Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks Review

We had our wedding there. The venue is lovely with fantastic views and interesting decor. The staff have been helpful and friendly.

Always a good day out at the zoo. Grandkids love it. Safari is the best bit and there is plenty to see.

My Experience at Port Lympne was fantastic. The hotel was exquisite and the grounds and park were fantastic to both walk and buggy around! The staff were all very accommodating. The only room for improvement is that the postcode we were given was not very accurate and took us to the day-ticket holders carpark.

To my mind, slightly over-priced zoo park near Hythe. The "SAFARI" on trucks is included in the price but only covers a small number of the exhibits, the balance is only accessible by foot, with many steep hills to manouver. The map provided at entry is not terribly clear (we met a couple three times on our short tour and they were STILL looking for the lion enclosure!). Signposting is also, to my mind, insufficient. A shame, since the concept and objectives of the park are laudable. The quest for profit seems to have taken over - don't forget to buy your sandwiches and drinks at the supermarket on the way there - you could save the equivalent of one admission fee!

Just came back from celebrating my partners 30th birthday, which was made even more special because of this place. We stopped in one of the treehouses which was lovely and came with your own golf buggy which made getting around the park very entertaining. On the first day we got there we did the Serenge-Tea event which involved a two hour safari either a giraffe/rhino feeding experience and afternoon tea, the whole experience from start to finish was just amazing! Our guide Jack was very knowledgeable, we never felt rushed (even with the animal feeds) and he made the whole experience very enjoyable! After the safari we were then taken into the hotel where you recieved a complimentary cocktail which was delicious! and afternoon tea. The afternoon tea was very tasty and had a nice selection of cakes and sandwiches. I would highly recommend doing this next time you visit. On the second day we had booked a monkey feeding experience which was just unreal! You're literally thrown in a cage with monkeys and food and used as their personal climbing frame lol if you love monkey's this is a must. I also wanted to thank Chris one of the keepers who literally went above and beyond to make our stay that much special! He took time out of his own day to spend time with us and we got to see things we never planned on seeing so thank you you made a great trip an even better one . We will definitely be back!!

Lovely day out. Wonderful experience. Good 45 min-1 hour safari experience. Plenty of animals to be seen while walking as well.
Not many animals compared to many other safari parks in the UK, but really enjoyed it.
Booked online to get cheaper tickets. Staffs were friendly and really helpful.

Really nice place to go and see all the animals. Just expect a hike as its quite a hilly place if you're walking around.

Fantastic Safari park. Thought in summer should be better to visit it.

Big area to cover and lots of things to see. Shame about the cafe.

The least wheelchair accessible place you will ever go. It is advertised as wheelchair accessible but the slopes are steep and the paths make it so that you'll pretty much always end up in a ditch. The staff have tried to help but have not been able to do anything so far. It a very good park but not good for people with wheelchairs.

Amazing place for all the family. Had a great weekend at Port Lympne after also staying in their treehouse accommodation. Access to the golf buggy was great fun, with loads of great animals to see and really nice grounds. Good restaurants too. It s not cheap but I d highly recommend for a weekend away as a couple or with the family.

Beautiful location. Fabulous views lots to see. Great family day out

Really cheap for the amount of animals you can visit, with a safari included too, ideal please to take young children!

Truck ride was good but the whole experience seems to be one big advert for various overnight cabin stays.... It got a bit of a bore... The sparkle has gone from this... Its become a hotel first and second.
It was a warm day most animals were hiding from the sun....

Best zoo in the UK I have been too and I have done a far few now, the safari truck ride around is currently closed but you can still walk around most of the park and plenty of the animals was on show and easy to see. Some we felt you can actually if your lucky get really close too, you need a good weather day for this zoo as very open and not too many enclosed areas to look around, they do have a model dinosaur trek you can walk around was OK for what it was

It overall makes a good day out but be patient because some enclosures mimic the real habitat with foliage and trees allowing the animals to hide. Just wait quietly and things will happen! It's worth noting that in winter some animals like the giraffe will not be roaming free but in their sheltered enclosure. The primates, rhinos and others went into their shelters a good hour before closing the park so we'll worth noting it.

A great day out. Safari is spectacular wit lots of animals to see. And great views over Hythe. A hills are a little steep but take your time and enjoy all the animals.

Do try the Segway tours they are the best and Tony is the most patient and competent teacher and guide

What a place to visit. This a must, next time want to upgrade my package and wake up to see the animals in the morning

Well worth the 4 hrs round trip. Gorgeous place, doing so much good for the animals. The ride around the park is a MUST. The scenery is stunning.

Great Zoo that really cares about the animals. Recommended staying as they really look after you.

Absolutely amazing. Staff really friendly and helpful. They have given us a ticket to come back because it's raining. Also the staff have some of the best covid protection I have seen. Cleaning the toilet after every use. Super stars.

A lot of walking and can only see the rhino's and giraffes on safari

Only the safari and dinosaur walk was enjoyable., however there are practically not that many animals. So overall 2/5.

