A colleague recommended us to check out the Bali Safari & Marine Park during our stay in Seminyak, Bali. Whilst the Seminyak area is lovely for lazing around on the beach and wandering the gorgeous boutiques and fancy lil cafes, I reckon this park gives the perfect break. Especially recommended if you’re in Seminyak for more than two days, and even more so if you have young kids.

It’s a fair way away from the main shopping area, so we ended up spending the entire day there (the complimentary shuttle picked us up at 9AM and left at 4PM). It was the perfect amount of time, and the kids absolutely loved their day out!

Fair warning – the place is hot hot hot. There’s not a lot of cover, so we had hats and sunblock on constantly. Pretty much same as what we’d do when going to the Singapore Zoo or Bird Park.

The day kept pretty busy with lots of animal shows, almost all back-to-back. This meant that we either had to choose to watch show after show, or wander around at our own pace to see the animals.

That said, the most interesting ‘attraction’ was the jeep ride (thankfully, air-conditioned!) through half the park, allowing a close-up view of the animals. It took about 30mins for the ride, and in retrospect, the kids enjoyed it so much we should’ve done the ride twice and forgo walking around seeing the animals!

We skipped the main restaurant and went to the Tsavo Lion Restaurant…. congratulating ourselves with delight when we found out that the restaurant is situated within the lion enclosure! You can see 3 lionesses in the above photo, lounging in the rock cave. The kids could also watch the fish swimming right next to their chairs (see the above photo) and meerkats on the other side, scampering around.

The food within the safari park is heavily overpriced – especially the water grrrrr – and  borderline average. Definitely did not impress us.

There were lots of opportunities to pet and touch the farm animals, including a giant iguana that no one – except my kids – dared to touch.

I look like I’m having a staring contest with Mr Iguana in the photo above, but we got along and I gave him a pat – honest!

We opted for tickets that included an elephant ride and I’d highly recommend that. They took us on a long and leisurely potter around the area, and I like how the elephants were gentle and friendly and looked well-cared for.

It was one hell of a memorable experience for the kids, who had never sat on an elephant before!

I hadn’t realised that the park also had a water theme park area. And, to be honest, the kids loved this area the most! They could’ve spent the entire day here and have been quite happy. The water park was divided into several areas and the water came up to their necks, so it’s perfect for young kids.

Obligatory tourist shot with an orang utan. This one took a very sudden and very strong liking to the boys – touching and stroking them and wanting to hold their hand! I guess he thought they were family HAHA.