It's fun to take the bus from Puerta Vallarta once you find the bus stop. Beautiful garden but save your energy if you go to the river as its lots of stairs down and up. You can swim but rocky bottom tough on feet The gift shop has lovely, expensive things. A tshirt was over $100! We bought a $12 bug spray but no bugs. Restaurant had good food

We did not go on a tour. My friend and I took an Uber for the 40-minute drive to the gardens on a warm day in Puerto Vallarta. We were surprised to find the skies overcast and the temperature very chilly. (Since there was only a fancy shawl to buy in the store, my friend bought a tablecloth for a shawl. I had brought a sun jacket.) An hour after our arrival, it began to lightly rain. Nevertheless, the gardens are stunning with many wandering paths. There is a large restaurant where we had lunch. Our server was very gracious, letting my friend try a couple Mexican wines. We both tasted them and turned them down. I had Jamaica (hibiscus) tea without ice and my friend had a beer. We both ordered tortilla soup which was artfully served but tasted like tomato soup with crisp tortilla strips. My friend liked the pizza she ordered. My Oven Nachos were OK.

Puerto Vallarta Walking Aventures with Abraham was an Excellent choice to go to the Vallarta Botanical Gardens. Abraham was knowledgeable, informative and friendly guide to take us through the gardens and down to the river. Botanical Garden themselves were spectacular and a great place to visit. The Restaurant was excellently with a great variety of food that tasted fantastic. The Tour is well worth it. The bus there was comfortable and provided great scenery and in-depth cometary from Abraham. I would definitely recommend this Tour.

My wife and I took an uber to the gardens which was 450 pesos. It was nice ride out. The entrance booth was set up nicely, you get a wrist band upon entry. It was 600 pesos for my wife and I to enter. I found out on one of the signs that 60 percent of the garden's funding comes from gate entry and 600 pescos for two is reasonable for what you get to see. There is a board map to show you the areas and trails. We got there around 11am. We toured many of the close trails. There is just so much to see. Being from Canada most of the plants we seen are house plants for us, so it was nice to see them in their natural habitat. You can buy plants at this garden, and there is a gift shop. It had many plant related items such as pots, and books about plants. The restaurant was nice as it is up top and you can see around the trees a bit. The meal was good. There was a violinist and pianist playing while we ate. That was a nice touch. They take credit card as well. We toured a bit more of the garden. We were not able to take it all in this day, but we did see quite a bit. While waiting for a taxi which the entrance booth called in for us which was much appreciated, I seen signage for all the land that they have purchased over the years to keep in perpetuity for wildlife. There is still land available next to the botanical garden to purchase. I hope they can purchase it and expand their protected area. Worth seeing. We will be back and hope to see more land secured and protected by the botanical garden.

We decided to hop on the local bus from Zona Romantica and visit the Botanical Gardens independently. The bus ride was fun and cheap & drops your off right outside. Lovely to see sights along the way, places where you might want to discover at a later date. The gardens themselves are absolutely beautiful! We spent hours here, looking at all the different plants/flowers & relaxing. We enjoyed food and drinks in the restaurant and looking out at all the bird feeders expertly hung for close ups of many different birds including hummingbirds. The staff around the gardens were very knowledgeable & friendly. We loved our visit & would highly recommend.

The garden is magical. It’s main building which is the gift shop and the restaurant is beautiful. I loved their koi ponds and the church too. So glad we made our way there. Took many photos. The weather wasn’t too hot and on Saturday in June it wasn’t crowded at all. We(5 people) took uber from our hotel at Zona Romantic ($53) and return via city bus ($15). Lunch at the restaurant was memorable.

Amazing hidden gem about a 50 minute drive from the Zona Hotelera. We drove a rental car through Old Town which was hectic but the costal road out of town and into the mountains was pretty easy and had beautiful views. Be ready for lots of potholes and speed bumps on the way. Parking at the gardens was free but limited, getting there right at opening at 9am made it easier. It’s good to pack sunscreen and bug spray, although they do sell bug spray there for not too pricy. There’s a map of the gardens at the entrance to take a photo of and plenty to explore. The Jaguar Path at the back of the garden was a chance to see lots of wildlife- lizards, frogs, spiders, and butterflies. Definitely keep an eye on your surroundings as you hike because the spiders are all over in the morning. The view of the river at the bottom of the trail was great. Really enjoyed the various greenhouses, memorial gardens, and the small chapel which was decorated inside and home to a group of peacocks. We didn’t try the restaurant but did wander through the gift shop which had some pretty insane prices, I wanted to get a small cotton tote bag screenprinted with the same pattern as the walls inside the chapel but the price was about $125 US dollars.