Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks Review

Had an amazing day loads of animals to see well organised park . thanks for a great day definitely will return for overnight stay

Amazing place stayed in one of the treehouse and had a most enjoyable experience. Will definitely be returning with all the family they will love it.

The animals look happy and healthy, you know your money is going to a good cause. Good service. Be prepared to walk. Be sure to visit the house as and grounds as well a nice pit stop for a drink. A fab day out for all ages!

This is a wonderful place to spend a day with family, especially if it is a sunny day. The reserve is huge and other than the safari on truck there are a lot of other animals to see walking around the paths. Since it is a reserve it is not always easy to see all the animals. Sometimes they are hiding in the bushes so it can be a little bit disappointing. I can suggest to check the times when animals are feed so you can see them for sure.
The place itself is up and down so if you have a buggy, train yourself before going there. In any case is an experience that I recommend to do.

One of our favorite places in kent great day out !!!

Seeing the giraffes coming out of the trees on the safari tractor train and the rhino laying in the road, you could really imagine you were in Africa

The Port Lympe reserve is a really great family day out. With plenty to see in the enclosures it will keep the kids entertained for hours, especially with the new dinosaur forest they have created (life size models of dinos) The only negative comment is that it isn't really wheelchair friendly. But the staff are extremely helpful and were more than willing to help a daughter and her mum to get back to boot camp;

The Safari is a great idea and is free to ride! Wonderful. If you are going in winter bring a coat as it is set on top a hill and gets very cold with the wind. I think overall it is doing a great job with conservation, however Howletts I think is a better experience all round with more animals to see.

Love this place. If you're going to visit several times, the annual pass is a good idea - especially combined with Howletts (which has a different feel). It can be tiring if you try to see everything in one day, but it can be done if you're fit and like walking. The animals are well looked after, with a focus on conservation and I still enjoy the truck ride around the African experience, despite having done it several times. I don't think I'll ever get bored of a visit here.

Beautiful place and was a perfect venue for the wedding I attended.. Great day and very helpful staff

Lovely, well looked after animals. Incredibly friendly and helpful staff. Pods are fantastic. Definitely worth a visit

A lovely day out for the family. unfortunately quite a few animals were hiding because of heat.the Safari was great though

Hello
Today 11/10/19, me and my husband went on your safari at 2pm. I just wanted to tell you how lovely and by far the best safari driver we have had at your complex, we have been on plenty as we have a membership. The safari driver Trevor was amazing with the amount of information he gave to us, the information he gave was very informative and gave us an insight to the animals you have. I just wanted everyone to know that he is amazing and thank him very much for making this rainy day the best day out by far.
Many thanks
Brooke and Bobbie Mannas

We enjoyed the Dusk Safari experience yesterday evening (27/07/17). Our guide was very informative. We saw lots of animals including babies and the bears. The food served for dinner was excellent. For me personally, I would have liked the offer of a hot drink on arrival (as it was a cooler evening) and have had a coffee (decaf) after the meal. A few more car parking Exit signs would improve the way out and what to do at the exit gate when leaving. It is called a "Dusk Safari", but for obvious reasons you don't go out at dusk so perhaps renaming it to an "Evening Safari" would be more appropriate. Otherwise a very enjoyable evening.

Staff brilliant
Food excellent
Room excellent
Personal golf buggy superb
Beer excellent
Rooms well stocked with tea and coffee.
Estate was fantastic, free entry into Howlett zoo made the whole deal great value for money
All staff, without exception, were polite,courteous and helpful at all times

It's great but not as good as years ago. Everything is very focused and aimed at the stay overs it feels now.

We went as a family group and all ages enjoyed it especially the safari tour bus driving around and seeing the animals in their parkland settings.

We stayed in the Giraffe Cottage last year and tonight we are staying in Rhino Lodge. We did a giraffe safari today and fed them - it was absolutely amazing and the guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. We just love this place.

Nice place. Some of the animals didn't look like they were enjoying their time there (pacing etc, seemed like discomfort) but the safari was nice. Was hoping to see more animals on the safari.

