Woburn Safari Park

I love this place its great for the family....by the way woburn safari park is in bedfordshire not milton keynes..mk is in buckinghamshire am i right or am i wrong?....I KNOW IM RIGHT.

I m really exaggerated with the wildlife beauty, wanna visit this park very soon.
Wildlife Safari

great day out for whole family. super value when craft show is on. monkeys jumping all over car fantastic kids thoroughly enjoyed it, hard 2 say who enjoyed it more kids or adults.

We really enjoyed our visit here. We did the safari by car first and we were amazed at the animals roaming so freely and close to your car. The kids loved it. They thought it hilarious when the Ostrich kept pecking at the window and the monkeys climbed on the car. Thankfully they didn’t pull at the wing mirrors or wipers, tho we saw other cars having this done and we did laugh at the cheeky monkeys!

Make sure no one needs the loo like my daughter half way round lol…there;s no where to go and you can’t leave the car. Some of the animals wer hard to see like the bears and some where not moving but it was a very hot day.

Afterwards we parked on the large grassy area and ate our picnic. The cafe prices were extortionate as ever so that’s a must if you want ti save a few pounds.

We enjoyed the boat lake and the goats were great entertainment. I can’t remember seeing as many animals as some people have listed in their reviews though. The play areas were good, all kids love those!

It is expensive to come here, but we used our clubcard vouchers, so it took the sting out the price. Will definately return in a few years.

This is a great safari park, it is a wonderful day out for the family. The shows are really good, and the people who work there are really friendly and knowledgeable about the animals, the gift shop is really good. I like the zoo part with the safari, the tickets are bit on the expensive side but you can get tickets from tesco clubcard. A great place.

A superb family day out! We went to the Woburn Safari Park this bank holiday weekend and had such a great time.

The biggest attraction is the road safari. Basically you just drive through in your car (windows tightly shut most of the time!), while rhinos, lions, bears, tigers etc. roam freely around you. They seem quite unconcerned by the vehicles and even cross the road between cars. We got lots of lovely photographs there, and it was nice to see those huge animals at such close range. The monkeys were great, there’s something so terribly entertaining about seeing them ripping off other people’s car ariels. There is a bypass if you wish to avoid them. You can repeat the road safari any number of times throughout your day.

There is a foot safari too, with attractions like Land of the Lemurs, Australian Walkabout etc., with smaller animals to look at. There is a large lake where you can take a swan-shaped boat out and also a train that takes you around the park (I’d give the latter a miss, you only see a few things that you passed on the road safari anyway).

There is a large picnic area which is more like a grassy car park as everyone parks and eats all over (they are not separated). Lots of people were having picnics because though there is lots to eat there it’s at the usual extortionate prices these places charge.

We found that there was too much to see and do in one day, we actually did it over 1 1/2 days and it still wasn’t enough. I suppose it was because we took our time over the picnic and relaxing after it etc. but who wants to rush anyway? So I suggest that you plan your day and decide what you absolutely must see/do and finish those first.

There are plenty of children’s play areas, both indoor and outdoor, so even the youngest kids have something here. The Woburn Safari Park is one of the best family attractions I have been to in the UK.

This is easily one of the scariest places I have ever visited! I was dragged there by family as I am not really a nature person so all the animals terrified me! To be fair this is an excellent place for children who will be awestruck! Avoid if you are of a nervous disposition-namely ME for next time!Seriously this experience makes you really value being inside of a locked car.

This is a great zoo. There is a good amount of space for the animals. There is a drive round part at the beginning. You can miss it out or go later if you want. It is very good. They recommend you don’t stop the car, but keep moving slowly round. There is always something to see. Quite often the animals are doing something like the monkeys who will climb on cars.
You also drive though the lions. Sometimes you are lucky and they are moving around, but sometimes all you can see are lions in the distance.
The rest of the zoo is also very good.
There is a big parking area, where you can have your picnic if you want. Food there is fairly expensive, so a picnic is a good idea.
They have a walk through lemur enclosure, and they do feeding of the penguins. These are my sons favourites, and at feeding time they allow 2 children to help them, but you have to be quick with your hand.
My son got to do this once and really enjoyed it.
We live about 30 mins from here and decided to buy an annual pass. It was well worth it, we used it alot.

