Kayak Trip Ideas: Grow Big or Grow Home
April showers might bring May flowers but Kayak.com is bringing you five amazing trips filled with gardens, fauna, flora and more. You don’t need to have a green thumb to dive into undersea forests, mingle with famous horticulturalists or cruise through the world’s largest garden. So grab your rubber boots, passport and imagination because Kayak.com is about to show how to enjoy gardening like it’s never been done before.
Cherry Blossom Festival flights | hotels | cars
If you’d like to add more color to your vacation, visit Washington D.C. from March 29th-April 13th for the national Cherry Blossom Festival. Thousands of cherry trees are in bloom throughout the city, covering the capital of politics in pink. Enjoy the blossoms as you float down the blue Potomac on a river cruise, or let a park ranger lead you on a bike or running tour through the groves…
Chelsea Flower Show flights | hotels | cars
Nothing says floral extravaganza like the Chelsea Flower Show, which takes place on the grounds of the Royal Hospital in London from May 20-24. Learn the latest gardening techniques as you stroll amongst the 22 show gardens, vibrant horticultural displays and inspirational floral arrangements. For a different garden vibe, travel down to Kew Botanic Gardens and take a tram ride around Kew’s 300 acres…
Hatley Castle flights | hotels | cars
Hatley Park in Victoria is considered one of the finest examples of an intact Edwardian Estate and offers nature trails and gardening workshops. There are a variety of tours, including one of the Hatley Castle, a 40-room mansion once used to train military officers. Stroll through the Japanese, Italian, and Rose Gardens of the estate. Take advantage of the spring weather and visit the Abkhazi Garden…
Amazon flights | hotels | cars
If manicured designer rose gardens are too small and thorny for you, then take a river cruise through the Amazon Rainforest, the world’s largest natural garden. Stretching 2.3 million square miles across South America, the Amazon is rich in fauna and flora and home to more than a third of all the world’s known species. There are several tour operators out of Manaus…
Cherry Blossom Festival flights | hotels | cars
If you’d like to add more color to your vacation, visit Washington D.C. from March 29th-April 13th for the national Cherry Blossom Festival. Thousands of cherry trees are in bloom throughout the city, covering the capital of politics in pink. Enjoy the blossoms as you float down the blue Potomac on a river cruise, or let a park ranger lead you on a bike or running tour through the groves. Watch the city landscape transform into a box of crayons, with such events as The Cherry Blossom parade on Saturday, April 12th and the 42nd Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival. Add a little green excursion to your trip and head to the organic restaurant Vegetable Garden in Rockville, MD (11 miles from D.C.) for all-vegetarian dishes like Mushroom Forest and Orange Beef. Finish off your vacation with some burnt sienna and granite at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Chelsea Flower Show flights | hotels | cars
Nothing says floral extravaganza like the Chelsea Flower Show, which takes place on the grounds of the Royal Hospital in London from May 20-24. Learn the latest gardening techniques as you stroll amongst the 22 show gardens, vibrant horticultural displays and inspirational floral arrangements. For a different garden vibe, travel down to Kew Botanic Gardens and take a tram ride around Kew’s 300 acres, which contains over 40,000 varieties of plants, as well as seven glasshouses, two art galleries, and Japanese gardens. Grab a bite at the Thai restaurant, The Mango Tree, before visiting The National Gallery to see the beautiful sunflowers that Van Gogh planted himself.
Hatley Castle flights | hotels | cars
Hatley Park in Victoria is considered one of the finest examples of an intact Edwardian Estate and offers nature trails and gardening workshops. There are a variety of tours, including one of the Hatley Castle, a 40-room mansion once used to train military officers. Stroll through the Japanese, Italian, and Rose Gardens of the estate. Take advantage of the spring weather and visit the Abkhazi Garden, created by a Prince and Princess and famous for its majestic trees, or dive into Undersea Gardens and swim through the kelp forests and gardens of white and crimson anemones in Victoria’s Inner Harbor.
Amazon flights | hotels | cars
If manicured designer rose gardens are too small and thorny for you, then take a river cruise through the Amazon Rainforest, the world’s largest natural garden. Stretching 2.3 million square miles across South America, the Amazon is rich in fauna and flora and home to more than a third of all the world’s known species. There are several tour operators out of Manaus. Ecotour Expeditions offers weeklong cruises on the Rio Negro, which visits historic villages hidden from the rest of the world. If you’re more of a land person, visit Marajo Island in the mouth of the Amazon, where wildlife includes parrots, manatees, piranha and water buffalos, conveniently located at a water-buffalo ranch. A trip to the rainforest will inspire you to create your own wild and natural garden. Just be careful about putting piranha in your birdbath or goldfish pond.