This place isI just captivating the people that work here are friendly and professional they answer all your questions the only negative is the cold here ! it is June and we need the electric blanket and heater on! The heater is very load! The fridge is stocked with water and juice! Recommend crunch time, salinas BBQ, and Steinbeck museum! read more

We spent the night in one of the tent cabins and enjoyed the Crunch feeding experience as well as the Put the Elephants to bed. In the morning we had breakfast served by the elephants and participated in the Packaderm Package. It was amazing. The tent cabin is definitely rustic but comfortable. I would recommend this experience to my friends and will be back for the VIP tour. read more

Awesome experience with the animals. Has a lot of animals not found at regular zoos. We stayed in bungalow 5 The Zebra Bungalow. It looked over the elephant pin so you can stare at the elephants and couple other animals. Loved seeing the big beautiful tigers and lions up in their OZ area. Best part was having the elephants come to our bungalow deck in the morning. read more

Stayed the night there for the first time with my wife. Worth every penny we spent. Such an awesome experience feeding live elephants and tigers, taking pictures with some of their animals, and having a blast with their guides. We cannot wait to go back and do it again. read more

Hi Monterey Zoo or Vision Quest or whatever you call yourself: having animals perform tricks for you DOESN"T MAKE YOU A SANCTUARY STOP prtending that you are. Im disappointed in myself for falling for your horrible sham. Give some money to the animals and GIVE THEM BIGGER CAGES I visited your zoo last year as a birthday gift for my mother. You claimed to be an animal sanctuary on your website and when we got there 1) the animals were in TINY enclosures 2) the tigers looked overweight and the bears lonely 3) the cages were TOO small and the animals looked depressed 4) as a visitor it made me depressed 5) the elephants were lovely but your trainers used bullhooks. BULLHOOKS. That is UNACCEPTABLE 6) we washed the elephants and it was lovely but they didn't look excited until we fed them 7) in what way are you a sanctuary 8) you said you were building a BIGGER zoo but you still have yet to get anywhere 9) as an animal activist I'm disappointed at myself for not only spending money, but supporting your sham 10) I want to help save animals and get my parents up close and personal with the elephants but not in the way that you do it. GET BIGGER CAGES for your animals. I am so disappointed in you. I work in the tech community in San Francisco and will warn everyone of this. Become a real sanctuary. Invest money in bigger cages. FORWARD this to your owner. No wonder IDA, In Defense of Animals, named you #8 of the worst ZOOs of 2015. I was said when I saw that. And now all I can think about are those poor animals and that they deserve a better life. Your owner was an animal entertainment trainer. STOP thinking about profits. START thinking about the animals. You bet I will write about you on Yelp and TripAdvisor. I rarely do. But to protect animals and to really express my disappointment I want to let people know what a sham you are. I hope some of that $600 we spent went to the elephants and bigger cages fro your animals. DISGUSTING. http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/wild-free2/elephant-protection/hall-of-shame/defense-animals-10-worst-zoos-elephants-2015/ read more

I got to feed elephants, a lion and a tiger. Absolutely amazing experience. The guides know a lot about the animals and make it really interesting. Fun for all. Really want to do the overnight stay, you get to hear the lion roar at night and then elephants bring you your breakfast in the morning. Can't wait for the next time. read more

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Incredibly disappointed in their customer service. I was planning on going there Wednesday with a friend and was very much looking forward to it as I wanted to check it out to reserve a bunch of places this summer for a family getaway for my sons bday. Due to COVID crises, I am unable to travel as I have a mother with poor health that care for and I have my kids home and quarantined due to school closures. We are also not close and have to travel far. I called them asking to reschedule and to talk to a manager and was hung up on. I called back and told her I was recording the call for my records and asked for her name. She said Haley. I asked if we could postpone our trip due to the worldwide health crisis going on and she hung up on me again. The first time, I thought it was a mistake. The second, it was clearly on purpose which was I was recording the call and let her know like I am legally required to do at the beginning of a call. I cannot believe they just hang up. I wasn't asking for money back, just to reschedule to when I can safely travel without having to worry about exposing my family to Covid. So now they're just hanging up on us I guess I will lose out on the few hundred dollars from my booking on this trip but they are losing out on much more from the trip we were planning on this summer. I'm so disappointed as it looks like an amazing place. I'm hoping by writing this review that maybe a manager will reach out and do the right thing so we can correct this and make it fair for everyone. But just hanging up on someone is extremely poor business. read more

Such an amazing experience. The bungalow is cozy but can get cold, thank goodness for the heated mattress.

