Virginia Safari Park — Attraction in Lexington

Here's what my thoughts are !

Animals : you can encounter with many animal species during the drive in safari, and especially at the safari village. Don't forget to spend time seeing the tigers, cheetahs and the birds - really worth it.

Entry to the park : it was a holiday weekend 2pm and yes long lines are expected but the ticket officers (lane 2 was slower than a snail) don't take interest to check in visitors faster. Three lanes all together had to wait for 2 hours and 5 minutes to get from park entry to ticket gate (less than a mile) my bad I was on the wrong day and wrong time but best advise to anyone : either be there when the park opens on holidays or make it on a weekday.

Tickets : It was the best thing to do purchasing tickets online before hand, without causing more delays at ticket gate.

Buying feed : when buying tickets online, Make sure to buy the animal feed (for safari - 3 or 4 cups for a vehicle is more than enough for the entire tour), budgie feed sticks (we had 4 sticks that's was sufficient), lettuce for giraffe (we had one but if u want to feed and spend time more with the giraffe it's better to have 2 or 3 cups).

Restrooms and gift shop: as you enter through the ticket gate you need to stop the vehicle and go to the gift shop to collect the feeding lettuce (that's inconvenient and also a reason to cause bottle neck traffic at the ticket gate especially on busy days I guess: park should have temp stands to give away lettuce at ticket gate instead and promote walkover to the gift shop when visits are done). Though the Restroom at the gift shop gets busy it's still the best option rather than walking over to the restroom in the safari village (about 8 min walk from the main gate) so best to refresh up at the gift shop building itself.

Drive thru safari - the route has two drive in lanes (verified from park officials onsite duty) I guess many didn't know that and was queuing one behind another to feed animals causing a line of traffic (I've seen animals reluctant to eat may be some over fed so waiting one behind another was not the best some did) we used the 2nd over taking lane to skip this and drove ahead to find many animals awaiting and was able to feed with not much vehicles around. Animals seem enjoying that too :). Make sure not to step out the vehicle and keep the food out from the window all the time because some spilt feed inside the vehicle was messy to clean. Ive seen many plastic food cups thrown on route ( sad to see that) so hold on to your cup when feeding , the animals don't bite you at all :). Entire drive through with all the feeding stop overs took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Typically a good 2 hours would be the time for the drive thru I guess.

Safari village : This was better than the drive thru in my opinion because it had many attractions and encounters. Our walk thru took about 2 hours and we were able to see and engage with almost every activity in this area.

Parking : plenty of parking , this is after the ticket gate. In case if u want to visit the gift shop, collect the lettuce for the giraffe or for the restroom break. This is a safari park with natural trails so be ready for the dust ,a car wash is a must after visit.

Food nearby : We got lunch before visiting the park from A&A Kaboob (Halal food joint in Harrisonburg VA about 70miles before the park good food 7/10 I would say). They also had hot chai, enjoyed it!

Overall : Good experience for a family day out, pre purchase tickets including feed, avoid long weekends, avoid busy hours, use over take lanes for drive thru safari, spend time at the safari village, feed the budgies and the giraffe it's a must, pet the animals, spend time seeing the tigers and cheetahs, make use of the tour map guide book...

I had the strangest issue today with an employee who was collecting admission money at the drive up booth. It was Saturday and quite crowded. As I pulled up to pay I had a question for the cashier. I have her name, but out of respect (although I was given none by her), I will just call her by her first initial "R". I told "R" I was not driving straight into the park immediately, as I needed to go into the gift shop to use the facilities.

The parking lot for the gift shop was packed and obvious there were no free parking spaces. I mentioned this and she told me to drive to an overflow parking lot (which is behind the gift shop). I could not see this lot from where I was.

No problem... but still being unsure on the process, I clearly asked "how do I then return to enter the safari park when I'm done in the gift shop?". HER ANSWER WAS "WALK".

It was obvious she did not understand, so I politely asked again. HER ANSWER AGAIN WAS "WALK".

It was obvious there was a breakdown in communication, so for the third time I asked again and said "It's a drive through the park... I can't walk... what I'm trying to ask is when I'm done in the gift shop... and I'm ready to go to the park...and I'm back in my car... what do I do, where do I go? Do I have to drive around and re-enter? ( I pointed to the pay line I was in) "

(I had ZERO idea... if this "over flow lot" was a one way loop? and I would be required to re-enter the park and wait in pay line again? How would I prove I already paid?).

