Hampton Court Palace & Kew Half-Day Trip from London — Private Car

• The Great Hall and the Tudor rooms — Henry VIII’s court, the tapestries and the Chapel Royal, still in use.
• The Tudor kitchens — the great fireplaces and the rooms that fed the court, a favourite with children.
• The Maze, the Great Vine and the Magic Garden — the hedge maze in the Wilderness, the vine planted in 1768 (its glasshouse is closed from 26 October to 23 November 2026), and a play garden for young visitors, open in the warmer months.
• Bushy Park next door — over 1,000 acres of Henry VIII’s old deer park, with its herds and Wren’s Diana Fountain.
• Kew’s glasshouses — the Palm House, open until its renovation begins in autumn 2027, the Temperate House and the Princess of Wales Conservatory, which closes from 4 January to 4 February 2027.
• The Treetop Walkway and the Hive — a walk 18 metres up in the canopy, and the sound-and-light beehive in its wildflower meadow. Kew Palace and the Great Pagoda are closed until spring 2027.

What to see first in two hours

Hampton Court is two palaces under one roof. The red-brick Tudor half belongs to Henry VIII; the Baroque half was built for William III by Sir Christopher Wren, and its rooms are shown as visitors would have known them around 1700. Two hours covers the best of both in this order:

• Start with the Tudor palace — the Great Hall, Henry VIII’s Apartments and the Chapel Royal, then the kitchens below.
• Then William III’s Apartments — Wren’s Baroque state rooms, and the Privy Garden beneath their windows, replanted as it was in 1702.
• For art lovers — the Cumberland Art Gallery fills a suite William Kent designed for a Georgian prince.
• With children — trade the Baroque rooms for the Maze, keep the kitchens, and finish in the Magic Garden when it is open.

How long do you need at Kew Gardens?

On the two-place day, 1 hour 30 minutes covers the two great glasshouses (about 20 minutes each) and the Treetop Walkway (15 minutes), with the walks between them. The Kew-only plan gives 2 hours 30 minutes; the whole garden, over 300 acres, is more than one visit.

• The palace audio guide — free with admission. Collect a handset in the Undercroft shop or at the main entrance, or scan the code to play it on your own phone. Step-free routes are marked on the device.
• A guide of your own — a Blue Badge guide can join you for the morning, booked separately through our private guide service in London.

Seeing both places takes about six hours: with the two extra hours added in the booking form, the E-Class comes to £340.

Dollar figures are approximate; you are charged in GBP.

Six adults with day bags travel comfortably in a V-Class; seating and boot details are on the Mercedes V-Class page. Two travellers are best served by the E-Class; the Range Rover is the executive option.

The half-day can also be booked as a four-hour package in the online booking form. Longer London days run on the hire car with driver packages.

Get a fixed quote

• Tickets: adult tickets cost from £30 at the palace (weekdays; more at weekends and for the Winter Palace) and from £17 at Kew when bought online between 1 November and 31 January; children pay less. Send us the entry times you chose and we match the pickup. Book Hampton Court tickets › Book Kew Gardens tickets ›
• Opening days: Hampton Court closes on Mondays and Tuesdays in school term time (all of November, early December, January and most of February) and from 24 to 26 December; it opens daily from 16 December to 3 January. Kew opens every day except 24 and 25 December.
• Opening hours: the palace opens at 10am; from 28 November to 3 January last entry is 2:30pm on most days. Kew closes at 4pm from 25 October and at 3:15pm from 12 November to 3 January, last entry 2:30pm.
• The deer park: Bushy Park is across the road from the palace; its pedestrian gates stay open around the clock outside the autumn deer culls, and the vehicle gates from 6:30am until dusk. Twenty minutes there costs nothing.
• Arrival days and layovers: the palace is on the Heathrow side of London, so it pairs with the Heathrow layover tour or a Heathrow to hotel transfer with a stop on the way.
• Best months: blossom from April, the formal gardens and the Maze in high summer, and the Kew glasshouses in winter.

Can wheelchair users do this trip?

Yes, with a little planning. Hampton Court is a historic building with cobbles, gravel and flagstone paths. Staff-operated lifts reach Henry VIII’s and William III’s Apartments and the Georgian Story. Kew is largely flat, with tarmac paths in most places.

Both sites lend manual wheelchairs on arrival, first come, first served, with no booking needed. Kew also lends mobility scooters from Brentford, Victoria and Elizabeth Gates, booked in advance with Kew. At both, a carer or companion of a disabled visitor enters free.

At Kew, the Palm House and Temperate House take wheelchairs. The upper floor of the Princess of Wales Conservatory does not. Kew Palace, when it reopens in spring, has a lift but needs a small wheelchair.

Your own folding wheelchair travels in the boot of the car. At the palace, cars drive through the main gates and set down by the Ticket Office. At Kew, the driver stops at the gate that suits your plan. Mention mobility needs when you book.