Visitor tours of a 1,800-acre wildlife sanctuary with over 300 species of African & Asian animals.
At a glance
#3 of 3 Zoos in EscondidoLocalGuideWorld score: 4.70
Rating breakdown
-
5 ★79%
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4 ★14%
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3 ★4%
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2 ★1%
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1 ★2%
Quick facts
- What is the rating of San Diego Zoo Safari Park?
- San Diego Zoo Safari Park is rated 4.7 out of 5 based on 48,060 reviews.
- How does San Diego Zoo Safari Park rank in Escondido?
- San Diego Zoo Safari Park is #3 of 3 Zoos in Escondido by LocalGuideWorld score (rating weighted by number of reviews).
- Where is San Diego Zoo Safari Park located?
- 15500 San Pasqual Valley Rd, Escondido, CA 92027 — 0.4 km from the center of Escondido.
- How can I contact San Diego Zoo Safari Park?
- Phone: (619) 231-1515 · Website: sdzsafaripark.org
What an awesome experience. Parking is $20 and a little trek but worth it. Be prepared to be a part of the action. Walking through the park seeing everything up close and personal. The Safari trips are worth the extra cost. The guides are knowledgeable and you'll see the animals as if you were in the Serengeti itself. Greatest advice: buy the 2 or 3 day pass. It will take you that long to fully get it while enjoying everything there is to take in. You will not regret it.
Great place to visit. Lots of wonderful animals to see & food & drinks are decent. Come early because it can get hot & busy with people. U can camp over night here if U want. Also this venue will host wedding’s & receptions.
What a beautiful zoo dedicated to keeping animals in a more natural habitat type setting. All of the volunteers are knowledgeable and readily available to answer questions. Recommend that you take the Africa Tram early morning upon arrival as the wait is shorter. Easy to get your 10k steps while enjoying the grounds. There was amazing singing by the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians in the Amphitheater. There are numerous educational kiosks throughout the park. Don't bypass the Bonsai Gardens as they are amazing!
My 1st time to California and I'm not disappointed!
The Safari is pretty cool, and the animals have a lot of area to be free. I would say there is a lot of walking for sure, ups and downs inclines that are pretty formidable.
If you are staying at a resort I would do the 90 min sales pitch to get the free tickets if you can or if the resort offers that.
@65-71 per ticket plus 20 to park or 38 for up front Parking ,it would be well worth it.
The Safari is pretty cool, and the animals have a lot of area to be free. I would say there is a lot of walking for sure, ups and downs inclines that are pretty formidable.
If you are staying at a resort I would do the 90 min sales pitch to get the free tickets if you can or if the resort offers that.
@65-71 per ticket plus 20 to park or 38 for up front Parking ,it would be well worth it.
We had a great time! It was my first ever visit to the park, and I was really impressed. We were there on a school field trip, but there were so many people going in the gates that I feared it would be super crowded inside...however, the park is so big and spread out, that we never felt or saw a big crowd of people at any point. The longest we had to wait was maybe 15-20 min for the tram. My five year old granddaughter loved getting her face painted, and loved the play areas. We absolutely loved the beautiful scenery and all of the gorgeous animals. Seeing the only two Platypus outside of Australia was definitely the biggest highlight!
We had an amazing time at the safari park. Didn’t get to do any specific safari.
You get map when you enter and can explore whole park on foot by yourself.
African safari is free and it’s included with day pass. Line for that is usually long so make sure you do that in the beginning.
Certain areas close early such as Kangaroo section. So make sure you cover those early.
Pro Tip : Sit on the left side on the safari ride. You will get good photos/videos.
Make sure to download its app on your phone. It will help with navigating around the park.
Parking is $20
One day pass for adult is around $65
You get map when you enter and can explore whole park on foot by yourself.
African safari is free and it’s included with day pass. Line for that is usually long so make sure you do that in the beginning.
Certain areas close early such as Kangaroo section. So make sure you cover those early.
Pro Tip : Sit on the left side on the safari ride. You will get good photos/videos.
Make sure to download its app on your phone. It will help with navigating around the park.
