Plantasia is an avant-garde rainforest in the center of Swansea. Housed in a large hothouse, the site is a tropical oasis of exotic plants and animals. Follow your kids on a fun trail past many unusual growing species and learn about the imminent threats to the world’s rainforests.
Visit the Rainforest Hut with the children so they can study tropical ecosystems through its entertaining displays. Teach your kids how to live with the environment. Exhibits show how tribes live in the rainforest. Note how the hut is built from bamboo, palm leaves and other forest materials.
The greenhouse has collections of fascinating animals. Watch the antics of the entertaining but endangered cotton-top tamarin monkeys from northwestern Colombia. These monkeys do not have opposable thumbs and they eat small lizards. Speak to guides to learn fun facts about each animal.
See the chameleons, whose sticky tongues move faster than the human eye can track. Bearded dragons and Burmese pythons are also among the reptiles in the collection.
Visit the aquarium for a glimpse into the marine life of other parts of the world. Look at the collection of insects and spiders.
Discover the delightful range of exotic plants from around the world. Inspect passion fruit from Brazil, hibiscus from China and papyrus from Egypt. Bring the kids to see the scary carnivorous plants that are capable of digesting animal tissues.
Relax with snacks and refreshments in the café and select a souvenir at the gift shop. See the large greenhouse at night when it is illuminated in a range of bright colors.
Tour the site on any day between morning and late afternoon. There is an admission fee for adults kids get a discount and toddlers enter for free.
Plantasia is in Parc Tawe Retail and Leisure Park, just west of the River Tawe in central Swansea. Ride a bus to one of the stops near the site. The urban rainforest is a 10-minute walk north from the Swansea Marina, where you will find the Dylan Thomas Theatre, the National Waterfront Museum and the Swansea Museum. Leave your car in the site’s large parking lot.
