Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne: The Explorer Bus

We booked the ride because we had American friends visiting, one of whom has mobility issues. The tour was very good and our visitors loved it. But we also discovered that we have previously seen only a small percentage of the gardens and it was wonderful to see more. Being mid-spring, the gardens looked beautiful, which of course enriched our experience. Recommended.

The bird tour was excellent. Paul was an amazing guide.

Verity, was our driver and she was absolutely fabulous. Extremely knowledgeable very personable thoroughly enjoyed it. I think everyone should do it.

Lovely garden. We did the 30 minute bus around. Awesome tour guide. Worth a visit but need to go all day to see it all

If there's a more knowledgeable, friendly or accommodating guide than Lynsey, I'd love to meet them! Her tour was exceptional not just because she's a trained botanist but also because her stories, props and kind nature shine through and keep you hooked on her every word. I learned so much on this tour, and I still can't believe it was free! I feel honoured to have explored the lush garden, learned about the history of it and its plants from around the world, and even spotted some native birds too. All this combined to make this the best botanic garden visit of my life. Thank you, Lynsey, a hundred times over! Please note:I didn't take the explorer bus, we walked around the grounds.

Amazing forest bathing experience in the heart of Naarm Melbourne. I have read about the benefits of forest therapy and this two hour guided walk covered it all and in the rain, which was magical. Guides were knowledgeable and kind, adapted our experience for the weather and our experience. Highly recommend for the curious as well as experienced forest lovers.

This was a fantastic tour, to not only see the birds but get some great insight on the flora and fauna of the gadens…. Paul and Robin were both top class, knowledgeable guides! Highly recommend

I had Lynsey as my tour guide. She was amazing, very informative and knowledgeable.

Best way to see the Botanical gardens and receive expert knowledge on the plants and history of the gardens itself.

Such a nice introduction to the gardens and a great way for those unable to walk far to enjoy the gardens.

Great 30 minute familiarisation tour of the gardens. Helps you get your bearings and then you can stroll at your leisure back to your favourite spots. Our guide, Verity, was friendly, helpful and informative. Great commentary. Gardens are beautiful. Open sided electric vehicle, so very quiet and lots of opportunities to take photos as you travel through the gardens.

Great little guided tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Our guide, Verity, was friendly, informative and knowledgeable. Great 30 minutes tour allowed us to get our bearings within the park and then stroll through at our leisure. Open sided bus, so easily able to take photos.

Great experience! The gardens are very well maintained, roads, restrooms and all. Very easy to self tour, a lot of signs, all staff are friendly and helpful! We booked the explorer so my grandma who struggles with walking could see the gardens, and we all enjoyed the tour! Our guide was lovely, stopped and explained in a very exciting way, making sure the tour is interesting for both adults and, kids and even non-English speakers! After the explorer we went to the terrace cafe at the lake. The cafe is quite pricey, the staff was young and not as attentive. It was a long walk there and my grandmother would struggle to go back on a pretty steep road. We called the visitor center and in a few minutes we had lovely worker who came with a golf cart and took us back. Great service, very accommodating and all staff were very friendly and kind!

We took my elderly mother on The Explorer Bus as she has mobility issues and would find walking the gardens difficult. Eugenie was our guide and she was fabulous. Entertaining, engaging and very knowledgeable, she made the 30 minute tour such a great experience for us. The four of us thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it for anybody. It is great value for money.

The Free Guided Walk of the Botanic Gardens was great. Our guide, Marg, was lovely - very knowledgeable, interesting and entertaining, and having her as the tour guide was a major factor in how enjoyable the experience was. Thank you, Marg, and thank you to the Botanic Gardens and other volunteers for offering such an excellent free experience . It was a real treat!

Eugenie our guide was a treat as was the trip!!! The gardens are one of Melbourne's jewels and the tour was a fabulous way to be a tourist in my own city!!! Exceptional!!

Great way to see the gardens. The guide was quite informative and had a lovely voice. Highly recommend.

Atmosphere, crowd size, staff.

It was the most friendly and wonderful experience and was quite emotional for me. As a child I had lessons in the gardens; as a teenager went to opera and orchestral concerts and as a family,brought our children . Things have radically changed with the addition of the children to enjoy the environment. Fifty years later I will be bringing my grandchildren

A lovely walk, we say many birds, and the guides were very knowledgeable. Enjoyed it.

A truly wonderful trip around the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne. This is a magical place and the Explorer tour was awesome. Our guide was very knowledgeable and had she had a fab sense of humour. I walked for a few kms earlier but it was wonderful hearing about the history and the plants. Don’t miss this trip with the fantastic Melbourne skyline in the background. Thank you 😻

This was a totally relaxing and blissful experience to enjoy the artist’s music in nature. The setting was well-suited to all ages of attendees who could engage with the space casually and interactively or peacefully while soaking in the sunshine, music, and surrounds. I was walking on air and humming a tune as I went about my day with my son afterwards. I only wish it had been advertised at the entrance gates as I booked on sight.

