When you think of wildlife encounters in Florida, most people likely think of aquatic animals like sea turtles, dolphins and alligators. But Florida is actually home to the oldest drive-thru safari in the the United States. The Lion Country Safari in Florida was opened in 1967 and is a fun thing to do near West Palm Beach.
Lion Country Safari encompasses nearly 600 acres of land including 7 animal habitats you can drive-thru in your own vehicle. There are hundreds of animals and about 90 species roaming about freely in the preserves. While the drive-thru is a highlight, the Safari World Adventure Park provides additional wildlife encounters.
Aside from being a drive-thru safari in Florida, Lion Country Safari also works with several conservation programs to help save animals from extinction including 35 Species Survival Plan programs. These programs focus on conservation and breeding for the long-term survival of threatened species.
There’s a lot to see here and it’s a wildlife adventure for animal enthusiasts of all ages.
Getting There
This particular safari in Florida is located in Loxahatchee, Florida which is near West Palm Beach. It’s about 20 miles west of Downtown West Palm Beach, or a 30 minute drive. If you’re coming north or south on I-95, account for the drive west because it’s a little ways out there.
At a glance:
- Address: 2003 Lion Country Safari Road, Loxahatchee FL 33470
- Hours: 9:30am-5:30pm (no entry to the preserve after 4:30)
- Tickets: $45 for Adults, $34 for Children (Ages 3-9), Children 2 and under are free. Purchase online or at the gate.
*If you only want to do the drive-thru safari and not walk through the Adventure Park, you can get a $29 ticket after 3:30pm.
Lion Country Safari
As soon as you present your ticket, you’ll follow the path of cars into the wildlife drive-thru. Driving through Lion Country Safari will take about an hour and a half to go through the 4-mile preserve. There are restroom facilities right after the ticket entrance if you need to stop before going through the preserve. Once you are through the gate, there’s no getting off the road.
Safari Rules: The speed limit is 5mph MAX while within the safari grounds and you must keep your vehicle doors and windows closed and locked at all times! You can stop or slow down and let other cars pass. Pets are not allowed in the car with you.
Best Time to Go: Animals tend to be more active in the morning, so going early is always a good time to visit. But we went around noon and had no problem. Animals were out and about and walking right past our car!
What to See
The drive-thru safari will take you through 7 sections. Before you start, make sure to play the audio tour as you drive through for information on the animal species and fun facts! There will be a QR code on the field guide they hand you. You can scan other QR codes on the field guide for short videos such as a lion roaring or an ostrich dancing. It’s a fun, interactive element for kids.
Las Pampas
In the Las Pampas preserve, you’ll see grasslands animals from South America. Grasslands cover about 1/4 of the world’s land area!
Animals: Alpaca, Rhea, Lowland Tapir, Aldabra Tortoise
Ruaha National Park
The Ruaha National Park is the largest national park in Tanzania and a great place for wildlife spotting, especially lions! But at Lion Country Safari, you’ll see lions a little further down the road.
Animals: Ostrich, Impala, Greater Kudu, Waterbuck
Kalahari Bushveldt
This preserve is named after a large, dry plateau in southwest Africa that covers 100,000 sq miles.
Animals: Bongo, Ostrich, Nile Lechwe, Gemsbok
Gir Forest
The Gir Forest is actually a national park in Gujarat, India. In this preserve, you’ll see several animals from India and Asia, as well as some African animals.
Animals: Blackbuck, Asiatic Water Buffalo, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Nyala, Nilgai
Gorongosa Reserve
The Gorongosa Reserve is a famous wildlife area located in Mozambique. This reserve is where you’ll see the African Lion. It’s a smaller area and the lions were resting when we drove by. There are several fences that separate your car so it was a little harder to see them.
Animals: African Lion
Serengeti Plains
The Serengeti is one of Africa’s most famous national parks located in Tanzania. This was also our favorite section of Lion Country Safari. The preserve area is really large and there were animals all over. We stopped several times for animals right next to the road or crossing in front of cars.
Animals: Impala, Waterbuck, Wildebeest, Watusi, Eland, Marabou Stork
Hwange National Park
Hwange National Park is the largest game reserve in Zimbabwe. In this section, you’ll see some of the more recognizable animals such as giraffes, zebras and rhinos.
Animals: Giraffe, Southern White Rhinoceros, Plains Zebra, Chimpanzee, White-handed Gibbon, Greater Kudu
Safari World Adventure Park
I knew there was a bit more to the park but I honestly thought the drive-thru safari was the main attraction. Turns out the Safari World Adventure Park is pretty big itself and has a lot of other things to do. You can walk through this part of the park to have other wildlife encounters, ride some rides and visit the splash areas. If you’re visiting as a family, plan to spend the day here!
Things to Do
Animal Habitats
There are quite a few smaller animal habitats within Safari World that you can walk around to see as well. You can expect to see several different monkeys, parrots and macaws, flamingos, large tortoise, an African porcupine, sloth and alligators to name a few.
My favorites were seeing all the colorful birds and watching the flamingos–there were quite a few!
Animal Encounters
- Feed the Giraffes – $5 for 5 pieces of lettuce. You’re on a platform at the giraffe’s height and if they’re interested, they’ll eat it right out of your hand. There were several giraffes in the enclosure but only one was hungry, and there were about 15 people with lettuce competing for its attention.
- Lorikeet Feeding – $2 for a small cup of liquid. One was plenty and we got to feed many birds with it. They’ll come right over to drink from your hand. And there were quite a few in the aviary.
- Petting Zoo – $2, There’s a small area with several goats that you can walk around and pet.
- Flamingos – $75/person which includes the cost of your ticket! There’s a small enclosure for flamingo encounters where you can sit in the enclosure with several flamingos and feed them from little buckets. This encounter needs to be booked in advance! No same-day bookings allowed.
- Fish Feeding – There’s a spot by the lake across from the Spider Monkeys where you can get fish food from a machine for a quarter or so, but you’ll need to have change on you.
Attractions
There are numerous attractions within the park for kids. You could quite literally spend all day here. We had a good time walking around without kids, but if you have kids, this place would be a ton of fun. Here are a few of the other attractions within the park:
- Safari Falls – Water playground with slides, water sprayers, buckets, etc.
- Safari Splash Water Playground – Splash pad for kids to run through water splashes and sprays.
- Water Slides – Loop slide and free fall slides to go down.
- Fossil Panning – Search for gems and fossils
- Pontoon + Paddle Boat Rides – To take out on the lake (no additional fee).
- Mini Golf
- Safari Maze – Tree-lined maze to wander through.
Rides
There are three rides for kids within the park that have no additional cost. There’s a carousal, the Rio Grande Train ride and a Flying Elephant Adventure ride.
Things to Know
If you plan on visiting this safari in Florida, there’s a few things to note:
- Some of the animal encounters and attractions don’t start until 11am.
- Premium animal encounters need to be booked a week in advance.
- Don’t sweat the rain! The animals actually love rainy weather and tend to be more active.
- If you buy a regular ticket, you can go through the drive-thru as many times as you want.
- If you’re local, check to see about their Summer Savings Pass which includes entrance to 4 South Florida attractions!
- You can book tickets in advance or find out more FAQs here!
PIN IT FOR LATER
Leave a Reply