BEEKEEPING & HONEY TASTING

Explore a day in the life of an apiarist with our beekeeping and honey tasting experience.

Beginning at the Discover Ojai Center, you will meet with our resident beekeeper for a brief introduction on our most vital pollinators, the European honeybee. Enjoy the beautiful Ojai vistas as we escort you to our bee yard located in the heart of Mistletoe Meadows. Once you arrive, you will experience firsthand how it feels to be inside an apiary and learn about the extraordinary life of the honeybee. The excursion will conclude with a honey tasting of local, raw honey in a beautiful and serene setting.

$175 per person + 20% service charge

Beekeeping experiences are available Tuesday - Saturday by appointment. Reservations are required at least 48 hours in advance. Please contact Discover Ojai at 866.887.4007 for availability and to reserve. Experience runs approximately 90 minutes and is limited to one private group or family.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Once you reach the apiary and our experts have helped you into a protective beekeeping suit, the beekeeper will gently wisp smoke from local white sage over the beehives and each participant. This ritual has a calming effect on our already docile bees and promotes a deeper state of peacefulness.

Following the white sage ritual, you will be escorted to the hives, where our experts will lead an engaging and educational experience with live European honeybee colonies. You will see the working hives up close and in great detail as the apiarist demonstrates how the bees harmoniously work together throughout the honey making process. You will learn how a hive is created, how bees choose a new queen, how honey is made, and much more.

To conclude the experience, the beekeeper will lead a unique and insightful honey tasting with different varieties of raw honey that were pollinated from local plants such as avocado, eucalyptus, sumac, and citrus.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

For the best experience, we recommend wearing closed-toe shoes and comfortable attire. You will be provided with a fully protective bee suit to wear over your clothing. Please avoid wearing strong perfumes or colognes as it can agitate bees.

Throughout the excursion, please avoid making sudden movements or swatting at the bees.

Before you enter the beehive area, our experts will make sure your bee suit is secure and you are protected. However, if you become uncomfortable for any reason during the experience, it is important that you remain calm. Step five to ten feet away from the hives and relax or ask for assistance.

This experience is not recommended for guests with bee or honey allergies. This experience is designed for guests age 5 and older. Each session is 90 minutes long and can accommodate up to 14 guests.

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Map & Directions
Our resort is conveniently located 70 miles north of L.A. and 12 miles off of the ocean. It's accessible via air or ground transportation, despite its seclusion in Southern California.
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