Thrilling Zoo and Water Park for Kids at Rio Safari

Introduction

My kids love animals. When we used to live in the UK, they always enjoyed a day out at an animal park, farm, or zoo. With this in mind, we thought it was about time that we took a visit to the zoo and water park for kids at Rio Safari, one of our local premier animal attractions located right here in Costa Blanca.

I should say at this point that I have mixed feelings about zoos and animal attractions in general. While I enjoy the chance to see some amazing animals up close and respect some of the conservation work that zoos do globally, I am always concerned about the animal welfare and quality of the enclosures. Especially when housing the larger mammal species. I thought I would give Rio Safari a chance though and make my own assessment after we’d visited. More on that later.

So, with some excitement, we made our way to the zoo and water park for kids at Rio Safari in July 2024 with our 4 children (aged 9,7,5 & 4). We were all keen to find out what was on offer there.

If you are looking for other activities to do with kids this summer, also take a look at our summer bucket list of activities for kids in Costa Blanca, or our best adventure activities for kids in Costa Blanca.

Here though, we are reviewing our recent visit to Rio Safari zoo and water park with kids.

Where is Rio Safari located?

Rio Safari is located just south of Alicante in the centre of Costa Blanca. Despite being called Rio Safari Elche, it is actually closer to the coastal town of Santa Pola. The exact location is at:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/sF4tkn57jgVxjfPF6

What are the opening hours for Rio Safari?

Rio Safari is open from 10am – 8pm, 7 days a week

What is the cost of entry for Rio Safari?

The listed entry prices for Rio Safari (summer 2024) are as follows:

Adults: €22.50

Children (3-12 years) & Seniors (65+): €17.00

Children <2: free

Splash Park entry: €10 per person, in addition to the general admission price.

It is always worth buying tickets in advance online where possible, as there are often reduced tickets available.

What is there for kids to do at Rio Safari?

It is safe to say that there is lots for kids to do at Rio Safari Elche. Obviously, being primarily a zoo, the main attractions are the animals. The zoo is home to a large range of different species of animals and birds, including several big cats, giraffes, zebras and flamingos among many others.

The best way to see the animals is on foot by walking around the zoo. There is also a safari ride land train that makes a rapid, 15 minute tour of the zoo. This ride departs every 30 minutes.

For a chance to get up really close to some animals, twice daily the lemur enclosure is opened to visitors under the supervision of one of the wardens. Touching is forbidden for the safety of the animals but you can still get up very close to the lemurs, a species made famous by their quirky appearances in the Madagascar films.

Also happening twice daily is the sealion show. Tiered seating is available to watch this demonstration of the learning power of these friendly marine mammals, as they complete a routine of twists and tricks.

Add to this a great outdoor adventure playground and the option of extending your visit to either the Splash Park water park or go-karts (both with additional charge), and you’ll appreciate that there is lots at Rio Safari to keep the whole family entertained.

Review of our visit to the zoo and water park for kids at Rio safari

We all had a wonderful day on our visit to the zoo and water park for kids at Rio Safari Elche. There was enough to comfortably fill a whole day. While visiting in the peak of summer did of course make it very hot, this didn’t detract too much from our enjoyment.

Here is a full review of our visit, broken down into sections:

Guest Facilities

The facilities at Rio Safari are of a consistently high standard. When we visited, there was plenty of space in the car park and no extra charge for parking.

We were greeted by friendly staff who checked our tickets before giving us our entry wristbands. Slightly annoying were the roaming photographers with their insistence on trying to take photos of you all the time to try and sell them to you later. This happens everywhere nowadays though, so I suppose I shouldn’t hold it against them.

There are several restaurant areas within the park, as well as an outdoor dedicated picnic zone. We didn’t try the food in the restaurants but the prices looked surprisingly reasonable. There are also plenty of toilets throughout the park, all generally kept clean and tidy.

Adventure Playground

Rio Safari has an excellent outdoor adventure playground for kids to use. Made of wood, the playground has been beautifully created to create a challenging obstacle course for children to tackle, with balancing and climbing sections, as well as a zip slide.

The only thing that stopped my kids from playing for longer was the heat of visiting in July. Otherwise, while using it, they had a lot of fun on the playground.

The animals and the quality of enclosures

The range of animals at the Rio Safari zoo is excellent. There are big cats including lions, tigers and jaguars, as well as monkeys and great apes including orangutans, giraffes, zebras, camels, lemurs, meerkats and many many more. Most of the animals can be seen from various viewing positions around their enclosures. There are also multi-language information boards to provide more details about the animals and their natural habitats.

Having been in existence for over 40 years now, Rio Safari has plenty of experience when it comes to housing a range of animals. There has obviously been thought put into creating the enclosures to ensure that there are a range of terrains and obstacles within them to keep the animals stimulated. The local climate, though hot for visitors, is also suitable for many of the animals that would naturally come from Africa or other warm environments around the world.

