by Anna Hann
posted on 7 March 2024
You don’t need to head to Africa to get the thrill of a safari drive. The UK has drive-through safari parks where you can get up close to some ferocious beasts, gentle giants, and colourful bird life without leaving your car. Here’s our pick of the best UK safari parks to take a drive on the wild side.
Woburn Safari
A drive-round circuit of Woburn Safari Park takes around an hour, but it’s not unusual to see cars taking more than one lap when there are different animal antics to see every time. This drive-through safari begins when you pass a pair of lion statues and into the Northern Plains where animals, including bison, wildebeest, and camels, roam.
In the Savannah Grasslands, watch through the windows of your car as a flock of ostriches trot across the road and spot white rhinos and a herd of Asian elephants before emerging into the Kingdom of the Carnivores. Make sure your windows are fully up (and hide all the sandwiches!): this section promises to be a wild adventure as you drive slowly through African lion country, also prowled by the likes of Amur tigers and North American black bears.
Giraffe Junction follows, one of the favourite wildlife attractions on the tour. Here, beautiful giraffes wander through a nine-acre parkland playground. Then it’s on to the African Forest, home to a troop of cheeky monkeys, the Barbary macaques, and one of the most endangered animals in the world, the East African mountain bongo.
You can take the Woburn Safari Park safari loop as many times as you like (perhaps for a second look at those incredible white rhino), then park your car and take the foot safari. On this route, you’ll walk through habitats to see smaller animals and birds. With information you can read as you go, you’ll pick up some fascinating facts about the animals that live here, such as red pandas, squirrel monkeys, and some incredible bird life. Look inside the vast aviaries for African spotted eagle owls and Harris hawks.
The walk-through areas are big at Woburn Safari Park, so follow the recommended route so you don’t miss Sea Lion Beach or Lemur Land, and remember to check to see if there are any animal talks to listen into. You can also book VIP tours for an even more immersive experience with your favourite animals, helping the keepers feed tigers and giraffes, or even take an exciting off-road adventure for a particularly memorable day.
Getting there
Woburn Safari Park is easily accessible from London, Oxford, Cambridge, and Birmingham — it’s about an hour away from each city.
Knowsley Safari
Knowsley Safari’s five-mile journey through incredible animal enclosures is the longest safari drive in the UK, giving you a great chance of spotting some stars of the animal kingdom. Beginning in wild Asia, this drive-thru safari UK is a real adventure. You’ll catch sight of Bactrian camels and plenty of yaks before taking a trip to the African savannah, home to one of the largest clashes of white rhinos in the UK.
The monkey jungle and baboon enclosure are highlights of this safari drive-through. There’s a car-friendly route to watch their antics from a safe distance, or you can park your vehicle and hop aboard the Baboon Bus. It’s covered in ladders and ropes to tempt these pesky primates to come closer, and it’s a brilliant way to explore the baboon enclosure with some experts who can tell you more about these animals as you go.
The European bison are a remarkable sight at Knowsley Safari Park. European bison are being slowly reintroduced into the wild in the UK for the first time in thousands of years, but the drive-through at Knowsley Safari gives you a great chance to see and appreciate the strength and size of European bison up close until it’s possible to see their wild counterparts roaming freely one day.
A pride of lions roam freely in the African zone, and watching these magnificent creatures without a fence between you is a real adventure. Once you complete the circuit, you can take it again as many times as you like or park your car and move on to take the foot safari. This is your chance to get a closer look at the giraffes and take the Amur Tiger Trail. There’s also a section dedicated to birds of prey – look out for live displays throughout the day.
Getting there
Knowsley Safari is around 30 minutes from Liverpool and 45 minutes from Manchester.
Longleat
Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle! Longleat has some ferocious animals (and a new arrival) on their drive-through safari. Scan Tiger Territory for a sight of beautiful Amur tigers, and in Lion Country, you might spot African Lions snoozing, prowling, or sharpening their claws. There are other big animals too – a crash of white rhino and a lovely elephant Anne, rescued from a circus. A pack of rare African painted dogs is one of the newest arrivals for 2024. As well as being one of Africa’s most endangered animals, they’re considered one of the continent’s most successful hunters, reaching speeds of up to 45mph.
