Our Botanic Gardens

The Botanic Gardens at Kona Kai is one of only two frost-free botanic gardens in the southeastern USA and it’s a unique addition to your Kona Kai experience.

Our Garden mission: The 4 E's: Enrichment – Enlightenment – Education – Enjoyment. Here at The Botanic Gardens at Kona Kai, we will endeavor to enhance your appreciation of plants while improving your understanding of the role plants have played in the development of human life, from the beginning of recorded time through tomorrow.

Registered guests of the resort get to live with and in the gardens, day and night, during their entire stay. For the botanic garden enthusiast or tropical vacationer, this is a one-of-a-kind experience. Registered guests are invited to enjoy complimentary self-guided tours at any time. Registered guests are also are invited to reserve space on one of our scheduled guided tours; while they are complimentary, donations to help support our garden mission are much appreciated.

The general public is invited to reserve a by-appointment-only guided tour of the Gardens. Appointment-only guided tours are offered, weather permitting, Tuesday at 9:30am, Thursday at 4:30pm and Saturday at 9:30am. Tours are limited to a maximum of 6 adults and last about 90 minutes. An advanced reservation with a minimum donation of $15 per person is required to join one of our guided tours.

Custom tours of the gardens and the Everglades, on special topics, are available. Custom tours do not have scheduled times or subjects and are available by request and appointment only. Please talk with one of our garden experts or check this link for further information.

Our Collection: With over 250 tropical species, The Botanic Gardens at Kona Kai, overlooking Everglades National Park, is unique amongst locations in South Florida. Our collection is documented in a well known botanic database, called BG-Base. It will be available for your perusal in December 2011 right here from this webpage. You will be able to search by scientific or common name as well as by a special plant identification number based upon the location of the plant or a unique "identifier" that will allow you to select many plants by a simple 2 or 3 digit code.

Learn More about Our Gardens

LETTER FROM THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

OUR HISTORY
(PDF)