San Diego Zoo or Safari Park? and timing question

[minnemom]

We're hoping to sneak in a visit to either the San Diego Zoo or Safari Park as part of our whirlwind California trip.

If you had to choose one or the other, which would you recommend? We've been to many zoos in the Midwest, so which would give us the biggest "wow" factor?

Do either of them get busy enough that you notice the crowds? Our choices for visiting would be around President's Day--the afternoon of Thursday, Feb 16; as part of our one day in Balboa Park on Sunday, Feb 19; or the morning of Monday, Feb 20 before we head to the airport.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[sonnyjane]

Hi!

First of all, I have to say that both the zoo and the Safari Park are absolutely full-day parks. If you go to either with the intention of only staying a few hours (which sounds like what you plan to do), then you're going to miss large, large portions of the parks and I'd question if paying the admission is really worth it in those cases. I actually work at the zoo and I still can't claim that I've seen absolutely everything, that's how big it is.

That said, I'll describe to two places and let you go from there.

The zoo, as you know, is in Balboa Park. Parking for the zoo is free. I will give you the disclaimer that there is currently a construction project happening at the zoo which affects the reptile area and the Australian Outback area. There are lots of construction fences, but still most of the other exhibits are open. There is a 35-40 minute narrated bus tour that covers about 70% of the park, and then you can go back and explore the other areas that you may be interested in.

The Safari Park is about 45 minutes north of here in Escondido. It focuses primarily on African and Asian animals in a more open setting. There is a tram that takes you through the main exhibit, but there are also lots of footpaths that will take you to see other exhibits, such as the big cats, the elephants, and the large raptors. Parking at the Safari Park is $10.

Both are awesome parks. I'd make your decision based on what types of animals you want to see and what type of experience you are looking for. Both parks require a LOT of walking and have a LOT of hills. Some animals unique to the zoo that you won't see at the Safari Park are the pandas (we are one of only four zoos in the country that has pandas), polar bears, kangaroos, camels, sea lions (in the sea lion show), grizzly bears, and several types of primates (other than gorillas, which are found in both parks). The zoo has more animals and a larger variety of animals, whereas the Safari Park has several different types of animals living "together" in one big exhibit (and other smaller exhibits throughout the park).

Neither will really be crowded on the days you mentioned, but again I want to stress that you shouldn't go to either park if you're in a rush to be somewhere else - such as the airport. They are both HUGE facilities and unlike smaller zoos around the country, spending two or three hours just isn't going to cut it if you want to have a worthwhile experience!

 

[minnemom]

Sonnyjane, thank you so much for your detailed descriptions of the two parks. Based on what you've told me, and also consulting "America's Best Zoos" by Allen Nyhuis, it looks like we wouldn't go wrong with either place.

It seems as if we're leaning toward the Safari Park, so now the trick may be how to get there earlier in the day on Thursday so we have more time to spend, as our other days are more locked in time-wise. We'll be driving down from Oxnard; I wonder how early we'd have to leave to not get caught in terrible traffic that morning?

I appreciate your taking the time to share your expertise. We're getting very excited to visit sunny California!

 

[Huff]

Oxnard is about 170 miles from the Safari park. Traffic in Los Angeles is rather unpredictable. The worst is 6am-9am.

There are two ways you could go with a variety of short alternatives along the way for each. Basically 405 and 5 south or 101, 134, 210, 71 and 15 south. Both ways are roughly 170 miles. I would tend to think heading over to 15 south would be better than 405/5 but maybe somebody local will know better.

It can take anywhere from 2 1/2 hours to 4+ hours.

 

[sonnyjane]

Oh my. As Huff pointed out, Oxnard is really quite far from the Safari Park if you're only doing a day trip. Will you be visiting other attractions down here in San Diego? I'd try to get a hotel down here for a night or two. If not, you could easily be spending 8+ hours traveling in the car.

 

[minnemom]

Oh, I forgot to mention that! Thursday is our "move to San Diego" day--for the rest of the weekend we'll be enjoying Legoland, USS Midway, Cabrillo National Monument, Balboa Park, and any museums we can possibly squeeze in before we fly out of SAN.

So no worries about it being just a day trip, and thanks for the traffic/route ideas and all of the other helpful information!

 

[llump41]

I'm a huge zoo fan. It's the original and IMHO better than the Safari Park. Crowds should be very bearable.(no pun intended). But they are 2 very different experiences. If this is your first time don't rush it. The best way to see either park is slowly. Even when I have an hour to kill, I usually will spend 2 at the zoo.

 

[Tara8595]

Just a quick note that some of the zoo is very repetitive. I remember when we went getting sort of 'stuck' in the "hooved stock" area and we never knew, nor cared to know that there were 20 different kinds of wild pigs. Yes, I'm exaggerating.... but not much. Pay close attention to your map and choose the best routes to hit the high points, or you could end up like us spending 2 hours wandering through pigs and 20 different relatives of deer and elk.

 

[sonnyjane]

Just a quick note that some of the zoo is very repetitive. I remember when we went getting sort of 'stuck' in the "hooved stock" area and we never knew, nor cared to know that there were 20 different kinds of wild pigs. Yes, I'm exaggerating.... but not much. Pay close attention to your map and choose the best routes to hit the high points, or you could end up like us spending 2 hours wandering through pigs and 20 different relatives of deer and elk.

Lol. Hoofstock need love too!!

 

[Camonkeygirl]

The hoofstock does need love, but that area was replaced about 2 years ago with a great new exhibit called Elephant Odyssey.

 

[MrsPinup]

These are great tips, just what I was looking for to plan our summer vacation. Thanks