About Timbavati Wildlife Park
Timbavati Wildlife Park offers a highly interactive animal experience, allowing families to touch and feed a variety of animals from around the world. The VIP tour is a standout, providing exclusive, up-close encounters with a diverse range of species, guided by knowledgeable staff who expertly pace the tour for all ages, including toddlers. Beyond the animal exhibits, the park enhances the family experience with a small playground and a train ride, making it a comprehensive and educational destination, especially for those visiting the Dells.
What parents should know
Summarized from real visitor reviews.
Best for: Families seeking highly interactive and hands-on animal experiences.Animal lovers of all ages wanting direct engagement like touching and feeding.Families with a wide age range of children (from toddlers to teens) who will all enjoy the VIP tour and general park offerings.Repeat visitors to the Dells looking for a consistent and enjoyable family outing.Parents who appreciate a mix of animal exhibits, play areas, and ride attractions (playground, train).
Why families love it
- Great variety of animals from around the world.
- Unique opportunities for hands-on interaction, including touching and feeding animals.
- VIP tour offers exclusive access to specific animals like primates, big cats, red pandas, and sloths.
- Nursery visits during the VIP tour allow petting of baby animals (e.g., snake, baby goat, armadillo mentioned, but these change seasonally).
- VIP tour includes direct feeding experiences with goats, canaries, and giraffes (from the top of the giraffe barn).
- Knowledgeable and friendly staff/guides (e.g., Lane) provide information and stories.
Insider tips
- Consider booking the VIP tour for the most comprehensive and exclusive animal interactions, especially if seeking memorable experiences with specific animals like sloths or giraffes.
- Visit shortly after the park opens for a higher likelihood of seeing active animals.
- Be aware that the specific animals available for interaction, particularly in the nursery, may vary by season, so manage expectations for seeing particular species.
- Factor in the cost, as the experience is described as 'pricy but worth it' by multiple families, indicating good value despite the price tag.
Good to know before you go
- Expectations for seeing specific nursery animals unless current seasonal offerings are confirmed, as they change.
- Visiting during seasons when fewer animals might be visible (e.g., 'spring break' was mentioned as having fewer animals out) if seeing the maximum number of exhibits is a priority.
- The park can be perceived as a bit pricy, though reviewers found the experience worth the cost.
- The specific animals visible or available for interaction (e.g., in the nursery) can change seasonally.
- Fewer animals might be out or visible during certain times of the year (e.g., spring break mentioned).
- Crowds
- Visiting 'shortly after the park opened' is suggested for more active animals, which might also indicate a less crowded experience during those times. No other specific crowd level information was provided.
- Value
- General admission is described as 'a bit pricy' but consistently deemed 'worth it' due to the unique animal interactions and overall park offerings. The VIP tour is explicitly stated as 'definitely worth the money' for the exclusive access, knowledgeable guiding, and memorable close encounters. The gift shop offers 'reasonable prices'.
- Accessibility
- No specific accessibility accommodations or limitations were mentioned in the reviews.
- Safety
- No specific safety features were explicitly mentioned, but the presence of knowledgeable guides during interactive experiences implies supervision.
What parents say
"Timbavati Wildlife Park is a wonderful place to visit with kids! 🦓🦒 It has a great variety of animals from around the world, and the park allows for unique interactions—you can even touch and feed some of them! It’s a fun, educational, and memorable experience for the whole family. Highly recommended for animal lovers and families looking for a hands-on adventure! ✨"
a week ago
"We had so much fun doing the VIP tour this morning! Definitely worth the money. Our guide Lane was very knowledgeable about all of the animals we saw and the park itself. We got to see some of their primates, big cats, red pandas, sloths, the nursery (with a variety of animals, we got to pet a snake, baby goat, and armadillo-these animals change based on the season) feed the goats, feed the canaries, then we got to go up to the top of the giraffe barn to feed the giraffes. Our kids (6,4,1.5) had a blast. We spent adequate time learning about each animal and didnt overstay our small children’s "
2 months ago
"2 adults and 4 grandchildren ages 5-17 took a VIP tour last week over spring break. It was wonderful!! Being up close to sloths; interacting with a month old Pygmy goat;holding a snake;feeding a multitude of birds and feeding giraffes were memorable experiences. Because of the time of year there were not as many animals out but those that were looked happy and content.Our guide was full of information and stories. Great place! Great time!"
a month ago
Reviews sourced from public Google data.
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