My Daughter is in love with Elephants. So I looked up on the internet on where I could go to have a hands on experience for my daughter , wife and I. Well this little jem would always be in our hearts. After spending a few days in Monterey, we skipped over on Hwy 68 East and 25 minutes later was at this little ranch in Salinas. We were given a wonderful little tour of the grounds, with the Trainer not rushed for another group explained with passion the Ranch's history and future mission statement. Finally the best for last, our group was led to the elephant area where we gave a elephant a bath and lunchtime feed. My daughter (11) has told me that this little trip with the Elephants will be one of her top 5 vacations she has been on. I commend the staff for their love and passion for elephants. My family will take part in future fun raisers for the elephants , and are happy this place is in our backyard. read more

Ok. So I'm VERY confused. I've ALWAYS wanted to come here. My friend keeps telling me to come here. There is two entrances(I think?!) gps wanted us to go even further past the last entrance if coming from Moss Landing. So that happened right off the bat. Then is it Monterey Zoo or vision quest? We came about 1:45 pm expecting to be able to pay a fee and wonder around to look at animals. The lady at the lobby said tour guided only. 1 and 3. Because of construction. Google map says hours are 8-5 or 6 then another site said 1-2:30 pm. They said it's because of construction. VERY LIMITED parking so we had to park way on top of a hill only to have to walk way back up to leave. We didn't want to wait a couple hours for a tour to start. They said we could look at a handful of animals that are in front. So I'm not really sure. Lots of confusion about everything. Plus everything I see really is just for the bed and breakfast end online. read more

Booked an overnight stay here with a Groupon. Being a long-time Groupon user, i know that sometimes we get cut rate service with the discount, but not here. This truly exceeded our expectations! We took the zoo tour on the day that we arrived- it was great learning a little of the history of each animal and questions were encouraged. It is also nice to see that all the small concrete pens are getting changed out little by little to a much more natural habitat. We headed to our cabin/tent afterwards. The pictures online did not do it justice. They were spotless, well kept and well stocked. They even had a hair dryer and bath robes! We went out for an early (we DO NOT recommend Mo's River Road- food was horribly over priced and improperly cooked- drive into town- it's worth it) and headed back to just sit on our porch and enjoy the beautiful sunset and breath-taking views. Does it get cold at night?YES! but they give you ample warning so we packed sweats. However, the heated mattress and space heater provided us more than enough warmth. It was great listening to the lions roar at night. When the elephants came around the next morning it was noting short of awesome! where else can you experience that? The breakfast was plentiful and provided more than enough snacks for the car ride the next day as well. there are juices, water and coffee as well. We had a great time and will go back for sure. We would love to see the zoo when it's all completed :) read more

Holy smokes, this place was amazing! We came in on a Wednesday and did a zoo tour before we checked in for the B&B portion. The zoo is in the middle of an expansion project where they are building larger enclosures for the animals they currently house. Some reviews talked about how small the enclosures were for the animals. What those people don't seem to realize is that these animals are taken out multiple times per day for training and exercise. All of the animals were healthy and well-fed. The B&B was great. We stayed in the Zebra Room and could hear the lion and hyena making noise at dusk and dawn (we were told this would probably happen). The elephants delivering our breakfast was the best! It was an experience that I will take with me throughout my life. We are going to go back soon and do the VIP tour. Can't wait! read more