Woburn is a great place to take the whole family. One carer gets in free with blue badge and there’s plenty of good disabled facilities and access. The animals are great and we had some lovely food in the restaurant, a great day out.

We love Woburn Safari park, we’ve been going here since we were kids and are still visiting. You drive through the park in the comfort of your own car getting up close and personal with many of the worlds m ost wonderfull creatures. At the end of the Safari drive there is plenty to do with Seal shows and small creatures a childrens park and a train ride. Food and picn ic tables a plenty. The whole familty will enjoy this place even if it rains.

Great day out for all the family. Lots of animals to see including bears,tigers,lions,zebras and more. Not that cheap to get in but worth the money. There are cafes and toilets and also picnic areas. There is also a gift shop with lots of things to buy. They often have craft shows on aswell.

I can not reccomend Woburn Safari Park enough for the kids and the kids at heart! I have been going here since a child myself and i stilll look forward to going back whenever i get the chance.
The price is exceptional value for money as it truly is a full day out for the whole family.
Driving amongst the animals and getting to see them in much more open surroundings than a 'traditional’ zoo is a great experience. My particuar favourites have to be th monkeys and loins - just make sure you remember to put your car airiel down!
Once you have seen the main park there is still plenty more to see with the petting zoo, sealion shows and other displays and talks including birds of prey & elephants. This along with the minature railway & boating lake will keep you entertained for a full day without any problems…..have fun.

Woburn Safari Park is a fantastic day out, regardless of how old you are. It begins with a drive round the park where you can see all sorts of animals ranging from lions and tigers to rhinos and elephants. You can get really close up to the animals and get some fantastic photos, it’s makes for an excellent experience. After the drive there is a walkable section where you can see some of the smaller animals. The best time to go is during the winter months as it is usually less expensive and personally I don’t think the heat of the summer adds anything to the experience.

Brilliant day out, lot’s of exciting activities as well as the main drive around the park. Only downside is the food and admission is very expensive for a family!!

Woburn Safari park is a really good day out, plus if you go in the colder months there are usually some good deals on tickets, but it is cheap anyway.
The drive around safari has a wide range of animals to offer (including the dreaded monkeys, rhinos, elephants lions, tigers and bears) and it is really fun to see them that close up and take photos
At the end of this there is a walk around safari where you can see seal shows, walabies and even feed some lorikeets, which is a great experience for everyone.
I would recommend this to anyone and everyone.

Woburn Safari Park is an excellent day out for families (or a couple as well!) There are all the usual animals you would expect.
This is a drive around venue where you stay in your car to view tigers, lions, monkeys, bears, rhino etc… but after the 'safari’ there is a car park where there are loos, play equipment, and other animals to see.
I feel that it is a pricey day out but you do get to see a lot for your money.
You can also buy an 'experience’ day which may be looking after the elephants. This is a fantastic day out and you really are involved with the animals. I would recommend a visit here.

This is simply the best day out and it’s good value as long as you trade your car in before hand for a banger - the monkeys will have every piece of trim from your car! The fantastic thing about it really is that it’s entertaining for all ages - as an adult, you don;t even have to borrow a child to go - perfect!

Jacob?s 3rd birthday was fast approaching and as it was a Tuesday during term time, Paul and I thought we?d take him out for the day as we knew most places would be fairly quiet. We set about finding somewhere we hoped he would enjoy.

I was looking through my latest Tesco Clubcard Deals brochure and noticed that we could use our vouchers to get into Woburn Safari Park. I had very vague memories of visiting there as a child myself and knew I?d enjoyed it. So after some frantic present opening first thing in the morning, we set off south down the M1.

Woburn is a small town just south-east of Milton Keynes and is home to the safari park and Woburn Abbey. It is easily accessible from J13 of the M1 or the A5. It is fairly central for most places situated about an hours drive from London, Birmingham, Leicester and Cambridge. From Nottingham, it took us an hour and a half.

