The Fun Farm at Sta. Elena was one of the kids’ highlights this summer! It was Mati and Hannah’s first time to visit, and it definitely won’t be our last. There was so much to do, and so many memories made!
Here are 5 reasons why we love The Fun Farm At Sta. Elena:
1. Fun Farm Basics
Location & Opening Hours
I love going on places that are far enough to feel like we’re out of the city, but near enough that it won’t feel like you wasted the whole day in the car. On a Saturday morning, it only took us 45 minutes to get there and around an hour drive going home.
The Fun Farm opens as early as 8am, but all the guided activities (horseback riding, carabao cart and zip line) are open at 9am. When we visited there were two available time slots for us to choose from – morning 9am-12nn, and afternoon 1-4pm. The Fun Farm closes at 4pm.
Value For Money
You don’t need to be a property owner or club member of the Sta. Elena Golf Club to get inside the Fun Farm. For the P400 entrance fee (adults and kids over 2), you get to enjoy and experience the Fun Farm for three hours! Hannah got in for free, as kids under 2 years old aren’t charged admission.
Book Ahead – Slots are Limited!
I love that the management of the Fun Farm limits the number of people who can go per time slot. You can’t go in without a reservation, either.
Honestly, you can go to many other parks that charge much less, but they do this purposely to allow everyone to enjoy all the activities. There were only five other families when we went and we didn’t need to queue for long for all the attractions.
2. Fun Farm’s Good Old Gadgetless Fun
The Fun Farm has everything every parent would love for their kids – fresh air, open spaces, and physical, interactive play for the kids to enjoy and explore!
It was so refreshing to just enjoy the great outdoors, sweat a little and have so much space to run around and play.
We had to wait about 15 minutes before the kuyas arrived w the carabaos and horses (we got there at 9am sharp!), so the kids had fun trying to climb up the cargo net near the entrance.
3. Carabao Cart & Horseback Riding
What also sets the Fun Farm apart from other venues that offer carabao carts and horseback riding is that everything was so clean! The riding area didn’t smell like animal poop or urine, and the carabao and horses also were very well taken care of.
The kuyas gave them breaks to rest and to eat in between rides. I appreciate the Fun Farm for offering these fun activities to kids without compromising the animals’ health or well-being.
The Fun Farm had three horses of different sizes that kids can ride. The littlest pony was Mati’s first time ever to ride a horse, and he was nervous at first but quickly settled in. I don’t know who’s more happy or excited – Mati or his proud daddy!
For the middle-sized horse, Mati was more apprehensive, but with a little encouragement, he also hopped on tentatively.
Tip: I found out it helps to ease Mati’s nerves to hold on to something familiar whenever he encounters a new situation. We didn’t bring any of his toy buses, so I gave him his favorite rice cracker and it helped distract him from his anxiety.
4. Magic Moments & Milestones
The biggest highlight from our Fun Farm experience was definitely the zipline! It was Mati’s first time, and I honestly had doubts if he would go for it…. and he did!
Each turn at the zipline gives you three runs, then you have to line up again. The kuyas probably saw how much fun and excitement Mati had that they let him have extra runs per turn.
The Fun Farm is a bit old school, the kuya manually pulls the harnesses back to the starting point after each run. Good exercise!
I honestly lost count how many times Mati did the zipline. He went horseback riding after a few turns, then immediately asked to go back up the tower for another run! He kept doing this until we told him that his friends had already left because they were hungry hehe.
So proud of you for conquering your fears, son!
5. Trucks & Tractors
On the way out, there were also vintage trucks that Mati pretended to drive.
There was also a small area to feed animals, but the kids were already too tired when we got to that area. We’ll be back next time for that!
Extra Fun Farm Tips:
For younger kids aged 2 years and below like Hannah, the options were quite limited. She was too small for the zipline, and she was still hesitant to ride the horse.
Hannah had the most fun on the carabao cart and the wooden seesaw. She wasn’t ready to go on the back of the carabao itself though!
Bring friends along! One of the reasons why Mati got motivated to go for the zipline was because he saw his friends Marco and Mateo get on it first!
Wish I joined!
What a wonderful and unique experience for the kids