There seem to be two seperate Yelp postings for the same place (the other with a slightly different name, but same address and the reviews are clearly about the same place). So check both if you are looking for reviews! I have to chime in about the poor customer service; I am a stickler for customer service because I think it is important to treat people with dignity and respect, which we didn't see. We went for the daily tour and planned, if we liked it, to stay for the night on another occasion. I'm glad that we didn't invest that much to begin with, as the overall experience of the place was mediocre. First, the web site is a mess. The business needs a clearer mission and purpose. Are you training animals, rescuing them, or are you a zoo? I understand that there is a transition happening now, but it is unclear in the meantime what to expect. Web design isn't too hard and I'm sure they could find a volunteer designer to improve it if they tried. Second, I don't like to pay money to stand around watching a video. I also wouldn't have paid just to walk from cage to cage if I had fully realized that's what we'd be doing. I was bored. My husband was bored. My six and eight year old kids were bored. Feeding the elephants was amazing, but not worth the price and drive for those few moments. And the site is beautiful. But as this was intended as a special treat for my daughter's birthday, we felt disappointed overall. Funny, I saw one of the positive reviews suggested a comparison to an African safari. Safari West in Santa Rosa does come closer - we had a fabulous experience there last year. But there really is no comparison to being on an African safari and the best of comparisons just seem silly. The worst part of our experience was the rude and condescending tones of the guides. We had Amber and she was the best of the three we saw that day, but we saw all three of the active guides bickering with one another (uncomfortable) and the tone in the voices of the other two were condescending and rude. One even shouted to Amber when a guest moved slightly away from our group, which was embarrasing to all... he wasn't a wayward child about to jump in with the tigers, but a Dad moving a few feet away to seek shade for his infant-in-arms. Even my kids disliked the condescending tone of the guides... anyone who says an animal's name and then asks you to repeat it gets a lot of eye rolling from our family. This isn't romper room. I can understand the limitations of a growing business, but it was the poor customer service that drove me to write a review about our distinctly mediocre experience. read more

I've stayed here twice and hope to stay here again soon. First time I stayed here I got to meet Brandi the bear which was the highlight of the trip for me. The second trip, years later, I enjoyed bathing the elephants and feeding them. I never thought i'd enjoy bathing an elephant as much as I did, but it was an amazing experience and gave me a whole new level of appreciation for these giants. If you love animals and love learning about them, then this is a great place to go. The staff is always so knowledgable and friendly. Great Experience! Thank You!! read more

What a great time! We got the tour, met all of the animals and heard the stories of what movies or commercials or calendars they've been featured in, as well as the normal animal fact stuff you hear at zoos. Then staying overnight at the B&B was a very interesting and unusual experience as well, from feeding the elephants their bedtime snacks to waking up in the middle of the night hearing the lions roaring, there was never a dull moment. One of the more expensive places I've stayed at, but the experience and the stories I can tell friends made it completely worth it. read more

I have been to the visionquest bed and breakfast twice and was well worth it every time! You wakeup to lions roaring and monkeys wooping all night and wakeup to an elephant bringing you breakfast. it is freezing at night even on the warmest summer nights. You get to feed the elephants twice if you sign up for the "butches bedtime" package for an additional $20. deffinatley a unique experience! read more

UNBIASED B and B REVIEW; No RV parking for B n B stayers you will have to park in normal parking and then walk. It's about an 8th mile walk one way to the bungalow. This place is great. It provides you with an up close and one-on-one feel during the tour. Albeit it was a quick tour, you do get to see the animals with a small group of zoo-goers. Yes the paddocks are small. This is a small zoo and funding is slow and scarce. They have to wait for funding and donations to build new large enclosures. They have the enclosure, Oz, where they obviously keep the lions and tigers and bears. They are huge. They are working on building bigger paddocks for all the other animals. The B and B is great. They are akin to African safari tents. This is not a hotel. It's canvas walls and a raised patio. It's amazingly clean inside and has a Fridge for food. We brought sandwich stuff and a bottle of champagne to have with our complimentary OJ. We did go to Lopez Wines about 6 minutes away and grab beer wine and they have a taco guy in the back where we picked up dinner. We brought it back and had a few beers and tacos outside on the deck while watching the elephants play and lions roar. It's pretty unique. And definitely kid friendly. read more