Once you enter Woburn, the safari park is quite well signposted but you do have to be on the ball to spot the small brown elephant signs. We almost sailed passed a right turn until Paul carried out a Dukes of Hazard style driving manoeuvre and managed to keep us on the right track!

Our first view of the wildlife was on the drive up to the entrance booths. A deer and her two fawns were snuffling around in the grass at the roadside. Deer are kept on the Woburn Abbey estate and are a common sight in the safari park grounds.

A few yards further and we paid our entrance fee (details at the end of the review) and were also handed a map of the park. For an extra £1.50 we purchased a commentary tape which can be played as you drive around the safari circuit. This is also available on CD. Guide books can be bought for another small fee but there weren?t any in stock on the day we visited.

Once in the park you are free to complete the safari circuit as many times as you wish during the day. We decided to follow
the route straight away. Safety guidelines are clearly highlighted on boards as well as on the taped commentary, the main ones being don?t try to feed the animals, stay in the vehicle and to keep windows and doors closed at all times. This is worth considering if you are planning to visit the park in summer and don?t have air conditioning.

~ ~ ~ The Animal Reserves ~ ~ ~

So we started our drive around the Animal Reserves. The commentary matches the route that we were taking and is useful for pointing out where to look for animals that we might not have seen straight away. It gives interesting facts about each of the animals, funny anecdotes about what certain animals have done while living at the park and the conversation work Woburn Safari Park are involved with. We found following the commentary closely a little difficult as Jacob was making himself heard over the top!

Almost immediately animals were roaming around in the open space surrounding our car. Zebras crossed the road in front and behind our car, we stopped and admired three rhinos in their shelter and a fourth caused much amusement to Jacob as he slowly plodded past the car. There was a hippo lolling in a pool of water, three elephants all minding their own business and soon we were entering the carnivorous animal enclosure.

At this point the tape warned us that these animals are very dangerous. Security and safety is obviously taken very seriously by the park. There is a double set of automatic gates before gaining access to the tigers, wolves and lions. Only when one gate has closed will the second open so at no point can the animals escape into the rest of the park. Although these animals are in effect closed in they still have an immense amount of space in which to wander.

We saw two tigers, one roaming quite close to the car and the other shading himself under a tree but due to work being carried out, the wolves were all kept in a caged area so viewing
them was difficult. Further round the track was the home of the lions. One female was sleeping near her five cubs and was soon joined by one of the two males. We stopped by the lions for several minutes as they were gathered close to the edge of the road and Jacob was enjoying the excellent view. Stopping to watch any of the animals is not a problem as the road is wide enough to comfortably fit two cars side-by-side. Therefore passing other vehicles is no trouble.

No sooner had we exited this secure enclosure we were entering another, housing the Black Bears and monkeys. In between we observed several giraffes. We were looking forward to this part of the drive as the monkeys have a reputation for being cheeky and luckily we weren?t disappointed. Three monkeys were play fighting by the side of the road and we pulled up alongside to watch. Suddenly two of them charged towards the car, scampered up the side and carried on playing on the roof. Jacob thought this was hilarious and the sentence ?Some monkeys jumped on the car? has cropped up in several conversations since.

And then we were into the final stretch which took us past the camels, gemsbok and oryx and the road then led us to the leisure area.

~ ~ ~ Wild World Leisure Area ~ ~ ~

My first impression of the area was that the car park was very small for the amount of customers the place attracts each year. It was very close to full and we were visiting on a Tuesday during term time. There is plenty of open grass which was being used as an overspill but I can imagine that on very busy days it would take a long time to get out of the park at closing time.

This part of the park is more like a traditional zoo. There are plenty of facilities to keep everyone entertained along with the obligatory (overpriced!) shop and restaurant. Throughout the day there are feeding times, demonstrations and talks at various enclosures, details of which are on a leaflet enclosed with the ma
p.

Our first stop was for something to eat in the restaurant. Seating is provided inside and out and there are plenty of picnic areas if you wish to take your own, something I would seriously consider as prices in the restaurant are on the high side. Paul had a hot meal, I had a scone with clotted cream and jam and we bought three Slush Puppies. The cost was almost £13. To their credit the staff replaced my scone, cream and jam for no extra charge after I had taken a bite and realised my scone was a cheese one! Not nice for most people but even worse for me as I don?t even like cheese.

