McBryde & Allerton Garden, National Tropical Botanical Garden — Attraction in Kauai

Much has been written about the beauty of Allerton Garden and it's all true. The Moreton Bay fig trees alone are worth the price of admission, as they look prehistoric (likely why they're featured in the original Jurassic Park).

So, why am I giving Allerton Garden less than 5 stars?

Unfortunately, our tour guide nearly ruined the entire experience. He demonstrated a great deal of knowledge about the various plants and trees in Allerton Garden. He was sure to point out how most of the greenery we saw isn't native to Kauai and how a lot of it is even invasive. He called Kauai the "island of extinction". Bittersweet, but so far so good.

But once we came across an area where some grass had been torn up, he started accusing wild pigs of destroying the island.

Whatever damage these wild pigs are doing to non-native plants, it's nothing compared to what people have done to Kauai. Pigs didn't introduce native species to Kauai. They didn't introduce the cattle. They didn't even introduce themselves to Kauai.

It wasn't just one casual remark he made. From that point on, he kept talking about how he likes going out into the garden to shoot the pigs. He even tried showing everyone in the group photos of some poor pig he recently killed. As he was trying to show his photos, he kept saying "That's all sausage now. That's all sausage." My wife and I refused to look at the photos. So then he tells us that he hadn't "cleanly" killed the pig, making it clear he wasn't exactly a great shot, and so the poor animal suffered before dying. The tour guide continued making these comments even the tour group saw a mother pig and two babies. As people on the tour were taking photos of these cute piglets, the tour guide is joking about getting his rifle.

On top of all that, he let everyone in the tour know that he used to "hustle" plants on the Big Island, meaning he stole and propagated whatever native plants were left. And now he's a garden tour guide.

Allerton Garden needs to do a better job of screening their guides and consider that most guests probably don't want the beauty spoiled by graphic photos of some poor animal the guide...

My husband and I came here for the sunset tour of Allerton Gardens and had a fantastic time. We were in an intimate group of 10 people and really enjoyed Ron, who is easily the best tour guide I’ve ever had for anything, ever.

Whatever coffee Ron is drinking (Kauai Coffee Co. maybe?), I need to get my hands on it. He truly has so much charisma that it makes an already cool tour even better. He had fun facts about everything, advice for the island, had the group laughing the entire time and even broke open a coconut for us to eat on the tour. Ron speaks in Hawaiian Pidgin, a slang Hawaiian dialect, which we found made him more endearing. My husband is a huge Jurassic Park nut and loves dinosaurs so we were particularly excited to see the Morton Bay fig trees where they filmed that epic scene in Jurassic park! Ron took some very memorable photos for us at that spot, and has lots of interesting information about the filming of the movie. It is also worth mentioning - he said that on that particular day they were a little short handed, so in addition to giving a spectacular tour, he served us our meals and drove us around. Obviously we can’t speak enough about how much this guy rocks (so much!).

Aside from Ron, the gardens are magnificent and breathtaking, offering some wonderful Great Gatsby-esque scenery and photo opportunities. The history of the garden is quite interesting and it felt like we were on a jungle adventure the whole time.

One key mistake we made was not bringing bug spray - very important - but thankfully another couple did come prepared and let us use some. Prior to applying it we were being destroyed by mosquitos. Also, there is quite a bit of walking involved on a dirt path so do wear comfortable hiking sandals or sneakers.

The food supplied for the evening meal was refreshing and just the right amount. You can get ahi tuna or shrimp and both options rock.

Overall, I would recommend this tour for folks of all ages. We learned a ton about plants, pop culture, and Hawaiian history and traditions. We had a great time and will likely return...

Allerton Gardens was beautiful and it was interesting to learn about the history of the location and it’s owners. Also, very cool to see where some of the iconic Jurassic Park scenes were filmed. Staff was knowledgeable and helpful with any questions.

We did the Allerton by Fire tour…this tour was very pricey. You do not get to see the McBryde Conservation garden or even all the rooms at Allerton with this tour. Bummer! You do however get to see the Allerton house and have dinner and a fire/hula show. We were not impressed by the house so that was kind of a dud. Seems like some of the original beauty was washed away during the last flood/hurricane. Also, if it rains, which it did during our tour, there wasn’t a great backup plan for the show, as it needs to be performed outside. The staff did their best to make it work but perhaps a covered lanai would be a better option for the tropics where it rains intermittently daily. The food was ok, but for the price, I was hoping for something not served out of a lunch pail and cold. But the presentation and attention to detail welcoming guests deserves a gold star. The performers were talented and worked well under the constraints of a rainy night.

Beware two things - mosquitos and tardiness. They will leave you if you are not present at departure time sharp. We were in the parking lot two minutes before and they were calling us to ask where we were. The mosquitos are BAD!!! Wear bug repellant and clothing that covers unless you want to get eaten alive.

Overall, you go to see the gardens…so take the guided garden tour that’s three hours and see both McBryde and Allerton Garden and skip the...