Giraffe Ranch

Leslie Powell

2024-04

What a WONDERFUL Florida gem. The safary tours are amazing. You get to watch the animals live in a natural environment. This place does not have a zoo type vibe. The husband and wife couple keep you entertained by educating you on everything you see without having to exploit the animals. Definitely worth the money!

kelly Kersey

2024-03

“Expectation versus reality” is the best way to sum up our day at giraffe ranch. My boyfriend and I took our two 7 year old daughters to visit. Our reservation was at 4pm and cost me $340. We entered and the tour started immediately almost without warning. Driving so far to come we needed a restroom. Drove around the property following a gentleman on a Segway whom was explaining the property and animals we encountered. I felt his humor and over all approach was just not as professional or child friendly as I would have hoped for. He was very knowledgeable and passionate about the animals. The grounds were well kept as were the animals. We got no where near any animals on the tour and a lot felt lack luster and was over sold online in the gallery and descriptions. Once our tour ended he immediately led two vehicles out of the property because they had not bought other experiences. I do hope no one needed the restroom!! I purchased the lemurs in addition and had to request a restroom first. On my way I Found out they had a gift shop and many other animal enclosures we had not seen! We were being rushed the entire visit it felt like. The lemur activity was enjoyable and I’d say worth the extra fee. The children enjoyed that part and the animals were very clean and gentle. Upon the end we were taken to the gate to exit immediately. Perhaps at an earlier reservation we may have had a more impressionable enjoyable experience. Overall we had moments of enjoyment and learned a lot about animal mating! Personally feel it did not entirely meet expectations for the cost.

Suzi West

2024-03

This place is fantastic!!! First discovered this place during covid. They offered- and still do- a safari style tour of their fifty acre property that's chock full of all kinds of amazing animals!! Giraffe-babies included!! They have a rhino, several big cats, lots of small primates, so many ostriches, and many more!They also offer add on experiences like hand-feeding ring-tailed lemur, a two toed sloth , and two different types of otter!!

Debra Mauthe

2024-01

If u haven't been here, it's a box you may wish to check and go see. This place may not be that big,but, wow, it's interesting and shows how much someone who cares about animals can do a wonderful job taking care of them. I know the money to get in is ouch to the pocket book but is worth every cent u spend. This will be a place to see. Feeding a giraffe, yep, so loved that.

Mitchell Osborn

2024-02

We did the Camel Safari Tour for our 17th anniversary and had the most amazing day. Truly an anniversary we won’t EVER forget. We felt welcome from the moment they greeted us at the gate. Easy parking, a bathroom and LOTS of amazing creatures.

Falling Knife Films

2023-11

What an amazing way to celebrate our eight year anniversary! The owner was very hospitable and knowledgeable as we rode some amazing and friendly camels through the vast expanse of his property. Every employee was super friendly, and I highly recommend the lemur feeding as well! You can tell these animals are well cared for. The gift shop was also a treat. Very well maintained ranch with awesome staff and a great owner! We will be recommending this place to everyone we know. Thanks again!

Jennifer Boyce

2024-05

A great family experience! We had an excellent tour guide who provided an up close look at the animals. Reservations are required, and groups are small, making it very personalized. It is much better than the typical big tourist attractions that Florida is known for. I definitely recommend it and will visit again.

Bekah Knieriem

2024-04

Awesome experience!!! We did the drive thru safari in our own car guided by a Segway. The guy was very knowledgeable and made sure we got to see as much as possible. Definitely going to do this again ( maybe on a camel :))

John Ervin

2024-04

Just go, you will have a GREAT time. Never been on a Segway but after 10 minutes never thought about it again, just enjoyed the freedom to follow the guide (who was excellent), and have a intimate experience with the animals vs riding in the people mover. A must do!

Bob Spyder

2024-04

The experience was amazing, being able to feed giraffes, lemurs, otters, and such. Experience animals that are as free as possible while surving the purpose of keeping animals extinct in the wild from being extinct.

Marley declet

2024-03

There are more than just giraffes to see. You can feed the giraffes on the tour. They have lemurs, a sloth, cheetahs, ostriches, zebras, otters and more.