Visited Vision Quest in December. Saw one of the elephants stomp their ostrich to death. It was awful to see. I was there for 20 hours and the ostrich was always sitting down on the field. I never saw it get up and asked about him and was told his foot was hurt. Why they left a defenseless animal out with the elephants I will NEVER understand. There was a smaller fenced area that they could have put the ostrich in so he could get well. As the elephant was stomping on the ostrich the poor ostrich was trying to get up but could not. I wrote a letter to the owner to tell him how terrible it was for us to see and I felt his letter back to me was condescending. It seemed like he was blaming me for seeing it. If this goes on for the paying public to see I can only imagine was goes on that we don't see!!!!! read more

This is my second time here, and it sure beats the San Diego Zoo! Only place you can be closer to and interact with the animals.

we are appalled that we brought our kids to vision quest. we were under the impression this was a rescue or rehab center. instead we were paraded through a hot, dry, maze of tiny concrete slabs and fencing where otherwise healthy animals are taken from the wild and caged for the benefit of paying, unconscientious, onlookers. terribly sad and absolutely reprehensible. read more

I did not stay at the B&B. We came went for a tour. My main objective was full contact elephant tour. The elephants are in a large space and appear to be well cared for . It was wonderful to get to pet Butch and feed him. Washing him sounds easier than it is. He is enormous. He is a good sport to let us run brushes over him. Wonderful experience. I will come back and stay B&B to get a fuller experience with the elephants. Thanks Butch and Christy read more

Bucket list Item #1... Best B&B for a once in a life time adventure! 20 minutes from Monterey. The best 24 hours spent away from Silicon Valley I've ever taken.. I can't begin to explain the experience , just the fact an elephant brings you breakfast was enough for me! Don't forget to add "crunch time" to your package, it's well for the extra $ Enjoy! read more

This zoo is an awesome experience. I really loved everything about.. . The in depth analysis on the animals, the tour, and even that house cat who teases the caged cats. The only reason I did not give this place 5 stars is because it's only an hour. I wish it was longer and I wish we could of visited every animal. All in all great tome for everyone and very eternal nong and informing read more

Now, having been to both safari west and now vision quest, I can honestly say Vision quest has a lot to learn about people skills. I get it, you need the money from us, you're short staffed, the animals come first but in order to raise the money, lick it up a few notches oon the people side and more will want to come. I won't be back. read more

My husband and I stayed overnight and really loved it! We did the crunch time and putting elephants to bed. Really enjoyable and wonderful to get so close to the animals. The tent cabins were really well done, comfortable and unique. The showers are really not that short so I'm not sure why anyone would complain. I loved waking up to the lion roaring. And the breakfast is very nice pastries, fruit and yogurt. You also get to feed the elephant when she comes by to bring the breakfast. The only reason I give it 4 instead of 5 stars is because the small cages the big cats are in. They still are beautiful and appear healthy and happy. I understand they are walked daily and they are going to expand their habitats. Once that is complete, this place will even more amazing. Totally recommend it and will be coming back with our son. read more

What an amazing experience! I love that it is obvious how much the staff loves what they are doing and they really love all the animals. My husband and I stayed at the bed and breakfast and had such a wonderful stay. We are already planning on returning for another visit. read more

Vision Safari Park, Bed and Breakfast has a great staff. Very accommodating and super nice. Their team member Kat was awesome. After getting our dates wrong and nearly missing our mini vacation, Kat went above and beyond by speaking with higher ups and was able to save us and reschedule for the next day. Thank you Kat! read more

Our family went here for a couple days to experience the animals and we were especially excited about having the elephants bring us breakfast. Unfortunately, we had a horrible experience with the owner who was rude from beginning to end. The cleaning staff threw some of our belongings away when we left our room. We had not checked out and when we brought it to the attention of the owner he did apologize nor try to correct the problem, he simply became defensive and even loud in front our our 2 children. He used bad language and I was shocked to say the least. We simply left not wanting to react to this behavior especially in front of our children. The elephants were amazing, the rooms were ok, the staff for the most part was knowledgeable and kind. read more

