The Best Staycation and Safari In The UK: Port Lympne

If you haven’t seen my Instagram recently, Joe and I have just come back from the most beautiful and wonderful 48 hours at Port Lympne Park, located in Kent. 

Weirdly, I’ve never been to this part of the UK before. I’ve travelled to Margate a fair bit as my nan and grandad moved there in their later years. However, I’ve never done this area. 

I did book this staycation ages ago as an anniversary treat for Joe and I. 13 years of being “officially in a relationship” on the 30th September, crazy. Well, we’re probs edging nearer to 14 years of being together, as it took about a year for him to ask me out after “seeing” one another for about a year. We’ve known each other for around 15 years I’d say. We were very good friends when he moved down to Watford for a job. 

Anyway… Back to Port Lympne. From arrival, the staff were amazing. I don’t say that lightly. 

We had the whole of the Bear Lodge area to ourselves, so the woman on reception very kindly upgraded us to front row middle tent which was such a lovely surprise, with no additional costs. Best view also! I can’t remember the lady’s name, but she was great! 

The views were breathtaking through-out the park. I felt like I was in holiday in Europe. Honestly, I don’t think my photos do this place enough justice. 

We did get very lucky with the weather in late September didn’t we!

The mansion was gorgeous to wander through. It had a mix of beautifully painted rooms, Moroccan gardens, fancy hallways, and the dining areas outside were delightful. We had afternoon tea inside the mansion, which I will touch on later on in this post.

The animals had so much space to roam around in. They seem to be very well looked after, which is good to see! They are and have been releasing some animals back into the wild over the years which is wonderful. 

We did pop over to their sister park, Howletts Park, quite late on in the day, which is around a 25 minute drive from Port Lympne Park. We just wanted to see the African elephants before they fly over to Kenya very soon to be put back in the wild.

Elephants are my favourite wild animal in case you didn’t know.

We arrived at Howletts just after 4:30pm, which is the last admissions for this park, and the doors were closed, however the very kind man let us in.

We also did the inclusive safari tour as well as the giraffe encounter earlier on at Port Lympne Park, they were hands down, the best animal experiences we’ve ever done. On par with feeding the elephants in Thailand. 

Feeding the giraffes was truly magical. They are such beautiful creatures. 

So, if you’re planning on experiencing Port Lympne, I’d highly recommend doing an animal encounter. They have other ones to chose from, such as gorilla encounters, rhino encounters and much much more.

The food

The food, especially at Babydolls was amazing. So many veggie options!

That was the BEST bruschetta we’ve ever had. Joe went up to the chefs to ask what they did, so very happy to come away with some tips. Pizza’s and chips were delish too. Waiting staff were very lovely also. 

Breakfast in the morning near the Bear Lodge was great too! Veggie full English, yum! Also, lovely and attentive waiting staff again. 

We had afternoon tea at around 2:30pm. It was ok. Some of the desserts were quite strange flavours.
I think because we’ve had very fancy afternoon teas in London in the past, this one didn’t meet our exceptions sadly. However, the atmosphere and the room itself is gorgeous. The music was similar to Bridgerton’s music, classical but modern songs.

Final Thoughts

Joe and I have already discussed that we are coming back to stay. We would come back tomorrow if we could. 

I’m happy to have finally ticked off “glamping” off my bucket-list. We did do the buubble in Iceland, which is kind of glamping as well. However, I wanted to do glamping in the UK at some point in my life-time.

Also, the glamping Bear Lodge tent was incredible. Sleeps 8, but it was just us 2. In the future I’d love to go with a small group or stay in another type of accommodation in this park. Would be amazing to bring our future children here one day, if that ever happens… most people who read my blog will understand my struggles with infertility.

Anyway, the glamping tent has everything you would need, luxurious bathroom with such a powerful shower, 4 bedrooms, dining, kitchen and chill areas. There are plugs too!

Oh and the below photo’s are a tad random to finish on, a few cheeky selfies and a snap of a top tier chocolate bar.

One of the best experiences we’ve done in the UK. Went above and beyond our expectations! 11/10.