If your kids are the kind who will happily abandon whatever you’re doing because someone has spotted a deer, lizard or interesting-looking bird, choosing a vacation with plenty of opportunities to see animals can be a very good idea.
Our family loves wildlife. Some of our favorite travel memories have involved animals — from watching wild monkeys and sloths in Costa Rica to spotting elk in the Redwoods and seeing bears wandering through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
And you don’t necessarily need to book expensive wildlife experiences. Some of our best animal encounters have happened while hiking, driving through a national park or even sitting at our campsite.
Animal attractions can be fantastic for little travelers too — if yours are still in the toddler years, these toddler travel tips can help make days out much smoother
If you’re looking for a family vacation for kids who love animals, these are some of our favorite places we’ve visited.
1. Costa Rica
If I had to choose one destination for an animal-loving family, Costa Rica would be very hard to beat.
We spent two weeks traveling around Costa Rica with our kids and saw an incredible variety of wildlife. Monkeys, sloths, toucans, hummingbirds, lizards and colorful frogs were just some of the animals we encountered.
What makes Costa Rica particularly good for families is how accessible many of the wildlife experiences are. You don’t necessarily have to hike for hours into the rainforest to see something exciting.
Costa Rica Destinations for Families
Places such as La Fortuna, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio all offer very different environments and opportunities to spot wildlife.
Hiring a guide for at least one nature walk is worth considering too. Our guides spotted animals we would have walked straight past and helped us understand much more about what we were seeing. We did multiple guided hikes but the night hike in Monteverde Cloud Forest was our favorite.
Walking through the forest in the dark is an adventure in itself. Armed with flashlights and following our guide, we were constantly looking for tiny frogs, insects and other creatures hiding among the leaves.
And then a snake crawled right over my foot.
Our guide was delighted and told us how lucky we were because sightings of that particular snake are rare. I wasn’t entirely convinced that having a snake crawl over my foot was my definition of lucky, but it’s certainly a wildlife encounter none of us will forget!
Experiences like this were one of the reasons we loved Costa Rica so much. You aren’t just visiting somewhere with wildlife attractions — you’re surrounded by wildlife. For animal-loving kids, it makes even an ordinary walk feel like an adventure.
Great for: Sloths, monkeys, tropical birds, frogs and rainforest wildlife.
Costa Rica was one of our favorite trips for wildlife-loving kids — our 2-week Costa Rica itinerary with kids includes rainforest walks, sloths, monkeys, tropical birds, night hikes and plenty of chances to spot animals in the wild.
2. San Diego, California
San Diego is a fantastic choice if your child loves animals but you’d also like the variety and convenience of a city vacation.
The obvious place to start is San Diego Zoo, which is huge and easily capable of filling most of a day.
But animal experiences in San Diego aren’t limited to the zoo.
Head to La Jolla and you can see sea lions and seals along the coastline. Watching them lounging on the rocks, swimming in the water and making an enormous amount of noise is great fun with kids.
During our California road trip we also stayed at a farm stay near San Diego, giving our kids the chance to spend time around goats and alpacas.
It made San Diego feel like several completely different vacations rolled into one.
Great for: Zoo animals, sea lions, seals and marine life.
3. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park is spectacular even if you don’t see a single animal — but chances are you’ll see at least something.
Elk are commonly spotted around the park and the Estes Park area, and you may also encounter deer, marmots and other wildlife.
Moose are one of the most exciting animals to look out for.
We camped inside Rocky Mountain National Park, which made the wildlife experience even more memorable. There’s something very different about seeing animals when you’re actually living in their environment rather than simply visiting for a few hours.
Early mornings and evenings can be particularly good times for wildlife spotting, so staying inside or close to the park has its advantages. This is a park we keep coming back to, it’s one of our favorite National Parks.
Great for: Elk, moose, deer and marmots.
4. Redwood National and State Parks, California
Most people visit California’s Redwoods for the enormous trees, but there’s another very good reason animal-loving families should put this area on their list: Roosevelt elk.
These impressive animals live around the northern California coast and can sometimes be seen grazing surprisingly close to roads and developed areas.
The Redwoods also feel wonderfully wild. You’re exploring enormous forests, beaches and fern-covered trails, so even when you’re not actively looking for animals, it feels like the sort of place where something might appear around the corner.
For us, the combination of wildlife and incredible scenery made this one of the most memorable parts of our California road trip.
Great for: Roosevelt elk, birds and coastal wildlife.
6. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina
The Great Smoky Mountains are another excellent national park for families hoping to see wildlife.
Black bears are probably the animals everyone hopes to spot, although you should obviously never approach or follow them.
Cades Cove is one of the best-known places for wildlife spotting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but for our kids, it was the horses that completely stole the show.
