If you’re travelling to the Canary Islands, Loro Park is a must-see. From my experience I recommend going to the park on your own, without a tour group, so you won’t be pressed for time and you can go all around the park and enjoy the animals and scenery. It is advisable to go to the park for a whole day, this will allow you to visit all the shows taking place in the park.
Description of the Loro Park Tenerife
The park has been in existence since 1972 and is expanding year by year. The zoo now covers an area of 13.5 hectares. The owner of the park and its founder, Wolfgang Kiessling, comes from Germany. When he was a child, his first pet was a parrot, and it was probably this that inspired him to create the enormous parrot park.
Walking around the park, you can see Thai motifs in the decoration, Japanese carp in the ponds and much more. The whole area is perfectly landscaped. There are places to relax, have lunch or buy memorable souvenirs. There are lots of trees in the area, so you don’t have to worry about the heat.
What to see in Loro Park
First and foremost, Loro Park is the largest parrot park in the world, with over 4,000 species, and most importantly, most of them live in a huge aviary where visitors can see them at arm’s length, and sometimes even closer. But that’s not all you can experience at the park.
Tenerife Parrot Park
Step into the park and you enter a Thai village with 6 Thai houses, waterfalls and ponds teeming with goldfish (carp). Continue on to the gorilla enclosure. Are there really more than just parrots? – you will say.
The indoor building is home to penguins and for the convenience of visitors a riding track has been made in the pavilion, so the crowds don’t stand in one place and everyone has a chance to see the northern creatures to the south. The penguins are behind glass, the only way to keep the temperature comfortable for them. Snow guns spray snow on the penguins every 20-30 minutes.
Shows in Loro Park Tenerife
Being in the park all day, you have the opportunity to see all 4 shows, which are repeated at certain intervals (20-40 minutes). It is advisable to take care of your seats 15-20 minutes before the start of the show.
The orca show is something incredible. There are always a lot of people wanting to sit on the front rows, but not everyone is aware of the splashing that will be flying to the front rows. Before the performance begins a video will be shown of the killer whales that live in their habitat and the moments when they splash the audience. There will be an opportunity for everyone to move up or buy a waterproof mackintosh. Wherever you sit, you will be able to see and hear them everywhere.
Parrot show – birds will be showing off their geographical knowledge, ringing a bell, cycling and scooter rides. These birds often perform in hotels, so you may have seen this show before.
Seals – an entertaining seals show you their dancing skills, drowning rescues and ending with a flutter of kisses.
Dolphin Show – these beautiful mammals will make you smile, if not surprise you with their tricks.
In between shows you have a great opportunity to explore the rest of the park. For example, the orchid garden, which blooms and delights visitors all year round. There is also an incubator at the park where parrot chicks are raised. Part of the incubator is behind glass, and visitors can see the process of weighing or feeding the tiny chicks. There are also flamingos, African lions, pygmy hippos and more.
The park has an oceanarium, where you can see a variety of marine life, majestic sharks and small jellyfish, stingrays and tropical fish. A walk through the glass tunnel is breathtaking and imaginative.
Discovery tour
The most inquisitive visitors can buy tickets for a guided tour of the park’s enclosed spaces, either in advance or on site. The cost is approximately 10 Euros and the tour lasts about 2 hours.
After exploring the park, take a swim in the beautiful volcanic beach in front of the park. So bring your swimming costume and towel.
How to get to Loro Park Tenerife
Travellers staying in Puerto de La Cruz can take the free train.
Most tourists travel to the park from the south of the island. From the city of Las Americas there is a bus number 343, choose the morning commute time. The route to the park takes about 2 hours.
The best way to get to the park by car is to take the TF1 route. It will take about 1:20 minutes.
My recommendations
1. It is best to go to the park for the whole day, so you can get around at your own pace. Don’t take a guide or a tour of the park, the tour time is severely limited. Bring your swimming costume – there’s a lovely beach with volcanic sand opposite the park. Don’t forget your camera.
2. Buy an all-inclusive ticket for Loro Park + Siam Park. It’s cheaper that way and Siam Park won’t leave you indifferent either. Get a map of the park and the show schedule.
3. For me personally, Loro Park Tenerife was a wonderful discovery, a place I want to come back to. The conditions of the animals, the staff and the infrastructure are all top notch. And the park has recently been certified by American Humane, which indicates a very high standard of animal life in the park, as well as all the conditions that can make the tourists’ stay in the park as comfortable and safe as possible.
