Fodor's Expert Review Lion Country Safari

Drive your own vehicle along 4 miles of paved roads through a cageless zoo with free-roaming animals (chances are you'll have an ostrich tapping at your window), and then let loose in a 55-acre fun-land with bird feedings, games, and rides. Audio included with admission narrates the winding trek past white rhinos, zebras, and ostriches grouped into exhibits like Gir Forest, which is modeled after a sanctuary in India and has native twisted-horned blackbuck antelope and water buffalo. (For obvious reasons, lions are fenced off, and no convertibles or pets are allowed.) Aside from dozens more up-close critter encounters after debarking, including a petting zoo, kids can go paddleboating, play a round of minigolf, climb aboard carnival rides, or have a splash in a 4,000-square-foot aquatic playground (some extra fees apply).