Chelsea Flower Show evening ticket - is it worth it?

[Tamarasnotmyname]

I want to take my MIL and DM to the Chelsea Flower show next year as a treat but as my MIL is a teacher we would have to travel there after school from Kent. I’ve looked on the website and there is 5:30pm tickets available which, timing wise, would be perfect but I’m worried that we won’t get anywhere near long enough to see the show and it would be a bit of a waste of time and money. Has anyone been to the evening session? Would you recommend it or should I book for the Saturday instead? I’m worried that the Saturday will be super crowded and stressful? Aaaaghhh any help much appreciated!

We went at 5.30 a few years ago. It was crowded and difficult to see some of the gardens close up because people seemed to spend ages trying to take the perfect photo with their posh cameras! The indoor displays were much easier to see. Personally, I got a much better view of the gardens on TV! Having said that, I'm glad I went but if I could afford it I think I'd get there first thing in the morning when the gates open!

I've been at 5:30pm and that was on Friday, one of the more popular days.

You should have time, even with a couple of stops for Pimms. As bellakjo says, it does get crowded but when I went I did manage to see everything. Also, it starts to thin out during an evening slot so you can do another circuit if necessary.

It was much nicer than the Saturday Saturday afternoon slot I did one year which was vastly more crowded both inside and outside the venue. There was a wait to get in, a wait to get out and it was like human Tetris inside.

If you would like to prolong the evening, The Chelsea Physic Garden nearby, which is delightful, sometimes do late opening to coincide with the Flower Show. It's well worth seeing, even in the dark, and if you were eating and they had them on, they do the best meringues ever.