When in Cebu: CEBU SAFARI AND ADVENTURE PARK

Finally! A ZOO worth going to in CEBU...

Last March (this is a super late post), my family and I decided to try out the newly opened (soft opening) Safari. I personally wanted to go, because animals have a special place in my heart.

When we were there in March, The entrance fee was about PHP 700.00 and children below 3 feet was charged half the price, Entrance fee includes a buffet lunch in any of their 3 open restaurants. You also had to reserve your slot (no walk-ins) by calling their hotline. But as of their opening date, a lot has changed, you can check out their website here.

It really was a fun-filled day. Though a lot of their habitats weren't open, like the Lion enclosure... It was still fun.

Giraffe Feeding

Meerkats

Orangutan Enclosure

Welcome Center

Crocodile/Aligator Enclosure

They had an open safari type of thing where you get to ride a vehicle that shows you the African Herbivores like the zebra, water buffalo and some gazelles. although the ride was super short, it is still worth seeing all the animals inside, and my niece enjoyed it tremendously. 

Zebra

Wildebeest

Waterbuck

The other attraction worth going to (especially when the sun is at its highest) is the Aviary. It's quite cool inside, especially during feeding time.

Red and Blue Lory

Victoria Crowned Pigeon

... and of course, we have the BIG CATS... The Cheetah and the Tiger (My All-time Favourite).

Cheetah

Bengal Tiger

The park provided FREE tram service between habitats. The downside was, I don't think they had enough to cater to everyone. There were also no fixed time or stops. There was even a time that they started using vans to transport guests from one habitat to the next. Also, the reason people were preferring riding to walking, was because the roads weren't as paved, there were so many ditches and uneven roads. It was also very very hot and then it started raining, and the weather got super humid. One other thing, there weren't a lot of signs, so we had to check the map they provided all the time, to check where we were.

The Tram

The famous MAIN Fountain of Animals with the Aviary dome in the back.

So, was it worth it? I've listed below all the PROs and CONs of going...

PROs

> The animals. If you've never seen these animals in real life, then I urge you to go and see them. 

>The facilities are well-made. Although unfinished (when we were there), you can really tell that they made everything with quality materials.

>Entrance fee is not too shabby. Compared to other ZOOs that I've been to, the entrance isn't as steep.

>Animals look healthy and well-fed.

>Educational and fun for the children... and the children-at-heart.

>Entrance fee comes with free food.

>Offers Animal feeding and close encounters with some of the animals.

CONs

>Food wasn't good. The buffet was below the OK line. Had to wait in line and transfer restaurants for people to be accommodated. 

>Roads were hard to navigate and walk around, no proper sidewalk. 

>Not all the habitats were open. I really wanted to see the lions.

>Super muddy when it rains.

>Tram: no proper stops and times

>1 1/2 hour travel time from the city.

>No public transportation from the city. (like a bus or van) you will need to bring your own car.

>Open safari ride was too short. 

>No proper signage. Hard to navigate around the safari.

>A lot of the stalls/stores weren't open, so when you were super thirsty, you had to walk quite far to buy water.

>Official pictures were super expensive. 

I know there are a lot more of the Cons than the Pros, but you have to take into consideration that we were there during their soft opening. So they might have fixed a lot of the things I'm complaining about. 

All in all, I think I'd still give it a try and see how it is now. I actually would like to go again and see the improvements they've made. And, I'd like going NOT during summer like the last time I was there. 

P.S. If you have been to Singapore Zoo or any other zoos outside of the country, don't expect it to be the same. It's not as good, but it's a start. 

You can watch our fun-filled family day in this short video! Enjoy!