The Butterfly Estates

The Butterfly Estates is really awesome. I love that it is a non-profit organization. When you walk in, you can see different stages of chrysalis. The gal working the front desk was very informative and showed us tiny eggs that she extracted from the leaves. We then got to walk around and see all of the butterflies. There were at least 3 turtles in a pond as well as Koi fish. It was very peaceful inside. We even saw 2 butterflies mating. It is humid inside, so I do suggest wearing cooler clothing for an optimal experience. There are senior, student, and children discounts available. Otherwise, it is $10.00 per entry. If you live in the area or are just visiting, I recommend checking it out. It was so awesome!

Very soothing place to be in the moment. The staff was very knowledgeable and passionate. Loved all the butterflies among the lush gardens! Nice small waterfall with koi fish in pond. Relaxing time sitting on bench with butterflies all around even landing on me. Music was stress relieving. Will go back!

Such a cute place to visit. Requires a small entrance fee. Very calm ambiance walking around with gentle music playing and sounds of water running (can't really hear cars on nearby roads). If come in early spring can see some caterpillars and some chrysalis by the entrance. There are a variety of butterflies and plants plus some fish in the pond. Also you can sit in little corners of the enclosed space.

We went to the butterfly estates about a week ago and had a decent experience. It’s very small but was a nice place to enjoy the butterflies. We looked at the shop which was nice and we also went into the cafe. We made our rounds through the art gallery as well. I really like the fact that it’s all local artist and the money goes back to them. Would recommend anyone to visit.

Lovely experience while visiting fort myers. You get to see the whole butterfly lifecycle and walk around the beautiful greenhouse. The staff are so friendly and informative. They can teach you how to plant your own butterfly garden and how to help wild butterflies.

A nice quick stroll though a butterfly house. The guide was informative and gave a lot of details. The trip will be short 30 or so minutes. The house is steamy as the butterflies like it around 86 degrees. They have a quick gift shop to look through as well.

Absolutely beautiful butterfly garden. It’s not a massive space but a place to relax and enjoy the multiple varieties of butterflies flying all around you. They also show some of the hatchery and you can see the full butterfly lifecycle from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to adult. Admission goes to a great cause to support the nonprofit.

Couldn't recommend this place enough, it's so beautiful, peaceful, and informative. I learned more about butterflies and their struggle existing on our planet here more than I have anywhere else. I came here on my birthday with my mom and it really was a truly precious memory. The garden is so serene, it's the best place to come to when you just want to relax for a while and unwind.

We love the butterfly garden. They were so sweet to my daughter. Taking the time to talk to about all the butterflies and different types there are and it was just so nice just to walk around in the garden and watch them fly around. I'm not sure what they fed the goldfish though because they were ginormous. After you're done looking at the butterfly garden there's a beautiful art gallery next door and next to that is a really nice outdoor indoor thrift store. I guess if I was going to nitpick about anything I think that someone could attend the garden of the grounds cuz it looked a little rundown. Fresh coat of paint and some trimming. Maybe some deweeding the landscaping wouldn't go a mess... I would still really recommend this place for anybody who needed something to do for the afternoon.

Sorry folks, Butterfly Estates is permanently closed as of July 2023! I wish the lovely co-op partners that ran this place the best of luck in their future endeavors!

Amazing, educational,relaxing. Alyssa and Elizabeth are really experts in the butterfly world. Ten dollars for a tour well worth it...so serene. Shops nearby as well as lovely lunch spots. Enjoy downtown Ft Myers and learn something new....

Rhis place was so adorable! It's very family friendly (including dogs). It had a small museum, a shop, and a butterfly garden. The butterfly garden was full of beautiful butterflies and awesome plants. Within the walk around, there were plenty of educational signs to learn more as you traveled through this relaxing experience. The workers were delightful and beyond kind. They offer military, teacher, first responders, and student discounts. Along with all this beauty, you can buy a beverage and relax as well.