Excellent zoo, great views of Romney Marsh and great selection of animals. Only gripe is there were a lot of wasps, even in the resteraunts where I'd expect them to have nets or some sort of repellent.

Really good zoo. But it's steep walk back up. Shame you can't walk the old steps

There aren't a many diverse amount of animals, and there are so many hills to walk. Take your food with if you plan to get on the Safari ride

Currently staying in giraffe lodge. The whole
Place is absolutely spectacular. I m overwhelmed by how much dedication and effection there is towards the animals. The best part of my stay so far, aside from the fabulous views and seeing the animals,
Is Alex Page the ranger who gives the most amazing insight to the park and is so informative. I have learnt so much today. What a wonderful guy and a wonderful place. I have no doubts I will return again.
A truly Wonderful place!

The grounds and site are lovely. Loads of walking to be done if you do not have a golf buggy. The Safari was shut due to COVID19, but nobody said anything about not being able to see all of the animals you go to a zoo/reserve to see. The signposts are horrific, don't even bother trying to follow them. Might be worth doing if the Safari bit was open, but unfortunately not. Quite disappointing

Fantastic day out... would love to stay over, the accommodation looks incredible, but definitely need to save up first lol

Stayed at giraffe lodge, had a brilliant time, staff were very knowledgable, helpful and funny. Food was delicious, lots of it too. Take something warm, you are on top of a hill and it gets cold. Once you have been dropped off at the lodge, there is only a bar, take supplies as dinner is not served until 7.30. Feeding the giraffes was amazing. Thank you all so much for making the stay so memorable.

very good parking. I would recommend to friends.very interesting, lots of animals.

The best safari experience in the UK for adults and children alike. Love visiting this place it's just amazing.

Being able to wander around after hours was great. The animals seem a bit less active in the evenings, but the kids loved being able to wander around and watch them.

Nice big areas for the animals to live, more like there natural habitat and a great dinosaur area, my grandchildren loved it

Seven years with a yearly pass. I take my grandchildren once a month. Love thus place, fantastic day out for all.

We hadn't been to port lympne for about 3 years, then last year when our howletts passes expired we decided to buy passes for here. My son was so looking forward to the safari, especially the stop at the top of the African experience as the creepy crawlies were one of his favourite parts. We were very disappointed to discover that the trucks no longer stop there. Our overall feel of this place since we last visited is that it seems to prioritise people who are staying there apposed to those just visiting . Our passes expire this month and I shall not be renewing them.

Amazed to find something like this in Kent. Stayed the night and had the privilege of feeding a black rhino and her calf. An enthralling location. If you have the opportunity to stay there, take it! Give yourself a day when visiting.

Had a great day out, spent a good 5 hours walking around..lots to see and do

Excellent place bigger than we thought and not so good for mobility scooter but the staff can't fault them

We have visited many times over the last 30 years.
Sadly it's not what it was. A lot of empty enclosures and lack of main attractions.
The safari ride is ok , but takes to long to see very few animals.

Amazing place..great staff different choices of accommodation

Great Zoo. Plenty of animals to see. Safari type ride when looking at the big animals. The tiger experience was amazing, got to feed Tug the tiger, very cool.

Fantastic amount to see. Staff talks full of knowledge, especially about the preservation of the animals. Good for kids too, my two year old loved it. Easily spend 6-7 hours here.

Spent a day here couple of weeks ago very nice day out

Great experience for the whole family. Little pricey as a one off however more than makes up for it with cheap annual tickets. Food inside is pricey however that s to be expected.

