Our Rating: A
Location: 3600 West Sample Road, Tradewinds Park Rd, Coconut Creek, FL 33073

The city of Coconut Creek is home to the world’s largest butterfly park with over 20,000 live butterflies. Throughout the park, you can walk through their aviaries, and have a walk in the sun through their botanic gardens or have an encounter with a Lorikeet.

When visitors first pass through the guest services, they are greeted with their in-house butterfly laboratory. In this laboratory, they can see various species of butterflies in their different stages of life.

Upon exiting this room, the surrounding exhibit provides a burst of warm air, lavish greenery and the occasional butterfly flying around. Throughout this aviary, visitors can see and photograph different species of butterflies while they hold on for dear life against the harsh winds.

“It was a wonderful experience with all of the rooms and exhibits that really showed off the beauty, elegance and diversity of each butterfly,” freshman Gabriela Blanco said.

In the next aviary, there is a sparkling, small but spectacular waterfall. Here the trees start to get bigger, birds start to take flight and the butterflies start to proudly stand out in the greenery. Amongst the green vegetation, there are multiple blooming flowers and other tropical plants. After visitors are done roaming the Rain Forest, they will no longer see any live butterflies unless the butterflies came from the wild.

Next up is the Vine Maze that leads to the Tropical Bird Aviary, with a few optional detours. This “maze” is more of a rectangular box since it only allows for one-way passage. In this part of the park, there are impressive floral exhibits, including different Passionflower hybrids. Most of the flowers are not in full bloom, however, the ones that are, like “Grace Ann,” will make for good closeup images.

“The place was wonderful. Each butterfly had something unique about it. A bunch of different colors and patterns and the surrounding area was beautiful too. The flowers and butterflies went so well together. If I had kids, I would totally bring them there to see it themselves,” freshman Cesar Ramirez said.

Upon exiting the Maze, visitors can either go through the English Rose Garden for a refreshing stroll or walk through the Tinalandia Bridge that leads to the Jewels of the Sky Aviary to see the Macaws. Walking through the rose gardens, you can make a stop at the Lorikeet Encounter and feed one of the friendly birds for two dollars. Right next to the Lorikeets is the Butterfly Museum/Bug Zoo that houses a vast collection of preserved insects and live scorpion tarantulas.

Currently, Butterfly World is having a 50% discount on all of their tickets until Nov. 25.  If you are looking to have a magical experience and take some professional-looking photos, there’s no better way to spend an afternoon. The best time to see this Tropical Rain Forest is when the sun is at its peak because it allows for clear images of the foliage and butterflies; be sure to check it out!