Parking is $20
One day pass for adult is around $65
It’s really a cool zoo. You can easily spend an entire day here. I really like the diversity here and many enclosures are actually quite well designed. You well definitely need a map of you’re unfamiliar with this zoo as the paths can get quite confusing. Overall one of my favorite zoos
Nice zoo and excellent ambassadors for conservation. Lots of walking! I saw many people with small children who had to be carried or were too young to appreciate the animals so would not recommend it for kids under 5. Lots of options for food in the zoo and interesting shopping with unique offerings from around the world. Plan on at least 4 hours. We got lucky and saw the mountain gorillas at feeding time. We took the tram in the Africa exhibit but wish we had known we could pay to take a cart which gets you closer to the animals and has a private guide to answer questions. These book way ahead so plan accordingly. We went on a Saturday so lots of kids. The lines were long for the tram but moved well and there were misters to keep us cool. Highly recommend if you like seeing animals in a natural environment.
I thought the San Diego zoo in downtown was the best zoo in the country. I was wrong. Its sister location is even BETTER! The gardens were beautiful, and the animals was amazing! The tour was great, and there is TONS of trails to walk around on. Honestly the best zoo experience I’ve ever had.
It was really hot like 95 all day. Most of the animals had been tucked away in the shade but I still really enjoyed the atmosphere. On a much cooler day I can definitely say we will be back.
The best time to see them is when they’re called out for snacks 😁.. So be there on time and prepare your phones/cameras for their amazing interactions. And buy tickets ahead. Also, you can get good price if you get a combo/package of “San Diego Zoo” and “San Diego Zoo Safari”. Yes those 2places are different from each other so please don’t get confused 😊… In this videos, you can find these gorillas at San Diego Zoo Safari.. my suggestion was, be ready for a long hiking 🥾 😁. You can bring your own snacks too but please don’t feed the animals nor leave your garbage everywhere. So bare in mind to be packed all the time.
It was a long day but to see the animals so close was amazing. The drinks were good. The app helped, but i preferred the paper map at times. The staff were very attentive and extremely helpful. The petting zoo was closed so we were a little disappointed about that. We will be back again soon!
San Diego Zoo Safari Park - an amazing experience and one the whole family will love.
Parking
Fee is $20 on our visit or $48 for proffered parking. We parked in section 4 and waddled over to the entrance.
Entrance
You chose the location and then you get provided with all the options available.
We did the AFRICA TRAM
You walk past the main enclosures and a short stair trip or elevator ride towards the tram car and off you go on a 30 minute ride.
We loved the Rhinos and the Giraffes good to see them in such a grand setting and they look at home, if that sounds right….
The commentary on what is seen on the journey is 1st class. Informative and Allows information not known on these majestic animals.
Thank you for allowing such an experience.
After we took our tram ride. We followed it up with a visit to the
Lions
Gorillas
Elephants
The highlight for me was Mary and Peggy the San Diego Zoo - Safari Park Volunteers.
The stories they told us and the information on the residents was so detailed and you could feel the genuine enthusiasm for the role they play.
Overall we had an amazing day and one I wish we had done sooner.
Thank you. For having us.
Parking
Fee is $20 on our visit or $48 for proffered parking. We parked in section 4 and waddled over to the entrance.
Entrance
You chose the location and then you get provided with all the options available.
We did the AFRICA TRAM
You walk past the main enclosures and a short stair trip or elevator ride towards the tram car and off you go on a 30 minute ride.
We loved the Rhinos and the Giraffes good to see them in such a grand setting and they look at home, if that sounds right….
The commentary on what is seen on the journey is 1st class. Informative and Allows information not known on these majestic animals.
Thank you for allowing such an experience.
After we took our tram ride. We followed it up with a visit to the
Lions
Gorillas
Elephants
The highlight for me was Mary and Peggy the San Diego Zoo - Safari Park Volunteers.
The stories they told us and the information on the residents was so detailed and you could feel the genuine enthusiasm for the role they play.
Overall we had an amazing day and one I wish we had done sooner.
Thank you. For having us.
The safari park was a lot of fun to visit. The exhibits for the animals are spacious and nice. There are a large variety of animals from different locations and ecosystems to see. Tickets are expensive and if you want to do any of the safaris past the basic tram that doesn’t get you very close you have to pay some steep additional prices. But the park itself is very nice and worth a visit. We enjoyed our day there.
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