oahubound

Honolulu

Foster Botanical Garden

The oldest garden on the island, in the middle of downtown, full of trees nothing else here has.

Foster Botanical Garden

Why go

A conservatory, a butterfly garden and a stand of cycads older than the lawn they sit on.

The catch

The only one of Honolulu's five botanical gardens that charges: $5 for adults, $3 with a Hawaii ID, $1 for children 6 to 12, under-5s free. Open 9am to 4pm. It is small and it is downtown - come for the trees, not for a long walk.

How long
1-2 hours
With children
Yes
Effort
Easy
Cost
$5 adult, $1 child (6-12)
Parking
Easy

Big treesShadeRainy dayQuick stop

Getting there

Driving times on real roads, from the same data the trip planner routes on — not straight-line distance.

From Waikīkī11 min4.4 miles
From HNL airport29 min12.2 miles
From Downtown Honolulu4 min1.2 miles
From Ala Moana7 min2.4 miles

Add traffic. These are free-flowing times, and the H1 through town at eight in the morning is not free-flowing.

See it on the map Build a trip around it

What else is close

Nearest by road, which is not the same as nearest on a map — and not the same as sharing a region either.

  • Lili‘uokalani Botanical Garden2 min awayA small garden of native Hawaiian plants on land the Queen left to the city.
  • Capitol Modern3 min awayThe state art museum, in a 1920s building beside the capitol, free to walk into.
  • Chinatown3 min awayThe oldest Chinatown in the United States, still a working market district rather than a themed one.
  • Hawaiian Mission Houses3 min awayThe oldest standing Western houses in Hawaii, with the print shop that produced the first Hawaiian-language type.
  • Kawaiahao Church3 min awayThe coral-block church at the centre of downtown, built from reef quarried by hand.
  • Judiciary History Center3 min awayA small free museum inside Aliiolani Hale, the courthouse behind the Kamehameha statue.