What an amazing adventure! We took a four hour tour which was so fun. I learned so much and it was such a privilege to pet the lynx and hold a little monkey. After th tour we checked into our tent cabin. They are very nice in side with a little sitting area, pergo floors, a nice comfy bed loaded with blankets and a mattress pad warmer, large bathroom with a mini fridge. We loved sitting on our deck and watching the elephant and zebra play together. Breakfast came a bit late so we were really hungry when it arrived but it was so fun to feed the elephant and the trainers took some really good pictures for us. Over all the trip was so relaxing and fun. It was worth every penny. We would go back and for sure recommend it. read more

A great place to spend a few hours. We especially liked being able to feed the elephants by hand. My daughter loved it so much we ended up doing it a couple of times. It was a great experience. We are looking forward to spending the night at the B&B. I am very excited to hear about some of the upcoming changes/upgrades they are making. I think it will be even better in the future. BTW, the entire staff there was great when we went....very pleasant, knowledgeable and helpful!!!! read more

If you are a lover of elephants as am I - this is the Bed and Breakfast for you. We recently had the good fortune of staying at the Vision Quest Ranch set in the foothills of Salinas. The safari tents are appointed with all of the modern comforts of home including a television, small fridge and coffee - my kind of safari! The ranch is immediately adjacent to the fledgling (growing) Monterey Zoo which houses a variety of exotic animals. The Zoo creatures provided a night time safari ambiance with a few roars and chatter. There is also a bit of background dog barking from time to time as this facility has dog boarding on site to help financially sustain the zoo. Believe me, it is not a problem! Back to the elephants! The zoo houses 5 retired, majestic African elephants all which can be viewed during the day from view points surrounding their enclosure. Needless to say, having your breakfast escorted to your tent by an elephant is an awesome experience. Better yet, the elephant keepers bring food for guests to feed to the elephants. The same keepers graciously offered to take pictures while we fed the magnificent, gentle and well cared for elephant. In the late afternoon keepers bring a few exotics into the bed and breakfast area for viewing and discussion. We participated in "Butch's Bedtime" which is another opportunity to feed the elephants. For a fee, you are allowed into the elephant barns where the elephants are safely housed each night. The elephant keepers provide great information about the elephants and then guests are allowed to feed the elephants a handful of carrots. THE BEST! read more

Awesome is just one of the adjectives I would use to describe this place. We arrived before 1pm and checked in for the 1pm tour they offer daily. The tour leads you through their small zoo where you get to see a variety of animals up very close (within 3 ft) that you would otherwise not see at such close proximity, their lion Jacob is a huge!!! The tour last about 1 hour and is pretty well rounded. We then Checked into our Giraffe manor bungalow which was clean and very appropriately decorated with a giraffe theme. The view overlooking the valley and elephant play pen is just breathtaking, now add the roar of the lions and the laughs of the hyena and you feel like your at an actual African Safari. If you stay at the b&b I highly recommend doing crunch time and butch's bedtime, feeding the Tigers was a great experience and being able to interact with the elephants was very memorable. Highly recommends this place to everybody you will not be disappointed. As for some of the other reviewers complaining about small enclosures, this is true however they have already built 4 giant beautiful enclosures that already house there tigers and will soon house there bears and lions! They are really doing there part in providing a wonderful place for these wild animals in captivity and expanding! Can't wait to visit this place for years to come. read more

Vision Quest Ranch - Bed & Breakfast Near Me - Salinas, California

My daughter and I just spent an overnight here. We had a great time. The only negative was that the room was cold. We did go in January so cold is somewhat expected. We had a wonderful time here. The elephant breakfast was awesome! I would recommend this to anyone. The pacaderm experience was great! The people are wonderful and friendly! read more