Her face got red...her voice got dismissive and she loudly on the verge of yelling at me said "I HAVE ANXIETY... JUST GO... GO" as she was pointing me out of her line and wouldn't say another word.

I have to state here, I am no stranger in dealing with people with anxiety. I'm also very supportive and encouraging to young employees who might be working their first job and still learning. If she had at least attempted to explain nicely to me that she didn't understand what I was asking, or even nicely said she needed to get a manager... or even yet said "sorry...I have anxiety and need a minute" I would not be writing this review. But because she was rude, dismissive and basically left me hanging with no solution as a customer, is what upset me.

And basically forced me to move on... and I still didn't know what I was supposed to do!

What??? I was speechless! Look at my Google review history! I leave oodles of good reviews. I'm a kind, polite person. I was shocked. I'm not a complainer, nor do I treat people with disrespect or rudeness.

I drove on, parked in the overflow parking. I went inside and asked to speak to a manager. The manager was very supportive and helpful. She was as shocked as I was.

Also, the manager had NO problem understanding my question. She simply said "you can come back through the gift shop parking lot...the same way you came in...(as it is a two way gravel lane) and just enter the park. EASY PEASEY.

The rest of the staff I encountered were all amazing and positive. I didn't see until later when I opened my park map that there was a receipt stapled inside. "R" could have informed me so I wouldn't have worried about how to show proof of me already paying. Regardless of this peculiar encounter with someone who maybe should not work with the public, the park is amazing, it was a wonderful day and I recommend it to people...

May 21, 2025 . . . My wife & I visited the Virginia Safari Park as a “ test” before our Grandkids arrived in July !

July 5, 2025 . . . Definitely take your KIDS !

Everyone needs a window , for the 3 mile winding road thru the Safari Park 😃👍🏼 Especially for the 3 & 5 yr old Grandkids!

Don’t forget to buy your little buckets of animal food ! If you buy 4 buckets, it’s $5 each , it’s a good the deal ! ( Genius idea, by zoo owners to have customers feed their animals) 👍🏼👍🏼Wow, all kinds of animals up close with their heads in your car windows! 😁👍🏼

Tip: If you dare, don’t be scared. . . Place a few delicious food nuggets in the palm of your hand, as the animal approaches, put your hand out your window .

They don’t bite, the mess is outside your car. You’ll need a hand wash when done😃❤️

The big ostrich can be over the top? Use your bucket to feed him!

*Many Advantages at Safari Park *

180 Acres , plenty of space Over 1,200 animals, some very rare Color Brochure with Animal photos /info Part #1 , 3 mile car trek to feed animals Part #2 , walk through animal exhibits

No Bears !

Plenty of deer

Several recently birthed Rhinos

2 Beautiful Tigers

Lots of Antelope

Lots of Elk

Several Water Buffalo

Loads of Llamas

Several Camels

Several Large Giraffes, you can feed ! ( buy the lettuce in a cup )

Loads of beautiful Lemur Monkeys

Fluffy highland cows

Lots of other animals (Penguins too!) 😃👍🏼

Close Animal Encounters, for an extra fee you can sign up to meet certain animals with a park ranger. They offer zebra, rhino, and sloth encounters.

There’s a snack bar, restrooms, feeding stations, and a few picnic tables, and a large pavilion with tables a group can reserve!

Our Grandkids LOVED the bird enclosure! You can buy little popcicle sticks with bird food from a coin machine ( bring quarters). As you walk into the Budgie Bird enclosure, you hold out your hands. . . the birds will find you! They will land on you, ready to eat ! Don’t be scared!

Then walk up the Giraffe platform , with your cup of Romain lettuce! Wait your turn, hold out 1 leaf of 🥬 watch the big bluish/green giraffe tongue curl around . . . and snatch away that lettuce leaf! Amazing , and so gentle for the kids to see up close! Have your camera /cell phone ready for a photo!

It’s an expensive experience, but well worth the $$ for your kids to enjoy! Takes 2 to 4 hours of time, depending on the crowd size. Less crowded on weekdays .

Adults $28.95 ( ages 13 to 64)

Seniors $26.95 ( age 65+)

Children $21.95 (ages 2 to 12)

Under 2 yrs. FREE

Open March to November

Closed Winter Months ( Dec. - Feb.)

Closed Thanksgiving Day

Weather Dependent

There are several other Animal Parks

VA Safari Park - Opened 2000 Gulf Breeze Zoo in FL - Opened 2010 Alabama Safari Park - Opened 2018 Texas Zoofari Park...