Very disappointed. Have supported this park for several years. Told when booking that the safari wasnt running due to Covid, which was fair enough. Wasnt told the safari is running but only if you can afford to stay over night. No cold drinks available at eating points. After a 20 minute wait while 2 overnight guests got at least a dozen water bottles filled Spent nearly 30 for 4 burgers and chips at BBQ hut but food was tasteless and inedible and only fit for bin burgers appear to be boiled then thrown on a grill for a burnt look. Golf buggies everywhere which are for overnight guests only, unfortunately some of the drivers didnt read no buggies sign. Lovely option if you can afford to be overnight guest, no worth the money now if you are only a day visitor.

It was real adventure!
Thank you.

Huge thanks to Kylie, Drew and the rest of the team for looking after us. A fantastic wedding venue.

Always worth a visit, even when the animals are all tucked away in the warm

An excellent day out for all the family, and the safari ride is the best in Kent

Beautiful beautiful beautiful, would get five stars if price was little lower

Disappointed with the catering. The house which used to be freely open is now a hotel and the old restaurant in the attached sun room is no more. Instead there's a thatched kiosk/cafeteria with a limited selection of cooked food which was not very appetizing. Used to be much better

Went yesterday with my little boy and girlfriend. Loved the place, great grounds and not too busy. Thoroughly recommend.

When with my niece who is 6, was a lovely sunny day jumped straight onto the safari bus from base camp and away we went. Saw lots if not all of the animals the guide was telling us about. Once we got off the bus we got a nice ice cream before heading off into the carnivores. Followed by the gorilla and then then the dinosaur park. Lots of benches to take a rest if you need. Would recommend taking a picnic as the food isn't cheap. Would recommend this place to anyone who loves seeing rare and endangered animals in a more natural environment. Will be coming back here for sure. Hopefully stay over night. Thanks for a great day

This place is vast but a safari truck takes you around half of it. Its beautifully kept and the animals are well looked after.

Amazing can't fault this place decent prices for food and great selction

Me and my wife & 5yr old
Son , stayed in pine wood pods. Had a lovely time seeing all the animals and had lots to do for my son.
The grounds are amazing a lot of historical value. From Roman to present day. We can't wait to come back with friends and family gb

My Family & myself had great fun on Sat 30th May 2015 but be prepared to do some hard walking up steep hills, can get cold when going up hills on the safari jeeps but great fun our little boys & their Daddy (biggest kid of them all xxx) loved it xxxx

We did a lot of walking but loved interacting with all the animals. Particularly loved seeing my first tiger's. They are gorgeous.

All ways take mum here lovely place animals can hide so some you don't get to see some there are nice picnic area's also we take her to howletts nice zoo as well

Nice place to spend the day with family. Kids definitely will enjoy. We went there with our 1.5 year old daughter. She really enjoyed dinosaur forest. The reason I gave 3 stars, is that there were not many animals. In some point we felt were in botanic garden.

Did not stay in the hotel I only visited the reserve. Getting there is easy as it is clearly signposted and there is ample parking. Entrance for a family of 5 is expensive so I would advise buying tickets online the day before. If you do not get there early then you will have an hour's wait for the safari trucks although there is also a walking trail if you want to exercise your legs.
The animals seem fit and healthy but I doubt if you will see all of them as many are nowhere to be seen.
Had lunch at the BabyDoll Italian restaurant which was nice and the gardens near the hotel are really nice. The gift shop was good too and well stocked. Although it is the first time that I have ever been there I got the impression that more effort is put into encouraging customers to stay at the hotel.

Stayed overnight in a tent at Giraffe amazing experience

Spent a really great day here. Lovely to find somewhere that had easy free parking, plenty of benches for those with picnics brought from home, a brilliant free ride round and there were even the use of free buggies for the little ones that got tired

Great for animals and conservation but the Safari truck is disorganised. We went on a really hot day and the staff at the bottom of the hill had no specific times for collecting people and didn't know when the trucks were going back to to the top. There needs to be a clear truck schedule. Several toddlers we left waiting in the heat with no shelter in the truck area.

Nice place to walk with the sound of animals. I hope you re fit though as when you walk to the end of the route it s all up hill from there but my wife and I love it here.

Amazing meal at the mansion at a very reasonable price. Lovely atmosphere, very clean and well decorated. Have nothing bad to say. You get what you pay for! It's fantastic and would live here if I could afford it!

Amazing and love the truck ride for the safari experience. Only down side is its way too spread out which means you get bored.

Great family day out. So much to see and do. Be prepared to walk though! Great views from certain places. Plenty of options to get food and drink.

Fantastic day out. Loads to see and do. All staff really helpful and friendly.