The Shops at Butterfly Estates is a collection of unique and fun businesses located in the Gardner's Park district of Fort Myers. This review is for the Butterfly House operated by the The Florida Native Butterfly Society, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. According to the ButterflySociety, their "mission is to protect & raise our Florida Native Butterfly species through education, preservation & creating more green space. Our Southwest Florida educational facility is providing the appropriate educational programs and research projects that are helping butterfly populations flourish throughout our state! We thank you for your support of our facility and operation." The butterfly house is located in a large green house on the property of the Butterfly Estates. Admission is $10 but they offer a lot of discounts including Florida, student, and senior. The great thing about the admission is that it is more like a donation to help them restore the southwest Florida butterfly population. Once you step instead you are transported into a wonderland. There is a bridge, pond with koi, beautiful native plants, and best of all, hundreds of butterflies flying around. They do ask that you do not touch them. The Butterfly Society is using the conservatory to raise and release butterflies each week. They are one of the few facilities in the nation that can actively breed the native butterflies and moths Southwest Florida. You will not see any exotic species. The conservatory is just stunning. Sit on a bench, relax, and let your stress melt away. Make sure you get here early as they close at 3 as do they other businesses of Butterfly Estates which are great fun to explore. My take away from here is that we can all do our part to help the butterflies. I put out milkweed for the monarchs but after my visit to the conservatory I am going to try to do more to help the zebra longwing, the designated state butterfly of Florida. I can add some lantana to the garden for those little guys. I love the work they are doing here and this is a great place to enjoy beautiful butterflies while drawing inspiration for your own garden.

Fun little place. Made sure to spend enough time in greenhouse to get moneys worth. A good variety of butterfly's with a small pond that holds koi fish and turtles. Free roaming butterflies in the greenhouse so watch where you sit/step/lean. You might even catch the butterflies mating like we did. Great, natural lighting for photos, but sign in front is a little damaged (possibly from hurricane Ian). A good little assortment of things to buy for memorabilia, but no stickers, pins, or magnets.

The butterfly estates is a quick afternoon adventure! We saw all kinds of butterflies. It didn't take too long to walk through the place but it was fun anyway. Florida residents get a discount!

The Butterfly house is a greenhouse located in Fort Meyers business district. It is a relaxing spot, with a small bridge, pond with Koi and hundreds of butterflies. The butterflies are just beautiful. It's fun just trying to get the pictures of them up close. Admission is $10, discounts are offered for Seniors, veterans and children. It's small so you could spend about an hour in there. If your passing thru definitely worth the stop.

I didn't realize they were closed to the public. They are only open for children field trips. I must have missed that on their website. I did walk around the outside along the sidewalk. They do have flowering bushes that attract butterflies. Tried to get a shot of any butterfly nearby, and those little buggers don't pose well. You have to be quick. Still, it got me out of the house and I did take some pretty pictures of the flowers.

Lovely place - I was in butterfly heaven it's wonderful to see the different stages of butterflies and it's a natural way to enjoy them - just lovely

This was such a neat experience! Its a beautiful venue with so many butterflies. It just feels magical with all the butterflies flying all around you. They also have a space where they have the different caterpillars separated and a space where they have the cocoons. You can tell the workers just love what they do and are very excited to tell you all about it. Check it out we loved it and spent a good amount of time here. They also have three different shops and a place to eat. We did not try any food, but the shops were neat.

Nice, educational center to see butterflies and learn about the species that are native to the area. It was a nice experience for a weekend morning. My boyfriend and I went to check it out and enjoyed it. I do think overall it is more catered to families and children, so would definitely recommend it for that.

So beautiful! There were butterflies everywhere and they were all so pretty, also the inside of the butterfly enclosed was very nice They even have a little pond and waterfall with koi fish!

Small glass house in North Fort Myers , right next to the IMAG museum. Very cute exhibit but very hot! Sherlyn was very polite and gave me a student discount. They sell jewelry, plants, and art.

You must visit this place!! The butterfly greenhouse was the best part and we spend an hour in there. Tons of butterfly's and staff is super friendly. There are also shops and a small place to eat.