We went horseback riding at Cades Cove when we first arrived in the Smokies, riding through the beautiful mountain scenery and forest. We all loved it, but I don’t think we realized quite how much the kids had loved it until the end of our trip.
When we asked what they wanted to do on our final day in the Smokies, they begged us to go back and ride the horses again. With everything we’d seen and done during the trip, horseback riding was the thing they wanted to repeat. It ended up being one of the real highlights of our vacation.
Cades Cove is also a wonderful place to look for wildlife. Black bears, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and other animals live in the area, and the wide open valley makes it a beautiful place to explore even when the wildlife isn’t cooperating.
If you have a child who loves horses, I’d definitely consider adding a trail ride to your Smokies itinerary. Sometimes the activities our kids remember most aren’t necessarily the ones we expected them to.
Great for: Horses, black bears, deer and families who want an animal experience surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery.
Even without a major wildlife sighting, driving or cycling around Cades Cove is a lovely family experience.
7. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Grand Teton sometimes gets overshadowed by neighboring Yellowstone, but it’s a wonderful wildlife destination in its own right.
The combination of mountains, lakes, rivers and open valleys provides habitat for moose, elk, bison, bears and many smaller animals.
It’s also a relatively easy national park to explore with kids. Scenic drives and shorter trails mean you can combine wildlife spotting with hiking and sightseeing without every day becoming exhausting.
If you’re already planning a trip to Yellowstone, I would absolutely include Grand Teton rather than treating it as somewhere to simply drive through.
Great for: Moose, elk, bison and bears.
8. Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
Yes, Costa Rica is already on this list, but Manuel Antonio deserves its own mention because it is such a fun wildlife destination with kids.
This is one of those rare places where rainforest and beautiful beaches come together.
Monkeys are one of the big attractions, and you may also see sloths, lizards, tropical birds and plenty of other creatures while exploring the national park.
Because the park is relatively compact, it can also work particularly well for families who don’t want to spend an entire day trekking through the rainforest.
Wildlife followed by time on a tropical beach isn’t a bad vacation combination.
Great for: Monkeys, sloths, tropical birds and rainforest wildlife.
9. A California Road Trip
If you have a child who loves animals, a California road trip allows you to combine lots of completely different wildlife experiences in one vacation.
On our California road trip, we encountered Roosevelt elk in the Redwoods, sea lions in La Jolla and wildlife in the national parks, as well as visiting San Diego Zoo and staying on a farm.
That’s one of the reasons road trips work so well for families. Instead of choosing between a beach vacation, national park or animal experience, you can build several into the same trip.
California is particularly good for this because the landscape changes so dramatically as you travel through the state.
Great for: Families who want lots of different animal experiences in one trip.
10. Your Local State or National Park
Finally, don’t assume you need to fly across the country — or internationally — to give an animal-loving kid a great vacation.
Some of our favorite wildlife encounters have happened much closer to home.
State parks, wildlife refuges and national parks can be fantastic places for kids to learn to slow down and actually look for animals. Deer, birds, armadillos, squirrels, lizards and even insects suddenly become much more interesting when you’re camping or hiking somewhere new.
Give kids binoculars, let them keep track of what they see and make wildlife spotting part of the adventure.
You may be surprised by how much there is to see.
Great for: An inexpensive weekend trip close to home.
Tips for Planning a Wildlife Vacation With Kids
You can’t schedule a wild animal appearance, and that’s part of the fun. There are, however, a few things we’ve learned that can increase your chances of seeing wildlife.
Try heading out early in the morning or around dusk, when many animals are more active. Carry binoculars and give kids time to stop and look rather than rushing from one attraction to another.
In places where animals can be difficult to spot, hiring a knowledgeable local guide can be worth the money. This was particularly useful for us in Costa Rica.
Most importantly, remember that wildlife should always be observed from a safe distance. Follow local guidance, never feed wild animals and teach kids that seeing an animal doesn’t mean we need to get closer to it.
Which Wildlife Vacation Would We Choose?
For the sheer variety of animals, Costa Rica would be my first choice. It’s difficult to beat the excitement of looking for monkeys, sloths and toucans in the rainforest.
For wildlife in the United States, Yellowstone and Grand Teton make an incredible combination, while San Diego is a great option for families who want animal experiences without committing to a national park vacation.
For wildlife in the United States, Rocky Mountain National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park are incredible destinations for families, while San Diego is a great option for families who want animal experiences without committing to a national park vacation.
But some of our favorite encounters have been completely unexpected.
That’s probably what I love most about traveling with kids who are interested in animals. A hike isn’t just a hike and a drive isn’t just about getting somewhere. Everyone is constantly looking around to see what might appear next.
And sometimes the animal you spot along the way ends up being the thing your kids remember most about the entire vacation.
Looking for more family adventures? Explore our other family-friendly destinations for tried-and-tested ideas, itineraries and inspiration for your next trip.
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