unique point of interest<\/a> for those drawn to history, art, and landscaping. I did feel that tour prices were pretty steep ($60 per adult), even though I know the funds go to a good cause. The grounds are well-maintained and the staff is friendly. Our docent, David, was very knowledgeable about the background story of the garden, scientific research done there, plants on the premises, movies filmed on-site, and origins of the art placed in each part. At the end of the tour, you\u2019ll want to make sure to browse the fabulous selection of souvenirs in the gift shop.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Since we were staying on the south side in Poipu, Allerton Garden was only a short drive away. But, I made the mistake of not noticing the \u201carrive 30 minutes early\u201d note in the confirmation email. Plus, we happened to take a wrong turn on the way there and then had to backtrack. We ended up arriving about five minutes past our tour time and, well, the bus had already left. Fortunately, the staff was kind enough to reschedule so we could join the morning tour the next day. You can be sure we arrived MUCH earlier than we needed to for that appointment!<\/p>\n
The tour itself was informative but it wasn\u2019t quite what we hoped for. We did learn about a few of the tropical plants here but that seemed like secondary information. That’s why I don’t have too many photos of flowers and such. Allerton Garden mostly focuses on random items the owners wanted to copy for their personal space. They weren\u2019t concerned about local culture or preserving native species. Instead, the garden is made up of plants they liked and what they thought complimented the artwork.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
North Shore Limahuli Garden and Preserve<\/h3>\n
For those more interested in plant life from Polynesia and preservation of the local natural beauty, head to Limahuli on the North Shore<\/a>. It’s managed by the same foundation and is also a National Tropical Botanical Garden. We would have loved to visit this garden as well. But, even with 10 days in Kauai, we couldn’t find room in our schedule to go there. Keep in mind that that garden is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Too, even though it is a self-guided tour, visitors need to make reservations for a parking spot ahead of time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I was provided with one complimentary admission and a discount on two additional guests for review purposes. All opinions are my own.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What comes to mind when you think of Kauai in Hawaii? Tropical gardens, right?! That\u2019s why we were so excited to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":62050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[178],"tags":[250,281],"yoast_head":"\n
Visiting Kauai National Tropical Botanical Garden \u2014 Allerton Garden<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n