cheap entrance, shaded areas, lots of species of butterfly to see
Disadvantages:
Can be very hot at miday,lots of slopes to deal with
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Na Tian Butterfly Garden is located on the south east coast of Ko Samui. We took a taxi to this attraction which cost us £10 for a return journey which seemed fair as the Butterfly Garden was on the other side of the island from where we were staying.
Entrance to the Butterfly Gardens was cheap; we paid about £2 each for the admission costs.
Samui Butterfly Gardens are totally enclosed by netting and the grounds on the gardens are sloped upwards with several staircases leading you to the highest point of the Gardens. Inside, the gardens are thick with vegetation and there are literally hundreds of different species of butterflies to see, as well as various species of dragonflies. One thing I have to say is that you need to be fairly fit to visit this attraction as the grounds are sloped with pretty steep stairs leading you up to the next level. Unfortunately there is no disabled access. We visited the Butterfly Gardens about 2pm when it was boiling hot and we literally sweated our way around the gardens! If I were to visit this attraction again, I would go either earlier or later in the day, when the sun is not as hot.
As you enter the gardens, you follow the pathways around the garden and eventually come to the dreaded stairs! The stairs take you to the next level of the gardens where you can view the Bee House. Inside the Bee House there are glass panels inside the Bee Hives where visitors can view the hyperactive behaviour of the bees in a safe environment. From here, the steps continue upwards and eventually to the very top where there is a viewing platform. From here, you can get some stunning views across Ko Samui so make sure you remember your camera! From the platform, you then take the steps back down to the bottom half of the gardens which then lead onto the Insect Museum. In the Insect Museum you can see rare insects from Thailand and other countries which are on display inside glass cases which are mounted on the walls. Underneath each display cabinet, there is a list of what insects are on display inside.
The gardens are well laid out and very scenic. The vegetation inside did helped to shield us from the boiling hot sun and there were plenty of resting areas inside where you can sit and chill and watch all the pretty butterflies float past. There were several small waterfalls inside the Gardens which seemed to attract the butterflies and also made for a nice resting area for us. As well as seeing the butterflies, bees and dragonflies, we also saw several giant millipedes crawling their way around the park, as well as some type of lizard hiding inside the bushes.
We found that the Butterfly Gardens were fairly quiet when we visited, probably because everyone else had the sense to visit when it wasnt to hot but personally, I prefer to visit attractions when its not too crowded anyway so it suited us. Towards the exit of the Butterfly Gardens, there was a small café where you can buy alcoholic and soft drinks at reasonable prices. Two can of coke cost us £1 which we thought was very reasonable. There was also a small souvenir shop next to the café.
Overall, I enjoyed my visit to the Butterfly Gardens. Although we were extremely hot by the time we had finished, I would still recommend this attraction to anyone visiting Samui. In total, it took us around 2 hours to complete the Butterfly Gardens and we thought that this attraction offered good value for money. We also enjoyed ourselves chasing the butterflies around the gardens trying to take a nice photograph.
