Serengeti Park Hodenhagen - "Safari Adventure in the middle of Europe" — Attraction in Samtgemeinde Ahlden

Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, Lower Saxony, is one of Europe’s largest and most popular wildlife parks, combining the immersive experience of a safari with a full-fledged leisure and amusement park. Covering over 220 hectares, it is home to more than 1,500 animals encompassing around 100 species, making it an extraordinary destination for nature lovers, families, and adventure seekers alike.

Safari Experience and Animal Kingdom At the heart of Serengeti Park lies the Serengeti-Safari—an expansive 110-hectare drive-through area where visitors can witness free-roaming lions, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, bison, antelopes, and many other iconic African species. This safari experience can be enjoyed either in your own car or via a guided safari bus, offering close-up views of the animals in large, naturalistic habitats. This provides a thrilling, educational encounter resembling a genuine African safari, complete with the sights and sounds of wildlife in motion.

Additionally, the Jungle-Safari invites guests to explore a walk-through area housing over 20 species of monkeys, including chimpanzees, gorillas, lemurs, and orangutans. This section is designed to offer an intimate and safe interaction with these fascinating primates, and features an exciting Jungle Safari tour that combines animal viewing with adventurous off-road rides and special effects.

The Petting Safari area allows children and families to get hands-on with domestic animals like alpacas, donkeys, and goats, providing a more interactive experience particularly loved by young visitors. Visitors can feed and cuddle the animals, making it a fun and educational part of the visit for kids.

Adventure Safari and Entertainment Beyond the animal encounters, Serengeti Park boasts the Adventure-Safari area, home to more than 40 amusement rides and attractions tailored to all ages. Roller coasters, water slides, carousels, and Ferris wheels offer excitement and thrills for adrenaline lovers, while gentler rides ensure even toddlers can join in the fun. Alongside the rides, live shows, acrobatics, music performances, and interactive events weave learning opportunities into an enjoyable entertainment program.

Water World within the park provides boat tours for a relaxing family experience on serene waters, complementing the dynamic animal and adventure zones with moments of calm and beauty.

Amenities and Accommodations Serengeti Park offers a range of facilities to enhance guest comfort, including themed restaurants serving African-inspired cuisine and picnic areas for families. The park is well equipped to accommodate visitors of all ages, featuring BabyPark areas for toddlers, accessible safari vehicles, and indoor play zones. Parking and public transportation options make visiting convenient.

For longer stays, the Serengeti Park Resort provides lodging options such as lodges in an African-inspired setting or unique accommodations like a converted double-decker bus. The resort atmosphere allows guests to extend the safari adventure into a multi-day vacation immersed in the wilds of the park’s surroundings.

Visitor Experience and Feedback Visitors consistently highlight the park’s unique blend of wildlife and amusement, praising the quality of the safari experience and the variety of activities available. The park stands out for its educational focus, with knowledgeable staff delivering engaging information about animal behavior and conservation efforts throughout the visit. Children find the hands-on and interactive elements particularly memorable, while adults appreciate the park's spacious natural habitats and commitment to animal welfare.

Some visitors note that certain parts of the park, such as specific rides or facilities, show signs of wear, but the overall experience is overwhelmingly positive and worth the visit. The multiple themed areas inside the park ensure a diverse range of experiences, making Serengeti Park a versatile destination for family holidays, school trips, or wildlife...

Very well maintained drive-through safari park cum amusement park. The animals seem well fed,curious yet not aggressive, appear happy and contented in the spacious environs and seem accustomed to the cars go by. For those who can’t immediately plan a trip all the way to Africa and even for those who can, this is a great idea! Almost guaranteed sighting of all the animals yet not cramped like a zoo. And places in between when one can safely get off the car and interact with and feed animals like sheep, dear etc. while other sections with the wild animals are clearly signposted not to get off the car and to keep windows closed. The park ranger vehicles are parked at frequent intervals too to ensure safety of humans and animals. The entry ticket is quite reasonably priced, considering the amount of maintenance it would take and amusement park rides too as a bonus. For those who dont want to drive through in own car, there are multiple safari buses for an extra fee. There is accomodation options too available , one has to email them in advance to book as it is not possible to directly check availability and book online , as per my understanding. The amusement park section, although not too huge, is good as well. With rides for all ages.And not too crowded. Some of the water rides end up making you quite wet, so full rain jackets advised! The shows were interesting too. And there is a large indoor play area as well. The restaurants/cafes are quite reasonably priced. Advisable to reach quite early-they open at 10 am- as it can get quite crowded very fast. The drive through ticket counter before entering into the safari park is quite time consuming! After that despite the long line of cars driving through the 10km or so of safari park, one gets good view of animals as there is lot of space. It is just one designated route to drive theough the safari park in one direction only and impossible to get lost. After one exits the safari park, there is lot of parking around the amusement park, which one can walk into from multiple points. Just familiarise oneself with the park map to orient oneself and remember which section one has parked the car at. TIP- on the Serengeti Park website, there was a “ kinderfreikarte” offer- by printing it out, one child between 3-12 years per car can get free entry when accompanied by paying adult. The offer is finished for the 2017 season but worthwhile...

Before going there, try calling there phone number (even the emergency number). If they pick the call, consider yourself lucky. Booking experience: Very bad. Nobody takes the call. I tried calling maybe 20 times but just nobody takes the call at your end. I had to send 10+ emails to get the booking confirmation. There were so many miscommunications and confusion around the booking until the last day. I had to suffer a loss in my train booking just because of the poor response.

Room: Worst ever. I booked the room for 4 people and paid for 4 people. In my cottage, I got bedding for only 3 people. There were no bedsheet, pillow, the blanket for 4th person. Just imagine how bad it was for me to sleep there. I tried contacting the numbers given to me and nobody takes the phone call. It was the worst experience I have ever had anywhere!

Bus safari: Bad. It was supposed to be for 1 hour but was finished in less than 45 mins end to end! The driver was just kept on driving through the safari without standing and waiting anywhere. I expect him to stop a few mins at every point especially around tigers and lions. But he just kept on moving.

Food/breakfast: OK. It had a decent variety. We are vegetarian and there were not too many options for us but still, overall it was ok.

Rides: OK. Some of the rides were good but not for the kids. For small kids also there is quite some fee but the rides they get are so common as they are available in public parks for free. They are not worth the money paid.

I think this park is overhyped. Maybe it is good for people who are coming by driving and not...