safari animal park

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Giraffe looks at camera while rhinos and safari truck observe in the background.

Wildlife Safari

$92 & up*.

Price is per person

At A Glance

Ages 3 & up
$92 & up per person
Savanna habitat

Ages 3 and older. Ages 15 and younger must be accompanied by a paid adult. Maximum 3 children ages 15 and younger per adult.

A separate admission ticket or membership is required for Safari Park entry; parking is not included. Change/Cancellation: Reservations may be changed up to 5 days before the program and will be subject to a $15 Administrative Change Fee. Less than 5 days, changes not permitted. Cancellations received 5 days before scheduled program are subject to a $25 Cancellation Fee. Less than 5 days, payment is non-refundable.   

Wildlife Safaris are an all-weather event, however during periods of inclement weather please call 619-718-3000 to check the status of your tour. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park reserves the right to cancel or reroute a tour due to inclement weather, animal health, and/or safety concerns. In the event of cancellation, efforts will be made to reschedule you on a later tour.   

For the safety of our animals and the comfort of our guests, outside food and beverages, selfie sticks, and tripods (except tripods used as monopods) are not permitted. Drinking water in closed-lid containers is recommended.

If anyone in your party requires the use of a wheelchair during the tour, after booking, please call 619-718-3000 so we can notate your order prior to your visit.

Deluxe Wildlife Safari

Ages 6 & up
$117 & up per person
Offered daily
Savanna habitats

Ages 6 and older. Ages 15 and younger must be accompanied by a paid adult. Maximum 3 children ages 15 and younger per adult.

Spend even more time with your favorite wildlife! On this 90-minute safari, you’ll venture into habitats representing Africa and/or Asia for up-close views of giraffes, rhinos, and many other species. Enjoy amazing photo opportunities while learning about how caring for wildlife here helps us to conserve wildlife around the world.

Age 3 & up

Venture into one of our expansive savanna habitats to get an up-close view of a variety of birds and mammals—including some of our newest babies! You'll travel in the back of a covered, open-air safari truck, with an expert guide.

Mimosa Wildlife Safari

Ages 21 & up
$140 & up per person
Offered select dates

Ages 21 and older. Guests will be required to show ID or proof of age at check-in to be served alcohol. A separate admission ticket or membership is required for Safari Park entry; parking is not included.

Change/Cancellation: Reservations may be changed up to 5 days before the program and will be subject to a $15 Administrative Change Fee. Less than 5 days, changes not permitted. Cancellations received 5 days before scheduled program are subject to a $25 Cancellation Fee. Less than 5 days, payment is non-refundable.   

For the safety of our wildlife and the comfort of our guests, outside food and beverages, selfie sticks, and tripods (except tripods used as monopods) are not permitted. Guests may bring drinking water; closed-lid containers are recommended.

If anyone in your party requires the use of a wheelchair during the tour, after booking, please call 619-718-3000 so we can notate your order prior to your visit. For the health and safety of wildlife, service animals are not permitted on Wildlife Safaris.

Restrooms are available during the stop at Amani Point. Sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat are recommended.

Enjoy sipping mimosas among the wildlife of the African savanna! Begin with a meet & greet mingle and your first mimosa in a souvenir aluminum glass. Next, board a covered, open-air safari truck and venture into an expansive habitat for up-close views of giraffe, antelope, and more. Then it’s off to a breathtaking viewpoint for more yummy mimosas and pastries while taking in the sights and sounds of African wildlife. A scrumptious way to start your day!

Wildlife Safari: Southwest to Savanna

$135 and up per person
Select weekend dates
Biodiversity Reserve and savanna habitats

Travel deep into the heart of the Safari Park on an open-air truck to learn how San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance helps wildlife and ecosystems thrive, from North America’s Southwest to the African savanna. Venture into the 900-acre Biodiversity Reserve , where conservation scientists study and protect the coastal sage scrub habitat and the many species that call it home. Next, enter an expansive African savanna habitat for unique glimpses of giraffes and other amazing wildlife.

Behind-the-Scenes Safari

These Safaris are guaranteed to thrill and amaze! Your guide will escort you to a variety of locations around the Park to see animals up close and share stories of wildlife care and conservation.