For the most part, when assessing the enclosures, I was pleased with what I saw. None of the animals appeared traumatised. I did have concerns about the big cat enclosures though. Although nicely laid out, I didn’t feel that they were big enough for these majestic animals. Considering they would naturally patrol huge areas in the wild, I thought their space really wasn’t sufficient.

The safari ride

We chose to take the safari land train ride when we first arrived into the zoo. I think this was a good decision as it provides a quick overview of the animals, before you can then revisit them later in more detail on foot.

The ride departs every half an hour throughout the day and lasts for around 15 minutes. There is an audio commentary in 3 languages (Spanish, English & French) to accompany the ride. To be honest though, the sound quality was pretty terrible so I didn’t hear much of this. Regardless, the ride was still good fun.

The lemur encounter

Twice daily there is a chance to enter the lemur enclosure with one of the zoo wardens. After telling the gathered crowd repeatedly in several languages that they cannot touch the lemurs, we entered the enclosure.

The warden guide was very knowledgeable about these quirky and unique animals, giving an interesting talk about them while they jumped around our heads as we watched. I felt sorry for him though as he still had to spend most of his time telling people to stop trying to touch the lemurs. I guess some people just have no respect.

The lemurs were as cute as you would probably imagine. My kids really enjoyed being able to see them up so close. It was really special.

The sealion show

Also taking place twice daily is a sealion show. This gives an opportunity to have a little sit down on tiered seating. A good portion of the seating is in the shade which is also very welcome if visiting in the summer.

The show itself lasted for about 20 mins and showcased 2 sealions. They took it in turn to come out and show off their range of tricks under the guidance of their expert handler. You can expect the usual mix of acrobatics and flipper waving. It’s nicely done and the sealions were rewarded for their efforts with plenty of fish.

For anyone looking to get up closer to the sealions, it is also possible to book an animal encounter for an additional cost. This grants you access into the water to swim with them.

The Splash Park

Available as an add-on (€10 additional price on top of the cost of entry), the Splash Park is Rio Safari’s new water park attraction. As we were visiting in July, this was a no-brainer. By mid-afternoon my kids were definitely ready to hit the water park.

To be honest, I was only expecting a little splash pad with maybe a couple of small slides. What we actually found was a full water park. Although maybe a bit smaller than some of the mega parks found locally, I’d still say that this Splash Park is one of the best water parks for kids in Costa Blanca, especially for younger children.

There are many small slides of all shapes and sizes for younger kids, as well as a selection of larger slides for anyone over 1.20m in height. There is even a large, twisting slide that uses either single or double inflatables to descend on. Pleasingly, when we visited, there were almost no queues for any of the slides. This was a massive bonus (as anyone who has queued endlessly at some of the other Costa Blanca water parks will know only too well!).

Within the Splash Park zone there is also a restaurant that has access to its own good size soft play area for any kids who are dining there.

Value for money

Overall, I think a visit to Rio Safari Elche presents excellent value for money. Although obviously costs mount up (especially for larger families like ours), there is lots to do there and you can happily fill a whole day. It is also nice to know that your admission fee helps to look after the animals and to support conservation projects around the world.

Picnic zones mean that you can bring your own food in with you, if you are looking to keep costs down.

Although the Splash Park costs extra, if you are visiting in summer I’d definitely recommend paying for this add-on. After a hot day of exploring the animals in the zoo, it is the perfect follow-on activity to relax and cool down. The standard of the water park is also much better than I was expecting it to be.

There is also the option of paying extra for go-karts, located just outside of the main zoo park. For us though, it was too hot in July for this to be tempting, so we didn’t try them out on our visit.

In Summary

We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the zoo and water park for kids at Rio Safari Elche. There is loads to keep the whole family entertained. Having lived in the Costa Blanca for several years now, I’m not sure why we’ve never been before!

Although I did have some concerns over the insufficient size of the big cat enclosures, the animals all looked healthy and appeared to be being treated with care. There are also plenty of obstacles and items of interest within the enclosures to try and keep the animals stimulated and entertained.

We visited in summer and there is no escaping the fact that it was hot, so be prepared for that. We managed fine but anyone with reduced mobility might struggle to walk around all of the zoo in the heat of the day. The land train safari ride does at least allow everyone to see most of the animals from the comfort of a seat, which is a nice touch.

The bonus of visiting in summer is being able to use the Splash Park. This really was excellent fun and a highlight of our trip. I’d definitely recommend paying the extra for this if you’re visiting when it’s hot – it’s well worth it.

We all left smiling after a lovely family day out. I think if we hadn’t prised them away, our kids would still be in the Splash Park now!