Nani Mau Gardens or Botanical gardens in Hilo

Which would be better to see? Nani Mau gardens or the Botanical gardens in Hilo. Do both have orchids? Thanks for any info regarding these sights.

I would recommend the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens - we thought it was spectacular (the plants, location and effort that has gone into making this such an oasis) and it gets consistently excellent reviews from others. There is a wonderful orchid garden there.

I'm not familiar with Nani Mau, but just did a quick search - only a few reviews and they mention that "it's being restored to it's former glory after 2 years of neglect". Just in case you don't get first hand feedback on it here, you might want to ask on the Island of Hawaii Tripadvisor forum.

I would recommend the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens - we thought it was spectacular (the plants, location and effort that has gone into making this such an oasis) and it gets consistently excellent reviews from others. There is a wonderful orchid garden there.

 

I'm not familiar with Nani Mau, but just did a quick search - only a few reviews and they mention that "it's being restored to it's former glory after 2 years of neglect". Just in case you don't get first hand feedback on it here, you might want to ask on the Island of Hawaii Tripadvisor forum.

All I know is that Princess has changed their excursions to Nani Mau, and the email I got notifying me indicates that Nani Mau has 'every' plant growing on the Hawaiian Islands.

All I know is that Princess has changed their excursions to Nani Mau, and the email I got notifying me indicates that Nani Mau has 'every' plant growing on the Hawaiian Islands.

Were you supposed to go to HTBG when you signed on for the excursion?

If you are visiting Volcanoes National Park while you are in Hilo, be sure and stop by Akatsuka Orchid Farms which is on Hwy. 11, just down the road from the volcano park. There are thousands of different orchids in the showroom. And, be sure and take your camera. You can get great close-up shots of all the different types of orchids.

Were you supposed to go to HTBG when you signed on for the excursion?

Yes. They sent me an email of the change, with the ability to opt out if I did not like the change.

When we were at Nani Mau Gardens in 1/2012 it was a disgrace with dying gardens lack of care even the caged birds were lacking care by dirty waters and dirty cages, very disappointing compare to being there a couple years prior. I had words with the woman at the front which was supposedly one of the owners and more or less thought she was saying they were having financial problems and also with Roberts driver he to agreed that the place was a shamble and the restaurant had long been closed.

I spoke to management at Roberts when I got home as I've done a lot of business with them and was told they were going to remove it from their tour. And I just checked and it's gone. Nani Mau Gardens website is under construction and i think it has been for a long time. However if you do go beware of the sand flees or mosquitoes I forget which but they were bad.

There isn't even any reviews on TA for Nani Mau Gardens so they must have all been removed.

You read some reviews on Yelp here is the link:

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/nani-mau-gardens-hilo

Another garden to go to is Liliuokalani Garden on Banyan Drive which is not far from the ship and it's rate #2 out 13 attractions on Tripadvisor.

Yes. They sent me an email of the change, with the ability to opt out if I did not like the change.

One reason that I can think of that they might have made the change is due to a steep part of the path at HTBG - maybe too many people were having difficulty with it. It's not wheelchair accessible and they don't allow powered wheelchairs/scooters. They have a golf cart at the gardens, but very limited capacity with that. Nani Mau is likely more accessible. Entrance cost might be another consideration.

If you wanted to see HTBG's I think they arrange for pick up/drop off at the cruise port.