Eco-Lite: Loro Parque, Tenerife, Spain

OVERVIEW

Loro Parque sets the standard for zoos, especially zoos that feature walk-in aviaries! The exhibits reflect the bird/animal’s native habitat and there are detailed explanations about where they come from and if they are endangered and why. Loro Parque will appeal to all members of the family whether they are bird-crazy or not! In addition to the most diverse genetic reserve of parrots in the world (more than 4,000 specimens of 350 different species and subspecies), there are also shows featuring Orcas, Dolphins, Sea Lions & Penguins. If you bring your family with you to the International Parrot Conference, this is a great way to keep them entertained! I am not usually a fan of trained animal shows but Loro Parque does treat their birds and animals right. You will see this in the photos below.

You can’t go past the top zoo in Europe and 3rd best zoo in the world!

HOW DO YOU GET THERE?

Use your OneWorld alliance miles (Avios work well here) for an Iberia flight to Tenerife Norte from Madrid. This cost 7500 Avios in 2014 each way. It’s pretty easy to get to Madrid from anywhere in the world. I wasn’t a fan of MAD, its a huge airport and information/maps are hard to find. Make sure you fly to the northern airport TFN rather than TFS, it’s much closer to Puerto de la Cruz, the home of Loro Parque. The bus was 6 Euros from TFN to Puerto de la Cruz and stops outside several major hotels including Hotel Botanico. If you haven’t rented a car, use Loro Parque’s free train from the main plaza in town to get to the park.

HOW MUCH IS IT?

They have several ticket options depending on if you want transfers and admission to Siam Park as well on their website.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SPEND THERE AND WHAT SHOULD YOU SEE?

I could spend all day just hanging around Katandra Treetops and walking around where the parrots are. For normal people (not bird-crazy) you can still spend a full day here if you take in all the shows. You’ve come all the way to Tenerife so best to do this park justice and not rush through it!

If your time is limited and you want to concentrate on the parrots, I have shown the best routes to follow in red on the map below. The short walk towards the gorillas is where the Lear’s Macaws are. The other paths are where you can see rare parrots in beautifully appointed aviaries, grouped by geographical region.

Location of Parrots

VALUE TO CONSERVATION

In addition to educating the public via the signs in front of each exhibit, the Loro Parque Foundation also supports conservation projects all over the world including the Katala Foundation which I visited in 2010 (and will blog about later) and the Grey-breasted Parakeet. I have plans to visit another of their projects – the Blue-throated Macaws in Bolivia in 2016. Click on the image below to see this map on their website, then click on any white dot to learn more about that project.

WHERE TO STAY NEARBY ON POINTS

There aren’t any points hotels nearby. There is a Sheraton in the southern part of the island for 10,000 SPG points but it’s over an hour’s drive each way. Your best bet here is to pay for a hotel and EARN miles using Rocketmiles or Pointshound.