On the map the leisure area appears relatively small but do not be fooled. It takes a fair amount of time to walk around and see everything. Other animals we visited in the afternoon included the sea lions, penguins, hogs, marmosets, snakes and iguanas as well as seeing a peacock mating ritual. By this time Jacob was starting to get weary with the walk, however we kept letting him play in many of the children?s areas which were dotted around, including small adventure playgrounds and a soft play section, and this perked him up again.

Areas we didn?t get to see mainly because Jacob would have struggled to walk much further were Monkey Business and Australian Walkabout but I did see some young children stroking a wallaby so I was disappointed we didn?t get chance to experience this.

~ ~ ~ Other Attractions ~ ~ ~

If you still have more time to spare there are Swan Boats, a train ride and for an extra charge of £2.50 per person an open top lorry takes visitors for a close up view of the animals in the first part of the reserves.

Over the Easter bank holiday and during Spring Bank Holiday week there is also a fairground.

~ ~ ~ Opening Times & Prices ~ ~ ~

The safari park opens at 10am and closes between 5pm and 6pm depending on the time of year, Last entry to the Animal Reserves is one hour before closing. Attractions
and facilities in the leisure area open between 10am and midday.

Prices vary depending on the season and school holidays. For 2004 Early season runs from 13th March ? 28th May and 7th June ? 21st July. During this time an adult ticket costs £13.50, senior citizens pay £10.50 and children (aged 3-15) cost £10.

The Main season runs from 29th May ? 6th June and 2nd September ? 31st October where adults are £14, senior citizens are £11 and children are £10.50.

This years High season is 21st July ? 1st September and adults are £15.50, senior citizens are £13.00 and children £12.

Finally the Winter season is 1st November ? 31st December and prices are considerably cheaper with adults paying £7.50 and senior citizens and children both paying £6.50.

Under 3?s at all times are free.

As mentioned earlier, Tesco Clubcard Deals Tokens can be used as full or part payment too.

The park also offers group tickets, annual passes and family tickets, details of which can be found on the website, along with information about the Woburn Experience ticket which includes entry to the Abbey as well as the Safari Park. Tickets can also be bought online in advance.

~ ~ ~ Overall ~ ~ ~

It is a fantastic place for a day out and offers something slightly different to the traditional zoo. I felt like it was good value for money, with plenty to keep everyone occupied for the whole day. The facilities are aimed mainly at families and even young children would struggle to be bored. I would recommend getting to the park as early as possible because even if you get to see everything you want and still have a couple of hours to spare, the safari drive takes approximately an hour and would be a different experience each time.

It is definitely somewhere I would like to visit again but I would be wary of going during school holiday times as I would imagine it would get very busy. I would also consider going to the
Leisure Area first while energy levels are high and then complete the safari journey in the car later in the day.

Most young children will appreciate seeing the animals at close quarters and the fact that they (the animals rather than the children) could do the unexpected at any time adds to the enjoyment of everyone.

The website at www.woburnsafari.co.uk has a virtual tour option so if you?re still not sure whether this is your thing, why not take a visit and see.

As a family we had annual passes for Woburn last year because we live nearby. Our 4 year old loves it and it was great to just have a drive around if we had an hour or two to kill. Yes, if you do just pay to go in for the day (rather than having a pass) then you do run the risk of animals hiding away, but that’s the risk you take.

The leisure park is also good fun with play areas for all ages (though the sea lion show is better at Whipsnade).

Final recommendation is to buy the CD which acts as your safari guide when you are driving round.

We think woburn safari park is great. Entry prices are a bit on the steep side, but you can overcome this as they accept tesco clubcard vouchers instead of cash! They have a wide range of animals, many of which roam free in fields which is a lot nicer than seeing caged animals in a zoo. They have a great soft play area with fab slides suitable for adults as well as kids. There’s a train ride, outdoor slides, cafes, restaurants, boat rides, a playground…. its all great!