Belfast Zoo Reviews

Great place to go with children. Really friendly staff. Lots to see and your weekly exercise plan will be done in one day :-) lots of walking and so many objects to see.

An ideal day out for families couples or even as a lone visitor.Excellent vfm & really friendly helpful staff.

Great day out but pricing is in need of an adjustment, far to expensive

A good zoo and the keeper who did the talk about the elephants was really informative and friendly. Great work you guys do, especially rescuing ex-circus elephants.

A good enough zoo if only a little old. You can tell they are trying to bring it more up to date though. It is very hilly being that its built onto the side of a mountain so not great for anyone with limited mobility. There is a small cafe at the very top which is a welcome thing for refreshments but a little pricey for what you get and could do with some decoration. The shop is reasonably priced if you have kids with you wanting souvenirs.

We did the junior keeper experience (booked in advance) and it was amazing! Some fantastic memories made!

Situated on a very steep hill, one of the best zoos I have visited, would go again, because of layout it is very good for photography.

Love the place, staff are very chilled out and easy going, lots to do for kids, fair amount of exhibits that haven t had animals in years, would be a good idea to use these exhibits for something else and maybe take away the signs as some people complain about this. Would avoid the place on Easter Monday as everyone thinks it s a good idea to go on this day will be packed you ll not be able to get parked

Cold location despite it being a lovely day so a lot of the animals took shelter and so some were not available for viewing. Cafe at top of zoo not open and a warm cuppa would have been very welcome at that stage.

Had a great time at the zoo, they have brilliant measures in place for people to goto the zoo safely. I recommend going very early as it does get busier the later it is in the day.

Love Belfast Zoo. It is operating a one way system in these strange time. It works very well, as you don't miss any animals. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Well done Belfast Zoo.

Great zoo, mostly up hill so get ready for exercise.

Looking very tired and much less animals than I expected

First time for my toddler. Her head nearly exploded. Rain and a couple of animal house closures (for Covid distancing) didn't dampen the visit.

Bitterly disappointed by the experience, thought it was badly gone down hill, not worth the entrance fee, to be honest, it has I feel been let into a bad state of repair, there is so much that needs to be done if it is to attract more people I know I would not recommend in its present state to anyone not s bit of wonder the politicians are looking it closed. It needs a serious amount of money injection to be brought back to the place it was that I remember as a child

From BBC WEBSITE

A Belfast councillor has urged the public to stay away from Belfast Zoo until it addresses criticism of the conditions in which it keeps animals.
Chris McGimpsey made his remarks after the zoo was criticised by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (Eaza).
Eaza found many of the enclosures were too small and it listed seven minor concerns about the welfare of animals.
Belfast City Council, which owns the zoo, has said work is already under way to rectify the issues Eaza has raised.
The European body's findings were revealed earlier this week by the Belfast Telegraph.
'Severe concerns'
Mr McGimpsey, an Ulster Unionist councillor in the city, is an animal rights activist and a long-time critic of zoos.
Speaking on the BBC's Nolan Show on Wednesday night, he said: "I think people should stay away until we're confident that the animals are being kept in proper husbandry conditions."

Ulster Unionist Party councillor Chris McGimpsey has been a long-time critic of zoos
He said the council had sought accreditation from Eaza but it had responded with a long list of "very severe concerns" about the operation of Belfast Zoo.
"They talk about the sea lions being kept in fresh water instead of salt water; they talk about sea lions being kept in water that is unclean and they talk about them being kept in a compound that is not deep enough."
Mr McGimpsey, added: "Elephants, in their natural environment, maraud in their lives over 1,000 sq km; [247,100 acres]. Elephants in Belfast Zoo have two thirds of an acre."
Eaza's letter to the council also said the buildings where lemurs are kept are far too small and that rabbits and reptiles are not housed in acceptable conditions.
It raised concerns about the "unacceptable" level of aggression between Andean bears and the "questionable welfare" of the male.
Mr McGimpsey claimed the facility was "not up to standard" and was "not something that Belfast City Council can be proud of".
However, he added that he hoped the improvement works would be completed by April next year.
It is not the first time the UUP councillor has publicly criticised Belfast Zoo.
In September, he joined calls for the "Victorian peep show" to be shut down.
He said it should be replaced with a conservation area for priority species that are native to Northern Ireland.
Belfast Zoo's website says that it plays a "vital role in conservation work by taking part in breeding programmes that aim to boost the numbers of endangered animals".
It is currently taking part in more than 90 breeding programmes.

I have been coming here since 1990, the atmosphere is spectacular. The food is great and the animals are well looked after. I really miss seeing Tina the elephant tho.

That's good place to spend it with family or alone to go out and see a lot of wild animals.

A must do in belfast lots of hills tho so be prepared

Zoo is fantastic but the food on offer in the restaurant I wouldn't feed to my dog.

Enjoyed the zoo but not for anyone that has mobility problems as it is set on a steep hill. Pushing the granddaughter up hill in her pushchair was an event but she did enjoy seeing the zoo

Had a great time at the Zoo today as always. Zoo Staff are great and have loads of knowledge about the animals. Only let down is the cafe at the entrance. Bank holiday weekend and they had no stock. Poor choices of food with most of it processed and the staff need some customer training. 4 stars for the zoo 1 star for the food.

