A visit to Fota Wildlife Park
As I mentioned yesterday, we spent last week in Youghal, County Cork on our family holiday. We were a bit unlucky with the weather, but it didn’t stop us enjoying our week. We had booked a holiday home, with plenty of room, so we were able to invite a few visitors to join us during the week. My parents came to stay at the beginning of the week, and my sister-in-law and my two wonderful nieces came to stay at the end of the week. It was great for us, and for Little Man, to get to spend so much time with family.
One – or rather two – of the highlights of our week was visiting Fota Wildlife Park. Fota Wildlife Park is located just 15km east of Cork City. It was a short half hour drive for us from Youghal. So because it was so convenient to where we were staying, we made two trips there during the week. The first trip was with my parents, and the second with Little Man’s aunt and cousins. We had two very different but enjoyable days there.
Our First Visit
Our first visit to Fota Wildlife Park was early in our week of holidays, and we went with my parents. We were all quite disappointed when it started raining on our way there, and showed no signs of letting up when we got there. I was worried we would get soaked walking around – but I shouldn’t have worried. For just EUR2 return, you can get a train around the park, and it takes you to see all of the main sights. So that’s exactly what we did.
Waiting for the train to move!
Checking out the sights! (And enjoying a yummy pear!)
A view from the train
Can you see the monkeys?
Shortly after our very enjoyable train ride around the park, the rain cleared, and we were able to walk around for a little bit before leaving. We even found some great playgrounds – including one with a giant giraffe slide! Little Man was in his element. He even took his very own James the Giraffe for a slide! Check out the woolly hat though – welcome to summer in Ireland!
Enjoying a little fun with James the Giraffe in the playground
Braving the slide!
Our second visit
On our final day of holidays, we decided to visit Fota Wildlife Park again, this time with Little Man’s cousins and his Auntie Janet. We were much luckier with the weather for our second visit – we actually had to use sunscreen!
Little Man's Auntie Janet and his cousins!
Stopping for a snack with his cousin
This time, because the weather was so much better, we were able to take our time and walk through the park, getting a closer look at all of the animals. It didn’t seem to bother Little Man that he had already seen them a few days previously. If anything I’d say he was even more excited on this visit.
Stopping for a photo with Mammy - and the giraffes!
More monkeys!
All in all, we had two fantastic days out there, and I’m just sorry we don’t live close enough to visit the park more often!
The Cost
We purchased a Conservation Membership, which is pricey at EUR160, but for that fee we get free entry to Fota Wildlife Park for one year for:
- 4 adults [including the member] or
- 3 adults [including the member] + 2 children* or
- 2 adults [including the member] + 4 children* or
- 1 adult member + 6 children
Children under 3 are free, so we don’t have to pay for Little Man. Under the same membership, we also get access to Dublin Zoo, and a number of zoos in the UK. I expect that for the rest of the 12 month membership, we will be using our membership card to access Dublin zoo – but that’s just fine with me. We love the zoo!
There’s also a less expensive membership available, which just allows access for 2 adults, or 1 adult and 2 children, but since we generally visit the zoo with other people, it made more sense for us to get the Conservation Membership.
