50km from Madrid there is a Safari park called (funnily enough) “Madrid Safari Park”.

 

While I wouldn’t recommend it for tourists with a limited amount of time, it certainly is a great place to take children.

 

So if you live near Madrid or find yourself in Madrid for long enough, the Madrid Safari Park is a great day out.

Warning: the Madrid Safari Park appears a bit run down at first glance. Littered with faded signs and flaking paint, the Madrid Safari Park is clearly showing its age. If you they type of person to notice those things then the Madrid Safari Park is not for you. If you can get over that however you’ll enjoy getting right up close to the animals.

The kids will love the petting zoo at the Madrid Safari Park and have fun stroking goats and riding ponies, not to mention sitting in the car as Zebras, Emus, Bison, Camels, Deer, Hippo’s, Rhinos, Antelope and many other wild animals roam right up to the windows (searching for food) in the ‘safari’ zone. There are also Bears, Lions, Tigers, Elephants and Leopards at the Madrid Safari Park but these are caged (for obvious reasons).

According to the ticket/website, the entry fee for the Madrid Safari Park is 13.00 per adult (although for some reason we were charged 13.50). Entry to the Madrid Safari Park is free for infants and children are half price (I don’t know the exact age groups, only that our 2.5 year old was free).

While the park has a few signs in English, you might need to bring a phrase book as the Madrid Safari Park isn’t exactly foreigner friendly. But then the Madrid Safari Park is not really a big tourist attraction for non Spanish people.

If you can get there, I recommend the Madrid Safari park over the Madrid Zoo because of how close you can get to the animals. If you prefer a greater variety of animals and an aquarium then the Madrid Zoo might be better (it’s also closer than the Madrid Safari park if you need to use public transport).

 

Because you can get so close at the Madrid Safari Park, don't forget that as well as food and drink for your family (although there are various cafes and a souvenir shop) you should also take things to feed the animals (dry/hard bread and carrots are best). Bags of Carrots can be bought various locations.

Some of the Highlights of the Madrid Safari Park:

• Bird show (one of the best I’ve seen)
• Reptile/snake show
• Mini Zoo
• Aviary
• Open drive through ‘safari’ area where all the animals roam free
• Petting Zoo
• Go-Karts

If you’re looking for opening hours for the Madrid Safari park or want a map on where the Madrid Safari park is located, scroll down to after the …

Safari Park Madrid opening hours:

Spring:
Monday-Friday 10:30am to 6:30pm
Saturday,Sunday and Holidays 10:30am to 7:30pm

Summer:
Every Day 10:30am to 8:00pm

Winter:
Every Day 10:30am to 5:30pm

Check them here (Madrid Safari Park site translated into English)

Madrid Safari Park in Google Maps

Madrid Safari Park in Google Earth Satellite