Get Breakfast Delivered by Elephant
The Vision Quest Ranch has a unique bed and breakfast where you stay in a Tent Cabin overlooking their small safari. It's just an hour from the San Francisco Bay Area which makes it a perfect weekend getaway. A third of the experience of an African safari at 1/20th of the cost and time. Highlights include feeding elephants, tigers and lions. The attached Monterey Zoo allows for up close viewing of monkeys, wild cats and more. Click through for the details.
VISION QUEST RANCH AND MONTEREY ZOO
COST (USD): $250 per night, $300 for special packages
FUN: 4 of 5
UNIQUENESS: High
DIFFICULTY: Easy
TIME: Overnight
LOCATION: Salinas, CA
The Vision Quest Ranch and Monterey Zoo is a small but animal-packed facility just outside of Salinas in northern California. It's history begins with a lion called Joseph that starred in movies like "George of the Jungle". But the owner kept collecting animals while the movie business (for animals) grew smaller and smaller. So they decided to form an ever growing zoo to service the Monterey area.
You can just visit the zoo if you want. It's small, so you have to go on a one hour guided tour (every day at 1:00) which costs $12 for an adult. This is actually a great deal as the small size of the zoo means you get to see lions, tigers, panthers, alligators, monkeys, bears, and much more REALLY close. They have a white and orange pair of tigers that play with each other that are ADORABLE (and able to kill you).
But if you have some extra money, there are an endless number of additions you can buy. There's "Crunch Time" which allows you to feed (with a giant metal pole) the big cats (lions, tigers, panthers) after the crowds have left. It's a good opportunity to spend more time with these beautiful creatures. There is also bedtime with the elephants (where you get to feed the elephants), and a whole pachiderm package in the mornings where you wash the elephants.
Of course, then you can stay at the B&B. This is really what turns a zoo trip into an animal getaway. The tent cabins are well spaced and nicely appointed. It's not a luxury hotel, but it's very comfortable for a safari. There's tea, coffee, a refrigerator, a heater, a TV and DVD player, magazines, and even heated mattress pads. This is NOT roughing it.
Then there are the animals. Below is a photo of the layout of the cabins. You'll want to stay in 3, 4, 5, or 8 if you want a direct view of the safari from your deck (worth it). From your viewing deck, you can see several elephants, a zebra, an ostrich, and some water buffalo. You'll be able to simply walk down to do any tours you've booked.
Here's what we did to get a sense of a good schedule:
Saturday
3:00 arrive and check in
4:00 Relax on the deck, drink tea, and watch the animals
4:30 Trainers brought raccoon and a bear cub for a walk past our deck
5:00 Walked down to the zoo to feed the lions, tigers, and other cats (extra charge)
5:30 Put the elephants to bed, fed them
6:30 Went into historic Salinas for a surprisingly awesome dinner at Patrias, a lovely European restaurant with really nice decor and great food.
Sunday:
10AM: An elephant came and delivered breakfast. To be clear, the trainers delivered the continental breakfast (bagels, fruit, pastries) and we fed the elephant a breakfast of carrots. But still awesome.
11AM: We went on the pachyderm package which was a four person tour of the zoo (same as the 1:00 tour but more private) followed by up close washing and feeding of the elephant. This was fun, but honestly, for the price, feeding the cats is more worthwhile.
Look below for photos.
