Lions 360 Experience at Monarto Safari Park: Our Review and Guide

WONDERING WHAT THE LIONS 360 EXPERIENCE IS AND IF IT’S WORTH IT?

Then this is the only guide you’ll need to decide. Experience the King of the Jungle from a whole new perspective at this one-of-a-kind experience at Monarto Safari Park, just one hour away from Adelaide.

Imagine being inches away from majestic African lions, safely observing (or even feeding) these powerful predators from a unique reverse-cage perspective. At Monarto Safari’s Lions 360 experience, this incredible encounter becomes a reality, offering you an unforgettable opportunity to witness lions in a way few have ever seen before. As you can probably tell, we absolutely loved it, and it was a highlight of our 3-day Adelaide itinerary.

What Makes Lions 360 Unique?

Lions 360 experience at Monarto Zoo was the highlight of our recent trip to Adelaide and we are so excited to share more about the things to do (and not to do) to make the most of your experience.

Monarto Safari offers the largest safari experience outside of Africa and their Lions 360 experience is a groundbreaking approach to reimagine wildlife encounters. Unlike traditional zoo exhibits, YOU enter a secure dome-shaped cage while LIONS ROAM FREELY around and above you. This reverse psychology approach allows the lions to show their natural behavior while you can observe them safely from the purpose-built structure.

Lion Feeding Experience

One of the most thrilling aspects of Lions 360 is the optional feeding experience. For an additional $35, 6 visitors can also hand feed (or rather tong-feed) the lions their meal through the mesh. You even get 20% OFF for the gift shop if you opt for this!

I really enjoyed feeding the lions! Seeing the lions up close with their natural hunting behaviors, speed, and powerful jaws while eating chunks of meat just inches away was unreal. However, I think the Lions 360 experience is worth it as is and I’ll share more about that later.

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Conservation and Education

Lions 360 isn’t just about thrilling encounters though – it plays a crucial role in Monarto Safari Park’s conservation efforts. Unfortunately, there may only be as few as 20,000 Lions remaining in the wild due to habitat loss and human conflict, Lions 360 plays a crucial role in raising awareness about their plight.

We were really impressed by how much their efforts are helping these magnificent creatures from extinction in the wild. Every visit helps fund these vital conservation efforts, making these experiences not just thrilling for us but also meaningful for lion conservation.

Planning Your Visit: Lions 360 Experience

Now that you know what the experience is like, let’s show you things you need to know before your 55-minute Lions 360 experience in Adelaide!

🚗Getting to Monarto Zoo

To reach Monarto Safari Park from Adelaide city by car, take the Monarto exit off the South Eastern Freeway, then follow the signs to the Princes Highway. The journey takes around 60 minutes – approx 70 km from Adelaide’s CBD.

If you aren’t renting a car or don’t have one, then you can hop on one of the several buses from Adelaide CBD to Monarto Safari Park!

🎫 Lions 360 Tickets and Monarto Zoo Discount Code

Detailed information about the tickets is available on the official website. But, here is the gist of it Lions 360 cost, excluding park entry:

• Adult: $75 without the feed, $110 with it!
• Children (up to 15 years): $60
• Family (2 Adult + up to 2 Children): $189
  
  Total Cost of Lions 360 experience + Monarto Safari Entry: $124

Please note – You can experience Lions 360 without the Safari Park entry as there is an exclusive bus picking up and dropping you back at the entrance for the Lions 360 experience. However, the safari park itself is amazing and we highly recommend spending the day here.

🕰️Lions 360 Timings

Lions 360 is available every day at 10:30 am & 12:40 pm.

Morning sessions often provide the best viewing opportunities as the lions are typically more active (and that’s when we went too). However, each visit offers unique experiences, and if you go late,r you can catch some of the morning keeper talks as well – decide based on the ones you want to attend!

The Monarto Safari Park is open every day from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. You can explore the safari park by the free Zu-loop Shuttle (last loop at 3 pm), or by walking the 13km trails.

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Our Lions 360 Experience Review: Is it worth it?

We think the Monarto Zoo Lions 360 experience is absolutely worth it and is one of the best wildlife experiences you can have in Australia. The lions are literally inches away from you and true to their word, it is a 360 degree lion experience with them walking directly overhead on the dome structure!

Now, would I recommend paying the extra +$40 for the lion feeding experience? Maybe not.

As part of Lions 360, you are already quite close to the lions and can observe the feeding experience, which is quite thrilling as is. I found the feed experience to be a bit rushed and not as interactive as hand feeding the giraffe or meerkat experience (and for obvious reasons of safety too) but I would rather save the addon here and choose to do another interactive experience or the Lions are Bedtime experience for the ultimate behind the scenes lion experience.

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FAQs: Lions 360 at Monarto Zoo:

Now that you know what the Lions 360 Experience is, you might have some questions that we can help with:

1. Best Monarto Zoo Experiences

We highly recommend advance bookings for all Monarto Zoo experiences, especially the Lions 360 experience, which is quite popular! Here are some other Monarto Safari Park experiences we almost booked:

2. How Many Lions are at Monarto Zoo?

Monarto Safari Park is home to one of Australia’s largest lion prides. With three adult females, three adult males, six sub-adult cubs (four female and three male), and four cubs born in August 2023 (three female and one male), the lion habitat is a hive of activity!

3. How Long do You Need to Stay at the Monarto Zoo?

We spent approximately 5 hours exploring the park, including the Lion 360 experience. We recommend you take at least 4-5 hours to explore Monarto Safari Park and attend as many zookeeper talks as you can, as the animals tend to be most active at those times.

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Lions 360 Experience: The Wrap Up!

If you find yourself in Adelaide, make sure to experience Lions 360; it is an experience you won’t forget! But it’s not just Lions 360, other animal experiences we’ve mentioned earlier are worth your bucketlist too!

Keen to plan a trip to Adelaide? Check out our perfect 3 day Adelaide Itinerary to plan the ultimate getaway.

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