Sarah Kubik

2023-05

Don’t be concerned like we were when they didn’t open the gates right up until your tour time. It does look a little sketchy driving in but it is very much worth it. We enjoyed the otter feeding though it was quick, it was worth it because they were our favorite animals. You can tell the owners take pride in what they do and they have a wealth of knowledge on all the animals. The ride along safari was great because you were chauffeured around the land to be so many animals. We got close encounters and great pictures of all of them! It is pricey but worth the day trip out!

Alison Seward

2023-12

The tour was an awesome little adventure for our local family and visiting out of towners. Reservation was easy to do online. When I needed to add one more person, I just called and was taken care of promptly-easy peasy.The tour was engaging and informative. My teen nephews had lots of questions that Elena answered and her enthusiasm about the various animals, their care and history, and related topics was appreciated and made an awesome impression on the boys! Elena was also very considerate to ensure my brother who has mobility challenges, and my 80 y/o aunt were able to see and participate and that they were comfortable. Definitely recommend this and I’ll be bringing more visitors through!

Chris Edwards

2023-05

We were skeptical because we had seen some negative reviews on this place. It's a beautiful drive to get there. Gate was locked up when we arrived which is understandable, but there was no instruction or guidance as to what to do if you already had a reservation. You do need a reservation to do this. We sat at the gate for about 15 minutes. Employee came out and let us in, greeted us and assisted in finding the radio station to listen to the guided tour. We did the guided tour from the comfort of our rental car. Property is a fairly decent size. Plenty of animals to see, even up close. Got to see plenty of animals roaming around. All animals looked like they were well taken care of. Guide was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. We also participated in the lemur feeding. We had plenty of time to feed and interact with them. Was overall a great experience!

Jennifer Iarossi

2023-05

This was the highlight of our Florida trip, and we’re already planning to come back next time we visit. Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s worth every penny! Highly recommend feeding the lemurs; they’re curious and adorable. All animals are extremely well cared for.Elena (the owner) was our guide and she was SO patient with my boys. I think we spent close to 3 hours there learning all about the animals. She really went above and beyond to share her passion, so much so that they both want to work there someday!Perfect experience to inspire tweens and teens - skip the theme parks and spend an afternoon enjoying nature instead.

Heather Padgham

2023-05

My first visit at the Giraffe Ranch this weekend. Ranch has a lot of animals! Guided Tour included with general admission was great. My reason for 1 star is in regards to the $300 private giraffe experience, falsely advertised on website!! Website states you “join professional giraffe keepers in their daily giraffe care activities. Customized experience lasts a minimum of 30 minutes.” My “experience” was a 20 minute private giraffe feeding. No tour of the giraffe barns, no daily giraffe care activities demonstrated, and I was only given 20 minutes in the enclosure on the safari bus. The tour guides brought me just enough into the enclosure to feed the giraffes and closed the gate right behind the safari bus. General admission is not included in the price of the experience, so my entry with the experience was $420 for a total of two hours on the ranch. Not to mention I missed the beginning of the general admission tour because I was feeding the giraffes. Don’t recommend adding this experience to your general admission, they take you to feed the giraffes during the guided tour anyways. $300 is absolutely outrageous, totally not justified for the experience I received. I didn’t even get the 30 minutes promised in the experience listing. Disappointed!! Would’ve loved to actually see the daily giraffe care activities.

Sara Cerar

2024-03

Very interesting and the guide was extremely knowledgeable. We had a difficult time seeing some animals on the safari tour in our own cars while the guide was talking because we were the second to last car and what he was saying applied often to the first 2-3 cars that could see.If you go, get there very early to get in front. $150 per car is a lot to not see what the guide was talking about all the time. Also, go to the bathroom before you get there.Overall, lots of interesting educational content.Edit: in response to the owner:Nobody asked you to give the tour for free. I’m asking that you give equal opportunity to all cars. You can’t control where people look is not the point. Everything you’ve said regarding facts we knew. The Segway is a great way to give the tour. The problem for us was that we were trying to watch you and couldn’t see you when you were pointing out specific animals though we could hear you. Like I said, you’re a wealth of knowledge and we were very interested in what you said so please don’t mistake my review for not being interested or not looking.My point is, please move over sometimes when you are pointing out specific animals so we can all see.

Carolynn Lestinsky

2024-02

The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, we were able to see a lot of different animals and got to feed the giraffe and otters.

