Have you visited the drive-thru safari at Eudora Farms? Get the family ready for a thrilling animal adventure, right from the car! Just south of Columbia, SC, this drive-thru safari is waiting for you with over 200 exotic animals. You’ll see exotic birds, camels, zebra, water buffalo, ostriches, and so much more!
We hopped in the car to check it out and this attraction was a hit for everyone! Here’s everything you need to know about Eudora Farms Wildlife Safari near Columbia, South Carolina, in Salley, SC.
Visiting South Carolina’s Eudora Farms Wildlife Safari
My family loved our recent adventure to Eudora Farms! I’m not totally sure what we were expecting, but our experience went above and beyond anything we had in mind! We shared plenty of giggles, unsure shrieks, and big smiles all around.
Before you head out to Eudora Farms, be sure to check the Eudora Farms social media account for any weather/closure updates. It’s far enough away that driving there and not being able to get in would make for a lot of tears (and the kids would be upset, too).
Planning Your Trip
After leaving Columbia, there aren’t many places to stop for gas, food, or potty breaks. The majority of the trip is very rural and there is often a line to get into the farm, so a quick pit stop before getting out of town wouldn’t be the worst idea.
Arriving at Eudora Farms
You will have to drive down a long dirt road before making it to the entrance of the farm. Upon arrival there will be a shelter where you can purchase (or show pre-purchased) tickets, buy buckets of food, and be given important rules and information.
Eudora Farms Tickets
Admission prices are as follows:
- 1 – 2 people in the vehicle: $18/person
- 3 – 6 people in the vehicle: $45/vehicle
Animal Food Buckets for Purchase
We recommend purchasing several bowls of food. Each bowl costs $5 or you can do a bundle of 5 bowls and save a few bucks. That is what my family chose to do and while it felt like too much at first, I promise, it goes fast! Be sure to keep the food not being used WELL HIDDEN! We will talk more about this later.
What Animals Can You See at Eudora Farms?
Overall, there are a couple of hundred animals that live on Eudora Farms! The safari driving trail will wind through several fields where you will see animals such as ostriches, zebras, camels, African Watusi, water buffalo, goats, llamas, and so much more! Some of these animals will gleefully approach your vehicle while others might need a little coaxing.
My son’s favorite animal was “the guy with the big horns”, better known as the African Watusi. Several of them greeted us right at the entrance and I think my son was in awe of how massive their horns were! My personal favorite was the highland cattle for no other reason than I think they’re cute and surprisingly rather gentle!
Beware of Ostriches & Camels
If you don’t remember anything else from this article, remember this: The ostriches will nip you! It doesn’t hurt (I got bitten); just scares the living snot out of you. You will usually be able to see the ostriches coming, so when/if it’s safe to do so, just roll your window up and they will move right along.
A second animal I MUST warn you about are the camels! They like food, A LOT, and are not afraid of sticking their enormous necks in and stealing whatever is in their eyesight. During our adventure, we had two separate camels steal a total of 3 food bowls from us. One of which I swore was going to end up sitting in my lap – he stretched through the front window, into the floorboard of the back seat, and snatched up 2 bowls like it was nothing. He was definitely well-trained on the act! (lol!)
Tips and Tricks for Eudora Farms
1. Bring Towels
Seriously, you’re going to need them! After getting 3 full bowls of food snatched out of the backseat of my van we used a towel to cover the rest of them on the floorboard. Out of sight, out of…danger of being robbed by camels!
Another great use for towels is draping them over the side of your car so that some is covering both the outside and inside of your door. We saw a few cars doing this and thought it was BRILLIANT. The animals will undoubtedly bring in a lot of mud, dirt, and, well…slobber, so having an extra barrier there will be helpful!
2. Pack Hand Sanitizer or Wipes
While there are handwashing stations in the walkthrough safari areas, there is no way to wash your hands while in the drive-thru portion. Remember how I said you’re going to encounter lots of animal dirt and slobber?! Hand sanitizer and/or wet wipes are necessary, for sure!
3. Demonstrate How to Properly Feed Animals
I know they probably don’t do it on purpose, however, some of the animals are more aggressive than others at getting their food. It would be wise to have a quick teaching moment and/or demonstration with younger kiddos about holding their hands flat to feed, staying calm when animals approach, etc.
4. Bring More Containers
While you CANNOT bring your own food to feed the animals, you can bring smaller containers to divide the food into. This helps a ton with not only rationing food out to your kids but it also gives them a place to hold it besides just their hands or laps. Think along the lines of a few small, plastic bowls or Tupperware containers.
5. Have No Fear, More Food is Available
We thought we were running out of food and started getting nervous, but about ¾ of the way through your trip there will be another shelter to purchase food buckets at!
6. No Petting or Feeding the Zebras
They will also tell you this when you’re checking-in, but you are not allowed to pet or feed the zebras! Make sure your children are also aware of this rule because the zebras will still stick their heads into the car and say hello. Just ignore them and they’ll leave quickly!
7. Only Honk if you Need Help
Honking your horn means you need assistance so you should only do this if you’re in need of a staff member.
More Things To Do at Eudora Farms
Now that the farm is 100% complete, in addition to the drive-thru safari, there is a petting zoo, giraffe visit, walk-thru safari, and food trucks.
Walk-through safari at Eudora Farms
Along the walk-thru safari, you can get up close to lemurs, tropical birds, bearcats, kangaroos, and have a chance to feed parakeets.
Petting Zoo at Eudora Farms
At the petting zoo, you can feed baby animals such as goats, camels, and cows.
Eudora Farms Map
The Eudora Farms map shows all that the park has to offer!
Has your family visited Eudora Farms? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Eudora Farms Wildlife Safari Drive-thru is Reader Recommended
We had a fun adventure last week down in Salley at Eudora Farm. Kidding around Greenville has been such a fabulous resource and totally saved me multiple times. I wanted to share with the group. Eudora Farm is a drive through safari that’s only $36 a car. Takes about an hour to drive through depending on how long you choose to interact with the animals. There’s camels, exotic cattle, zebras, large birds, llamas, alpacas, a GIRAFFE, etc. etc. A wide variety came up to the car to be fed or pet. Buckets of grain are $5. After the drive there’s a small area where you can pet young animals and Elliot the giraffe. There’s a bird enclosure with about 60 parakeets that you can feed for $2 a stick. We spent ages in there. There’s some concessions, but we packed in food and ate at the picnic tables. Portapotties are available and handwashing stations. It’s a bit of a drive, but well worth it!!
Caitlin Cobb
Eudora Farms
219 Salem Lane, Salley, SC
803.606.6325
Hours:
Monday – Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm
Sunday from 12 pm to 4 pm
Closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day
- Admission is $18-$45 per car depending on the number of people.
- Food for the animals is $5 a bucket
(Prices subject to change) - Check Eudora Farms Facebook page for daily operating updates
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Kayla Simmons
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