A private tour here buys three things: a guide who talks only to your group, a pace you set, and a table at the Orangery held for you alone. It does not buy you rooms other visitors cannot enter, and no page should tell you otherwise.
It is a guided walk through Kensington Gardens for your party alone, ending at a reserved table. The route takes the Italian Gardens, the Round Pond and the Sunken Garden below the Cradle Walk, at whatever pace you set. One departure here is private by default. Two more sell a private option you choose at checkout, which turns a small group walk into your own.
What none of them is, and cannot be, is a guided walk through the State Apartments. Historic Royal Palaces does not permit commentary inside, so a private guide takes you as far as the door and the multimedia guide that admission includes takes you the rest of the way. That is worth understanding before you pay a private premium.
All the guiding here happens outdoors in an open park, without radio headsets. Group caps run up to twenty-five. At the private end you get a conversation instead of a talk delivered into the wind.
If you want twenty minutes at Diana's statue and none at the Round Pond, you can have it. On a scheduled walk you cannot.
The private tea is the only route here that states wheelchair access and says it can be adapted for anyone who finds walking difficult. If that matters to you, it is not a luxury — it is the booking that works.
A private table at the Orangery, held in your name, with no strangers seated beside you.
The honest comparison, because the small group walks here are genuinely small and the price gap is real.
| Private tour | Small group walk | |
|---|---|---|
| From | $275 | $129 |
| Who else is there | Nobody | Two to fifteen others |
| Pace | Yours | The guide's |
| Guide | A senior guide | The guide rostered that day |
| Tea table | Private | Private on several, shared on others |
| Wheelchair access | Stated, route adaptable | Not stated on most |
| Palace entry | Checkout upgrade | Checkout upgrade |
| Best for | Accessibility, a set pace, a group of your own | A first visit at the lowest guided price |
Fares as listed on 27 August 2026, quoted per person on all of them. Both refund in full up to 24 hours ahead.
See dates for the private garden tea
Price band: $129 for a private booking option on a group walk, up to $275 for the dedicated private departure, both quoted per person.
Duration: two hours for the garden tours, two and a half for the three-palace walk.
Booking window: a week in winter, two to three in summer. The tea table is reserved before you arrive.
Where you meet: Queensway station for the garden tours and Green Park for the three-palace walk. Not at the palace — getting here has every meeting point.
What to say when you book: the pace you want, whether you need step-free throughout, and what you came for. A private guide can build the route round it and a scheduled one cannot.
A guide to yourselves for the gardens, a table held for your group at the Orangery, and a route set to your pace. What it cannot include is commentary inside the State Apartments, because no operator is permitted to give it.
No, and be wary of any page that implies it does. The rooms open to a private group are the rooms open to everyone. What you are buying is the guide's attention and your own timing.
Not in the base fare on any of them. It is a checkout upgrade that adds roughly £25 a head, and it is worth adding if you want the State Apartments as well as the gardens.
It is quoted per person rather than per group on all three, with discounted rates for children on the dedicated private departure. Nobody outside your party joins.
The dedicated private tea states wheelchair and stroller access, service animals welcome, and says the route can be adapted for anyone who finds walking difficult. It is the only tea route here that does.
The pace and the emphasis, yes — say when you book whether you want Diana, the Georgian court or the gardens themselves. Start times still depend on the operator's availability and on the Orangery's table.
A week in winter and two to three in summer, because the tea table is reserved in advance. Every booking here refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead if the plan moves.
It is if you want the pace, the accessibility or the table to yourselves. It is not if you expected a guide to walk you through the palace, because that is not on offer at any price.
The dedicated private departure and the two walks that sell a private option at checkout, with what each holds for your group alone.
Private by default: a senior guide, your group alone, and two hours at whatever pace you set. Wheelchair access is stated and the route can be adapted on the day.
From $275 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Book the private option and the three-palace walk becomes yours: St James's back streets, Buckingham Palace and a private Orangery table, on your own timing.
From $183 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
One of its booking options is a private walk with afternoon tea and sparkling wine, which is the cheapest way here to have a guide to yourselves.
From $129 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
