Get the safari experience without leaving Kent

Pirates, there's no need to fly to Africa to get the 🦁 safari feeling. You can stay right here in the UK! At Port Lympne, a wild animal reserve near Hythe in Kent, you can choose from an amazing array of accommodation to feel close to your favourite animal. There are rhino lodges, you can stay with wolves, tigers, and more.

Prices start from £179* in the Pinewood Pods and go up drastically for more luxurious stays in the lodges. There are treehouses, bubbles and also a 4-star boutique hotel.

Scroll down to see some of the amazing venues you can choose from. If you don't want to stay over, you can just buy day tickets to the wildlife park.

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Details

Leopard Creek

Leopard Creek is nestled within a tranquil corner of the reserve. You can choose to either stay in a luxury wigwam (picture above) or wooden cabins (pictures below) with sea views and log burners. You'll get 24-hour views of your immediate neighbours, Milena and Sayan. They're two critically endangered Amur leopards, some of the rarest animals in the world.

Treehouse Hotel

These aren't actually treehouses per se, they're snazzy cabins above the rhino enclosure. They have terraces overlooking 26 miles of savannah-esque scenery.

Lodges

There are several lodges to choose from at the reserve. We've checked and some of them are pretty much sold out way into spring. So, book these in advance!

Lions and tigers

Expect these luxury lodges to have vast chandeliers, open fires and reenforced glass windows to spy on your immediate neighbours -- lions and tigers. The lion lodge boasts a Swedish wood-fired hot tub so you can bathe beside them, too.

This year, there have been four little lion cubs introduced to the reserve! ❤️

Rhinos

Once one of the estate’s two gatehouses, the rhino lodge is more a cottage than a lodge, with a private garden, backing onto the rhino’s stomping ground.

Wolves

Another former gatehouse of the former estate, the wolf lodge is a Grade II-listed cottage with two king-size en-suite bedrooms, a living room, cinema room and kitchenette. It's got its own private garden with wood-burning stove in the middle and a pack of wolves as neighbours.

Glamping, pods and bubbles

Bear Lodge offers family glamping close to the bear paddock. Each lodge sleeps up to eight guests, with proper beds, ensuite bathrooms, tea-making kits and a fridge.

Pinewood Pods

The pods are sited near tigers, wolves and painted dogs. The pods sleep up to four, with two single beds and a double futon. They are well heated. There are communal toilets, showers and a TV and games room.

Bubbles

The bubble has transparent walls and ceilings to give a 180 degree view over the reserve. It sleeps two and boasts with a freestanding bath, a kingsize bed and an en-suite bathroom. There's also a Nespresso machine, mini bar, record player and high speed WiFi.

4-star boutique hotel

Rooms start around £200 at Port Lympne's 4-star hotel, a mansion, which once entertained guests such as Winston Churchill and Lawrence of Arabia.

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Additional Information

Port Lympne safari park, wild animal reserve and hotel is part of the Aspinall Foundation, an animal conservation charity which has the aim to stop the extinction of rare and endangered species and return them to the wild where possible.

Please note -- *Prices are correct at time of publishing, based on the sample dates provided and are subject to fluctuation, depending on availability. Inventory may be limited. Special T&C’s may apply.