We’re very excited to invite you to join us for a wonderful 6-day escape to Melbourne that features world-class gardens, fine dining, some of Victoria’s best attractions, & plenty of spare time to spend in one of the great cities of the world.
The centrepiece of the tour is the 2027 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, the largest and most prestigious flower and garden show in the Southern Hemisphere. Set in the magnificent, historic Royal Exhibition Building and the surrounding Carlton Gardens, the show includes stunning show gardens, breathtaking floral displays, creative contemporary landscape designs and inspiring exhibits showcasing the very best and latest in horticulture and garden innovation. But our tour extends far beyond the flower show. Here’s a taste of what’s in store:
Day 1: We fly to Melbourne via Auckland, and transfer to the opulent grandeur of The Hotel Windsor that sits opposite the Victorian Parliament, just minutes from the flower show site, and will be our home for the next five nights.
Day 2: This morning we enjoy a guided sightseeing tour of Melbourne followed by free time in the afternoon to further explore the city’s famous laneways, cafés, galleries, shops and public gardens at your leisure. We come together for dinner this evening, in anticipation of our exciting day tomorrow.
Day 3: It’s Show Time! This morning we get our first chance to experience the 2027 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show. We’ll make our way to the show site, either on foot or by tram, and all-day admission to the show is included. Once there and armed with a map of the show grounds, you’re free to indulge your interests by determining for yourself in which order you want to take it all in. Perhaps it’s the Sculpture Precinct, the Great Hall of Flowers, the Show Gardens competition, the Feature Garden competition, the Welcome Garden or the events on the Main Stage. Masterclasses, workshops, demonstrations, tours, the retail exhibitors. The options really are endless. But don’t despair, you need not try to fit it all in today. There’s plenty of free time later in the tour to return to the show to take more in. And remember, our hotel – and a little down time – is only a few minutes away. You can go at your own pace. Let’s meet up for dinner and compare show highlights.
Day 4: Today we retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city and take a scenic coach drive down to the Mornington Peninsula to visit a couple of very special destinations. Beleura Estate, on the Mornington coast, began as a pastoral lease 180 years ago. Since 1863 when the house was built, Beleura has been home to successive generations of distinguished Australians. Gifted to the state of Victoria by its last private owner, composer John Tallis, the house and its contents, and the Italianate gardens are maintained in beautiful order. We’re very fortunate that the Trust that runs the estate is opening the place just for us today. We’ll enjoy morning tea here before our guided tour.
Our other visit here on the peninsula is to the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria at Cranbourne. This is one of two sites for the Botanic Gardens, the other being in the city.
Australian plants and garden environments are the focus here at Cranbourne and we’ll enjoy a guided tour aboard ‘The Explorer’, an open-air electric people mover. We’ll also have lunch at the café in the gardens.
We’ll likely get back to our hotel in the mid-afternoon and the rest of the day, and evening are yours to enjoy as you wish. This evening will be a good opportunity for those wishing to experience ‘Gardens by Twilight’. It’s one of only two nights that the Flower Show lights up with illuminated gardens, glowing installations, live music and botanical cocktails creating an atmosphere unlike anything else in Melbourne.
Day 5: The day is entirely Free for you to do whatever you wish in Melbourne. Perhaps return to the Flower Show to tick off a few more of the elements that interest you. Maybe it’s a chance to catch up with friends or family…or maybe it’s retail time.
This evening we’ll come together and it’s “all aboard” the ‘Spirit of Melbourne’ river cruiser for a banquet dinner as we sail up the Yarra River with the city lights sparking around us. What a wonderful way to celebrate the last night of our tour.
Day 6: This morning we transfer by coach back to Melbourne Airport and fly back to Auckland and home.
The Melbourne International Flower Show is, without doubt, one of the great garden and plant events in the world. The experience of attending will be one-of-a-kind. But there’s more to this tour that just the events happening at Carlton Gardens. This tour is about embracing more of what the fabulous city of Melbourne, and further afield in Victoria, has to offer. This tour will appeal to anyone who enjoys creating, tending, or simply being in, a beautiful garden. Come and experience the colours, creativity, and excitement of one of the world’s great flower & garden shows with Bay Tours.
Places are limited, so don’t delay. Secure your place at the 2027 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show now.
