secret garden tea tours
small group tours with an emphasis on afternoon tea
Join us to explore a region's beautiful scenery, history, culture through its landscapes, architecture, and gardens while enjoying afternoon tea each day, with plenty of shopping opportunities too!
Our tour are deliberately kept to no more than 14 people so that we can are able to get into tiny tea rooms and antique shops and other places that big tour groups cannot. This also means that we can move about more easily, using a variety of transportation modes. We don’t climb into a big bus and just see the sights as we pass by. We hop aboard trains and boats and carriages and trolleys and trams to experience the area. We love to use public transportation whenever possible so we can immerse ourselves in the area we are exploring and feel like temporary locals.
And speaking of experiences, we include them in the tour cost. We don’t sell “optional” tours, because we feel that if there’s something wonderful to see or do, we should include it! We try to allow enough time in each city to experience much of what it offers and have some free time to pursue individual interests.
Upcoming Tea Tours
December 2024
Victoria, BC Christmas Tour
A two-day trip to see the Christmas displays at The Empress Hotel and Butchart Gardens
***** Healthy Travel Policy*****
It is our goal to have zero illness on our tours, so that guests can fully participate in all we have planned. This requires every participant to take all necessary precautions to avoid contracting Covid, the flu, RSV and any other transmittable illnesses. All guests must sign our Healthy Travel Pledge as part of their application. We ask that guests wear masks during air travel other than while eating or drinking and to wear masks on public transportation and in crowded indoor tourist sites.
We spent a lot of time talking to repeat tour participants and reading travel/tour operator blogs and did not arrive at our decision to implement a Healthy Travel Policy without considering a lot of information. Travel is expensive and many of us are unwilling to risk spending the money to get somewhere wonderful, only to become ill and confined in a hotel room. If one person in a small group tour picks up a bug (be it a cold, RSV, the flu or Covid), it is very likely to spread to others in the group, some of whom may have underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from any bug. For instance, someone with diabetes will likely experience blood sugar spikes to dangerous levels which causes many other problems. Many of our tour participants are in an age group which is more likely to have underlying health issues, and with the high cost of travel, we have taken a stand that many guests appreciate, knowing that we're doing our utmost to be sure they can stay well to enjoy their trip. We know that airports and planes are one of the top places where bugs/viruses are spread, so ask all participants to mask unless eating or drinking. Once the group assembles at the tour starting place, we will only suggest masking while in crowded public areas, like train stations, on the subway and in entry lines for tourist sites. Now that living with Covid is the new normal, and with the prevalence of RSV and other respiratory illnesses, and the fact that many who've had Covid are now living with lungs more susceptible to pneumonia, we believe that these small steps to lower the risk are prudent and reasonable. We acknowledge that there are those who disagree with this policy. There are many tour companies that do not have any requirements for maintaining the health of their tour participants. We are proud to dilligently strive to minimize the health risks of travel for our guests.
Tea at the Ritz
Scene from London
