April 2024 by Anna Gyurka-Petiko
I was twice there.My kid was upset that most of animals were hiding smw ,so couldn't see much even when the weather was fine. For the amount of money you pay for kids tickets,could be much better.I can compare with other wild parks and zoo.Not many people in cafe as I suppose it's expensive (ex, a small cup of coffee from coffee machine costs £4,25).Can't say anything bad about entrace procedure.Scan the code and go.Better to buy un advance online.
March 2024 by Pamela Highins
The anteaters were clearly in distressed Kept walking to and fro and round in circlesNo viewing points no shelters for showersNo one around to ask questionsWe asked for a map was told they were saving on paper funny you were not worried about paper cups pre packed sandwiches cakes throw away spoons etc and you could very easily laminate maps and have them returned and just wipe them over
March 2024 by DMT
The environment is cool and spacious, including the animals that seem very well cared for.The playground for the children could be better, just ONE swing ?????... The person responsible for the playground doesn't have children I assume xDPrices in cafes are well above average too.But overall it's a great tour?
March 2024 by Graeme Clark
Great time with Peter doing the anteater experience.
March 2024 by Joan Blanchard
Loved it! It's been YEARS since my last visit. I was very impressed with the areas given over to the animals, especially the elephants and gorillas...Loved watching two very young elephants playing together, with the younger of the two annoying the older, like a smaller sibling irritating its brother...Very entertaining for a good 20 mins....The gorillas were hilarious too...so typical, again, of rambunctious kids, trying to annoy the other and adults.
March 2024 by CAROLYN HENDRY
As usual the park is well kept and the animals looked after .Pre booking makes it easy to enter the park .We decided to go on the Saturday to avoid worse weather Sunday .The park is open with places to go for food and drink , just two that we're open.Go prepared for walking , and change of weather but you will have a great day what ever the weather . Give yourself all day.Don't forget if the weather is bad ( see site for more info ) you get to return.Tired children and adults at the end of a long day .
March 2024 by Kate
We had tickets booked in October but the park had to close due to a storm and so we rebooked tickets for the beginning of March. It was raining quite heavily so we barely saw any animals. I understand you can't control the weather but there was not a trace! When the weather picked up, we did see a few. It was a very quiet day, there didn't seem to be many people there at all, so it was frustrating to learn there was no toilet roll in the ladies toilet in the pavillion cafe. The food in the cafe was of a very poor quality, and highly overpriced. Would definitely recommend bringing a picnic! My two year olds loved the puddles and we did have a nice day
March 2024 by Harry Lawson
Well where do I start? If you don't have a car, expect to walk down a country road with no pavement at all and a 40mph speed limit to access this park. The day my partner and I went was rainy, so we had the lovely experience of being splashed with muddy water on this trip by the cars speeding past us.Once you get to the park, it's a short trek to the main desk from the front gate. We bought a lemur experience but missed the message at the bottom of the page (/animal-experiences/animal-encounters) so didn't have a day ticket upon arriving at reception. I was surprised to hear, wet, cold and mud-slathered, that first I had to pay for a day ticket, secondly that the day ticket had no reduced rate at all despite the clear signposting on the website that it's the off season, meaning I had an extra £50 slapped onto my experience and, lastly, that the purchase of the day ticket was mandatory to be able to attend the experience, I could not simply attend the experience and leave the park. Not a great start so far...Once entering the park, we went straight to the experience which was honestly lovely. The keepers were great and the animals were fascinating. Very curious creatures and I'd recommend checking lemurs out if you get the chance.Walking around the entire park ended up being a bit of a waste of time, as entire areas of animals were indoors and just completely unobservable. I mean how hard is it to just put a sign on the website or maps saying as such? The few we did see included the elephants, anteaters, . Very, VERY few of the exhibits have observation points into indoor areas so that the animals can be enjoyed year-round, which was disappointing. By the end we had seen more plastic animals than real ones.We left the park cursing the lack of signposting and indoor viewing, wishing we could have just paid for the lovely experience and not been forced into wandering aimlessly around a barren and somewhat rundown park (I peered over the hedge into a lovely, beautifully maintained mansion, which I assumed belonged to Mr. Aspinall himself, and noted the stark contrast to the rest of the park).The only other park I've been to in Kent is Wingham, where I also purchased an experience (which came with day admission) and went on a cold, wet, rainy day. It was a much better time so these negatives from Howletts in combination with it's close proximity to a better park means I can only give this 2 stars despite the lovely animals and keepers.
March 2024 by Stevie Bates
A really great day out for the family! Lots to do, lots to see, facilities are great. It's best to plan your visit around the keeper talks so that you get to talk to and hear lots about your favourite animals and the care they receive ??
March 2024 by Tony Humphries
A great place to visit
March 2024 by Project Multi Pest
Not like Portland needs to improve to be more like Portland
March 2024 by Natalie Arnold
I went here with my two children and my friend with her two children.The parking attendant wasn't very friendly. He shouted at me because me and my children were walking the wrong side of the road, apparently. There is no sign to say where to walk. We just walked at the side but apparently it was the wrong side.The weather wasn't great. There are no sheltered areas at the zoo and it's all outdoors. There is one small play area for kids, but it's not great as there are a lot of kids and not enough things to play on.We also walked around the zoo twice and only saw a few animals. Most of them were either hiding or not in site.It was a disappointing zoo to be honest. I've been to most of them in the UK, so this one wasn't great in comparison.
March 2024 by Stacey Ferguson
Unfortunately this is a bad review went to Howletts today 13-2-24 it?s such a shame have not been for years it?s really run down it?s not how it used to be needs a major revamp food ridiculously over priced I only went as took advantage of the kids go free so only had to pay £27.50 for myself but the offer speaks volumes and I can see why the offer is on places like wingham wildlife do not put these offers on as they do not need to as the are constantly busy I understand the custom is needed hence the offer but the park is really disappointing the ground uneven in some places go ape climbing frame smothered in moss unsafe to be used and the gorilla inclosure ripped seating missing wooden panels ?the bars and woodwork all green covered in moss it needs major improvements I would not ever waste my time visiting again any reading this go to wingham wildlife it is 10x better
March 2024 by N Turnbull
Hands down, the best zoo I've been too. Lovely selection of animals and we actually got to see 99% of them. A really enjoyable day out.
March 2024 by Kathy Meyer
Love going to Howletts wild park definitely be going again
