African Lion Safari

The African Lion Safari is a fun way to spend a day close to animals. It’s expensive at $ 35.00 a ticket, and even factoring in the excellent animal encounters, that’s too much money.
We did the Safari Drive twice, and enjoyed it both times. I loved the ostriches, who seem tempermental, and tried to peck their way into the car. It was highly amusing, and gave us an opportunity to see the ostriches from only an inch away. The rhinos are fantastic, I can’t believe how big they are, and the Watusi cattle with their huge horns are fascinating to me.
I think the best part was the lions. They have African lions and white lions; the white lions are much smaller, and very beautiful. The African lions, especially the females, are enormous — pictures do their size no justice — and there was a litter of eight-​month old cubs who were playful and fun to watch.
The animals all seem content. There seems to be adequate food, water, shade, and sun. There are large family groups and we saw juvenile deer and goats nursing, goat parents urging their young to cross the road, and baboons grooming each other, so there was a definite replication of their wild behaviour.
It was a blazing hot day when we went, and one llama was soaking his feet in a pond, while many elk and deer were neck-​deep in water. We also had an elk try to eat our driver’s side mirror, and then thoroughly lick our back window, which was entertaining!
I knocked off one star as we had a problem with the safari buses and the early closing of the food concessions and bathrooms. We had stopped to view the red kangaroos, and were soundly honked to move on by one of the safari buses. As we had been paused there for less than a minute, and had paid good money to go through the safari park, we were not impressed with the driver’s behaviour. Overall, the safari buses were very aggressive in the safari park, and we were annoyed enough to complain to the very apologetic management. I was shocked to find out that they charge extra to go around in the safari buses, as if a $ 35.00 admission fee isn’t enough!
The shops and food concessions seem to close at 3:00 p.m. and most of the bathrooms were locked at 3:00 as well, which was a problem as the park doesn’t close until 5:00, and aside from the bathroom issue we were also very thirsty. We did find an open bathroom, but it took some time.
Overall, a pricey but fun way to spend a summer’s day. I’d go again.

Awesome facility and a great value. Highly recommend checking out! Use your car instead of taking the bus tour, you go at your pace.

Been here about 6 times. Whenever relatives come visit, and want to go sightseeing, this is one of the places we put on the list.
For the reviewers saying, that the animals are too far, you have to remember, they are wild animals in their comfortable habitat. They do not want to run up to cars whenever they drive by. Yes, sometimes, you get lucky and you get the chance to see a rhino or giraffe up close, but you can not expect that the minute you drive into the area. Animals are not getting paid by the hour to stand there and have you stare at them. If you want that, then the safari would have to force the animals to be closer by giving them smaller living space, and fence them in closer so they have to be 5−10ft from the road!
Anyhow, if you get the chance, try both experiences! Taking the tour with the safari bus, and doing the drive thru — preferably with a rental car (with full damage insurance). The baboons will damage your car whenever they have the chance! Rip your weather stripping off, bend your antenna, pull off your wipers, etc.
With going through the drive thru, you can pull over anytime on the the side of the road and just enjoy the scenery. This is the best part.
You can spend a whole day there, ok, maybe a half a day.
If you have not been here, it should be on your list.
Great for kids! Kids will love it.

My mom brought me here when I was a little younger. I went on like the hottest day of the year I felt (well I guess bc my mom’s car at the time had a broken AC). They give you the option of driving the safari in your own vehicle at your own risk, or taking getting on board the bus. At your own risk means that any damage to your car by the animals clawing or sitting on it will not be covered by the Safari. Of course we chose to drive our own car. Now the park attendants tell you that you are not to feed nor touch the animals… we did BOTH! But overall we had a really good time, and I would make it a point to definitely go back… and this time with a working AC!

The African Safari feels like you are in a zoo. The only exception is that, the animals are watching you and you’re the one locked up in a cage this time. Your cage is your car!
We came here and the entrance was filled with cars, as a lion mascot and an employee walked around to greet us and give us heads up instructions. Tickets can be a little pricey, costing $ 35 per adult during peak season and around $ 31 per adult during may and in fall. We exchanged our tickets through our aeroplan points, so we didn’t need to pay for that admission.
At the ticket booth, we showed the employee our points and we were then provided a map. We followed the rest of the cars in our car through the gates. There were plenty of animals including cheetahs, lions, rhinoceros, goats, giraffes, deer and my favourite part — the monkeys! There was a monkey that hopped on everyone’s car and that’s where the «traffic jam» began because non of the cars wanted to move when the monkey was on our car. The zebra painted safari cars had to come and tell people to continue moving, also reminding us to not feed the animals. The monkeys didn’t make any dents on our car, even though they jumped on it, which is an extra bonus.
The safari also has a boat ride after you’re done the safari and additional souvenir shops for you to visit! It’s a pretty cool experience if you’ve never been to a safari!

