needsun

While reading the information on Oahu I have noticed that there are several botanical gardens and nature sites
e. g. Moanalua Gardens, Wahiawa Botanical Garden,Koko Crater Botanical Garden, Foster Botanical garden, Lyon Arboretum, Helemano Plantation, Hawaii Nature Center. I am sure they are all worth visiting but we do not have that much time on the island. So I am looking for your advice. Which ones would you recommend visiting?

hulajake

Most of Oahu could probably be called a garden but one place we really liked is Waimea across from Waimea Bay.

dusty56438

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden is nice.

Haiku Gardens (not on the list) is nice. Its small & only takes 5-10 minutes or so. It is close to Ho'omaluhia Garden. Located right below Haleiwa Joe's Restaurant.

Foster Garden is nice.

Lyon Arboretum is OK. I usually stroll through there on a trip to Manoa Falls. They are next to each other. You can park at Lyon Arboretum for both.

Dole Pineapple has a nice (free) pineapple garden display behind their visitor center.

If you climb Diamond Head, there is a nice cactus garden at Kapiolani Community College (parking lot area) almost right across the street from the entrance to Diamond Head. Only takes a couple minutes to stroll through the garden or you can just drive past it.

Lili'uokalani Botanical Garden is OK. It is kind of behind Foster Garden (across H-1). Has a small waterfall.

http://www.hawaii.edu/sciref/oahugrdns.html

lcuy

If you are into tropical plants, I would recommend
1) Foster Garden
2) Lyon Arboretum, or
3) Wahiawa BG

Hawaii nature center is set up more for school groups, Moanalua is like a large public park. Koko Crater is a very dry crater with lots of big succulents, not so tropical.

We've only camped at Ho'omaluhia, so I'm not sure how it is as a garden visit.

needsun

Thank you all for the info!

Dusty65438, the link is great.

Does anyone know if Ho'omaluhia and Wahiawa Botanical Gardens are accessible by the Bus?
Thank you

dusty56438

Wahiawa BG is. #62 bus from Ala Moana Center goes right past it. But from Waikiki, you would have to take a different bus to get to Ala Moana Center or walk if you are on the Ala Moana end of Waikiki.

http://www.thebus.org/SystemMap/Map-C.htm

For Ho'omaluhia BG, you wold need to walk about 4-5 blocks from the bus stop. But this botanical garden is very large & not really suited for walking. It has some nice areas that are suitable for walking, but you almost need to drive to get to them.

dusty56438

By the way, you mention that you don't have much time on the island.

Why take a bus? Rent a car, you can see much more of the island even in a short time.

needsun

Dusty...
I was thinking of renting a car but decided not to after I came across a few comments talking about the heavy traffic on the island and especially congested traffic in waikiki area where we are staying.
They were also talking about a hard time finding parking...
Is it still the case? Will I be able to navigate w/t GPS if I chose to rent?

Also do you know if there are any tour/ shuttle companies that we can use to explore Ho'omaluhia BG?

Thank you

dusty56438

Also do you know if there are any tour/ shuttle companies that we can use to explore Ho'omaluhia BG?

There are guided tours at the BG, but you would have to get there yourself.

Guided nature hikes are offered at 10:00 a.m. on Saturdays and 1:00 p.m. on Sundays. Please call 808-233-7323 to register for the hikes.

Honolulu is fairly easy to drive in. Just try to stay out of rush hour if possible. Even then I've been in much worse places.

Outside of Honolulu, Oahu is rural like other islands. Not bad at all outside of Honolulu.

Tip: If you tour Oahu start around 8am. It is just after morning rush hour & before most tourists & delivery trucks get out.

Lots of good maps on this site:

http://www.driveguidemagazines.com/

needsun

Thank you Dusty56438,
You are a huge help as usual.
The link is great!
I am counting the days. A week from now we will be in the sunny Oahu...
Thanks to all for great info and tips.