Book your Planet Exotica entrance ticket in La Rochelle City Centre

Summary: very interesting greenhouse as well as the presentations of reptiles and crocodiles which are exceptional;!!! the rest not of interest but the visit is worth it for the greenhouse set the presentations; (we have not seen the show of the Indians) not to have lunch there, however

Summary: Amazing range of animals and some great outdoor activities for the kids too. Well presented and the animals all look in good health

Summary: Fantastic day out with the kids, so much to do and see (we doesn’t over 4 hours here) from the reptile house to the Dino land. Only issue we had, was that there was no inclusion for anyone speaking English whatsoever despite there being a number of English speaking tourists and although there is a QR code scanning option on every enclosure, this is time consuming not practical to do for every single animal.

Summary: Very impressed. The reptiles are so well cared for, all enclosures very well kept and clean. The grounds are beautiful. We went out of season so there weren't any shows or talks about the animals but there was still plenty to do. There are free go karts and trampolines, however we visited on a very hot day with two young children so we didn't use them. There are plenty of trees around so you can find shade whenever needed. The Sunset restaurant was lovely and shaded. The farm animals were very cute, and again very well looked after. There is so much to see and learn. The dinosaur part was in such a pretty location. Would recommend to all.

Summary: Great day out for the family. Fantastic collection of reptiles and a great garden/park walk that winds its way around the lakes full of ducks, fish and otters. The park has piles of dinosaur models, some interactive. Included in the price is a small go-cart course at the far end of the garden and trampolines at the end of the route. A mini farm of goats and alpacas too. You can also see the breeding tanks with baby snakes etc. It also has a nice chill out area with a snack bar near the end of the route. A really excellent day out - good luck getting the kids out of the gift shop!

Summary: Some of the reviews are pretty scathing, so we didn’t have high hopes, but our children begged to go. We were actually pleasantly surprised, there’s quite a good selection of things to see or do, the reptile and snake exhibits are good and interesting, and the park itself is lovely. If you’re expecting Disney-level attractions, you will be disappointed. But if you’d like a few hours in a nice park area, with lots of variety then it’s a nice way to spend your time. We arrived when it opened at 10 and stayed for two hours but hadn’t seen everything when we chose to find lunch elsewhere. Then we came back at 3:30 (the ticket is valid all day) as we wanted to see the Indian Village horse show at 5. We also brought our dog with us as the park allows dogs on a lead. We stayed until just after 6, so in total we’d had four and half hours for 49€ for a family of four which we reckon was reasonable value. To be honest, we could have spent a little longer there if we’d wanted to. The dinosaurs have been criticised by others, but we thought they were fine. The odd one or two are showing some age with paint coming off and lichen on the bodies, and one with a broken arm, but most are in reasonable condition, some looking pretty new. No animatronics, no sound effects, but good in the park environment. Now the much-hyped Indian Village show. Somewhat amateurish. Poor sound system with connection problems and distorted sound (from previously overloading the loudspeakers I guess). Advertised as from 5pm, my kids were getting pretty restless by 5:15. At that point some very loud music started, then one speaker cut out, then it came back on a couple of minutes later. The music was distorted and painfully loud. About 5:25 the music paused, then re-started so loud that everyone winced, my dog cowered under my legs and my 9 year-old burst into tears. After that a “bloke in some animal skins” appeared and did a half-hearted jig of some kind around the outside of the arena. Was that supposed to be an Indian dance? He ended up at the far side and stood there for a while with his back to us, looking a bit like he was having a pee. Odd. Then the female (Indian) rider appeared and was not too bad. Her dancing horse did some fancy footwork and she did some tricks but it was not the slickest. A male (cowboy) rider appeared and trotted round until the Indian girl speared him. Then she stole his horse while her horse exited the arena and headed for the stable block in what I’m pretty sure was an “unscripted” moment. So speared cowboy now converted to Indian performed a raft of riding tricks and some weren’t half-bad. To give him credit they were really hard and required a lot of strength. Most were well done and with practice I’m sure he’ll manage the rest of them. It was probably an off-day as I’m sure he doesn’t sustain that level of bruising to his ribs every day! It kind of lurched from scene to scene and came across as amateurish, which was a shame because it could be done better. We also felt the arena was a bit on the small side for that level of horse display, and that sound system needs repairing (replace the speakers) and run by someone who knows at what volume it becomes uncomfortable. In general we would recommend Planet Exotica. We had a good day and if you accept it’s not Disney then some of the exhibits are very good and the outside park is lovely.

Summary: (English below) Rarement écris-je une note d'une expérience, mais comme chercheur et écrivain anglais (pardonnez les fautes de ma note !), je voudrais raconter quelle bonne journée ma famille appréciait de faire une visite aujourd'hui. Planet Exotica est superbe pour tous qui s’intéressant de la vie reptilienne bien sûr, mais aussi il y a des dinosaures pour les enfants à admirer est les adultes à comparer avec la grande quantité des espèces vivants ; le parc est bien entrepris et assez grande pour trouver des places tranquilles. Alors, on est arrivé après le confinement et on peut sentir que les propriétaires aiment ce que ils font – évidement leur passion pour les animaux est forte et on peut toujours apprendre quelque chose nouveaux. Je voudrais souhaiter la famille un bon avenir après le chaos du confinement – on peut voir comment ils voudrais avancer et améliorer. Et je les remercie pour la discussion à la fin de notre visite ! Dr Alex Moseley et famille. I rarely write a review of a trip or visit, but today I felt moved to do so after having enjoyed a wonderful visit to Planet Exotica. It is certainly an educational and enjoyable place to learn about reptiles but there is also a decent dinosaur park for young ones to enjoy for older ones to draw the connections between the great lizards of the past and the living species today. The park is well set out and there seem to be plenty of spaces to find a quiet spot to enjoy the old gardens. We arrived in early July 2020 just after the French lockdown which would have certainly hit the park financially, but there is plenty of evidence of projects in the pipeline and you can certainly feel the owners’ passion for what they do. We had a very interesting discussion at the end of our visit which underlined the family’s enthusiasm for the park, for their reptiles and other animals and for their research and learning, as well as naturally for ensuring that people have an enjoyable time there. I wish them well for their future and hope their projects to improve the park continue. Dr Alex Moseley and family.

Summary: Mixture of indoor and outdoor. Snakes, spiders, alligators etc. Outside dinosaurs and American Original area good fun. Some learning for adults. Large party could be quite pricey, but easy walk from train station and only 15 minutes walk to sea front and restaurants etc.