Safari Park Kanchanaburi — Attraction in Kanchanaburi Province

I wanted to love this place, but they made the experience very difficult. There were several nice points like getting to interact with the animals. The bus ride and getting to feed the animals was a lot of fun. However we booked a package that was supposed to include extras like the Macaws, big cat, elephant trek and bath, and feeding the little cats. We were given a printout and not told what to do after that. We didn’t know where to go to do all these things after the tour in the bus. We were dropped off and wandered the park. There was the big cat enclosure, but no one greeted us or told us that was where one of the experiences we paid for was at so we moved on. We saw 2 sad looking elephants and no one to greet us so again we moved on. When we were leaving someone who saw us buy the tickets finally approached us and asked if we did what we paid for. I explained the lack of staff and explanations of where we were supposed to go or who we were supposed to talk to had us confused. So he kindly helped us. Now the Elephant treck made me sad. I thought it was getting to feed the elephants and walk them down to the water. No, it’s riding on them around the park. They said no bath. I did not like that at all. Now the gentleman in the big cat area were very nice and tried very hard to make the experience nice. We then went back to the front to finally see the baby cats. This was what my daughter was most excited for. We get there and there is a line. Understandable. The sign says 5 min max with the baby cats. No exceptions. The people who were in with the baby cats had been there when we arrived and the staff continued with them for another 30 min after that. Then the next people go and while we are there another couple arrives. They are there with a guide and I see the guide talking to the staff. Now the people in front of us only go 10 min. They had no guide like my family and got a fraction of the time. THEN I see the guide give the staff some money and suddenly the couple who arrived 20 min after us gets to go before us! So we had to wait an hour in the heat, with our 5 year old to do this experience that was completely inconsistent in how much time people got to interact with the animals and instead of a line they were allowing people to cut if they slipped them money or knew their guides. I was livid. I let them know if my displeasure and they gave my family extra time with the animals for the inconvenience, but I cut it short because I saw others waiting and it just didn’t seem fair or right. These tickets are not cheap, at least for non locals. The tickets cost around $300 USD for three of us so I expected at least some kind of professionalism and consistency, which there wasn’t. Also we never did get to do the Macaw experience we paid for cause we couldn’t find where to go. So if you’ve stuck through my long review, thank you and I would be wary if you go here. It appears you will be treated better and have better luck...

Info: Big cat experience is not the same as VIP ( VIP is only handled by tour company for min 5000 baht). Big cat exp costs 3000 baht on site (only cash). It includes entrance to safari, food set to feed animals, interaction/feeding with 3 cubs and walking a big cat (tiger or lion). It also includes feeding rescue animals, interaction with Macaws and parrots, and access to the shows with crocs and elephants.

5 stars for the big cat experience and for the staff that was really helpful and taught us a lot. We got to interact with 4 cubs (1 leopard, 1 lioness, and 2 tiger brothers). The experience was unbelievable, they were well groomed and very active; which made us happy considering there is a lot of information on the mistreating of animals in Thailand. Our instructor was clear and never left our side, prompting us on where to sit and how to interact with the cubs. The most significant part of our day though was when we got to walk a 17-month old tiger (Emmo) which pretty much looked like a fully grown adult for us amateurs. Our instructor JAYKE was amazing and made us feel comfortable all the time. As we walked he educated us on the behaviors of different felines and we never felt endangered. Jayke has created a bond with these felines and seems to care a lot about them. We saw him get into the enclosure with huge cats and it's pretty amazing to see the connection he shares with them.

From our experience and the safety process we had to follow we can guarantee the animals were NOT DRUGGED! Furthermore, we learned that they have a clear system for the development of the big cats where they will first have the cubs interact with the tourists to feed them and bathe them; when they are teenagers they are educated on how to take walks with humans before finally being released to the safari park enclosure where they spend their lives as adults and are pretty much unbothered. The enclosure, although obviously not as big as the wild, is definitely much bigger than any of the zoos we've been to.

Overall we are extremely pleased with our experience with the big cats and definitely recommend not missing this place when visiting Thailand.

Downside- the crocodile show, they were not too nice to the poor animals. Elephants were chained by one of their feet to stay in the same place and people could ride them on their back which everybody knows by now is not...

Fantastic tourist attraction that allows you to get up close and personal with many zoo animals, some with extra charges.

The Safari tour took us into the living habitats of several carnivores like bears, panthers and lions as well as herbivorous species such as antelopes, zebra, camels and giraffe. The highlight of the tour was that you got to feed the herbivores directly from your tour bus.

We paid extra for the Giraffe encounter package where we had our photos and videos taken among the giraffes and an occasional zebra or two. Everything was arranged and prepaid via FB messenger and online transfer.

There were several extra options where you can pay to have closer interactions with a tiger cub or baby lion while pictures of you were taken.

The park also has an elephant show and a crocodile event. You can also tip to have extra interaction with the animals.

My children were extra thrilled at the animal feeding zones where you can buy food to feed baby animals. It was a unique experience being able to feed tiger and leopard cubs chicken breast using a pointy stick.

In another feeding zone, they got to immerse themselves with the gentle rabbits and the inquisitive baby goats as they fed the animals bottled milk and carrots. There was another zone where you could feed birds and guinea pigs.

The entire Safari experience wasn’t cheap by Thailand standards but it was well worth the unique experience. After all, not many zoos allow you to feed carnivores. The only drawback was the distance from Bangkok but you can plan to spend a night at Kanchanaburi and visit other attractions there.

I highly recommend the park for families with young...