I talked a couple of weeks ago about letting go of my old self, moving on from my past, and living my current life unapologetically. Well, we are making the most of that time now. Mike, Mikayla, and I are known for going on impromptu adventures around Florida. We didn’t have the kiddo this weekend but Mike and I set sail on a 4-hour excursion from our house. I have lived here my whole life and in all the things we have ever looked up to do in Florida… Lion Country Safari has never popped up until now.
Come with us on this adventure while we take a ride on the wild side at Lion Country Safari.
Let’s go to the Zoo
Mike has been itching to go to the zoo for months now. We have been to Lowry Park Zoo plenty of times and wanted to do something different. Something we have never done before. This is how we stumbled upon the impromptu trip.
Knowing that we wanted to do something on Mike’s day off we woke up at 6a naturally without an alarm. That sucks on a day off. LOL but we woke up spent the next 2 hours laying in bed trying to figure something out. Mike found Lion Country Safari. I did not really want to drive 4 hours away, but Mike was so excited. If he was willing to drive. I was willing to be his co-pilot.
Lion Country Safari
Lion Country Safari is situated on nearly 320-acre of natural area and is home to over 1000 WILD animals and 90 species including lions, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, chimpanzees, and much more. When you purchase a ticket you get unlimited trips through a 4-mile drive-through preserve. After you drive through the preserve, you can park and visit Safari World, their walk-through adventure park which includes mechanical rides and water attractions.
Address:
2003 Lion Country Safari Road, Loxahatchee, FL 33470
Ticket Prices:
- Regular Ticket (10 years and up)$35.00+$2.05 Fee+$2.59 Florida Sales Tax
This ticket includes the Drive Thru park and limited attractions in the Safari World Walk Thru park. - Child (ages 3-9)$29.00+$1.87 Fee+$2.16 Florida Sales TaxChild (ages 3-9)
- Children 2 and under are free and do not need to have tickets.
You can buy tickets for specific dates online here or buy tickets at the gate as we did.
It is also a KOA if you are looking to come camp here. Check out those rates here.
History
From their website:
Lion Country Safari opened in the summer of 1967 in rural Western Palm Beach County with dozens of free-roaming lions and a few other species. The drive-through safari park is believed to be the first cageless zoo in the country, introducing a new concept in zoology and bringing the experience of an African game park – then and now, an expensive and time-consuming trip – to families who would otherwise not be able to experience an African safari. South Florida’s Western Palm Beach County proved to be an ideal location for the park due to its year-round tropical climate, plentiful land, a growing population, and tourists who visit from all over the world.
Lion Country Safari, West Palm Beach is a leader in Palm Beach County’s tourism industry, offering a unique and affordable opportunity to enjoy the largest drive-through safari in Florida. The park is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and has also been recognized as one of the top three zoos in America by USA Travel Guide, one of the ten best safari parks by USA Today, and Palm Beach County’s Top Local Attraction. The 320-acre attraction offers a drive-through safari, walk-through adventure park, and award-winning KOA campground.
At Lion Country Safari, large herds of animals from 6 continents roam free, while humans visiting are enclosed (in their vehicles). Over 1,000 WILD animals including lions, wildebeest, giraffes, the largest herd of zebras on record in North America, ostrich, chimpanzees and rhinos call Lion Country Safari home and roam wide-open, naturalistic habitats.
Lion Country Safari is involved in a number of sustainable efforts to reduce waste and use more ecofriendly products and also participates in many conservation and breeding programs (called Species Survival Plans) for threatened species, including rhinoceros, zebra, oryx, siamangs, and more. These programs help to ensure the survival of a healthy, sustainable population of threatened species in human care and help facilities like Lion Country Safari to act as lifeboats or figurative arks as wild populations decline and face extinction.
Tips for the Preserve
- Allow yourself an hour and a half to 2 hours to drive through the preserve.
- When you drive up to see the animals… take your pictures/videos and move along.
- Be mindful of the people driving behind you.
- Keep the flow of traffic going.
- Don’t block the animals with your car. (There is enough space for 2 cars to see the animals)
- If you want to take longer looking at the animals move to the side. Don’t block the way for people to go around you.
Tips for Safari World
Wear comfy, lightweight clothes
Bring a bathing suit
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
I wish I looked up Lion Country Safari when Mike said he wanted to go. Sadly, I did not and learned the hard way that they had an adventure park after we drove the 4 hours to get there and drove the 1.5-2 hour preserve.
