Hi Graham

We are going in 2 weeks and I just wondered if you know if you can get any discounted tickets for Terra Natura like you can for Terra Mitica?

Michelle

hi there,

we are next door neighbors of terra natura and were able to see how the park was built during the last 4 years....
and...finally....it's open since march 21st

since we were very curious how it looks like we went last week.
the park is really beautiful and we were never as close to animals than there...the concept is less animals with more space and we found that 99% of the animals were there now
of course the plants need some more time to grow....
just the waterpark is not finished - this is due to open in june and to us it looks like they will make it!
there you will be able to swim with sharks (no joke) and with rays....
also they say that they will have the largest wave pool (is that correct in english?) in the world.....

we put our pictures on the web: http://www.terranaturapark.com/terranatura1.htm

when in benidorm you really have to go!!!

we also think 20,- is really worth the visit and they don't give any "official" discount cards, like mundomar....
at the moment, you even get a 3,- lunch voucher per person and kids or senior pay only 15,- anyway....

looked at the photos it looks fantastic we will defo visit in may

Hi Michelle

Didn't do a thorough search, but everyone seemed to be advertising at 20 Euros.

We paid at the gate

20 Euros for adult

15 Euros for under 12 & pensioner

Under 3 free

Also - Got a 3 Euro per person meal discount voucher to use in the park...maybe this is to compensate for the missing facilities?

One other thing I forgot to mention....The buses that go there stop running at around 11:00 'til around 16:00 I think.....Best to check the timetable beforehand if you intend to use the bus (We took a taxi in the finish - 10 Euros one way)

Graham

Thanks for the info Graham.

If all the aminals are there then I think it will be worth going. I think we will ask for more info when we get to Benidorm.

Many Thanks

Michelle

Been a while since the last posting, just wondering if the waterpark is nearly completed yet as it is supposed to be opening in June. Sounds like it is going o be brill, swimming with sharks that would be an experience. We are going to beni on June 11th so heres hoping.

I will be visiting Terra Natura the new animal park is there anywhere in Benidorm where you can get discount ( Money Off ) vochers/tickets.
Also is it next to the Terra Mitica theme park.

We visited in the middle of june, thoroughly enjoyed it. Look out for different shows going on throughout the day. Don't think they do discount tickets, we didn't here of any, but you could take picnics in unlike terramitica. It is next to terramitica but as they are both massive parks wouldn't like to walk between the two. Waterpark was still not open but looks like it will be excellent when it is. I liked the rhinos the best, they swam up to you and could get just a couple of metres away.

Have just returned from benidorm, we visited terra natura, what a fabulous place, go early in the day as you can cool off in the pool whenever you like and then go back round park. The only part that was not open was the swimming with sharks, but it is advertised as opening shortly, and it will be an extra 10 euros. The water park was an extra 5 euros but well worth it. All the animals were clean and you could get very close to some of them. One other thing that impressed me was they put portable air conditioning machines around the park so you could cool down whenever you had a hot flush.

hi all
we fly out to benidorm 2 weeks today and wondered if terra natura is worth a visit our daughter loves mundamar as she loves the dolphins and last year she was able to have her photo taken with a dolphin.
any info would be gratefully excepted

cheers dodge

Hi Dodge, we visited Mundomar and Terra Natura this year and thought there was much more to see at Terra Natura, our kids certainly enjoyed it.

hi we went to nerra natura 3 weeks ago it was really nice but thought there would be more animals than there was it is a lovely day out and you can go on the bus which only costs 90cent but be aware that buses stoped running at 3 till 7pm we had to get taxi back

We went last week and I was quite disappointed. There are very few animals spread out over a large area.
If you do go get there early as by mid day the animals were all snoozing in the shade.
I won't bother going again, it is a lot of money to take your family and was not that good.
Mundomar is much better value for money.

I have just been reading a review on the Costa Blanca RESORT forum and something I read there has prompted me to write this thread in the hope that it will be of some assistance to those considering a trip to Terra Natura.

Terra Natura is a fairly new 'Theme Park' situated just outside of Benidorm itself. However, it is basically nothing more than a glorified Zoo ( IMO ) with a bit of themeing thrown in for good measure. My first peice of advice would be that if you are a great Animal Lover then you would be better off not going there in the first place. Do not misunderstand me, I must emphasize that I saw no signs of Animal Cruelty or Neglect during my first (and LAST visit), but the animals I did see all looked very sad and forelorn. It upset me personally, but that is just my own opinion.

Anyway, the reason why I wanted to write this post is to advise you on Transport to and from the Park. If you have not hired a car then you may be better off organising a Taxi to take you there and to pick you up at the end of the Visit at a time you can mutally agree upon. Don't forget to agree a price in advance though. There is no predetermined Taxi Rank but you should have no problems finding one, although they will not be in abundance lined up and waiting like they are at Terra Mitica and Mundomar. This could just be due to the fact that it is still a fairly new Park.

The Park is situated on a main (new) road and there is a local Bus Service. However, these buses are few and far between. When you exit the Park you have to cross over the main road ( BE CAREFUL ) to the one and only bus stop on the other side. There are no Signs or Timetables on this stop and very little seating....enough for about four people. Elderly or disabled people are not catered for and may find this stop a big problem. Also there is no shelter so this could be a problem in the height of the season as....and now here is my point....the wait for a bus can be anything up to two hours if not more. And in the heat that may be very uncomfortable standing around for such a long time, and I DO mean a LONG time. Unlike in the UK however, you will not find that all the buses suddenly arrive at once...you will be lucky if A bus arrives at all!!.

