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Botanical gardens on Maui, Hilo, and Kauai: how much do they differ?

Botanical gardens on Maui, Hilo, and Kauai: how much do they differ?

Old Sep 15th, 2017, 10:53 AM
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Botanical gardens on Maui, Hilo, and Kauai: how much do they differ?

We'll be on a cruise in late October and renting a car on each island. My husband and I both like botanical gardens, but I realized I had flagged three of them as possibilities. I can't believe they'd be all that different from one another so I'm looking for someone to tell me if that's true. Looking at Maui Tropical Plantation (and if we go it would be for the garden, not the zip line,etc.), Allerton Gardens on Kauai, and the Botanical Garden on Hilo. Thank you.
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Old Sep 15th, 2017, 12:03 PM
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The Allerton Gardens in Kauai are simply wonderful. There are a number of different tours there that you can take. We have now been on all of them.

As I remember it, the Maui Tropical Plantation is more of a "theme park" experience, not really what you want if you want to visit a botanical garden.

I can't comment on the Botanical Garden in Hilo.
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Old Sep 15th, 2017, 03:06 PM
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Thanks Kathie. It seems like all the gardens have "stuff" in addition to the garden, like zip lines. Now I'm told there's a "World Botanical Garden" in Hilo in addition to the "Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden" that I was aware of. Too many choices! I do understand what you mean about the Maui Tropical Plantation.
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Old Sep 15th, 2017, 03:29 PM
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Bear in mind that at Allerton Gardens on Kauai you can only see it by taking a guided tour. Check out the times. You can't just drive up and wander around.

One other thing to consider on Kauai is: http://naainakai.org

It combines sculpture with beautiful gardens and has the added bonus of being on the North Shore. If you have time you could explore farther north after visiting the garden.

But Allerton is certainly beautiful.
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Old Sep 15th, 2017, 05:30 PM
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We visited the garden Songdoc recommends. It was interesting once, but I wouldn't go back. In contrast, we have visited the Allerton gardens many times. You can reserve a tour online.
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Old Sep 16th, 2017, 10:24 AM
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We much preferred the Limahuli Garden (you can do self guided and they give you a very nice booklet) which has all native Hawaiian plants but if you are looking for flowers you probably want Allerton.
https://ntbg.org/gardens/limahuli
Added bonus, you can visit the Limahuli for an hour or so then visit one or more of the North Shore beaches and have lunch in Hanalei.
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Old Sep 17th, 2017, 01:51 AM
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Just to confuse matters, on Kauai I prefer the Na ‘Āina Kai Botanical Gardens, especially if you're interested in bronze sculptures.
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Old Sep 17th, 2017, 07:42 AM
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Everyone has their own preferences.

The Na ‘Āina Kai Botanical Gardens is full of bronze sculptures which is either a plus or a minus, depending on your preferences. Personally, I didn't like the sculptures, but I know many people like them. We did see blue-footed boobies nesting there, which was interesting.

The Allerton Gardens are much larger and have areas that are more "wild" as well as areas of formal gardens. There are research facilities at Allerton which we were able to tour that I found fascinating. But others might find it boring if they are not interested in the endangered plants on Kauai and the propagation of these plants.

Limahuli is on our must-visit list and has been for quite some time... maybe when we are there in February we will finally get there.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 11:45 AM
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we did our own walking tour in Allerton Gardens in May. Didn't have to have guided tour. we may have made a reservation but I think we just drove up and paid our fee.

Lovely but it poured and of course we didn't have an umbrella with us left it back at the condo! Still a lovely walk.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 11:46 AM
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CORRECTION.....We did the National Tropical Botanical Gardens not Allerton.......
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Old Sep 21st, 2017, 04:40 PM
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Shar, Allerton is one of several gardens that are part of NTBG. But I haven't seen anything about Allerton being available for self-guiding.McBryde is adjacent to Allerton and does allow for self-guiding.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2017, 09:08 AM
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For those who've been to Allerton, can you give me a sense of whether most of it was totally open to the elements? I'm thinking of the hot sun -- rain is easier for us! Thanks.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2017, 10:21 AM
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Yes, it is open to the elements. But there are areas of the gardens that are quite shady. You probably won't have a sense of the boundary between Allerton and McBryde. You can do a self-guided tour in McBryde, but you will still need the transport down into the garden and back out.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2017, 03:56 PM
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Thanks Kathie.
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Old Sep 25th, 2017, 11:43 AM
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Thankks Sylvester, it was McBryde we did. Loved it and it poured onus!
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