Butterfly Garden in Dubai
Page update - Oct 16, 2022
The Emirate of Dubai is home to the world's largest indoor butterfly park, with an area of 71,000 square feet (6,600 square meters). How to get there by bus or cab? How much does it cost to get in, and are there any discounts? What to see inside? Read the answers on this page.
Warning! Butterfly Garden and Miracle Garden are located in the same area, but they are two different attractions: they have different entrances, require separate tickets, and have different hours of operation. Read our detailed review "Miracle Garden" for more information.
As of October 2022, the Butterfly Garden Park is open to the public. The 105 bus to the park has already been running since October 10 (the day Miracle Garden Park opened). And finally, ticket sales are now available through the website. Promotions and discounts have appeared! Read all the details below on this page.
Brief description
Butterfly Garden is a complex of 10 dome-shaped buildings, of which 4 are now used for butterfly gardens, an area of 28,000 square feet (2,600 square meters). The rest serve as a recreational area, for scientific and administrative purposes. The park opened in 2015 initially as part of the Miracle Garden, but quickly became a separate venue.
Inside the domes, the temperature and humidity are kept comfortable for butterflies. There are 45 species of butterflies breeding there, from the familiar "limonica" (Anteos Clorinde) to the tropical "agamemnon" (Graphium agamemnon) and "Rumanzovia sails" (Papilio Rumanzovia).
Very lucky if you manage to see a large specimen of Caligo butterfly (Owl butterfly), which can reach a size of up to 8 inches (20 centimeters).
Do not think that the domes inside are crawling with butterflies. There are not many. It is unlikely you will see more than 300 of them during your visit. The official website claims "15,000 butterflies" but of course not.
It is forbidden to touch the butterflies, especially by their wings. If you want to take a butterfly on your hand or plant it on another part of the body, you can ask the staff. Photos with butterflies are great. The staff's services to communicate with the butterflies are included in the ticket price.
Time of visit is not limited. That is, you can spend all day (until 6 pm) looking at butterflies, ask the staff to put them on your hand, take pictures.
In addition to the four domes with butterflies, you can see a lot more, but we will talk about it in detail in the second part of this page.
Where is located and how to get there
Butterfly Garden Park is located in the southern part of the Al Barsha district. It is far from the subway line and even public buses do not stop there. There is a special bus 105 which is an express bus to Butterfly Garden and Miracle Garden.
Important note! Bus 105 is seasonal and only runs from October to May when the Miracle Garden is open. In the summer season you will have to take a cab.
There are several options.
Option 1 - subway + bus. You need to take the subway to the station "Mall of the Emirates" on the red (first) line. For the subway map with all the latest updates see our review "Dubai Metro".
Then you need to get to the big bus stop at the main entrance of the Mall of the Emirates. There you can take bus 105, and let us remind you that the 105 bus is seasonal. The interval is 30 minutes. The travel time is 20-35 minutes, depending on traffic.
The bus runs from 9-30 am to 8-30 pm on weekdays (Monday to Friday) and from 9-30 am to 10-30 pm on weekends (Saturday, Sunday). To know the exact time, so you don't have to stand and wait for the bus, we give you the exact schedule of 105 buses from the RTA (winter season 2022/2023).
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The trip price on route 105 is 5 dirhams, payment by NOL card. See our review "Currency of the UAE" for the current exchange rates of the dirham. There is no "30 minute rule" on route 105, so you will not save any money. Read about this rule in our review "The NOL Transport Card".
Option 2 - subway + cab. Take the subway to the Mall of the Emirates station on the red (first) line, which is the closest to Butterfly Garden Park. From there it is 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to the park. You can catch a cab at the entrance to the mall. The trip will cost about 25-35 dirhams, it depends on the route the cab driver will take.
Option 3 - a cab from the hotel. You can take a cab directly from your hotel or any other place in Dubai. But in this case it is hard to predict the cost, it depends on the distance. It could be from 20 dirhams to 100. See our review "Taxis in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi" for current taxi fares.
Ticket price
Ticket price is 55 dirhams (including VAT).
Children under 3 years old and disabled are free of charge.
As of October 2022, tickets can already be purchased online. Discounted tickets have appeared. At the time this page was updated, there are "3+1" and "5+2" promotions. The set of promotions is constantly changing. Be sure to check out the current promotions. Tickets are on the official website at dubaibutterflygarden.com , click the "book now" button.
Another way to save money is to buy a tour. Count carefully the sum of the cost of tickets and transport, compare it to the price of the tour, and draw conclusions. But even if you manage to save money this way then it will be "pennies". Read our page "Excursions in Dubai - which are valuable, which are not".
Hours of operation and season
Butterfly Garden is open year-round. Recall that the neighboring park Miracle Garden is open only in the winter season.
Hours of operation are from 9 am to 6 pm. The schedule is the same on weekdays, weekends, holidays and the month of Ramadan.
What else to see and do (but walking in 4 domes with butterflies)
Butterfly Museum
A large exhibit of several hundred paintings of dried butterflies. In the center of the gallery are butterfly-framed portraits of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and other rulers of the UAE. To understand who's who, read our page "The rulers of the seven Arab Emirates".
Educational Center
You can see the developmental stages of a butterfly with your own eyes there: egg-larva-caterpillar-pupa-butterfly.
It is not always possible to see all the cycle, because at the time of your visit caterpillars may be hidden, pupae may not be present at the moment.
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Carp pond
Located in the second dome. It is an ordinary pond with koi carps in it. It's a great place to relax. Although on the other hand, what in Butterfly Garden Park could be stressful? Except for the annoyance of the rather expensive tickets.
Recreational area
You can sit, relax, and watch informative films about butterflies. The films are in English.
Where to eat
There is no restaurant in Butterfly Garden Park. There is only a small cafeteria, an ice cream stand and a popcorn stand.
Tips for tourists
- Since there is not much to eat there we recommend eating at the Mall of the Emirates, which has a great food court. If you go in the winter season in both parks, you can eat at Miracle Garden;
- Bringing water and food, littering, and making noise inside is strictly forbidden. Park staff have the right to expel violators without a refund for the ticket. It is strictly forbidden to take butterflies by the wings. If you want to pick up a butterfly, it is better to ask the park staff;
- There are no NOL card recharging options near the park. If taking the bus, be sure to check that the card has money on it for the return trip. Otherwise, you'll have to take a cab;
- Arrive on a weekday, there will be fewer people as there will be no locals. As a reminder, in the Arab Emirates the weekends are Friday (the holy day in Islam) from noon, Saturday, and Sunday. Read more in our review "Weekend and friday in the UAE";
- Butterfly Garden Park has a dress code, but it's not strict at all. Shorts, miniskirts, and tank tops are allowed. But without pretentious eroticism in clothing. About the dress code read our review "What tourists can't do in Dubai";
- If you plan to come with children, then we recommend our review "To the UAE with children - what you need to know".
Have a nice walk in Butterfly Garden, and read our pages about Dubai and the UAE (see the list of the pages below).
