National Tropical Botanical Garden

Lonely Planet review

If plants aren't your thing, National Tropical Botanical Garden might inspire you to develop that green thumb. NTBG, a nonprofit working to propagate tropical and endangered species, manages five gardens (three on Kaua'i, one on Maui and one in Florida).

In Po'ipu's NTBG, don't miss the 80-acre Allerton Garden, a stunning landscape masterpiece, showcasing giant Moreton Bay fig trees (seen in Jurassic Park), an 'undulating' fountain, golden bamboo groves, pristine lagoon and valley walls blanketed with purple bougainvillea during summer. In 1870 Queen Emma, the wife of Kamehameha IV, lived in Lawa'i Valley - and her summer cottage still stands today. The garden's namesake is Chicago industrialist Robert Allerton, who in 1938 bought, then sumptuously landscaped, the coastal part of the valley.

You can visit Allerton only by guided tour (around US$35 ). Guides are knowledgeable guides and pepper the tour with interesting tidbits.

The adjacent McBryde Garden is less manicured and fancy than Allerton Garden, showcasing palms, flowering and spice trees, orchids and rare native species, plus a pretty stream and waterfall. You can explore the vast grounds on a self-guided tour ($20).