It is a very relaxing and beautiful place to spend your day , lots of butterflies and also fishes in a pond . We recommend it 100% also you can ask questions to the ladies in the front about butterflies!!!

I've lived in Fort Myers for 2 years and have not been to the Butterfly Farm so we decided to spend some time supporting our butterfly community. Since we had already been to butterfly farms in Key West and Aruba, we didn't know what to expect as those were amazing. This particular BF is pretty small. There is no audio or televised tour but the interior was very nice. There were lots of butterfly (especially Monarch) flitting around so it is very easy to get a good picture. The Koi fish were absolutely beautiful and huge giving us inspiration to put one in our backyard. It only takes about a hour or so to go through the farm itself and expect it to be extremely warm.

This place was truly magnificent. A real live fairy tale. Amazing Butterflies creatures, beautiful flowered plants everywhere and fish in ponds and just so peaceful. Such a outstanding life experience. Everyone should go here. Learn and enjoy the beautiful environment. It's worth it. There is mosquitos in side the butterfly room, but they have organic bug spray that doesn't hurt the butterflies. I went in with out putting on spray got attacked and came back put the spray on me and rubbed it in! Went back in the room. And mosquitoes left me alone. So the organic spray does indeed work. Make sure u rub it in don't just spray! Anyways this event had me speechless with such peace in my mind when I walked in. It's so totally worth go too and trying out. 100%. Cool place.

Delightful! A really nice outing at a reasonable price. Seniors are $5.00, and veterans free. There are a couple of cute restaurants right there. We had a delicious breakfast before visiting the butterflies.

You just stop at the Gathering Place for lunch. Gray good, welcoming atmosphere, homemade everything at very reasonable prices.

Interesting kearning bit on butterflies but really not much to see. Greenhouse type of place. It was 36$ for 4 of us to spend about 10 min watching a handful of butterflies flying around. I guess i expected more.

This place was awesome! I stumbled upon it thanks to Yelp. I brought my 5-year old niece with me here and we loved the butterfly observatory! I'd say this is a hidden gem in the Ft. Myers area so definitely check it out :)

The Butterfly Estates is a small conservatory located in Downtown Fort Myers. It is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to preserving native butterflies. It is mostly a greenhouse containing plants that butterflies feed on, as well as some man-made brooks and of course, the fluttering butterflies. The staff is polite and willing to answer any questions you have. Compared to Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, it is tiny (Butterfly Estates is 3600 square feet, versus Butterfly World, which is 10 acres). Butterfly World is actually the largest butterfly park in the world. Because of this, plus the fact that Butterfly World also contains birds of different species, native and non-native butterfly species, plus the classical music that the butterflies "dance to", it is hard to beat, or even come close to Butterfly World. For Fort Myers locals, the Butterfly Estates is fine, but if you're in South Florida, it's probably not worth making a trip out here only to see the Butterfly Estates, unless you're in the SW Florida area. Otherwise, you'd be better off going to Butterfly World (though it's about twice the price of admission of the Butterfly Estates).

What a nice day ! The women at the location were all very friendly and knowledgeable! Very inexpensive and can spend a greet afternoon here. They have a small restaurant connected to the Estate - has the most delicious salad and latte! Definitely need to visit if you are in town! Thank you ladies !

This is a sweet and colorful place. My parents, who live in Fort Myers, volunteer here - it's a nonprofit, and run by volunteers dedicated to the conservation of native Florida butterflies. You can learn about these amazing creatures and their metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly at the nursery, then enter the greenhouse to be surrounded by their flying bursts of color! They have a "Butterfly Release" daily at 10:30am, where the young butterflies from the nursery - having newly emerged from their cocoons and dried their wings - are let go inside the greenhouse to fly free. There are also lovely grounds of pollinator plants to stroll through. Afterwards, visit the adjoining cafe, Bullig, for some delicious coffee and a bite of something sweet and yummy. We come to Butterfly Estates every time we visit my parents in Fort Myers - it's a quiet, cozy, beautiful spot, and we enjoy supporting our butterfly friends and the humans who love them! http://www.thebutterflyestates.com

This is a nice tranquil place, but I think it $9 it is way overpriced. You can do the whole thing in 10 minutes. FURTHERMORE..... I specifically asked if there were any alligators on display here, and the young lady said NO. REALLY????! cuz there's a ridiculously huge one in front of the cafe!!! Thanks.