If you want an interesting place to visit. Choose this one. This is a drive through safari park where the animals are free roam. You might expect to see some deer or some other common animal here but that’s definitely not the case. You will see lions, monkeys, zebras, buffalo, giraffes, rhinos and many many more. You have the option to take a bus but we drove through with our rental car and had no problem at all. Although the monkeys do like to climb on the cars and sit on the side view mirrors. You’ve been warned.
My only complaint was that the safari park police or rangers or whatever they are (the people driving around the trucks with the large wood guards on the front) are dangerous. They fly through the park, mostly in between the lanes of traffic and expect you to get out of their way. I was waiting on one to hit someone and this is why I have removed a star.
This place also has a massive cafeteria area and multiple gift shops.

Lions, tigers and bears… Oh my! Okay you won’t see any of the aforementioned at African Lion Safari except for the lions, but you get the picture here. Much like the Wizard of Oz, you will follow a yellow brick road through a maze of adventure and possibility. I confess, this analogy may be a little exuberant, but you will actually take a vehicle through a windy safari full of animals.
Excellent for families! We decided to go for a quick road trip to visit African Lion Safari. We had an amazing time and it was certainly an experience to remember. All of the animals were so beautiful and appeared to be in much better condition than what you’d typically see in a zoo.
If coming from Rochester, Buffalo or Syracuse, the drive to Hamlin isn’t very far from Western NY, but make sure to map out the actual address of the park because it is several miles away from the expressway. There is plenty of signage available for guidance, so be sure to look around to ensure that you’re heading in the right direction. The total drive took us around two and a half hours from Rochester.
When visiting the safari, plan to take your time and stay for the day (especially if you’re bringing little ones). My husband and I were able to effectively cover many of the main attractions within four hours or so. The entry fee is around $ 30.00 Canadian, but AAA members can get a discount at the gate if you present your card upon arrival.
Within the park, the main attraction is obviously the safari, but there’s plenty else to keep you occupied. There’s a boat, train and elephant rides available as well as a kiddie waterpark area for small kids. Of the several shows they offered, we checked out the elephants and birds of prey. The elephant one was definitely better and worth seeing.
Food options are limited, so most families pack their coolers for a picnic. There are several picnic areas on the premises, so I’d recommend bringing your favorites along the way. There is a large food court that serves sandwiches, fries and pizza, however a slice will run you about $ 5 each and the pizza is subpar.
Visitors have the option to either pay extra and take the tour bus or drive your own car through the reserves. I have done both. This time around, in order to protect my vehicle, we opted for the tour bus. It was nice because the guide was able to point out all of the species and locations of each animal. It was worth the extra $ 5 fee. If driving your own car, you can tour through the reserves as many times as you’d like.
There are no barriers between your vehicle and the animals. It was cool getting an up close and personal look as many animals crossed in front of us and walked near the roads.

I’d recommend taking the safari bus because you’ll learn more about the animals that you’d be seeing. Their names, their family members, how old they are and all those interesting facts! On a busy and crowded day, buses also move more quickly than driving your own vehicle through the Game Reserves. You might miss out on the baboons jumping up and down on your car with a banana on their hand but you can still enjoy such sight on other people’s cars from the tour bus, lol.
I got to see so many animals. I wish I could have seen them more up-​close. Some memorable ones were: Lemur, Giraffe, White Lion, Zebra, Ostrich, Black swan, Stork, Vulture, Elk, Falcon, Llama, Elephant, Turtle and Rhino.
Stuff to do all included in the price of admission:
–Animal shows & Bird shows
–Boat ride
–Train ride
–Petting zoo for kids
–Water park for kids
–Parking
Kids can ride an elephant or pony for extra charges. There are so much to do so a family with kids could easily spend the whole day here. I think they added more attractions since the last time I had visited this place many years ago.
Staff are very professional and they do a great job of managing traffic inside and around the Game Reserves. The official address is in Hamilton, but the safari is actually located about half an hour drive away from downtown Hamilton. It is close to Cambridge, Ontario

This place is huge, and you get to see so many different animals in the safari. They also have a waterpark as well, which my nephew loved. He didn’t even want to leave, and wanted to go into the safari again after the first time. You can go into the safari as many times as you want. This was a great experience!