The Botanical Gardens in Melbourne are truly spectacular. Special thanks to Ali, who gave us the guided tour in the minibus. His knowledge of the park, its history and each of the incredible varieties of trees and plant life, is extensive and his sense of fun and humour was delightful. A stunning park and gardens, suitable for the whole family.

As older person with back issues, trip was lovely and very informative.

Thank you so much. I feel wonderful for Marie being our tour guide. She cared about every guest. Thank you for everything that she did and the royal botannic garden did.

A very well organised walking tour that provided so much information about this incredible Melbourne landmark. Sue, our guide, was fantastic in her passing on her vast knowledge of this historical site. Lots of other interesting sites to see (even a Harry Potter Whomping Willow) in this area so perhaps allow most of the day.

Our guide Sue, was extremely knowledgeable about plants and brought the gardens alive with her insight into the history of the place.

The experience was phenomenal. I have just about every family member and friend to please visit the gardens . Our guide was excellent, so knowledgeable and warm and welcoming. Loved every minute of the visit. I will be taking my family there every month for a forest bath. Thanks to all the donors and people who work at the gardens for making this experience so spectacular. Words can’t describe how grateful I am .

We did a free guided walking tour of about 1.5 h.Our guide Paul shared many amazing facts about the trees, Plants and history of the botanical garden . Its a wonderful day out, feel transported into a different magical world (especially the fern garden )while almost still in the city.

Eugenie was a great guide. Really informative and amusing.

Excellent, efficient and comfortable way to learn about different facets if the RBG including of course the beautiful flora and fauna. Highly recommended.

Excellent tour for one of the best indigenous garden in Australia. Guide Botanist was very knowledgeable, answered all questions with patience, good pace for walking 1.5 hours. I highly recommend her tours.

Highly recommend the 30min bus tour of the gardens as you get a wonderful overview of all the beautiful things to see. Our guide Eugenie was very welcoming and informative on history and botany.

Eugenia was a fantastic and knowledgeable guide.

Amazing experience! Our guide was so nice and knowledgeable. This walk for free is so worth it would recommend 100%

Simon was very informative and knew akot about the gardens history and plants A great easy way to get an overview of the gardens with ease before you begin your walk around

Great, free 1.5 hr guided walk

Stunning day, stunning gardens. Our guide Eugenie was amazing, kept us informed and answered questions. The ride was perfectly paced and we got to enjoy the spring flowers and foliage that was on display. Highly recommended!

How inspiring the gentle whispers of nature. Remembering how everything around us reside already inside our self.

We went on the electric shuttle on our own plus Verity our guide. She imparted a lot of useful information and at c 2mph there's plenty of time to take it all in. The gardens have been designed in such a way that there are many different vistas and all sorts of specimens ranging from tall trees in tropical settings to small flowers and interesting plants/bushes from numerous environments. Great cafe with good food at acceptable prices. Penny and Mike.

This was beyond fantastic! We loved the bus tour so much and our guide Eli was amazing and taught us lots of really interesting things. The enthusiasm was contagious and it was genuinely an awesome experience that I would do again to see different things as the seasons change. I strongly recommend the bus tour and Eli as your guide!

The free guided tours were really good. Enjoyable experience.

A crisp but informative tour of the highlights of the Royal Botanical Gardens with a knowledgeable driver and guide for you to shortlist the points you wish to revisit. The weather was just perfect when I visited. One could spend all day here.

My guide Dorris was very friendly and informative. The tour was very educational and I learnt a lot about native Asutralian plants as well as the main attractions in the gardens. The tours are also catered towards the groups interests and there is something for everyone in the gardens. It's a free tour and would definately recommend!

The staff are incredibly friendly and the activities are meaningful. Overall, it was an excellent experience.

Bud was so informative and knowledgeable and shared many interesting stories about both the current gardens and plants, but also the people behind the development of the botanical gardens. I thoroughly recommend this walk.

I really enjoy the tour, feel relaxed and peaceful. And our guide was a very kind and patient elderly lady. Just go and enjoy the nature!

The guided tour at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne was a wonderful experience. Our guide Joan was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the gardens, sharing fascinating insights into the plants, history, and unique features of the area. Their enthusiasm made the tour both engaging and enjoyable, and we learned so much about the diverse landscapes and hidden highlights of the gardens. It was a great way to appreciate the beauty and character of the Royal Botanic Gardens from a different perspective. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to explore and better understand this beautiful part of Melbourne.

It was such a wonderful experience observing different birds with our guide Rob :)