Even though we went on the build up to storm Dennis it was a lovely day the kids still enjoyed it and we still got to see a lot of animals and go on the safari ride in the old army truck.. It was nice to see all the staff not put off by the weather and looking after the animals with as much enthusiasm as always.. Their job is so important and they do a cracking job

Took my son here for his 1st birthday and was nothing but a dissappointment. We saw more wildlife on the walk to the front gate, lots of enclosures empty and just seemed like a complete waste of time and money. I could count the number of different animals seen on one hand. If you like looking at trees this is the place to go. Howletts and wingham are far better if you want to see animals. The safari seems to be just a gimmick take binoculars or its a waste of time queing for it. Facilities are ok and the staff are great but i will not be returning and would not recommend this zoo to anybody that wants to see animals go to howletts

We visited on mothers day and lot of the enclosures seems empty. Perhaps because it wasnt warm enough for the animals to be out.
We had a nice day anyway. A warning to anyone unsteady on their feet, nearly all of the terrain is uneven and quite steep. Made pushing a double buggy around a fair effort.

Always a great day out. Especially the baby lion cubs and the tigers.

Lovely place enjoyed the safari train ride close up view's of all animals great conservation work they do and saw lots of babies so successful breeding and releasing back into the wild.

Great fun on safari truck. Good 4 information & views. Steep walks in places but do-able...

We stayed in the Pinewood Cabins for 2 nights.
The reserve is great and our children loved it. The animals all appear to exhibit natural behaviour and the enclosures are large. The jeep safari is awe-inspiring and so is the walking area. The staff of which there are many are friendly and polite. I Would recommend and would return.
The Cabins are a great experience. Better than expected, clean and modern. The children loved the camping and marshmallows on the open fire.
The only small criticism is not of the Accommodation or the Reserve but guests that were using golf buggies along the foot-paths. How bizarre? The idea of a place like this is to be in the midst of nature and enjoy the short walks around the reserve.
I had to keep warning my kids to be careful as the golf-carts didn't stop and swerved around us. I would ban them, as Port Lympne has a complimentary shuttle bus for anyone less able-bodied.
Apart from this, I will return and thanks to all the staff for their exceptional work.

Very beautiful place for kids and adults only recommend

Today we visited the safari zoo with my family and it was beautiful. we liked the animals have free run .

Very busy... had to wait for 90 mins in the queue. Advice to go early...

Love this place. Seeing the animals always bring a smile to my face.

I wish the lions would show themselves but the other animals are worth watching.

The evening safari was amazing.
Not alot to see walking around during the day and huuuuuge queues for the safari bus.

Very , picturesque however lots of enclosures that were empty hardly any animals there but was a very clean place not much was very disappointed to find that the enclosures were completely empty and abandoned , not much staff on site when More

Couldn't here the guide on the safari. Limited view of animals on on the right hand side of truck. Walked for miles and very few animals visible in there cages. Cages seem to small. Staff rude and not very helpful.

What an amazing experience well run an full of delightful experiences felt like I was truly in Africa

Very well run during these times. The animals all seem to have lots of space and its a nice long walk around.

I would give zero stars if I could!!! We took our son for his 6th birthday to see the animals and enjoy the day. No enjoyment whatsoever. Safari trucks are death trap, can only see lions if you are renting a room to stay in the enclosure, More

Phoned one night to ask about the cost of a particular booking was told someone would call me back the next day between 9-5. Josh left a message on my phone at 12.30pm asking me to call back. I called at 1pm after my meeting finished to be told by someone else that they couldn't deal with my enquiry and I would have to await a call back from Josh. No call came. I called again at 3pm to be told the same message by the same person. I called AGAIN at 4.30pm and finally spoke to Josh who claimed he had not been told that I had been calling back, that they employ a third party company to answer their phones (clearly a shocking business decision) and that it is my responsibility to call them back if I miss their call - totally ignoring the fact this was the 4th time I had called this company to attempt to make a reservation. Not only was this an absolutely disgusting approach to customer service and running a business, I then find out there is only one price for the particular room I wanted to book and that it was a year round price. They don't put the price of said room on their website so calling is the only option. As you can imagine, I didn't bother booking with them in the end, I'll take my fiancee to Vegas for a weekend instead - i would recommend you give them a wide berth also - horrendous company

Excellent zoo with massive enclosures and friendly staff

Clean, not crowded, happy animals and good food. Lovely day out.