The best getaway for the kids. This lion safari is wild enough to give out of TV real experience of the exotic animals. Especially Lions, baboons, Giraffes, zebras :). Water park is cool & clean. Don’t miss the birds section. And the best part is the elephant show.

Decided to stop by here on our drove from Niagara Falls to Toronto. Coming from California my family and I thought this place was amazing! It’s basically like going through a zoo in your car. We had baboons, ostriches, and giraffes come right up to he car. Our 6 and 8 yr old children had a blast. The giant splash pad and shows were really great as well. It’s definitely a great way to spend a day with the family.

We had so much fun, everyone should try it, it’s not only for kids. We did the Safari in the so-​called enclosures with our own vehicle, they will warn you though that they are not responsible if the animals will damage your car, we didn’t realize that it was possible until we came inside. Lions were just there watching the visitors taking pictures (in their cars of course-​please don’t open windows). We saw other animals and it was nice, the baboons were so fun to watch, they climb in cars, including ours, this is when we realize the animals can damage vehicles, an Ostrich went near our car and peck on the window.

I heard the bad feedback from others regarding this place so I had never thought about going. I went with my in laws on father’s day with low expectations. It was pretty much how I expected. There weren’t much to see in this place. When we were driving inside, the animals looked kind of far away (not that many either) and the animals looked tired or always eating the grass. I saw the other cars had the windows open even they were not supposed to but as the animals were really far away and they barely moved so there were no danger. I was half asleep by the time we got out because it was boring.
I guess this place maybe good for seniors and kids? If the seniors can’t walk inside the Toronto Zoo, sitting on the bus/​car maybe better for them. And for the kids, they seem to be excited about something like this. But the adults may suffer as they have to go with them.
Best part of this place was it was not busy. It was a beautiful sunday afternoon in Jun and not so busy, I could imagine how busy during regular days.
Please close this place.

My kids and I love it here! There are a lot of animals to see and the splash area is very fun for them. We took the bus for the tour of the animals cause we knew that the monkeys can damage the car. Great tour to be up close to lions and rhinos. The only thing that I don’t like is the price of food there. Very expensive so we brought our own. All in all a great place to see and the kids will love it! The elephant swim plus their act along with the bird of prey act are a must see.

We made a few stops on our way up to Toronto a few weeks back. The first was a visit to the African Lion Safari outside of Hamilton, Ontario and just an hour or so outside of central Toronto. Last year my family and I went through northern Ohio’s African Safari Wildlife Park, and this one is similar to that but even wilder. In addition to the deer, bison, bongo, zebra, and giraffes, the African Lion Safari’s drive through game reserves also feature African lions, cheetahs, and baboons! There is nothing between your car and any of these animals.
Feeding of the animals is not allowed, though one of the cars in front of us was feeding the baboon bananas causing the group to climb all over our cars. This was definitely the highlight of the drive through safari. Though it was also really cool to see the African lions up close and without a cage blocking the view.
After exploring the game reserves we spent even more time taking in the elephant round-​up show, looking at the bird aviaries, petting the goats in the petting zoo, and playing in both the jungle playground and Misumu Bay wet play area. The elephant show featured Asian elephants showing their strength, playing sports, and even making a painting that would later be for sale. As much fun as my kids had seeing the animals, they had as much fun in the play areas, even the wet play when the temperature couldn’t have been more than 65 degrees.
We came for the drive through safari but enjoyed the other aspects of the park just as much. In the end we stayed for hours longer than I initially thought we would. With so much to do it is easy to spend the entire day there.

