Hi Friends! Have you ever wanted to do a safari but without the cost and heat of going to Africa? Are you looking for things to do with kids in Santa Rosa? I have the perfect solution for you, especially if you live on the West Coast or plan to visit it!! There is an amazing place called Safari West in Santa Rosa, CA. We had a fantastic time visiting Safari West with the kids and would love to go back some day.
Safari West is 75 miles outside of San Francisco and sits on 400 acres of land in wine country. There are over 900 animals and 90 species of animals roaming around! Safari West’s mission is to promote conversation and environmental education so there is a lot of learning going on! If you’d like to read more about their story click here.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my links. See Policies tab.
We only live a few hours away so we were able to go during off season and mid week (much cheaper!!), which happened to be over our Spring Break. Weather can be hit or miss there during the spring time, but we lucked out and had beautiful weather. We opted to spend the night and try glamping, aka glamorous camping, and I have to tell you, I loved it!!!
For someone who has insomnia and a bad back, camping is not really fun for me. At Safari West, you have your own luxurious tent which was a canvas tent with a bathroom, nice beds, and a deck. Plus you are very close to the animals so you get to go to sleep with the sounds of wildlife. We were right across from the giraffes so we would sit out on our porch and watch the giraffes eat and play.
Just walking down the dirt road you can stop and watch a ton of different wild life.
We did pay extra to have their BBQ dinner which was really yummy. We got to sit down by the fire pit and enjoy food while watching wildlife.
The Safari jeep ride was the highlight of the trip!! My big kids hopped on the top of the jeep. They were secretly hoping that a giraffe would lick their head, but no luck. The giraffes did come close though! Sometimes you had to slow down while they were crossing the road right in front of you.
This emu was very social and came right up to the jeep!
At the end of the jeep ride, there is also a huge bird aviary that you get a guided tour through.
This funny bird decided he wanted to be a part of our group and followed us the whole way!
As you can see there were a lot of wild animals that we got to see. It was a very fun little vacation!! You don’t have to stay the night, you can just make a day trip and only take the jeep ride. There are also other premium wild encounters you can do, but we did not spend extra on those.
You can even find more reviews, compare prices, and other things to do with kids in Santa Rosa at TripAdvisor here!
If you go, I’d love to hear what you thought about it!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!
Lovely article. We are visiting Santa Rosa with a 4 year old and a 22 month old during mid May. The glamoing option seems worth it. Is this suitable for such little kids. Anything else you recommend in the area.
Thanks so much!!