Dubai: From Thursday, October 5, visitors can enjoy a safari experience in Dubai, after Dubai Safari Park opens its gates for the 2023-2024 season.
Overall, Dubai Safari Park is home to around 3,000 animals, living on the 119-hectare site. Here is what you can expect from the 2022-2023 season.
What to expect
Spanning over 119-hectares – or around 166 football fields – you can’t possibly expect to cover the entire Safari on foot. This is why the park provides the service of a tram, which take visitors from one enclosure to another.
At the entrance, you will be asked to present your tickets, which need to be purchased online (details below).
You can then enter the Dubai Safari Park and hop on to the tram to go from one enclosure to the other.
The different enclosures at Dubai Safari Park are:
Arabian Desert Safari
Arabian Desert Safari is a drive-through attraction, which will give you a glimpse into the historic nomadic desert of the Arabian Peninsula. Here you can expect to see the Arabian Wolf, the Arabia Oryx and the Sand Gazelle.
Asian Village
The Asian Village will take you through the diverse wildlife of Asia, from forests to pristine ponds. Here you can expect to see the Moon Bear, the Gibbon, as well as Mandarin ducks.
Explorer Village
The Safari Village drive through is the main attraction of the Dubai Safari, where you will be taken on a bus to spot animals from Asia and Africa, including cheetahs, hippos, giraffes, impalas and zebras.
African Village
With the African Elephant being the ‘hero animal’ of this pavilion, visitors can expect to see magnificent creatures from the African continent, including white lions, gorillas and hyenas.
Kids Farm
The kids farm, as the name suggests, is a great experience for children, allowing them to interact with farm animals, including sheep, donkey, ponies, goats, ducks and birds.
Al Wadi
Al Wadi, which is Arabic for ‘the valley’, allows visitors to relax and have a picnic, with options to eat either at restaurants or to grab a snack from outlets.
What is the cost of Dubai Safari Park tickets?
There are various packages offered by Dubai Safari Park, based on what the visitors would like to do.
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS - DAY PASS
Adult - Dh50
Child - Dh20 (Age group 3 to 12 years)
It offers a walking tour through Al Wadi to African, Asian and Explorer villages, in addition to live shows, kids farm and 10 minutes’ shuttle tour of Arabian Desert Safari.
SAFARI JOURNEY
Adult - Dh90
Child - Dh35 (Age group 3 to 12 years)
It offers a tour through African, Explorer Village and Asian villages, in addition to unlimited train rides, live shows, kid’s farm, Safari journey (a 35-minute guided bus tour) and a 10 minutes’ Arabian Desert Safari by electric vehicle.
DAY PASS +
Adult – Dh75
Child – Dh45 (Age group 3 to 12 years)
It offers a transported tour to African, Asian, and Explorer villages, in addition to unlimited train rides, reserved seats in live shows, kids farm plus 10 minutes’ Arabian Desert Safari by electric vehicle.
SAFARI JOURNEY+
Adult – Dh110
Child – Dh55 (Age group 3 to 12 years)
It offers the full experience with a transported tour to the African, Asian, and Explorer villages, in addition to unlimited train rides, Safari Journey (35 minutes’ guided bus tour), Arabian Desert Safari (10 minutes’ by electric vehicle), reserved seats in live shows and kid’s farm.
You can also book tickets for special tours like ‘King of Safari’ (Dh2,500 for 10 people), which gives a luxury experience to the group of visitors, a ‘Behind the scenes’ tour (Dh1,450 for 10 people), which gives exclusive access to visitors to meet the animal caretakers and learn about their work, and ‘Jungle Capture+’ (Dh1,275 for three people), which gives photography enthusiasts exclusive access for wildlife and Nature photography.
How can I reach Dubai Safari Park?
The Dubai Safari Park is located in the Al Warqa 4 district, off E44, Ras Al Khor Road. To reach the park, you would need to first take E311 – Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road – and take Exit 52. The exit will be number 52, regardless of whether you are coming from the direction of Sharjah or Abu Dhabi. The exit will take you towards Dragon Mart, which will fall on your right. Follow directions for Dubai Safari Park, which will fall on the left side of the road. Take a u-turn from the first roundabout to reach Dubai Safari Park, which will then be on your right.
The article was first published on September 27, 2023, and has been updated since.