Loved this!!! Tucked away in Downtown Ft Myers. This was a beautiful way to spend the afternoon! A MUST do when in town!

Super friendly folks who are kind enough to preserve and protect Florida's native butterflies while providing a one of a kind experience to visitors. It was my first time visiting on their ' Last Free Sunday Funday' ... although I would have had no problem paying a small fee to support the cause. They have about 12 species flying around many beautiful tropical plants in their amazing greenhouse.. I couldn't stop filming and taking pictures along with other visitors who seemed to have the same problem. :) They also have waterfalls with a koi and a turtle... A must visit location for sure.

Ft. Myers' hidden gem! Groupon had an annual membership for sale that will get plenty of use. It includes a 10% discount at the Flutterby's Cafe', Caterpillars Ice Cream & Fudge Factory, Mother Nature's Gift Shop, and admission to the butterfly gardens, chock full of surprises. The staff is very informative and polite. It was a bit steamy for my northern ass and was advised that is it cooler in the earlier hours by the wonderful staff. Who cared? There are native plants, quail, fish, waterfalls, nice music, and butterflies! The Flutterby's Cafe' has an interesting menu. Kid, adult, and picky eaters friendly. The coffee is nice too! It was nice to have leftovers placed into biodegradable containers which were emptied in the park later.. The soups, yummy. The sandwiches, yummy. Mother nature's Gift Shop is not your typical gift shop. There were NICE things for sale, but maybe a few shells.. Have some ice cream to cool off at The Caterpillars Ice Cream & Fudge Factory. Buy a pound, get a half pound free... It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon. A must do. Take extra batteries for your camera

This is a fun place to take the kids. It's an educational place, so they take you around and show/teach you things about butterfly's. When they're done you can stay as long as you like or even come back later in the day if you want to. We had a good time with the ladies that work there. We didn't eat there, so I can't comment on their food.

Love this place. They have a beautiful greenhouse with lots of amazing butterflies. The staff is really knowledgeable and will answer any questions that you have. Was very relaxing and soothing.

Visited here for the second time, great educational experience for both children and adults.I highly reccomend.

Cute little local place to hang out with my little girls to discover. Butterflies are native which is interesting and are taken care of from eggs to all stages of growth. The down side is I wish there were more butterflies, the ticket is over priced for a child that is 3 and such a small tour, but at least Florida residence get discount.

I came here with my family and had a wonderful time. The visit is short, but well worth the admission because inside is very beautiful and it was neat to see all of the butterflies and learn about them as well.

What a fabulous place! You have to love something that is devoted entirely to preserving the plight of the butterfly. Cute gift shop café and absolutely beautiful conservatory. In today's world it's refreshing to find something like this.

Very educational and super friendly staff! It's a great place to take a break from downtown restaurants and bars.

Great place to relax and enjoy butterflies. Has fudge and ice cream shop! Also Flutterby Cafe has Paninis and great salads.

This was the first place we came too when we got off the plane. It was so awesome. There were so many different kinds! The sign lets people know in advance that most species do not like very rainy or cold temps. Hannah who works there was very knowledgable and showed us around. If you appreciate nature and are in awe of nature I can't see how any one could be disappointed especially when the guide is explaining all about the different butterflies.

Don't bother. The conservatory only had maybe 4 varieties of butterflies and maybe 20 total. I went on the first Sunday of the month and admission was free, so thankfully I didn't waste my money as well as my time. It is $12 any other day or $11 with Florida ID. The parking lot is also pretty small.

We had a great time learning from the super friendly couple there!!! My son loved it so much he wants to go back!!

Beautiful loved my experience if you need a little magical place or outing I recommend visiting the butterflies and the beautiful garden where they live also can grab a bite to eat at their restaurant to make a nice afternoon out.