Are the Butchart Gardens worth the time and the money for you and your family to visit?
Last summer my family and I had the fabulous opportunity to visit the Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. We fell in love with this beautiful, historic garden! I wanted to tell you all about it so you will know if you should visit the Butchart Gardens with your family. We were able to visit the Butchart Gardens as part of a Royal Caribbean Cruise excursion. Our cruise excursion included a 3 hour visit to the Butchart Gardens and also a self-guided tour of the Craigdarroch Castle which is a gorgeous Victorian era mansion in the same area. Flower lovers, this post is for you!
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What are the Butchart Gardens?
The Butchart Gardens are a National Historic Site of Canada and have been around for over 100 years! It began with the vision of a woman named Jennie Butchart who in 1904 moved to a rich limestone deposit on the Tod inlet. When the cement plant that Jennie and her husband had dimished, they began to use the land to create a immaculate garden.
Little by little Jennie’s vision began to grow and now the gardens still continue to be owned by the Butchart family. Imagine a 55 acre landscaped garden full of floral wonders with gardens within the garden!
The 5 unique gardens are The Sunken Garden, The Rose Garden, The Japanese Garden, The Mediterranean Garden, and the Italian Garden. It’s a masterpiece of floral and plant life coming alive in one serene place. It has many paths to walk the through to enjoy the gardens at your own pace. My favorite garden was the Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden.
Is Butchart Gardens Worth the Price?
First of all, let’s talk about how much it costs to visit the Butchart Gardens. Typically prices for adults range from $26-$42 per ticket, depending on what time of year you visit the gardens (as of 2024). The prices for children are cheaper.
It’s a lower price to visit the gardens in the off season, like November and the winter months. For obvious reasons these times will have less flowers to see and instead you will see more winter plants. Summer and Spring are the most expensive seasons because that is when you will see blossoms and floral displays in full bloom.
We visited in the July and the colors and varieties of flowers were unbelievable! I had never seen so many different kinds of flowers in one place and I definitely went camera happy. I’ve seen pictures of the gardens in early fall and that looks like a beautiful time to visit as well because the colors of the changing leaves would add to the beauty.
Another reason the summer price is higher may be because during this summer months that have night-time illuminations throughout the gardens, live concerts, and even firework displays.
There is also the option for a 12 month pass (that really is only the the price of 2 adult tickets). The pass would be fun to have if you live in the area and can visit more than twice. This flower park also has a nice restaurant, a casual eatery, a coffee shop, a gelateria, and a gift shop. And a fun highlight for kids is that they have a old-fashioned carousel.
How much time should I plan to visit Butchart Gardens?
You may be wondering how long it will take you to wander through a 55 acre garden of magic. Well, I think the answer is that it depends on what kind of a visitor you are. Most sources suggest at least 3 hours for visiting Butchart Gardens.
As I mentioned before, we visited as part of a cruise excursion and so we were limited by the bus schedule and were only able to have 3 hours at the gardens. I feel like the 3 hours was enough time to get through all the gardens at a regular pace (not too slow and not too fast). We took time to take pictures and enjoy each garden and we definitely got some good walking in. However, this amount of time did not give us much time to visit the gift shop or any of the restaurants.
I would have like to have another hour or two there. It’s nice to spend time relaxing and leisurely walking through my favorite spots, or just sitting down for a chat at the coffee shop. If those are things you want to include in your trip, then I would plan 4-5 hours for your visit.
Is Butchart Gardens Kid-Friendly?
The answer to this question is YES. Butchart Gardens are a kid-friendly place. The gardens are fun for energetic kids to roam and explore with their parents and a great place for them to learn about the beauty of nature. There’s the classic carousel for them to ride, snacks at the shops and restaurants, and youth groups are welcome during certain times of the year. They also have family-friendly scavenger hunt type activities for kids to do while they visit. The paths are stroller friendly too which is great.
Now, having said that it is kid-friendly, here are a few things to consider when bringing kids. There is a lot of walking involved as you go through Butchart Gardens so plan ahead by bringing a stroller and using the park map to plan out the best route for the time and energy that your kids have that day.
Butchart Gardens is One of the Best Places to Visit in Canada
I guess to wrap up this article, I have to say that in my opinion, Butchart Gardens is one of the best places to visit in Canada! I know it seems like there is no way that it could be that awesome considering that Canada is full of beautiful wonders, but these flower gardens are just another thing that makes Canada a gorgeous place to visit.
And the best part is that Butchart Gardens are great for all ages of people. So give this glorious tourist destination a try next time you are in British Columbia or Seattle area!
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