Rachel Roland is a mom on a mission - exploring the Valley with her two little companions in search of the best restaurants, attractions, and products for you and your children. See what she has in store for your family today!
(Sarah and I waiting for the tour to start.)
Once you pay your admission fee, ($36 for adults, $20 for children 3-12 years, under 3 are free), you are free to explore the park. However, I highly recommend you head straight for the Serengeti Safari Tour (you receive a ticket for this with your admission). On this tour, you are taken through Out Of Africa's Serengeti - a wide open space with many animals - giraffes, zebras, ostriches, antelope, Watusi cattle, and more! You get to experience this on an open aired bus or tram and the tour is narrated by the driver, who can be quite entertaining.
Once the tour ends, you can catch a tram (or walk) to the main animal area, where you can get very up close and personal with tigers, lions, wolves and bears. You can also find a small play area, as well as two different food vendors. The food is typical of a 'quick' meal - hamburgers, soft pretzels, nachos, etc. The prices are what you would expect for a park like this, as well.
I highly recommend making time for the Tiger Splash show - it is amazing. Our children (4 and 2 1/2) loved seeing the white tiger, Chalet, run, jump, and 'attack' pool rafts, balloons, and other objects. My experience with tigers has been limited to seeing them sit around at a traditional zoo - this was completely different! I also would recommend you get there early and secure a spot under the sun shade. While the day we went was not hot, sitting in the sun for an hour or so was pretty toasty!
(Yes, there's a person in the water!)
After the Tiger Splash show, you have the opportunity to feed a tiger. When my son heard about this, he was so excited - we couldn't pass it up. It's a mere $5 to get a chance to feed a big cat!
(Both kids thought this was the highlight of our trip!)
My Recommendations:
The park opens at 9:30am. Since the Tiger Splash show (there is only one a day) isn't until 1:15pm, I'd recommend arriving around 11am. This gives you time to do the Safari Tour and time to get to the Tiger Splash arena to find decent seating.
Bring your sunblock! It may be cooler north of the Valley, but that sun isn't any less intense. Remember to reapply every 2 hours!
You are allowed to bring bottled water into the park - that's it. We brought four large reusable water bottles filled with ice water.
You can exit and re-enter the park as many times as you want, so you can bring snacks or lunch and keep it in your car. You can even go into town for lunch and come back!
Our family loved the park, and I think that this is a great day trip for families with children ranging from toddlers to teenagers. All in all, this is a great day trip and helped our family create some fun memories together.
Out of Africa Wildlife Park is located at:
3505 West Highway 260
Camp Verde, AZ 86322
They are open 363 days a year, with Thanksgiving and Christmas being the exceptions, from 9:30am-5:00pm.
I'm Rachel - a mom, wife, and 'green' blogger (Small Steps On Our Journey). If you have any suggestions for future articles or any questions on this one, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or tweet me @rachelroland!