Good day out however not stated very clearly that you have to get the safari trucks to see half of the animals. Visited specifically to see the giraffes and after spending over an hour walking around trying to get to the giraffe encloser a More

My review for June 2013 has been removed so here it is again:-

After seeing the photograph on the website, which shows 5 giraffe 3 zebra and others during the bus tour I couldn't wait to get there from my home here in Cheshire, it was going to be so much better than our visits to Chester Zoo.
The ONE giraffe that you had was always about 200 metres away from the bus and the zebras were not that much closer. Excepting for the monkeys (we were told the Gorrilas had gone back to Africa) any others were either absent I don't know where (you had no elephants on view) or hidden in the long grass. The most active were the squirrels in the cafe area.
Your comments will be very interesting.and they were as follows:-
Both our parks operate an open indoor enclosure policy to enable our animals to choose if they wish to remain inside, if they do, they will be out of sight of visitors. Sometimes patience is needed to view some species, in what may appear at first to be an empty enclosure. Our philosophy is that our parks are not zoos but conservation centres where our animals really do come first. We encourage natural foliage in our animals enclosures offering them privacy, shelter and camouflage. However being a prolific time of year for growth this can be challenging for our Maintenance team to control over a large area.

Since the photograph was taken, our giraffe number has reduced to 3, one having been transferred to another park and the other unfortunately dying. We currently have 10 zebras, all of which roam over the African Experience which is set in 100 acres. So unfortunately we cannot guarantee a sighting of them on each safari.

One family of Gorillas returned to Gabon 10 days ago however the bachelor group is still here at Port Lympne. Further gorillas will be arriving from Howletts shortly. The Elephants can be seen as you go out on safari or alternatively by walking up to their sand paddock from the Rhino paddocks.

Great time here exploring the reserve. Truck ride a must to view animals , our driver/guide was Stephen and he was superb. Patience is required to see some of the animals so allow a good few hours to make the most of it.

Amazing place. Mansion restaurant v good but pricy, but that I justified by how lovely the place is Breakfast cafe only serves junk. Staff is excellent tough. Well prepared for dealing with covid too. Park is amazing, truly recommended, but take your breakfast with you If you don't want to have beige food only or ready to spend in the hotel if you are luck to successfully book it I first place. Needless to mention how amazing the grounds, the park and the animals are. Thanks

Such a lovely day for the family, shame the restaurants had no food

This place is just unbelievable! We stayed here over night in the glam pods.. and that was an amazing experience on its own! Definitely doing it again!!!

What an amazing experience for us all including 5 children. Well worth the visit.

Very expensive but the money goes towards a fantastic cause. Amazing day out

Great place to see some amazing animals. Spent the night in the Treetops hotel with tremdous views out across the park. Very modern accomadation and excellent staff. Would recommend a vist!

We've been coming here for years and it's a brilliant park. Recently though there has been an increase in the number of petrol golf carts being driven around everywhere which is not great for the people walking, especially toddlers. We cancelled our membership because of this and will stick to howletts in future.

Luxurious hotel and a bit of a different treat! Getting a bit cold for camping though, so being a hot water bottle Safari in UK. Great food in the restaurant too!

Disappointing visit during half term, saw no animals, enclosures closed, or closed off, queue for "safari bus" ridiculous.... no easy wr could stand with the kids for that long, the dinosaur area in the woods was closed due to the wind. The car park was flooded and people were being towed out..... we left concerned that the weather was closing in and we needed to get home .... kids were so disappointed, not sure we will return, given the lack of animal interaction fir the money.

It was good to see the animals in the main free , there were also those who could wander in or outside into their enclosure with plenty to do. Food not that over priced. Toilets clean as was the park.

Bit boring tbh. Not as good as others. For a safari trip, Longleat beats it by a mile! Lack of directions, and food places lacking in choice. Seriously needs updating to handle today's families. ZSL provide so much more choice and service. If you go on the sfaari trip and like taking photos, everything is on the left side. Don't sit too near the front otherwise your view is blocked. so middle/rear left hand side is best. Unfortunately we were front right doh!

Plenty to see and do especially with the children.great prices

Our stay got cancelled and here we are 2 months later waiting on a refund. We had intended to pay some into charitable donations but we can no longer do this. Shame

Although it was a cold day the information that we had from the ranger was amazing

My bad for not reading the safari is closed yes its written in the blurb but really should highlight this as semi buried... Can't use the golf buggies either... 75 pounds to see approx 5 different species. You will not see elephants or giraffes. Cages empty.. Advice wait till you can go on the actual safari... Complete waste of time.. Contempled coming back but will go to long leat next time.

Just reread the blurb...
Coronavirus update 22nd September 2020: We are closely monitoring government advice as it is released. At this time, there is no change to our operating hours or product offering. A strictly-limited number of day tickets

However 2 paragraphs down

Following the advice from the Government on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, safaris at Port Lympne are not currently running for day visitors. As a result, you will not currently be able to see our giraffe, zebra, spectacled bears or any species which live exclusively on the African, South American or Asian Safari experiences.

I'd call this deliberately misleading

A wonderful day out. Some serious walking if you want to, the safari ride is a must, absolutely breathtaking views across Kent.

A most enjoyable day out made all the better by their "kids go free" offer which we took advantage of. Would have been a bit expensive otherwise. There are a good variety of animals to see and the park is well laid out. The truck ride around the park took about an hour and is well worthwhile. Good to visit if you are in the area.

Staff in shop was not helpful and stuck up saffie driver was great