Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where is the tour located?
   The tour is located on our 50 acre preserve in Myrtle Beach, SC. It is about 15 miles south of Barefoot Landing. Exact directions will ONLY be given to those who have tour reservations. For the privacy and safety of our animals, guests and personnel our address is not published and will not be given out.
2. How do I get the $40 discount for the tour?
   The normal tour price is $239 per person. If you have your photo taken at Preservation Station during the 2013 season it will give you a $40 discount making the tour price $199 per person. If you are booking a tour in advance and would like to receive this discount you can prepay for your photo at Preservation Station when making your tour reservation. This discount cannot be combined with the Sunny Day Guide coupon. The Sunny Day Guide coupon, which can be found throughout the Grand Strand and online, is for $20 off, making the tour $219 per person.
3. I am looking to see a particular animal on the tour. When can I be sure that it will be there? and when can I see the babies?
   The VIP Wild Encounter Tour always contains a wide variety of exotic animals ambassadors that you get to see and interact with, and will always have cubs of varying ages and sizes, as well as young apes, ligers and whole assortment of other animal ambassadors. We cannot guarantee that any particular animal is going to be on the tour as the animals volunteer to come out and the health and safety of our animals always comes first.
4. How do I find out whether a particular day is available for the tour?
   If you are looking for a particular day for the tour and would like to find out if availability still exists before you make a reservation please fill out a tour request at www.myrtlebeachsafari.com/signup or you can simply send us an email with the days you are looking for and we can let you know if we have availability that day. You can also make inquiries at our tour desk at Preservation Station.
5. How old do you have to be to be on the tour?
   The minimum age for the tour is 6 years of age. This is due to the amount time and attention needed to really enjoy the experience of our tour and tends to be too long and contain too many necessary instructions for younger children.
6. Is the tour handicapped accessible?
   Unfortunately the VIP Wild Encounter Tour does not have the capacity to accommodate wheel chairs or walkers. You must be able to walk/stand for 20 minutes and make your way up a flight of approximately 20 steps. Needing assistance of a cane and/or family member would be fine.
7. Can I swim with the tigers?
   During the tour guests will have the opportunity to watch the trainers swim with the tigers. This is not something that we can allow the public to do.
8. How many days in advance should I book the tour?
   If you are looking for a particular day, we recommend booking at least a couple weeks in advance. You can book as far in advance as you'd like and if we have availability up to the night before.
9. If I'm coming for the tour, where should I stay?
   We are located in Myrtle Beach about 15 minutes from the airport. Any hotel within Myrtle Beach or Surfside Beach is within 20 minutes of our facility. We recommend the 3 Palms Resort, (843) 448-1616 and the Hampton Inn at Broadway at the Beach, (843)916-0600. Both hotels will generally give discounts to those going on our tour so make sure you mention us.
10. What is the least crowded day for the tour?
    Tours are generally more crowded on a Saturday than they during the week, this does not however mean that your experience will in any way be made less enjoyable by the amount of people on your tour.
11. What do you do if it's raining on the day of my tour?
    We do tours rain or shine. A large majority of the tour is covered and we have the capacity to move portions of it inside if need be. We do have umbrellas available, but do recommend that if it is raining that your bring your own rain jacket and clothing you do not mind getting a little damp in. If you would like to reschedule due to inclement weather we can do that for you as well.
12. I really love animals, how can I come volunteer/work for you?
    Please visit our apprentice page at www.tigerfriends.com/apprentice.html.
13. How can I find out more about Preservation Station?
    Please visit www.myrtlebeachsafari.com/preservationstation/
    
    Photos at Preservation Station start at $79 for your first photo session with up to 5 people. Additional photos, shots and photo CDs can be purchased after your session. Prices for additional photos and photo CDs will vary depending upon the amount of people in your group.
14. How can I make a tour reservation?
    If you are ready to make a reservation please visit www.myrtlebeachsafari.com/signup or you can call our tour coordinator at 843-997-3584 or 843-283-8894. Please do not call our tour coordinators for anything other than tour reservations.
15. What is the Photo CD and DVD for the tour?
    Our Photo CD is a professional CD portfolio of you and the animals on the tour. It has each person in your group individually with the animals, your group together with the animals, candid shots of your day and photos of the animals themselves. You will end up with 150-300 + photos that you have the right to reproduce as long as it is not for commercial purposes like ads, billboards, movie and television. The price is $125.00 if purchased in advance. On the day of your tour the price increases. (A 'group' consists of an entire immediate family OR up to 5 people. This means that if your 'group' consists of more than 5 people and everyone is not an immediate family member, more than one CD must be purchased to get photos of everyone.)
    
    We also offer a professional Video DVD of your tour. Video DVD's are of everybody on the tour that day. Although you will be throughout it you will not be the only person/group in it. The cost of the Video DVD is $125.00 if purchased in advance. On the day of your tour the price increases.
    
    SPECIAL: We offer a great package that if you buy the Photo CD you can purchase the Video DVD for an additional $25.00! For both in advance it is only $150.00! On the day of your tour the price increases.
16. Do you offer military discounts?
    Yes, at T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station military personnel, with ID, will receive half of their first photo. For the VIP Wild Encounter Tour we offer a complimentary photo CD and DVD, normally $150.
17. How long is the tour, when do we need to arrive and when should we expect to be done?
    You have to arrive for the VIP Wild Encounter Tour at 9:15am. The Tour will begin at 10am and will end around approximately 1pm. As you will have the opportunity to look though all of the photos taken of your family/group and choose the one(s) you would like to have printed, exact time of departure will vary from group to group. If you have somewhere that you need to be after the tour and need to leave by a certain time please let our staff know and we will do our best to accommodate you.
18. Are there any other discounts you offer besides the coupon & photo discount for the tour, such as a locals discount?
    Unfortunately we are unable to offer any deeper discounts than the ones that we already offer. If the tour cost is beyond your means please look into our essay contest here: http://myrtlebeachsafari.com/winatour.htm
19. I'm pregnant, is it OK for me to take the tour?
    Yes, as long as you are alright sitting on the ground, walking up a flight of 20 steps and are able to stand/walk for 15-20 minutes at a time you will be perfectly fine on our tour.