If your kids like animals (and I don't think there are many that don't), they would love San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It's an all day adventure, up close and personal with wild animals. What is so special about this park versus the regular zoo is that the animals are in more natural surroundings than in many zoos, plus you can take a variety safari tours to check them out.
The Safari Park is located in Escondido, which is northeast of San Diego. The setting is beautiful. Your admission includes the Africa Tram, Cheetah Run, and all regularly schedule shows for the day. You're free to walk the park to see all of the animals at your own pace.
There are many optional "safari's" you can do, such as the Caravan Safari, where you ride in the back of a covered, open air truck and visit a couple field enclosures You may even get a chance to feed a giraffe! The Cheetah Safari gets up close to the star of the Cheetah Run with a meet and greet. This is such a beautiful animal, and super fast. If you like to see what goes on in keeper-only areas, take the Behind-the Scenes Safari.
Besides the animals, you can do a zip line over some animal exhibits, or try your hand at the Jungle Ropes. We tried the Balloon Safari and it was amazing! We rode in a hot air balloon to 400 feet. It was quite the experience to look down at the park from up above. It is something we won't soon forget.
So what kind of animals will you see at the park? There are rhinos, antelope, bighorn sheep, camels, lemurs, meerkats, okapi, red river hogs, wild cattle, and more. There are also a variety of birds. Check out the parks website to see more of the animals you will encounter. The kids favorite were the meerkats (which they kept calling meekrats).
There are play areas for the kids, including a cool zone with water mist. Throughout the park you'll find a bunch of great areas to take photos. It's just such a beautiful park you won't want to put your phone/camera down, but please do because there is so much to see, and you don't want to miss any of it.
There are a variety of restaurants and snack areas, which serve plenty of kid friendly food. We brought in a few snacks and waters, and we weren't stopped. I'm not sure what their official policy is though, because I couldn't find anything on their website. Plan to get there when they open and to spend the entire day, and make sure you wear good walking shoes.
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is located at 15500 San Pasqual Valley Rd Escondido CA 92027. Hours vary depending on the time of year. You can purchase tickets online, or at the gate. If you plan on going to the San Diego (regular) Zoo at Balboa Park also, you can buy a 2 day pass, and save money.