It is a great place to spend with your grandson, a beautiful route for walking and admiring animals, I recommend

Enjoyed the Zoo. Got our photos taken with the safari hat. Great craic

Poor information on the website about carers rates for entry. Animal enclosures were great and our children enjoyed them. Cafes were poor with no hot food available in the Treetop cafe at all

Well keep zoo, amazing play park, beautiful scenery, one of my favourite places to visit!

Extremely hilly, especially if coming by public transport, but worth the hike on a lovely day for the views. Highlights are the tropical house, monkeys, and spectacled and sun bears. Most animals were active on my visit, except the Barbary lions.

Its one of the oldest zoo in UK wherein animals have been brought from different parts of world. Good to see tamarin tapir lemurs all in one place.

Lovely to see all the animals and money well spent on the new play area for the kids.

It's good but there is a lot of hills and not that much animals

Very nice place for family fun. Lots of animals. Friendly people. Clean place.

Very friendly staff. The animals are lovely. Very worth it!!

A small Zoo but well run with good exhibits.
Concentrating on conservation, breeding programmes and education but offering a good day out for visitors.
Friendly staff and healthy looking animals.
Worth a days visit.
Enjoy!

13 pound for an adult is a rip off. As is the cafe, took me and my son, with the money I paid I woulda been better going to Dublin zoo,

Great place for the whole family to spend a day with all the fabulous animals and have fun

Excellent. Quiet day so we got to take our time. My son loved it.

The zoo was cute. The view was amazing. It was some sport cause it was really stiff !
For a traveler like me I also enjoyed that there was free wifi at the entrance

Nice day out with the family or just visit the animals yourself. Zoo is built on a hill so walk gets steep in may areas but plenty of points to stop, rest and check out the animals. Great play park and lots of picnic areas.

Lovely zoo to walk around though very hilly. A reasonable selection of animals. Would be nice if they brought back the polar bears.

Easily spend a few hours here having a nice dander about, rain, hail or shine. The place is incredibly clean and tidy.
I go atleast once a year and it never gets old.

Fantastic day out for the whole family. Leave yourself plenty of time to take it all in. Easily an all day activity, bring a picnic!

Wonderful place to visit. It's very peaceful. Lots of animals. Loved the red panda, meerkats, peacock, sea lions, penguins and many more. Day well spent.

I went to this place before.Lots of animals so much fun aswell!

Great day our and with less people allowed in now to ensure social distancing we enjoyed it more than previous visits. Easier to see the animals without people trying to push past

The best zoo in town. Being uphill in all directions lets visitors develop great quads.

We spent a nice day with the children here. The terrain is very large and through the climbs even a bit demanding. The lunch in the small snack shop on the mountain was also completely sufficient, but unfortunately our baby food could not be heated there.
The enclosures were very spacious and the whole park was on the whole very clean.

Enjoyed going to the zoo with my son post lockdown. Social distancing measures etc very well adhered to. We had a great time and he was blown away by the giraffes! What I would say is that the enclosure for the giraffes, zebras and elephants could do with some work. Piles of sand everywhere with little or no vegetation. Plus the two Asian elephants seemed to have issues (this was alluded to on the info board). Also on the negative, lots of rubbish lying around, bins overflowing etc. And this was without anywhere to get tea or coffee.
No doubt the staff are doing their best under the circumstances.

Fun enough trip but it really is very expensive, especially since a lot of the animals were not there. It would be nice, upon purchasing the ticket, if the staff would let you know that a majority of the animals won't be there to view. That way you can decide whether or not you would still like to go. Or alternatively, lower the price of the tickets in the winter months to accommodate for the lack.

Brilliant place to visit. Well structured in place for distancing due to covid. Staff are lobely and very attentive. We will be back again.

Really well organised visit to the zoo. A lot of work and effort has gone in to making reopening possible. Well done!

Unlike my Grandson I had not been to Belfast Zoo before.
We were given a map of the zoo when we checked I , having booked online.
Taking a few minutes to plan what you MUST see and finding the best route was certainly very beneficial. Each of our party of 5 had their own favourites, and this helped us to see all of those, plus much, much more. We arrived early, so many animals were still being fed, and the visitor numbers were still low.
The pathways are well maintained and reasonably wide, but there is one drawback. The site is very steep. Most of the time you are either heading up or down a hill. I have arthritis in my hips and back and I had to avail of my walking stick to complete our tour. Pushing a wheelchair or heavy pushchair here, could take a toll! Having said that, I wouldn't have missed my visit for anything. We had fun, got lots of interesting information and thoroughly enjoyed our picnic.
I would add too that the views over Belfast city are quite amazing and a definite bonus.
I would absolutely recommend a visit for adults, as well as for families with children. Maybe wait until the kids are 5 or 6 years old, it's not a place you would want to be carrying little ones too far!

Haven't been here in years. Has had a major refurbishment and overhaul.

Nice family day out visiting here.
Quite steep as it is on a hillside, but there are shortcuts to avoid the steepest parts.
Most of the enclosures are modern, but alot of the viewing points into them are very poor for children or wheelchair visitors as they are too high above ground level. This is a problem I haven't found in any other zoo I've visited and something I find difficult to excuse as a zoo is a popular place to bring children to visit.

Amazing place in a quite peaceful area of Belfast. Also you've got an awesome view of the city up there