San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Escondido

The park is amazing. It is a great way to somewhat experience a "safari" in the midst of California. My entire family (5 of us) spent a wonderful day at the park. So why 4 stars? 1. It is expensive. The 5 of us spent around a $1,000 with all the rides. The entry tickets are about $60 per head. But what you experience is somewhat limited. 2. Not enough carnivores. If you were thinking you'd be driving by a herd of lions, that's not what this is. Your safari will take you by 4~5 animals - giraffes, rhinos, zebras, and some gazelles. Again, safari is a bit underwhelming. Other than that, we had a fantastic day. The kids felt like they had their fill of animals. Food and drinks were reasonable. And a fantastic family outing.

Well worth the time and money. I felt it was better than going to zoo. Animal’s definitely had more space to roam around and very well maintained. There are lot of endangered species they take care of and help breed some of those in a very sustainable way. When we went there the animals were very active and I am guessing because it was not too hot. Try to do the Africa tram in the morning because most of animals will be moving around vs sitting in shade during afternoon. Line was not crazy to get the tram. They have 3-4 trams which rotate around so it doesn’t take time. We didn’t do any other reserved safaris. If you want to get super close to animals then you can try those. We walked around 6-7 miles as per our fitness watch. I guess you will walk around that much if you want to cover everything. Most of the volunteers are knowledgeable and friendly to talk to.