Smiling immediately releases endorphins in your body… changing your mood and relieving stress… I’m so happy that I get to experience this while I was at Toronto… this is seriously my all time favorite zoo…
Being able to drive through the animals is an experience in itself… the monkeys dont always destroy your car… I’ve been to this place once and i had the best time! the monkeys sometimes jump on your car… sometimes… someone else’s… but I’ve never had an issue with damage… They do however like peeing on the windows… pretty entertaining… Definitely a fun part of the safari to miss out on it makes you a loser… You can take the «monkey bypass’ if you’re really concerned about it… but it was seriously my favorite part of the zoo beside the amazing giraffes putting there heads inside the car… personally I never been this up close and personal with wild life before…
There’s also shows… water park… jungle cruise… train ride… you can ride an elephant even for $ 5… Well worth $ 30…My only suggestion is to bring you own food… the food is expensive and not great…
Also…whatever you do… never go on a holiday… or you’ll wait in line an hour and a half in traffic on the road to even get to the entrace gate! (learned that the hard way)

Went in here for a work employee appreciation event and for the day planned.
African Lion Safari did a great job accommodating our group. The day started off with all you can eat bbq and a quick introduction to an elephant and a baby lion. It was a great meal, cooked to perfection and they have made sure that everyone was served. The animals had a few tricks and quick information guide.
It was off to the bus tour. It was comfortable the only downfall was that the buses were tinted which makes it hard to take pictures. We saw all kind of animals from lions to zebra, baboons, rhinos, giraffes, etc. Too bad they weren’t very active. I was still able to get some images however.
Then there was the boat ride and it was the most peaceful ride they had. Got to see some monkeys, birds and sloths. quite fun and relaxing although there weren’t very many animals to see.
After I was able to see the birds, too bad they were caged. would’ve been nice to see them in a natural habitat. They had lots of different kind of birds but none that specifically stood out.
That was my day, as an adult it wasnt much to do which doesnt justify paying a high entry fee. but this tour are perfect for kids, since i recall there was a water zone area.
I would not be coming again unless i have the urge to see more giraffes. I hope they can think of an idea to make it more fun for adults, maybe more food choices and programs.
Dave M

Being the great aunt that I am, I took my 3.5 year old nephew and 1 year old niece to «the safari». I have fond memories of the baboons from my childhood, so I decided to take the bus tour.
My receipt says I paid at 12:43pm for the 1pm bus. When I got out there, I was told the 12:45pm bus was there and I would have to wait for the 1pm bus. There were literally 3 people on the bus. I’m not sure why they didn’t tell me to just board. I had to ask if I could take my 3.5 year old nephew on 1 year old niece on the bus. Wasn’t impressed by that.
The bus ride was great. I didn’t have the same baboon experience I had as a child MANY years ago, but I could see that the baboons were having fun with the cars driving through the safari.
My niece is 1, so she’s a sponge. I wasn’t expecting anything from her. My nephew was amused for about 10 minutes, then kept asking me if we «could go now».
After the bus ride we went to the other side of the park. My NEPHEW loved it. So much so, he didm not want to go home. They had kid play areas, pony rides, elephant rides, bird shows, a free boat ride, a free train ride, and a little splash water area. We could have spent the entire day in this part of the park.
I will take my nephew back in a few years when he can appreciate the bus tour more.
Overall, it was a great day for both kids (my niece liked the swing, not that it mattered because as I said, she’s one and a sponge).

We opted to take the Safari bus instead of driving our own car — and this seems to have been a good idea as we saw some of the baboons climb all over cars, as well as an ostrich that a car almost hit. I imagine doing your own drive-​through would be much more fun and adventurous, but the tour bus also gives short but informative descriptions on each safari reserve and the animals coming up ahead so you’re not blindly staring at unknown animals.
There are seven main sections in the safari but they are small in area and lie tightly next to each other (land is expensive even in Hamilton I suppose), so don’t expect an hour long ride.
The overall experience was enjoyable. We got to see lions laze around on rocks, cheetahs running from shade to shade, Fattest Baboon Ever, baby giraffe being cute, and ostrich being curious. Watching animals running wild is something that’s just not available in a zoo.

This place is kind of fun. Some of the safari action is a bit disappointing as the animals stay far away and can barely be seen.
But everything is redeemed when you get to the baboon area, when the crazy baboons jump all over your car. One even took a dump on the back of our truck, which was quite hilarious (especially because I didn’t have to clean it up)
After you drive through the park, there is a boat trip you can do. The boat trip was hugely disappointing, two seconds after the boat departs, they announced that due to the crummy weather, all of the birds and monkeys were hiding, so we won’t be able to see anything. We spent 30 mins puttering around a small lake just to see a couple egrets or some such. Yawn.
Overall though a pretty fun place to take kids.