Reservations

Let us answer your questions and create your day at the Safari Park!

Save the Chubby Unicorns

Gorilla Shadow

PREFERRED HOTELS

Come Travel with Us!

Travel with us to see Monarchs

Groom and bride embracing as a giraffe looks on in the distance.

Picture Your Special Day at the Park!

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San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Jambo a safari adventure in san diego.

Welcome to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, where life-changing moments happen daily. Set out on safari and discover 1,800 acres of sprawling savannas teeming with wildlife as well as world-class botanical gardens—there’s no place like it on Earth. Encounter rhinos, giraffes, wildebeest, and large herds of wildlife roaming together. Journey through bamboo forests and come face-to-face with Sumatran tigers. Hop alongside kangaroos and dive underwater to meet the only two platypuses outside of Australia. And experience the awe-inspiring giants of Elephant valley. When you’re here, you’ll discover adventure is in every moment. And a moment can change a lifetime.

Neighborhood: North Inland

15500 San Pasqual Valley Rd Escondido, CA 92027-9614

Contact Info

(619) 718-3000 Toll-Free: (800) 407-9534

Please check our website for current hours.

Spring Safari Featuring Butterfly Jungle

Spring brings the perfect chance to get outdoors, spend time with family, and experience the sights, sounds, and tastes of the season! From special entertainment and culinary creations to amazing...

More To Know:

Located 30 miles north of downtown San Diego - and well worth the trip!
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is open 365 days a year
Plan a full day & bring walking shoes, sunscreen and water for your adventures
Safaris do fill up; book online ahead of time to ensure your spot
Lovely facilities for catered weddings, parties and other group events!

Special Events:

Marvel at eagles, owls and an Andean condor at Frequent Flyers
Visit the World Gardens to see amazing and rare plants
Autumn Festival On The Weekends From 10/7 -10/29
Kids Free month with free admission for kids 11 and younger during October

More Information

Destination Weddings
Historic Landmark
General Admission - Adult
General Admission - Child
Parking (RV)

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The World’s Best Safari Parks

Which safari park is your pick for best ever.

Always wanted to take a real African safari but never had the time or money to do it? Safari parks are the next best thing, and give people of all ages the chance to see African wildlife up close – with no bars or cages to ruin the views.

In this piece, we’ve picked out the top seven safari parks in the world for a traditional African safari experience. Whilst a safari park can never be as immersive as a real African safari, a day or overnight trip to a great safari park might at least get you in the mood to save up for the real thing!

Read on below for our pick of the world’s seven best safari parks along with a map showing the location of all safari parks worldwide:

Safari West, California, USA

Set in the middle of California’s wine country, Safari West styles itself as a “Sonoma Serengeti” with savannah-style landscape. The 400-acre safari park has 800 free-roaming animals from herds of kudu , zebra , antelope, Cape buffalo , and gazelle , to huge African rhinos and giraffe .

Safari West offers “the ultimate private safari” excursions where a private group of up to 10 people is taken on an exclusive safari ride with a guide, and like some true luxury African safaris you can add wine, cheese, and chocolate to your safari should you need an appetitive whilst game viewing. The private safari is essentially a 3-hour guide-led drive through the safari park in an authentic safari vehicle.

For a complete safari experience, you can spend a night on site with views over a lake or nestled in the woods with a true bushveld feel. The accommodation is in authentic African safari tents with a luxury twist, built on wooden platforms with large decking areas for lounging and taking in the views. If tents aren’t your idea of luxury then cottages are available too.

Visit the Safari West website >>

Wildlife reserves singapore, singapore.

The Singapore night safari is rightly a world-renowned safari experience. The safari park has eight geographical regions – linked by three walking trails and a tram route – to observe the primarily nocturnal animals from around the world. The reserve has an “Equatorial Africa” section of the park, which fits nicely with Singapore’s warm and moist climate throughout the year. Ample sunlight and rain support luxuriant tropical forests. In this part of the safari park you can expect to see Cape giraffe , serval , and bongo – the largest of Africa’s forest antelopes.

