Anyway, about how long does it take to get to Kew Gardens from central London by tube? Also, is 4 hours there long enough to get a good sense of the place? We don't necessarily need to "ooh and aah" over every single thing, but we don't want to be sprinting through either. Our tentative plan is to have an early lunch, arrive at the gardens right around noon, then head back to town by 4 in order to meet some friends at 5:00 in the Mayfair area. Is this overly ambitious?

Thanks in advance,
Jennie

Hi there,
I think 4 hours is OK - Kew is large, but not vast. Of course you won't see everything, but it will give you time to check out some of the glasshouses and see the historic pagoda etc. Don't miss the little Marianne North art gallery full of botanical paintings - magical! And if you are going to be there in the next two weeks or so make sure you see the bluebell woods.
From central London it will take around 45 minutes (including a pleasant 5-10 minute stroll from the Kew tube station to the gate of the garden).
Enjoy!
Firefly

I just answered a question about getting to Kew yesterday! (Takes about half an hour):

http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....p;tid=34414922

I'm not sure what your search parameters were, but I found this thread easily by simply typing "Kew" into the text box.

Agree with the above that 4 hours is a decent length of time for a visit; I think I only had about 3 last time and could have used a bit longer.

I would try to factor in some time spent at the tea parlor on the road, Maids in Waiting..
and the short browse through the little village shops by the train station.
I want to live in Kew:)

Thanks so much for the replies!

Lesli, I put in "kew gardens" and "kew AND how long" and didn't get your thread either time! In fact, in the list of results I got back, the most recent was from Jan. of this year. How strange. I've found, though, that this search engine can be quirky. Which is why I'm always careful to say that I did, at least, attempt a search. I figured this was probably a fairly common question. =0)

At any rate, I'll make sure that I allow enough time for this.

Thanks again!
Jennie

Jennie, you're absolutely correct that the search function here is quirky. (I've sometimes been unable to find old posts of my own from pre-registration days that I *know* are still here....) A lot of the time, less is more and a well-chosen word or two work best. But not always! You get points for trying, anyway.

Have a fabulous trip.

Hi Jennie,
I know your question has already been answered but there is another way to estimate how long a Tube journey will take. This 'rule of thumb' was taught to me by London friends the first time I was visiting them: look at a Tube map, allow 3 minutes between each station that lies between your starting point & your destination point.

The other way to answer questions like this is to go to www.thetube.com and use the tube planner.

Four hours is fine for Kew Gardens. You can take an open air tram ride around the gardens if you don't feel like walking the whole thing. The commentary onboard is quite interesting. It leaves about once an hour from the main entrance as I recall. Several fabulous greenhouses are full of wonderful things and are worth exploring. The tube ride from London wasn't too long, maybe a half hour or so. You might think about arriving at the Gardens a bit earlier than noon and then eating lunch there as a break and a chance to get off your feet. Then you won't feel so rushed either if you need to be back by 5. We really enjoyed our day at Kew. Well worth it.

Kew Gardens now has very good restaurant in the Orangerie. Just opened in October. Very pleasant and the food was better than most "museums". I would eat lunch there as part of my visit. Free tours lasting 1 to 1.5 hours are given by docents during the day. Well worth while. Kew Gardens is a joy.

There is also an attractive store to check out at the main entrance/exit.