Located on the South Shore of the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, McBryde Garden is nestled in the picturesque and historic Lawa’i Valley. The garden is a veritable botanical ark of tropical flora and home to the largest ex situ collection of native Hawaiian flora in existence. Our extensive collections of palms, flowering trees, rubiaceae, heliconias, orchids, and many others have been wild-collected by botanists and biologists from throughout tropical regions around the world and transported to McBryde Garden to research, cultivate and thrive.
Tours of McBryde Garden and the adjacent Allerton Garden are available by appointment only. Visitors are transported into the garden via a short, narrated shuttle ride along the stunning coastline of the South Shore. Be on the lookout for whales, dolphins and other marine life as you make your way into the garden over a historic railroad trestle road and into the magnificent valley.
Your health is our top priority: We have put special measures in place to keep all guests safe both during and after your garden visit.
Stringent Cleaning: We’ve increased the frequency of disinfecting surfaces of high-traffic areas in our facilities. All buses will be sanitized between each departure. Hand-washing stations are located throughout the gardens and at our Visitor Center.
Social Distancing: Guests will stay a safe 6-foot distance before boarding the bus, while in common areas throughout the garden, and in our visitor center. Guests will stay 10 feet apart from other groups while in McBryde Garden When safety-distancing is not attainable face coverings will be used by all staff and guests. Shields have been installed at our Visitor Center registers. We are limiting the number of guests in our Visitor Center to 10 people at a time. Please adhere to these guidelines and practice safety first. Bus capacity is also limited based on the most current mandates/ordinances.
Wellness: If you or anyone in your group is experiencing symptoms of illness, we will work directly with you to cancel or reschedule your tour. Our family of staff and volunteers are also trained to be aware of symptoms of illness. No one comes to work or to volunteer if they are unwell.
Please comply with all posted signs and safety precautions. Advanced reservations are encouraged as we are often booked out at least 24 hours in advance.
Adults $30 • Children (2-12) $15 • Member Adults FREE
McBryde Garden visitors can explore 50 acres of diverse plant collections including Hawaiian native and ethnobotanical species, palms, rubiaceae (coffee family), zingiberales (heliconia family), and erythrina (coral trees). Appreciate the importance of sustainable farming in our Regenerative Organic Breadfruit Orchard, and take a journey back in time in the Hawaiian Life Canoe Plant Garden and along the Tree of Life Trail.
View all of the collections at your own pace on this self-guided tour.
McBryde Garden is timed entry/exit. Guests will have approximately 2 hours in the garden. Transportation via private bus is required to access the Garden and admission price includes the bus portion. Bus occupancy is limited and cleaned routinely with COVID-19 measures in place. Bus departs on time from the Visitor Center.
Notices: 24-hour cancellation notice required for refunds, groups of 8+ require 5 days advance notice for refund. Closed toe shoes or secured hiking sandals are required. Please arrive 30 minutes prior departure. All tours require a bus ride into the garden. Buses leave on time and do not return for guests arriving after departure. Mahalo
For more information please call: (808) 742-2623
Please comply with all posted signs and safety precautions. Advanced reservations are encouraged as we are often booked out at least 24 hours in advance.
Adults $65 • Children (2-12) $32.50 • Member $48.75
For visitors who want a taste of both worlds, this is the tour! Our highly-trained interpretive guides takes guests through select Allerton Garden rooms and McBryde Garden highlights. Enjoy the greatest aspects of both gardens. Whether you are seeking that perfect picture of you with the Jurassic Park Trees or have limited time, this is it!
View select rooms in the Allerton Garden, named one of the ’50 Places of a Lifetime’ by National Geographic Traveler. Then have a guided experience through our McBryde Garden, an active conservation and research garden with active interpretation and Hawaiian cultural significance.
Notices: 24-hour cancellation notice required for refunds, groups of 8+ require 5 days advance notice for refund. Closed toe shoes or secured hiking sandals are required. Please arrive 30 minutes prior departure. All tours require a bus ride into the garden. Buses leave on time and do not return for guests arriving after departure. Mahalo
Please comply with all posted signs and safety precautions. Advanced reservations are encouraged as we are often booked out at least 24 hours in advance.
REQUIRED: Bring your own flashlight, Recommended: hydration, and insect repellant. Recommended age is 12+.
Adults $85 • Kama’aina $60 • Member $63.75
Join us for an after-hours tour of exploration and discovery that takes place amongst Allerton and McBryde Gardens. Listen to the birds as they sing their sundown songs before their evening rest. Look for night time pollinators. Smell the sweet fragrance of our night blooming flowers. Feel the gardens come alive in a whole new perspective.
Guided by the moonlight each tour is unique and the path will be dependent upon the season, weather, and Mother Nature in her most secretive time, twilight. Unlike any of our other tours, this experience may take guests through normally off limit areas such as the west side of Allerton, the secret garden tunnels and other off the path enchanted trails.
Notices: 24-hour cancellation notice required for refunds, groups of 8+ require 5 days advance notice for refund. Closed toe shoes or secured hiking sandals are required. Please arrive 30 minutes prior departure. All tours require a bus ride into the garden. Buses leave on time and do not return for guests arriving after departure. Mahalo
The land now occupied by the McBryde Garden lies in the southern part of what was once the Hawaiian ahupua‘a (land division) of Lāwa‘i, originally extending along the Lāwa‘i Stream from the Kapalaoa Range to Lāwa‘i Bay.
Symbiotic House is a project catalyzed by Lee Pivnik in 2022 to research and develop adaptive architectural solutions to Miami’s environmental precarity, and to conceptualize and design a “multi-use space for multi- species survival”.
Join us for ʻĀina Day at NTBG as we share and celebrate the ways we can mālama Hawaiʻi through plants. Take home a free ʻōhiʻa tree* and learn how to care for Hawaiian native plants through educational activities, cultural demonstrations, and more.
Are you a member? Join us for this special event as Mike DeMotta, Curator of Living Collections, shares his knowledge about Hawaiʻi’s flora and teaches you how to grow native plants in their own yard or growing space.
Join us at our Botanical Research Center on Kauaʻi for the 2023 Florilegium Art Show. The show will be open every Thursday in March from 9 am – 12 pm.
Concluding a nearly half-century career with the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), Charles R. “Chipper” Wichman, the organization’s president and former chief executive officer, is retiring at the end of 2022
W. Arthur Whistler’s Flora of Somoa: Flowering Plants is now available for purchase.
As we enter the final weeks of 2022, it’s important to take stock of our plant conservation wins. Here’s what we accomplished with your help!