Start your day off right
Booking tickets online is the fastest and simplest way to start your adventure. Save 20% when you book your single visit tickets online up until midnight the day before your visit. Discount does not apply to family tickets.
Book your ticketsRefresh & relax
Playtime
Shop
Refresh & relax
Refresh and refuel during your day at our café, restaurant or seasonal kiosks. Choose a freshly made baguette or treat and drink at The Coffee House café, or a hot meal, salad, or snack at The Pavilion Restaurant with a daily specials menu! During the season, our kiosks sell ice cream, donuts, waffles, cold drinks and even pasta, burgers and hotdogs and will be open around the park (please check our notice boards in park for opening hours).
Playtime
Take a break and let the kids go wild and mimic the animals they’ve seen, as they explore our play area near The Pavilion Restaurant.
Shop
Treat yourselves to lovely gifts and souvenirs from our well stocked gift shops. Choose semi precious stones, crystals, jewellery, toys and more at our Jurassic Mine shop, near the Pavilion Restaurant or go wild at the Gatehouse and choose from books, toys, paintings, ornaments, cuddly animals and more. Don’t forget to buy eggs, bread, jams and other fresh produce in our Farm Shop too!
What's on
Find out what's on at Howletts.
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Elephant House Tours29 May - 02 Sep
An unmissable opportunity, to look behind the scenes of our elephant houses! Discover where our keepers prepare food for the largest herd of African elephants in the UK, before heading off to see where these mighty mammals bed down at night.
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Twilight Tours29 May - 01 Sep
Join us after hours for a picturesque and educational twilight tour of the park; seeing amazing animals in a different light while learning about The Aspinall Foundation’s Back to the Wild programme.
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Summer Holiday Fun!21 Jul - 02 Sep
Explore Animals of the Ice Age at Howletts Wild Animal Park and make your summer days the coolest ever! Plus take part in loads of free activities!
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Gorilla Tours23 Jul - 02 Sep
Help our expert keepers prepare morning enrichment for our western lowland gorillas and go behind the scenes to discover more about the world of our gorillas at Howletts.
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Macaque Scatter Feeds23 Jul - 02 Sep
Help our expert keepers provide enrichment and additional feeds for our mischievous macaques. You’ll discover fascinating facts from the team as you help throw out a scatter feed for the primates and spot the dominant individuals in the troop.
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World Elephant Day12 Aug
Enjoy a mammoth day out at Howletts on World Elephant Day and discover more about the largest herd of African elephants in the UK.
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Gorilla Day19 Aug
Go ape for gorillas and join our Education Presenters as we celebrate all things gorilla.
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Bongo Bonanza27 Aug
Join us for a Bongo Bonanza on Monday 27th August and take part in a host of games and activities.
Opening times
We are open every day except Christmas Day!
Winter (25 October - 24 March)
We're open from 9:30am to 5pm. The last admission is 3:30pm.
On Christmas Eve we're open from 9:30am to 2pm. The last admission is 12:30pm
Summer (25 March - 24 October)
We're open from 9:30am to 6:00pm. The last admission is 4.00pm.
Enhance Your Park Experience With Our App
Download the FREE Howletts App in the IOS app store. Bring animals to life with our augmented reality and discover lots of fascinating animal facts! The kids will love it! We recommend you download it before you get here. You’ll also find an interactive map as well as a handy spotter’s guide.
Download nowGetting here
Howletts Wild Animal Park is located in Bekesbourne, Kent in the South East of England, just three miles south of Canterbury. Easy to find by car or by public transport come and visit us today. Howletts is within approximately one and a half hours’ drive of most locations in Surrey, Sussex and Essex, and is within easy reach of London.
By Car
Howletts wild animal park is in the South East corner of Kent and lies just off the A2 past Canterbury. It is also a short distance from Folkestone and the southern coast of England.
If you are travelling via car and prefer to use a Sat Nav please use Post code CT4 5EL.
By Public Transport
Howletts wild animal park is a 90 minute train journey from Victoria station in London which travels directly to Bekesbourne station. A minibus service is provided from the station to Howletts Wild Animal Park between 10am - 4pm on weekends. Please call us on 01227 721286 to check availability.
Park Accessibility
We have endeavoured to ensure we can consistently deliver an inclusive environment for our visitors, providing an experience that can be used by everyone, regardless of age, gender or disability. Throughout the development of the park we have sought ways to break down any unnecessary physical barriers and continue to listen to the needs of our customers.
- The terrain is generally flat tarmac paths with a few gentle slopes.
- The park is bisected by a relatively steep slope. Help is available for wheelchair users - please ask a member of staff.
- There is a slight slope into the gatehouse at the entrance to the park.
- Designated disabled parking is located next to the Gatehouse and entrance to the park on a concrete surface.
- The majority of the park is accessible via ramped or level access.
- Wheelchairs are available for hire from the Gatehouse.
- Disabled toilets and baby changing facilities are available throughout the park
- Assistance dogs are not permitted in the park.
For more in depth accessibility information, we recommend you download our access guide