By which time a very long queue will have formed and when a bus DOES eventually arrive there will be a mad scramble to get on board. The Spanish Authorities do not seem to have taken Public Transport into consideration when building this Park. They could have introduced a local Shuttle service or a regular service to this place, but instead they are just relying on the already 'hit and miss' service.

The Park is not really within walking distance of Benidorm itself, but it can be done. However, this will mean you will have to negogiate some very busy fast moving roads and the pavements are not continuous meaning you would have to walk right on the road for part of the journey. But taking into consideration the sheer length of time you have to wait for a bus, you could probably walk it back into Resort, but PLEASE if you do opt to walk make sure you be VERY careful and keep your eyes open at all times....you will have to crosss and criss cross several very busy main 'motorway' style roads with no sidewalks or pavements.

So, the moral of this story is this: If you are planning on visiting TERRA NATURA then you are best advised to (1) Hire a Car, (2), Book a Taxi, (3) Book an Organised Trip with transport included with your Tour Operator...or (4) Don't bother going in the first place (as in my humble opinion it is not worth it).....MUNDOMAR is far superior if you are looking for a animal themed park place. And is MUCH easier to get to.

*EDITED FOR ATTIONAL INFO*

Please note, you may see signs advertising that Terra Natura is "right next door to Terra Mittica". Techincally speaking this is so, but the Park entrances are no where near each other and will involve a very long walk past the huge Car Park for Terra Mittica up a slight hill. Families with small children might find this hard going.

Discount Coupons can usually be obtained quite easily in Resort. Look out for a kind of Jeep Safari Land Rover type vehicle which is often parked up near to the Outdoor Market on Market Days. You will also see street 'vendors' in and around the Old Town handing out discounted coupons. In addition to this, depending on your time of arrival at Alicante Airport, you may find people in the Arrivals Hall handing out discounted coupons for al, of Benidorm's Theme Parks.

Unlike Terra Mittica, food CAN be taken into Terra Natura if you opt to take a 'packed lunch' available from your Hotel. There are Eating establishments within the Park but like any Theme Park of this kind they do tend to be very expensive.

If you decide to visit Terra Natura make sure you get to see the group of men who perform a kind of ceremony at the top of a very large pole and watch them 'fly' around the pole. It is quite a spectacle but make sure you have good strong sunglasses as you will be looking up into the sky for most of this 'show'.

BHIC i agree with you about the animals looking sad, i would not go again becouse of this and while we're on the subject of animals........ Please Please do not have your photo taken with the baby Lion and Tiger cubs in Terra Mitika, they are taken from their mothers and just used for photo's, when i spoke to a member of staff in Terra Mitika about this he told me that the cubs were not treated properly and that Born Free were visiting the park to try to stop this cruelty. The cubs end up in a circus in Alicante to perform for the rest of their lives, if their lucky! So don't have your photo's taken, and hopefully this may stop.
crystal.

Please Please do not have your photo taken with the baby Lion and Tiger cubs in Terra Mittica,

Cystalscan.....I was not aware that they were doing this. It must be something new now that Terra Natura is open. I think this is an appalling practice. Are they removing these tiger cubs from their mothers in Terra Natura? If they are using Tiger Cubs for 'Photo Opportunites' in Mittica, then I assume they are doing the same thing in Natura as well. Visitors to both Parks must boycott these Photographers. That is the only thing that will put them out of business. I never saw this taking place when I visited, so I assume it is a new 'venture' to generate more income.

If 'Born Free' are unable to rescue these poor creatures and put a stop to this henious practice then these animals are destined to end up in The Animal Sanctuary.

Even more reason now not to go to Terra Natura. I must emphasise once again, I personally saw no evidence of animal cruelty in either park....but I did NOT like the way the Elephants were paraded in front of an audience with a large fat Keeper sat on their backs. The elephants were allowed two minutes to bathe in the pool to get out of the heat before they were paraded around again. Did you notice that there was very little shade in the Elephant enclosure?

The photographs with lion and tiger cubs are definitely not a recent thing, so couldnt be anything to do with terra natura, I was at terra mittica 3 years ago and this was definitely happening then. I also saw photos with snakes advertised but didnt see any around the park, just the lion and tiger cubs.

I agree with Gill-Mag that this is not a recent thing, when I visited Terra Mitica in 2003 they were encouraging people to have their pictures taken with a Tiger Cub. Being an animal lover and having 11 pet pigeons, a budgie, a gerbil and a dog the whole idea repulses me, it is soooooooooooo cruel. Please please don't have your pictures taken, if they don't get any business then they might give it up. We were very surprised that the Management allowed this to happen and it has actually put us off from returning. On the way out, I was asked to complete a survey by the staff and commented about this abhorrent, cruel money making scheme.

Sue

On the way out, I was asked to complete a survey by the staff and commented about this abhorrent, cruel money making scheme.

I have only been to Terra Mittica twice and to Terra Natura once. I must confess I saw no evidence of this horrible practice during my visits to either Park, but obviously I may have been in another area of the Park at the time. I'm glad I never saw this because I would have probably got myself into trouble by telling the photographer off.

Unfortuantely, there will be tourists from other Countries visiting these parks that do not feel as strongly about cruelty to animanls as we do in the UK and will be happy top pose with these poor creatures. So boycotting these people will have very little effect in actually stopping them. I am going to contact the Born Free people and see if I can help by way of a donation to their cause.

I do know this, all the time these people are doing this I will NOT visit these parks anymore.