Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix

Awesome place to explore! I had no idea the desert had so many different types of plant life. This place offers a ton of great classes, concerts and other entertaining events. We also visited the butterfly sanctuary which was really interesting. Definitely make sure this place is on your list if you are visiting the Phoenix area.

We attended the Luminaria Festival in December 2016, the week before Christmas. It was absolutely enchanting. We had difficulty choosing among the various musical performances, and enjoyed each one. Being able to sit in one of the courtyards and enjoy a beverage and snack while listening to beautiful live music was a lovely conclusion to our evening there. I'd like to return during the day to see the plantings more clearly in daylight.

Awesome! One of the best botanical gardens I have seen, obviously cactus variety is what you are going to see but impressive and beautiful examples of them, very good layout and easy to get around even while I was pushing my mom in a wheel chair. Make sure you go in spring during the blooming season I have never seen so many humming birds flying around. A great day had by all.

What do you expect from a botanical garden? Yeah exactly! Bring your camera, hat, sunglasses, and water! Nice decent walk! But it's expectedly hot. $25/adult but you can come in and out anytime before 8pm. Really reasonable if you plan to explore them all

4.5 stars, if I could! This is a well maintained garden full of interesting and varied displays. The staff is friendly and very helpful. Educational displays are well maintained and there's enough to do that I spent a whole day just walking around in the gardens. The on-site cafe serves good, albeit expensive, food. If you have a casual interest in birds you will not be disappointed as even in the winter many species were present. Check online (Groupon, etc) for discounted admission, and don't forget about the student discount. The admission is pricey otherwise.