Safari Word is a world-renowned open zoo and animal park, one of the best places to see animals in a recreated natural setting during your travels in Thailand. The park offers many opportunities to get up close and personal with nature, such as swimming with dolphins or going on a safari drive.
The park features animals from all over the world and on your visit you can check out the marine park, jungle cruise, tropical rain forest and much more. The zoo covers more than 200 acres and it makes for a great day trip from Bangkok. It has been around for 27 years and has consistently been one of the most popular attractions in Bangkok throughout this time.
Guests will be able to board a luxury coach or drive their own car through African-designed landscapes and see hundreds of animals from all over the world.There is a feeding show, where you will be able to see the lions, giraffes, tigers and other creatures get their food. Driving through the scenic park takes around 45 minutes and presents a unique opportunity to see wild animals as closely as possible as they wander freely through the large open area.
Safari World is spread out over an enormous area of around 300 acres and it is divided into four different sections – Macaw Island, Games Corner, Bird Park and Safari Park.
The Marine Park is also a popular attraction. It will give you the opportunity to take a cruise down the recreated rivers of Asia and Africa in search of gorillas and crocodiles. Your trip will finish with an exciting log flume ride with a big splash at the end!
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If you are travelling with children, this park would make a great option for a trip that the entire family would enjoy. Your little ones will love to see the animals and they will be fascinated by the range of different displays. However, this impressive animal park is not just for kids – many adults enjoy this attraction as well and it attracts many different Nationalities of visitor.
It will take a full day to explore the park, as it is very large and there are a lot of things to do. Get there as early as possible so that you beat the crowds as well as avoid the intense afternoon heat of Thailand. It is easy to get to Safari World from Bangkok, whether you have your own car or you are taking public transit.
A Wide Variety of Animals
It is possible to see a great range of species at Safari World, Bangkok, such as:
• Grey Kangaroos
• Leopards
• Giraffes
• Dolphins
• Giant Capybaras
• Tigers
• Walruses
• Crocodiles
• Polar bears
• Rhinos
• Lions
• Canadian Black Bears
• Polar Bears
• Orang-Utans
• Lovebirds
• Zebras
• Victoria Crowned Pigeons
• Giant Macaw parrots
• Elephants and much more.
There are creatures from a selection of different ecosystems from all over the world, making Safari World a very interesting and educational attraction. Many of the animals are allowed to roam free in the safari park area of the zoo. Others are kept within cages or habitats and are on display for visitors to see.
See Animals Wandering Free On a Safari World Drive
When you take the safari drive through the park you will notice that the animals are allowed to wander freely. Across this 8km long stretch of land you will see zebras, camels, gazelles, rhinos, antelopes, cranes, ostriches and many other animals just roaming wild.
Take your time driving through the safari park and stop your car frequently so that you can admire these beautiful animals. Don't let the car behind you force you to hurry – there are plenty of parking spaces where you can sit back and let them pass. Remember to drive slowly, don't honk the horn and don't feed the animals. Also, if you need help there are a number of park vehicles painted with zebra stripes patrolling the premises.
It's an amazing experience to drive through a natural area where animals are roaming around freely and don't seem to care much about human visitors. Bring your camera, as you will certainly be able to get some great shots of these amazing beasts walking around.
At one point in the tour you will enter the predators den, where you will see tigers, lions and enormous Himalayan black bears. Don't get out of the car while you are visiting this section!
Take the Safari World Jungle Cruise
Enjoy this cruise along the river through a dense jungle, where you will discover hungry crocodiles or primitive head hunters. The journey is a fascinating adventure that will make you feel like you are deep in the Amazon rainforest. At the end of the ride you will splash down on a log flume ride – the perfect way to cool off in the Bangkok heat.
Feed the Birds at Mini World
Mini World is a place where you will be able to get up close to a number of different species of birds. You will be able to visit the aviary, where a range of birds live including smaller birds such as parakeets and large tropical birds.
You can feed these birds, which will result in dozens of them landing on your hands, arms and shoulders. It is a good idea to bring your binoculars if you are interested in the birds, so that you can spot the different species perched up in the trees.
Check Out Some of the Entertaining Shows at Marine Park
The park offers a number of entertaining shows every day featuring animals, stunts and more. Some of the shows include water skiing stunts, dolphin tricks, Hollywood cowboy stunts, bird shows and much more. The Spy War show offers para-trooping stunts and special effects – with impressive explosions that can be heard all over the park.
A word of advice, this show is very noisy with some explosive firecrackers that can scare and upset young children.
The park also offers a controversial orang-utan boxing show that has angered animal rights protesters but still seems to be quite popular. There are placards at the park that list the shows offered that day and their start times.
If you are interested in watching some of the entertainment, here are all of the shows at Marine Park:
The Dolphin Show
These beautiful and intelligent creatures will enchant you with their tricks. They will kiss you, shake hands with you, throw balls in the air with their fins or leap out of the water to perform beautiful and elegant jumps, twists and dives. This show is one of the main attractions and opens with live entertainment and singing of Thai and Indian songs to get the huge crowd excited.
You can pay to have your photograph taken with the Dolphins at the end of the show.