Amy Kliewer

2024-03

Very nice people and knowledgeable about the animals. The animals are well cared for and loved. Over priced for what you get is my only complaint. Out of Africa in Arizona was way more economical and fun, however as an option to hand feed a giraffe this was still good.

barry cummings jr

2023-05

Fantastic experience. Pristinely kept ranch. Animals are well take care of. Nolan was fantastic on our camel ride safari. Very knowledgable and personable. Nice date day for my wife and I but also perfect for families!

mark merrion

2023-10

Very nice place to see and feed giraffes. This is a private home ranch. You will be up close the animals. The owner took on the the tour and she was very knowledgeable and down to earth. This is a MUST DO if in the Tampa / Orlando area.

Marc Robineau

2024-04

Visit on April 07, 2024. Overwhelming experience. The 50 acre site offers 5-star accommodation to its animal residents via an imaginative, scintillating, botanical layout & a very caring guardian environment. Humanity can protect and nourish the earth’s animal kingdom with stewardship as genuine as that offered by this Giraffe Ranch at Florida’s Dade City. The example set by this ranch offers a poignant counterpoint to the poaching and environmental mishaps that are blighting many of the planet’s animal inhabitants. A very heartfelt thank you to both management and staff for hosting a magical experience at the Giraffe Ranch. We hope to schedule a future visit for our 4 grandchildren.

Barry Weinstein

2024-03

I was skeptical about it, but booked an so glad we did. Ran over the 1 1/2 noted (more than 2 hrs in the end) and was well worth the experience for the kids and all. Run by a husband and wife team, very nice and knowledgeable, kind to all the animals who enjoy a wonderful life there, and use the money to run, feed, and further develop the property. You'll learn a lot, get up front and very personal with many of the animals. Eating 25-40 pounds of various foods, a lot of animals and food, it's quite an undertaking. I thought of it as more of a a donation to a wonderful cause rather than admission and worth every dollar for the experience.

Dot LaSalle

2023-05

I bought this as a family Christmas gift and it was a big hit from the 3 year old to the 65 year old. The two grandgirls ages 3 and 5 also got to feed ring-tailed lemurs in addition to the giraffe feeding which came with the tour. Beautifully kept facilities and healthy looking animals.

pivolopez

2022-05

This was absolutely an amazing experience! They take pristine care of this facility and really care about these animals. It was a drive-thru tour with the guide over the radio. We have taken other tours like this and the quality of the tour and information from the guide (who has worked all over the world and is an adjunct professor) is 2nd to none. We also did the lemur feeding afterwards ($35) and it was SO COOL. They have other package options (Segway tour/camel tour/driven) and other feeding options to explore as well. There is another location in Lakeland that is 5x the size and we will go and review that soon too! VERY MUCH WORTH THE COST!!!

Candice Edwards

2022-05

We had an amazing time! It's very educational but also a lot of fun! You can add on experiences like feeding the lemurs or guinea pigs or a mini camel ride. You get to feed giraffes and get up close with them. You can also add on the rhino experience where you feed and bathe him. The owners are very sweet and extremely knowledgeable. We can't wait to go back. They do a lot of rescue and rehab work and are also helping with endangered animals breeding programs. You can tell the animals are really well taken care of and loved and that this is a real passion for them. I would say this is a great place for kids 5+, any younger might be a little handsy or get bored but I highly recommend!

Jenny Young

2024-04

Awesome day filled with amazing animals! They were all healthy and living a stress free life on plenty of acres. Staff was friendly and informative. Up close andpersonal with all the different species.

Jessica Franco

2022-05

Excellent adventure! We did the camel tour. The guides were knowledgeable and you got to see the animals way closer than you would at a zoo. They were also very open about where each animal came from and their conservation efforts.

Glenn Smith (Smitty Nuc-Guy)

2023-05

This was a great outing. The Safari wagon takes you up close and personal to giraffes and camels. Got some great photographs feeding the giraffes. Their pet camel is a big puppy dog who wants to be petted on the nose. Highly recommend the vehicle tour. $119 per person.

Christina

2023-05

A++++ experience! The gentleman, owner, did our tour and we learned so much not only about the animals but about the history of Florida (and elsewhere). We had a fabulous time and would highly recommend this place!