I was in jeans and a lightweight long sleeve shirt with a tank top underneath. Jeans were not a good idea! It was so hot that day I wish I had shorts and my swimsuit to use the splash pad.
Walking around Safari World
Safari World is a 55-acre adventure park with rides, animal habitats, encounters, food, shopping, and more. Most of the rides are more for kids, not adults. They have 3 main rides. The Flying elephant, the carousel, and the Rio Grande Train.
Photos are courtesy of Lion Country Safari
WATER PARK
Enjoy the interactive Safari Splash sprayground with 23 water different water features. Take a plunge down the free fall and loop water slides. If that is too scary for you head on over to the new Safari Falls interactive water play area and enjoy the slides, water sprayers, and dump buckets. If we had brought our bathing suits we would have been enjoying the cool water and would have explored more of Safari world.
Photos are courtesy of Lion Country Safari
ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS
As I said earlier that it was very hot on the day that Mike and I went. We did not get to explore everything Lion Country Safari has to offer. We walked by a lot of the attractions because I was on a mission to feed some giraffes. I wanted to stand eye-to-eye with one to feed it and that is exactly what I did! For 5 dollars Mike and I fed a giraffe 5 lettuce leaves.
I wish I would have stayed longer to go to the petting zoo or experience the Lorikeet feeding. This just gives us another reason to go because we know Mikayla would have a blast here.
Other Attractions at Lion Country Safari
I wish I would have known about these when we were there. I am kicking myself in the butt for not doing my research. They have Gemstone mining starting at 7 dollars. A maze, 16 hole mini-golf course, and fun slide. I would have loved to take a ride on the Safari Queen pontoon boat ride.
There is so much to do here at Lion Country Safari. I wish we would have come sooner. Better late than never. We will definitely be coming back here. There was so much we did not get to explore. Damn you Florida heat!!! It was a nice little day date getaway with Mike. But something we really want to explore with the kiddo.
I am going to try and put up all the videos and pictures we took while here up on my youtube channel if you are interested in that. You can check it out here. Also if I think of anything else from the trip I will update this post.
Until next time, Have a great day! Remember you are a bad-ass.
What a cute and fun place for the family. I am sure the kids had a great time.
Well, she wasn’t with us this time, but we are going to go again with her.
As usual, great post Michelle 🙂
Thank you, Aimee!
This looks like so much fun for both kids and adults! I would love to visit. Thanks for sharing, I bet my neices would love it too!
It was so much fun. HOT… but fun!
This place is so cool! My nieces would absolutely love it!
I highly recommend it.
Looks like a super fun day out. My kids love a trip to the zoo here in the UK. We always aim to go a couple of times per year. Best wishes to you and your family
It was a super fun day. It was a nice chance for Mike and me to reconnect as a couple spending 10 hours in the car and going on a little adventure we can bring the kiddo to.
Wow, they are indeed very wild, just look at the colors! I think everyone will have a good time there and thanks for sharing this. – Knycx Journeying
I highly recommend this place to anyone going to the West Palm Beach area.
Glad that you guys got to have a quick adventure. Sounds like u have a lot of fun!! Some outdoor activities is a good idea for most of us still in lockdown. Hopefully soon!
That’s what we loved about it being a drive-thru exhibit. We were safe in our car. But I had to get out and go through the park to feed a giraffe. I never have and I am proud to say I have finally done it.
I love this place! All the pics look so interesting!
If you are ever in Florida… take a trip down there you won’t be disappointed.
Great tips! I would love to visit a zoo and look at wild animals.
It was so much fun. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had been to a zoo.
Such a wonderful place to visit and enjoy the rest of the day together with your family and loved one. I hope someday I can visit there too.
It was a fun little day date for me and my fiance to reconnect.
Wish we can still do this after COVID soon! Nice getaway with family, I admit!
It was nice to get out of Tampa for the day. Mike and I needed it.
What a wonderful place to spend the day with the family, I love that waterpark and would love to swim and have fun in that!
If I would have known there was a splash park. I would have brought my bathing suit.
I’m very happy that you guys had such a great time. However, I have mixed feelings when it comes to animals in captivity. I’m very impressed that you are almost as tall as a baby giraffe 😉
I understand having mixed feelings about animals in captivity. This is a large facility. It took us almost 2 hours to drive through.
What a great idea! How we wish we are in Florida right now. I am pretty sure the kids would enjoy this trip. We would love to visit Safari World in the future. The animal encounters is something to look forward to.
I can not recommend it enough.