parco natura viva

Website says it is open every day. We went on Sunday and it was Closed. In website still written that open. All information phones say that will answer only on working days. That I think is too bad service even for Italy. Children were very disappointed.

We lived in Desenzano in early novermber and planned to see Natura Viva. Our daughter is 1,2 months. We wanted to show her animals and birds. Our daughter started to walk but we took stroller with us. I can say that it's very inconvenient to walk with it because of gravel on the road. The zoo has few animals in comparison with Moscow zoo. Most of them are closed with fences.So small child could not see it from the stroller. You have to keep the child in your hands.We did not have the car therefore I can;t say what is in safari zone. Hope it;s nice.So, if you have time it's nice place to visit by car but don't expect too much of zoo zone.Taxi from Desenzano cost 60 Eur one way.

The park is very well kept & we really had a great time driving with our own car next to the giraffes, tigers, buffaloes etc. We also saw the lovely red Panda. They do a really good job with the animals at this park...keep up the good work.

We chose to go here for my son's 8th birthday and were glad we did. We had a wonderful day. We went on a Monday in September and it was not too crowded at all. We did the walking part of the zoo first because we got a really good parking spot for that; arriving soon after the park opened. When we got tired, we got in the car and did the safari and went home. We bought season tickets, which we had to purchase at the zoo walk-in; the safari section said they couldn't do them for us. For about 20 Euros more than we'd pay for a day pass, we paid for a year pass. We didnt' finish the zoo in one day and the kids are so excited to go back.I wasn't sure about food options in the park, so we packed a lunch and ate on some tables in an olive grove right in the zoo. Very beautiful and peaceful. There does to be some food but nothing stood out; I was glad we packed a lunch. The safari was kind of small but there was a lot to see. Some of the animals are not free-roaming, but giffaffes are, and cheetahs!! Cheetahs wandered right by the car. The kids loved seeing animals from the comfort of the car. The whole day was just very enjoyable. Easy to get to from the Autostrada too.

We visited in August and there was a huge line up of cars waiting to enter the safari section so the day didn't start too well, but things got moving and we finally made it in. Unfortunately, it was raining so maybe the animals were not too keen to roam around, but I wasn't too impressed by the safari. I was expecting an open expanse but the 'safari' is more like a zoo without cages and gates. The area is far too small to feel like a 'safari'. Nonetheless, for our kid it was an amazing experience driving through and seeing the animals that are not caged. The hyena was particularly impressive! The bigger part of the area is taken up by a more traditional zoo and this part was actually quite nice. The place was clean and the animal enclosures were decent, looked natural and were not too cramped. They have a large array of animals - they claim 1500 individuals. The snow leopards were particularly beautiful. The area is large and it took us the better part of the day to go through it. There's a lot of walking to do! Overall, a very decent zoo, despite the not too impressive safari experience.

Parco Natura Viva is a very clean and well conserved nature park. My son loved sitting at the front seat and watching all the different animals! Money well spent :D

The part of Safari is great with beautiful views and plenty of animals, especially we were amazed by the tigers walking around our car. The part of zoo is not so impressive, but still nice for kids.

This is well worth a visit- been on African safari and seen some of the best zois, but this is just awesome! Its clean, the animals seem to be well integrated into their environment and its mapped out so that the continents are represented- there is an excellent play and picnic area for relaxation- you need a whole day, lots of sunscreen and the facilities are impressive

Our two young kids thoroughly enjoyed this safari and zoo. Brilliant day but pack the sun cream and comfy shoes

We lived nearby in 2011, and bought season tickets, so we know this zoo very well. The safari drive is really cool, the kids can all pile into the front seats for a great view. I would not recommend trying to do all of the zoo in one day, the dino park is almost a day's visit in itself. For some reason, we always love the prarie dogs, who seem to be cohabiting with bunnies these days, you will find them behind the giant tortises. The macacks can get very playful in cooler weather, and are entertaining to watch. Best avoided on a bank holiday weekend, comfortable walking shoes are a must as the terrain is hilly. If your kids really love zoos, buy a season ticket and visit in 3 or 4 goes, it is about the same price as two entries.

a huge park to walk around in. sometimes a little difficult to see the animals, but the kids enjoyed it

About 40 hectares of land there is a natural zoological garden which is home to some 1.500 specimens belonging to over 250 wild species. The Park is divided into two main areas to visit: the Safari Park, in which the visitor stays in his vehicle which is the most amazing way for sightseeing and the Fauna Park, which is for pedestrians only.You will definitely have fun and enjoy this park, it is worth of seeing.

We had a family day out here and had a lot of fun. The tour around the safari park was spectacular. Most of the animals were visible from the car and some posed for photographs! One of the giraffes didn't want to move from the road as it was in the shade of a tree and allowed us to drive past very close to where it was standing and didn't move. This amused our grandson immensely. We had lunch before we walked around the zoo part and the meal was excellent and very good value. We walked and walked saw lots of animals all of which had large enclosures and everywhere seemed well maintained. We didn't manage to see the dinosaurs but I am sure it will be a nice excuse to go back another day. All in all, a good day was had by all ages,

It's interesting to see how varied the reviews are. We loved it--but maybe we just had good luck. It had rained hard the day before, but we were there on a beautiful spring morning--not too hot (when the animals apparently hide in the shade) and not too stormy (when they take shelter). I thought we would enjoy the car safari part more, but I loved walking through the park--again, probably because of luck. I was just a yard--two yards--from a lioness, separated by a sheet of glass. She stared at me and I looked right into her eyes. Wow! I have been to many wonderful zoos, but I've never been so close to animals as we were here. (On the car safari, we were just 3 yards from a cheetah and 5 yards from a giraffe.) Pretty neat!

We've been here some years ago. It was an unforgettable experience! Many animals walking around, lions laying on the grass , hippos , giraffes and rhinos crossing the road- wow!! This time it looked really poor.. 1- we were unlucky having chosen the wrong time- Saturday 10-30, (the safari starts at this time). So that was so full!! The real rush hour as on the road! Check the picture! Everyone had to look at the neighbor not to block the road or not to touch the other car. And half the way you go up, stop and go , stop and go. Some unskilled drivers had some problems to start, so you can imagine how stressful it was for them and for the people behind them :)..one full line from the start to the finish- forget to enjoy the ride! And: before you had all the animals around you, now they have limited the road, the lions, rhinos, hippos are behind the barriers and you fell like driving in a medium- level zoo looking at the animals separated from you with all the barriers as in every zoo. Maybe there were some accidents .. But now it has become very average, really nothing special. To see all the animals you have to visit the zoo, and you feel disappointed because you know how it used to be before.. I can not recommend it, only a short visit during the week and only if you never saw safari parks before ( so nothing to compare with)