Well worth a visit. We were given a guided tour with some free time. for about 90 minutes. But if you want to take full advantage you need to be there for longer to allow time to make notes of the plants.

This is a 2-part review: The Garden itself, and getting there. The Garden is everything it says it is. Very picturesque, well-maintained and relaxing to wander through. Even if you're not a fan of nature you should enjoy the scenery. The only downside is trying to get on the suspended bridge walkway, which only holds two persons per section so the line is painfully slow. We waited for 1 hour to get started. There are no attendants there, and although it won't solve the problem it would likely help a great deal. They take credit cards for payment but if you pay with cash make sure you have Euros. Getting to this place from the cruise port, if you're going on your own instead of with a ship excursion, isn't easy. There are two bus lines that leave from different locations. One is L9 and the other 25. You'll have to ask locals where to catch these busses and the return schedule is almost impossible to determine. If you want to stop a return bus as it goes by the garden you have to take your life into your own hands. We gave up and took a taxi back to the port. If we had to do it again, we'd just pay the extra that the ship excursion costs and deal with the long lines for the suspension bridge, which we didn't avoid by trying to get there early.

Jardin de Balata was a very nice stop as we drove from one AirBnB to another. We didn't make reservations at the restaurant but they were able to fit us in without a problem. Tour busses stop there so they are prepared to accommodate large groups of people. The garden was very nice. We bought fish food as we entered so the kids could feed the koi as we passed the tree ponds. There was a hanging bridge, a playground for little kids, plenty of shade, and beautiful sights to see.

Nestled in the mountains and greener than Dorothy’s Emerald City. This place is a true treasure. Landscaping: amazing Flowers : WOW Wildlife: YES! extra fun to watch Peaceful: yes, yes, yes Bonus: the rope bridge. So. Cool. Pro tips: the restaurant is not open past the closing time at the garden. Tickets were easy to get once we arrived. Bring water Buy the fish food - it’s fun and there are 3 ponds at least.

We visited these gardens with a tour guide and she gave us 2 hours and she let people wander off. Only 4 of us stayed with her. At the very entrance there is a little house of the past owners. And we got alot of history of the owner who created the gardens from our tour guide. He also designed the gardens at the zoo. There are also beautiful hummingbirds feeding at the hummingbird feeder. And a photo op of a giant heart. The garden is well manicured for having only 6 gardeners. Our tour guide told us all about the plants, flowers and trees. It was interesting. There was not a lot of flowers. Mostly plants that had flowers blooming from them. There were 2 ponds with a bunch of fishes swimming together and a walking bridge up high that has some movement to it. If you don’t do the tour with the guide than you can finish fast and don’t need the 2 hours. It’s worth the visit