Dubai Safari Park Tickets and Tours | GetExperience.com

Dubai Safari Park covers 119 hectares at Al Warqa, on the eastern edge of the city. It holds some three thousand animals, across 250 species. It replaced the Jumeirah zoo that had run since 1967, opened in 2017, and reopened in 2020 after rebuilding.

How the park is laid out

The collection is split into geographic villages rather than a single loop. The centrepiece is the drive. A bus runs through open enclosures where lions, giraffes, white rhino and Arabian oryx are held behind ditches instead of bars.

• African Village. The largest of them, and where the drive begins and ends.
• Asian and Arabian. Smaller and shadier, and easier with children who have run out of enthusiasm.
• Shows. Birds of prey and feeding sessions run to a posted timetable, and they are the difference between a good visit and a hot one.
• Paid extras. Giraffe feeding, keeper tours and animal encounters, booked on arrival because the slots go early.
• Built for the climate. Solar power and recycled water were part of the design, which out here is a condition rather than a slogan.

Getting a ticket and getting there

Both trips sold here bundle entry with a car. Al Warqa is half an hour by taxi from Downtown and the metro stops well short of it. Booking the entry online is cheaper than paying at the gate.

Practical

• Season. The park runs through the cool months, roughly October to May, and shuts for the summer.
• Go at opening. The animals are active for the first two hours and asleep by midday, and the walking areas have little cover.
• Three to four hours. That is a full visit, drive and villages together.
• Access. Flat paths throughout, with strollers and wheelchairs available.
• Food. Outside food is not allowed in, and what is sold inside is priced accordingly.