I’ve always enjoyed visiting zoos, but I’ve never been to a drive-thru zoo before. This is a totally different experience than your typical zoo. The Tennessee Safari Park in Alamo lets you get up close to the animals, feed them, and even pet some of them, without ever having to get out of your own car. Here are some tips for visiting this super fun drive-thru zoo!
The zoo is about 30 minutes away from Jackson, TN. You can find directions here. This zoo was much bigger than I expected it to be. It took us about an hour and a half to drive through it for a few reasons:
- The speed limit is very slow so that you don’t hurt the animals.
- We came to a complete stop several times just to feed the animals.
- Probably hundreds of animals live here on these acres of land, so it takes time to see them all.
Even though it took a while to drive through, we weren’t bored at all. There are many kinds of animals here, including zebras, camels, ostriches, deer, llamas, and more!
The animals are used to people. They aren’t shy, and they will walk right up to your car window to get a snack from you. Sometimes they will even stick their head into the car if you let them!
You will definitely want to buy a food bucket for each person in the car. Make sure you hold on to your food buckets tightly, because the animals may try to snatch them from you! And don’t let the first few animals eat all your food. There are plenty of animals through the whole drive that will want some food from you!
I loved getting to see the animals up close. At most zoos, the animals are at a distance and aren’t interested in people at all. Here the animals want to walk right up to you (or at least the food you’re giving them), and getting to pet and feed them was such a cool experience! Also, some of them are really soft!
Cute and cuddly alpacas
After the drive-thru section of the zoo, we visited the walk-thru section. This part of the zoo houses the smaller animals, such as several kinds of monkeys and lemurs. There are plenty of exotic birds here too, including the peacocks that roam free.
I enjoyed being able to walk into the aviary, where dozens of parakeets live.
If you don’t like birds, I wouldn’t advise going inside the aviary. Though it is a neat experience to see the flock of birds flying right over your head and walking around your feet. You can buy food outside the aviary for the birds, and the parakeets will be much more friendly to you. They aren’t mean, but they won’t find you very interesting unless you bring food.
One giraffe lives in the walk-thru zoo. You can get pretty close and feed it, but you have to give it carrots instead of the animal food that the other animals eat. The giraffe was one of my favorite parts of the zoo!
If you’re a zoo fan, this is definitely a place you’ll want to check out. It exceeded my expectations and provided us with a great weekend activity!
Know of any other fun drive-thru zoos? Tell me in the comments so I can check them out!
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