An Unforgettable Family Adventure: A Review of Woburn Safari Park

A review from Abby Clare.

Lions lurking close by, monkeys being mischievous, lemurs leaping above your head… just some of the fun things we experienced at Woburn Safari Park! A drive-through Safari Park with a huge parkland and so many animals to see. From endangered animals such as the Asian elephants to exotic birds like the Dusky Lories, there is so much to see, learn about, and do! Especially for children who love to be outside and have a million and one questions about the animals… all the facts are there (thank goodness!).

We love family days out, spending time together and exploring new places, so it’s really important for us that there is something for each of us: a one-year-old, a three-year-old and us parents too! Animals, outdoors and a whole list of activities… perfect! We were all excited about going. We’d discussed which bits we’d each want to do, with all of us having the drive-through safari at the top of our lists, more specifically, the ‘cheeky monkeys’… we set off! 

Excitedly, we headed straight for the drive-through safari. The safari starts at The Savannah Grassland, where you see the rhinos, ostrich, zebra and antelopes! It’s amazing to see the animals in their own spaces, strolling along together. One of our most anticipated animals to see was the elephants! My eldest even had a bag of toy animals packed in his bag and held the elephant up to the window as we drove by!

Next, we headed into The Kingdom of Carnivores through a double gated entrance… it sounds a little scary, but it’s actually really cool. The safari is so well sign-posted, with reminders to keep doors and windows shut and to NOT leave your vehicle. If you ever need assistance, there is an information poster letting you know to stay inside your vehicle and to sound your horn until help arrives.

In The Kingdom of Carnivores, you can find tigers (unfortunately, we didn’t see these, but you can drive through the Safari as many times as you like!), wolves, bears and lions. We were all so excited when we spotted the bears! As you enter the African lion’s area, it’s such a huge space, but you can usually tell where they are because that’s where all the cars will be going slower, haha! It’s a great opportunity to take some pictures and gives children an excellent chance to see them. One of our highlights was having a lion walk right past our car; this was SO cool! We all got a fantastic look at the lion, which was both amazing and scary, haha.

Then we drove past the giraffes, which are always amazing to see; you can only really comprehend just how big they actually are when you see them up close; what incredible creatures. They were all near their Giraffe House, eating their food, which sparked a conversation about what different animals eat! Next up was the African Forest, which is home to the Barbary Macaque Monkeys and the East African Mountain Bongo, who are critically endangered! Here, there is a sign to let you know that whilst not common, the animals could cause damage to your car, so the option to bypass this section is there!

There were monkeys on car rooftops, hanging on wing mirrors and some even jumping from car to car! We were all laughing, and then all of a sudden, we had a monkey land on the front of our car, look through the window, and then climb up to the top! We could see the monkey sitting up there through our roof window… the perfect view to see the monkey itching its bottom… our toddler found this hilarious, as did we all, really!

The drive-through safari took us around 45 minutes to an hour; this could take you a longer or shorter amount of time depending on how much you stop/which animals you want to see for a while. Once the road safari has finished, you drive up towards the car park where you can find the foot safari, gift shop, cafés, toilets and even a soft play!

Using our map, we headed for the train as we walked past the sea lions, tortoises (my favourite!) and red pandas. When we arrived at the train stop, the first thing I noticed was the BSL sign for the train. These signs are all over the park, and this made me so happy. We teach our children some signs, so this was really engaging, I loved how inclusive this was.

We put our pram in the pram parking area while we went on our train ride. The trains are once every 30 minutes and are quite popular, so be prepared for a possible wait… The kiosk at the train station entrance sells ice cream and coffee, which can make the wait even better! The train takes a journey through some of the parkland to see the alpacas, who have a very cute Alpaca Outpost at the back of the park, and then back to the train station. 

After this, we headed to the foot safari to see some more animals! There are posters around the park with the daily schedule for animal shows and feeding times. It’s a good opportunity to learn more about any specific animals you’d like to learn more about. With so many different spaces to sit and watch the shows, pram and wheelchair friendly, it’s great for the whole family. One of our favourite shows were the birds. Our youngest is fascinated by birds and loves watching them fly around! 

The foot safari allows you to walk at your own pace and see the animals you love with facts to read and feeding sessions to watch, there is so much entertainment all day. My knowledge on otters has improved, my toddler loves to talk about them even a week after we’ve been! The feeding sessions we saw were the otters, sea lions, meerkats and the lemurs, which my youngest found very funny! I’d say their energy level was like a lemur, especially at snack time…there is a likeness.

We loved wandering through Australian walkabout, the wallabies were really cute, there was a staff member sweeping the leaves from the path and ensuring their space was well maintained. Which actually was something we noticed around the whole park, the cleanliness and animal welfare is definitely something Woburn Safari Park take pride in!

After walking around, we grabbed a coffee and sat down to rest while we talked about what we had enjoyed so far and where we wanted to head next. Our toddler became chief map reader (thankful for an easy-to-read map with pictures!), and we followed his lead, which took us up a very large hill… to roll down, of course!

Then, we went to the playground, which was right next to the lemurs. The playground was so lovely, with lots of wooden animals to climb on, interactive parts for little children to play with and higher, more advanced activities for those bigger or more adventurous.

There are a lot of facilities around the park, including indoor soft play and outdoor picnic spaces with benches. There are even pedalos on the lake, which looked so fun, and quite a few places to stop for food, drinks, or just to sit and take it all in.

The gift shop (which we, of course, visited; how cool is the safari truck display?!) is in the centre near a large restaurant with an indoor and covered outdoor seating area and toilets (including disabled and baby changing facilities). I also learnt that they offer home education tickets, which is awesome, as well as school trips and higher education talks.

If you do take a visit, I recommend arriving at opening time and plan to stay all day. That way, you will have enough time to really make the most of your visit.

It’s a good idea to check out the daily timetable to ensure you see any feeding sessions, talks or shows that you’d like to. It will also give you a chance to go through the driving safari more than once if you wish!

I would also take snacks with you for any time you are waiting for shows or queuing for the train; as I mentioned, there are kiosks around the park, too. Water is a good thing to have with you, especially on a hot day, as there is a lot of walking. Oh, and don’t forget to have your tickets printed or screenshotted, as well as a rough idea of direction in case your internet doesn’t work.

We had such a wonderful day at Woburn Safari Park, and we plan to visit again in the future!

There definitely is something for everyone; our youngest absolutely loved the birds, and our toddler’s favourite part was the train ride. My partner was amazed by the lion walking straight past our car, and I loved the monkeys climbing on our car. We learnt a lot, laughed a lot and loved all of it.

Don’t forget, you can use your VIP Pass to get the best deal on your tickets and enhance your visit! I hope you have a wonderfully wild time!

So, now you know everything wild about Woburn Safari Park, we bet you’re super eager and excited to visit! From embarking on a drive-through safari to making the experience much more magical on foot. Woburn Safari Park has adventures that will remembered for years to come, plus with our VIP Pass you can snap up extra discounts!

Looking for more things to do? Head to our recommendations page for all reviews on fab family attractions! From Fonmon Castle, Hobbledown and Stockeld Park to the National Space Centre in Leicester and the Knights Village at Warwick Castle!