Knowsley Safari Park Review

Overall Rating

Safari drive, especially the baboons
Sea lion show

None

We visited Knowsley Safari Park on a rainy Saturday in May and had a really enjoyable time. The entrance fee was £12 for adults, £7.00 for children and under 3's were free. You can buy a season ticket for £22 for adults and £16 for children, which gives you unlimited admittance for 12 months. If you buy this on the same day you visit, you get the entrance fee refunded. This seems like excellent value if you plan to visit more than twice.

The safari drive, according to the leaflet lasts an hour. We drove slowly, saw everything and it took us about 40 minutes. You can buy a safari guide and you get a free audio tape with it. It costs £5.00. We did not do this, but did not feel we missed out on anything.

You see lions strolling around on the road, zebras, ostriches which come really close and look in at you, buffalo, and lots and lots of impala and deer. It is great fun spotting the animals. They have a car friendly route where you can avoid the baboons, but we chose to drive through it. If you do this and risk the damage to your car it is great fun and very entertaining. Most of the time there are 2 or 3 baboons sitting on the car, peering in at you. They didn't do any damage to our car, apart from using it as a toilet, but we did see a lot of bent and broken windscreen wipers. You can do the safari drive as many times as you like, but the last entry is 4pm.

There are lots of other things to see and do. We enjoyed looking at creepy crawlies in the bug house, and the sea lion show was great. The trainer gave lots of information about the sea lions during the show where they did some fun tricks. It was educational as well as funny. There are about 3 to 5 shows each afternoon, and the show lasts for about 15 minutes.

They have a children's farm with animals where you can get close and touch. There is also a small amusement park with a great selection of rides for small children. Our son of 2.5 was able to go on most of them. There are a few more exciting rides for older children and teenagers, but this area is more for younger children. It costs £1.50 per ride, or you can buy a wristband for £9.00.

We took a picnic and ate it watching peacocks strut past, which was really nice. There is a restaurant but we didn't use it. It seems to sell mainly fast food. They have a well stocked gift shop with some nice souvenirs.

All in all we had a lovely time, and I would definitely recommend visiting here.