About Virginia Safari Park
Virginia Safari Park offers a unique drive-through safari experience where families can interact closely with animals, making it more personal and memorable than traditional zoos.
What parents should know
Summarized from real visitor reviews.
Best for: Families looking for an interactive wildlife experience.Children who enjoy hands-on activities with animals.All ages enjoy the interactive feeding experiences.Younger children may particularly enjoy the playground and walk-through areas.
Why families love it
- Drive-through format allows for close animal encounters.
- Giraffe feeding experience is highly recommended.
- Kangaroo walk-through and bird aviary add to the interactive experience.
- Annual passes provide great value for frequent visitors.
- Feeding animals both in the drive-through and walk-through sections.
- Cafe and playground for kids to unwind.
Insider tips
- Arrive early to avoid crowds and long wait times.
- Limit animal food to avoid running out early; 2 buckets per person is ideal.
- Consider the walk-through area if the drive-through is busy.
Good to know before you go
- Visiting during peak hours on weekends when it gets crowded.
- Doing the drive-through if it appears busy.
- Some animals can be aggressive during feeding.
- Long wait times at the entrance during busy periods.
- The drive-through can feel jumbled if too crowded.
- Crowds
- It gets busy later in the day; visiting early is recommended.
- Value
- Pricing is done per person, which may be higher than traditional zoos, but includes both drive-through and walk-through experiences. Annual passes offer good value for families who visit frequently.
- Food
- Food and drink rules were not explicitly mentioned, but feeding animals is a key activity.
- Accessibility
- No specific accommodations mentioned in the reviews.
- Safety
- Some reviews mention the need to be cautious during animal feeding due to aggressive behavior.
What parents say
"We loved Virginia Safari Park so much that we bought the annual pass — and it’s been completely worth it! We've enjoyed bringing friends and family to share the joy of experiencing animals in such a unique and interactive way. Unlike traditional zoos, this drive-through safari format lets you get up close to the animals, making the experience far more personal and memorable. Feeding them is a lot of fun, though some animals can get a little aggressive during feeding, so be ready for a bit of excitement! The giraffe encounter is a wonderful add-on, letting you interact even more closely with "
a week ago
"Such a fun experience! We went on a Sunday. So many animals to see and feed along the drivable part. Going early is recommended as it got busy as the day went on. I saw other reviews to not let the animals at the beginning eat all your food, which they were right and so glad we did! 2 buckets per person was perfect for 2 people. The walk through part was cool with the kangaroo walk through, bird aviary (only 1 of the bird sticks was enough for us), and feeding the giraffes. I’d recommend 1 cup of lettuce per person for the giraffes."
2 weeks ago
"Unique and fun experience. Rates are good and done per person, not per car. Includes the drive thru animal experience as well as the walk thru zoo area. The walk thru has a cafe and playground which is great for kids to unwind after riding in the car if you do the safari first. You can feed animals in both areas. It can get quite jumbled at the beginning of the safari and there was about a 20minute wait to get through the gates, but it moved steadily."
2 weeks ago
Reviews sourced from public Google data.
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