Visit the Singapore Night Safari website >>

Book your singapore night safari now:, disney’s wildlife kingdom, florida, usa.

Disney don’t bill their Wildlife Kingdom as a safari park, but rather the largest animal-themed park in the world. And with 250 species made up of more than 1,700 animals roaming 2 km sq they may well be right.

The entire park is split into seven areas, one of which is “Africa” themed. One adrenalin-pumping safari offering in this area is the “Wild Trek Africa” experience – a privately guided expedition which features close encounters with Nile crocodiles and huge hippos whilst hanging from a harness 10 feet in the air! If that’s a bit too hair-raising you can always take a more traditional open-sided safari vehicle for a game ride through acres of replica savanna, rivers, and rocky hills. Expect to see elephant, giraffe, pelican, cheetah, lion, oryx , black and white rhino , and just about any other wildlife you’d hope to spot in Africa.

Visit Disney’s Wildlife Kingdom website >>

The wilds, ohio, usa.

The Wilds safari park in Ohio offers a fairly authentic safari experience. You can buy a “Safari Transport Pass” to get shuttled around a selection of enclosures (Lake Trail, Mid-Sized Carnivores, Wetland, Pasture and Outpost), each with a selection of impressive African wildlife. The game highlights are the giraffe, rhino, zebra, cheetah and African wild dog.

In the “Pasture” area dozens of grazing species of African animals roam free, whilst the predators are kept separately for obvious reasons! A guided open vehicle safari gets you immersed in the rolling countryside and gives you the best opportunity to view all of the game on offer.

Visit The Wilds website >>

West midlands safari park, west midlands, uk.

The American-run “West Midland Safari and Leisure Park” has been in operation since 1973. Here you can drive yourself around the “Africa Reserve”, a large open area that is home to a group of Southern white rhinos, along with plenty of other savannah grazers including giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, eland and the swamp-dwelling red lechwe. Other enclosures containing fabulous wildlife you can drive through include cheetahs , a large pack of the very endangered African wild dog, African elephants, and of course the mighty white lion.

west midland safari park van with rhinos in field

Longleat Safari & Adventure Park, Wiltshire, UK

Whilst Africa will always be the home of the safari drive, the first drive-through safari park outside of Africa opened in 1966 at Longleat as a 100-acre reserve for 50 lions. Set within the grounds of the Longleat House stately home, the safari park has grown and is now home to dozens of African animal species. There’s still a large pride of lions, now complemented by cheetah , rhino, elephant, giraffe, zebra and a plethora of African monkeys.

Whilst you can choose to drive yourself around a number of large enclosures, Longleat also offers a range of VIP guided tours – from a couple of hours to a full day. These take the form of being driven around the safari park by an expert guide in one of the specialised safari vehicles.

Visit the Longleat Safari & Adventure Park website >>

Taman safaris, various destinations, indonesia.

Taman Safari Indonesia are safari parks in East Java, West Java and Bali, known as Taman Safari I, II and III respectively. Taman Safari I is the most popular and largest of the three safari parks and has over 2,500 animals, the majority of which are Indonesian and include tigers, orangutans, elephants, sun bears and komodo dragons.

It’s a drive-through safari park where you can get very close to the wildlife. Those on the hunt for an authentic African safari experience won’t be disappointed and can keep an eye out for the resident hippo, zebra, cheetah and giraffe. There are both camping and bungalows available to those who’d like to stay in the safari park overnight to soak up the atmosphere.

Taman Safari III is also known as Bali Safari and Marine Park – more of a theme park than a safari park, but highly popular with tourists none-the-less.

Visit the Taman Safari website >>

Book your taman safari now:, find each safari park on the map:, what is a safari park.

The biggest draw of a safari park is that game animals roam free in large enclosures which you can take a safari drive through – either on your own or with a guide. There are also options for walking safaris in some safari parks.

Safari parks are generally much larger than zoos, though they cover only a minuscule area when compared to the game reserves and national parks in Africa ( which can be up to 55,000 km sq ).

What’s your take on safari parks – decent African safari alternative, or little more than glorified zoos? Get involved in the comments below and let us know your thoughts on our list of the world’s best safari parks.