If it is a particularly hot and sunny day the stand will fill up from the shaded side. If you arrive late you will end up sat in the burning sunshine with no shade available! However, there are vendors selling water, beer, fresh coconuts and ice cream to cool you down. Take a small umbrella if you have small children, or at least a sun hat to help protect them.
The Hollywood Cowboy Stunt Show
Go back to the Wild West and watch cowboys and robbers face each other in gunfights and fistfights. These talented stunts men will perform thrilling stunts right in front of your eyes, some even involving horses, whips and explosives. This show is great fun for the kids.
The Bird Show
A range of colourful birds, from macaws to lovebirds, will perform acrobatics and other stunts during this entertaining show.
The Spy War Show
A para-trooping show filled with explosions, gunfire and breath-taking stunts – performed in the large state-of-the-art amphitheatre. Sean Sacco, a secret agent, must get the Doomsday Trigger before Mako gets it – he must combat difficult terrain and deal with enemy gunfire in order to stop Mako. The enormous explosions of this exciting show are truly a sight to behold, along with zip wires and a large pool with jet-ski action, this show is like being in your own movie!
The Sea Lion Show
A humorous show in which trained sea lions take over a quiet town known as Lighthouse Cove and pull one goofy stunt after another. The entire town is turned upside down by these mischievous marine creatures. Another great show for the kids.
Orang-utan Boxing Show
These beautiful and intelligent primates will impress you with their math skills and their sense of humour. They will deliver trick after trick, including some impressive swinging stunts on the bars. Part of the show is the Thai Orang-utan Boxing championship, in which the hairy champions will go head to head. This show was stopped for a while by animal rights activists, but now it continues tobe performed. The show is very funny, the animals are very well looked after and seem to enjoy their job! You can pay to have your photograph taken with the animals at the end of the show.
The Feeding Show
Have you ever watched a hungry tiger or lion chow down on a piece of meat? It's a frightening and impressive sight to behold the power of these enormous carnivores.
The Tiger and Lion Feeding Show is the only one of its kind in the world, so check it out while you are in Safari World. It takes place every morning at 10am.
To find out more about the shows and what they include you can visit the Safari World website.
Your Chance to Feed Bananas to Giraffes
One of the most popular attractions of the zoo is the Giraffe Feeding Platform. This is an elevated platform where you will be able to feed bananas directly to these long-necked creatures.
It makes for a great photo opportunity and you might even be licked by one of the giraffe's strange, long blue tongues! The Giraffes terrace is usually busy, and is a great experience for the kids. The outlook form the terrace is stunning and you can observe many other animals such as Zebras and an array of huge stalks and birds flying around.
if there is a particular show that you are not interested in seeing then try visiting the Giraffe Terrace whilst that show is on, it will be much quieter. There are sinks with soap and running water to wash your hands once you have finished feeding and interacting with the Giraffes.
Information for Visiting Safari World, Bangkok
Here are some of the important details that you will need to know if you plan on visiting Safari World during your trip to Bangkok.
How to Get There
Safari Park is located in Min Buri, which is just north of Bangkok. It is an easy drive from Bangkok to get there, or you could take public transport if you do not have a car. You can get there on bus number 26,60,71,96 or 115 or by taking air conditioned bus 26, 60 or 501. It is also possible to take one of the red minibuses that you can find around Soi Khu Bon or Fashion Island. If you take a taxi to the park it will cost around 200 baht round trip.
There are also tour packages available from many tour agencies in Bangkok that will include admission and transport to Safari World and back.
Admission Fees
The entrance fee to the park is 650 baht per adult and 550 per child. You only need to pay for one admission fee and that will allow you to access all parts of the park. Lunch buffet is also included in the price.
Opening Hours
Weekday Operating Hours: From 9:00 am. to 5:00 pm.
Weekend and Public Holiday Operating Hours: From 9:00 am. to 6:00 pm.
Facilities
Safari Park has a number of restaurants, including two buffet restaurants called Safari and Jungle Cruise. Safari can seat up to 800 people and Jungle Cruise can seat up to 1,700 people. Also, there are two fast food restaurants that offer a range of international and Thai cuisine. Throughout the park you will find several vendors selling ice cream, snacks and burgers from their wagons.
If you want to save money on your visit, you can bring your own packed lunch rather than eating the food in the park – theme park food is always overpriced.
If you are looking for a souvenir to bring home to remember your trip by, the park has a gift shop filled with Thai handicrafts, animal printed t-shirts, glassware, jewellery and other gifts. The park facilities also include a first aid station, stroller and wheelchair rental, storage facilities and lost and found.
Safari World a Popular Attraction
This zoo and animal park has been around for many years and it is still one of the most popular animal attractions in Bangkok. It opened in February of 1988 and at that time it had 480 acres for the open zoo and 180 acres for the bird park. There have been major renovations since then and the marine park was added, which includes 200 acres of land. This enormous park is the first and only entertainment park to be listed on the stock exchange of Thailand.
The size of the place is truly impressive and it's a pretty amazing opportunity to be able to get so close to the free roaming animals on a safari drive. The animals are free to roam, giving them much more freedom than they would have if they were in a cage. It is the perfect day out for the family – as there is something for everyone.
If you are interested in animals and you are looking for a fun and interesting experience during your visit to Bangkok, why not check out what Safari World has to offer.