Stayed overnight and did butchs bedtime and pachyderm tour. Friends dream to be upclose with the elephants. The zoo wasn't something I would recommend. Did the upgraded tour . But go for the Elephants they are huge!! We got to feed them up close , had breakfast deliver by 2 of them to our bungalow and bathed Butch the biggest of them all. Scrubbing butch was awesome! Staff was super friendly and took pictures for you using your own camera. Got lots of great pictures!!! It's not cheap but worth it. The pachyderm bungalow was a little disappointing since we couldn't see the elephants from our balcony . But had a private viewing area short walk away. Heard the Tigers and lion roar during the night several times....super cool! The bungalow was great and they brought in a full size futon bed for the extra guest looked and felt more like a real bed. Great memories to share with the grandkids. read more

I had been wanting to bring my daughter here for a while but due to their only daily tour @ 1pm it was hard. Anyway, admission fee is not too bad $16per adult & $14 for children, I do wish however that admission for children under 2 should be free. Our tour group was large and even though our tour guide was very knowledgeable she was bit a rude to some of the guests. She want everyone to stick together but our group was so large many of us couldn't see the animals in cages so we would wait for people to start walking to the next cage so that they could take a look. Group was too big that some children couldn't even see the animals. They should really consider having more tour guides because 40+ people per guide wasn't cool. Feeding the elephants was a fun BUT rushed experience. I literally gave all the food to my spouse so him and my daughter could feed and I would take a picture because they would rush you to move right away for the next person too feed. I really enjoyed seeing the tigers , lions and bears BUT once again by the time we got to enter this area we hadn't seen the bears yet when they said they would be closing in 8 min. I looked at time and i figured they closed @ 2:30. LIKE HELLO I barely got to see the animals because there's so many people, business hours need to change. Will definitely be a one time experience, not planning on coming again. read more

I was taken here as a surprise, didn't even know it existed!! I can say that this was definitely my favorite place to stay!!! The staff was so friendly and helpful, you get to feed the elephants, and better yet they bring you Breakfast!!! *THIS IS A CAMPING EXPERIENCE. If you don't want to smell animals, get a little cold at night, this is not for you. They provide heated blankets, heaters, very nice clean bungalows! And a very good breakfast! You can tell that they really care about the animals. Its a shame that there are any bad reviews at all! I will definitely be back! Love love love this place. And it's just a short drive to the bay! They provide a list of restaurants to go to, so it made it easy to choose. Where else could you stay IN a Zoo? Early in the morning you can hear all the animals! Very cool. read more

Came here on recommendations from a waitress in Salinas. I'm happy we did. It was fun for the kids. They learned a lot and the tour was a good length not too long and not too short. Expensive for a family of five but that's life when you have kids. read more

So I was very excited to finally stay at this facility after waiting almost 6m from hearing about such a fantastic idea of B&B.. who couldn't be excited when thinking you'll hear lions and elephants at night followed with breakfast delivered by elephants.. well for the price I definitely do not think it's worth it nor can I recommend it to all those who asked about my vacation over the weekend. They also do dog boarding at the ranch/zoo so all day long you have the lovely pleasure of hearing dogs bark. No joke it's beyond loud I stayed in the tiger room and maybe because it's closest view for elephants and by the large cat area that we also got this lovely noise but I was annoyed to say the least. I have dogs and I work in the veterinary field so not the ideal getaway, I was disappointed to say the least. If they moved the boarding or had it sound proofed or something I think that would make the stay perfect. If your idea is that it will be a peaceful glamping style of a stay enjoying the outdoor patio and view that you do have the inside and actual room/bed/living quarter was very nice! Rooms and patio are perfect and sitting outside enjoy the view is nice but just not as peaceful as wished because of the noice. I'd say enjoy the walk through of the Monterey zoo but don't spend all the money on the bed & breakfast. read more

This place is awesome!! Charlie is a great fella! My kids loved it here. They have tons of animals from movies, and beautiful grounds! Its shocking to see all these great exotics out here in Salinas. This is a must see for families in the area. read more

I enjoyed my visit here and loved my time with the elephants! We stayed in one of the bungalows and were able to hear the lions roaring throughout the night. A once in a life time experience! read more