Hunters of the animal kingdom prowl these parts, with the likes of tigers, lions, and wolves to spot and you’ll have the chance to get closer than you dared imagine. Use the bypass lane and skip the macaques – these cheeky monkeys have been known to swipe windscreen wipers. Instead, opt for the Bronze VIP Safari Tour for a guided tour in Longleat’s zebra-print Land Rover. You can also upgrade your experience by taking part in tiger feeding or meeting the lions face-to-face (well, almost).
Your wild adventure doesn’t end there. Once you’ve completed the drive-through safari, park your car and take the foot safari next. You can hand feed some exotic animals like brightly-plumed lorikeets, a remarkable bird. There’s also a boat safari where you’ll get a glimpse of Californian sea lions (with a chance to feed them, too), and you’ll pass the place where some lowland gorillas live.
The Longleat safari drive takes around two hours, and you’ll need to allow more time for your visit if you’re also planning to explore the foot safari and boat safari or visit Longleat House. Explore the beautiful rooms of this stately home, then get lost in a hedge maze and let the kids go wild as they run off some energy in the adventure playground.
Getting there
Longleat is in Wiltshire, about 30 minutes south of Bath.
West Midland Safari & Leisure Park
Take an adventurous safari drive through West Midland Safari and Leisure Park. The wild car journey takes you around the world’s continents, starting with the African plains to see beautiful giraffes, southern white rhinos and zebras.
A visit to Asia follows, where there are armoured Indian rhinos to spot alongside incredible animals like the endangered barasingha. The carnivores follow (remember to wind up your windows!) as the safari drive-through guides you slowly into the domain of African lions and rare African painted dogs. One of the West Midland Safari Park highlights is saved for the end, where you’ll encounter a solitary elephant. African elephants are the largest land animals in the world, so she’s a very special sight.
The drive-through safari park is just the beginning of a day out here. Once you’ve completed the drive-through safari, you can leave your vehicle and visit the adventure theme park with animal-themed rides like a white rhino rollercoaster.
If it’s a dino fix you need, West Midland Safari Park is home to the UK’s largest collection of animatronic dinosaurs in the Land of the Living Dinosaurs. It’s not exactly Jurassic World (and there are certainly no gyrospheres around) but it’s a bit of fun.
Getting there
West Midland Safari Park is in Worcestershire, around 45 minutes southwest of Birmingham.
Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park
There’s plenty to see on foot at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park, including Chimp Island and a fantastic sea lion show. But an unmissable part of your visit to Blair Drummond is the drive-through safari, starting with African animals. You’ll have the chance to spot stunning creatures such as white rhinos, antelope, and cattle sporting enormous horns.
The mighty African lions come next, and you might spot the lions sleeping, playing, or feeding. Blair Drummond Safari Park has one of the UK’s macaque reserves, and its troop of Barbary macaques are cheeky monkeys, so keep your windows closed, or you can skip this section altogether.
After the safari drive, there are plenty more animals to see. A highlight of Blair Drummond Safari Park is Chimp Island – just explore the well-marked path to see chimpanzees playing. Make sure you check the timetable so you don’t miss the sea lion show. It’s a training demonstration that shows how the animal carers look after the park’s California sea lions.
Getting there
Blair Drummond Safari Park is around 40 minutes north of Glasgow.
How to visit the UK’s best drive-through safari parks
To get the up-close experience on a safari drive, you’ll need a car. You can book a car on Turo for the adventure, whether you’re planning a day trip in the near future or thinking about adding a trip to a safari park as part of a UK staycation.
A car with big windows – even a panoramic glass roof – is the ideal vehicle for exploring a safari park and spotting as many animals as you can. Some models of Audi Q5, BMW X3, and Kia EV6 have glass roofs, and all Tesla Model Y cars have all-glass roofs so you can peer up into the trees on a drive-through safari park.
If you book a car on Turo, it’s best to avoid the baboon enclosure or monkey sections if there’s a risk of damage to the car. There’s always a safer route, or the chance to join a guided tour if you don’t want to miss out on the experience.
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