Belfast Zoo Reviews

It is really big and nice place
We enjoyed our time in this zoo
It is very beautiful
I like belfast zoo

Covid systems in place aren't working. Because its 3 slots everyone is showing up same time and 1 way system means its overly busy at choke points. Uncomfortably so. More granular timeslots would help. Normally don't post bad reviews but this was really not enjoyable

Ideal day out..
Family well entertained in all aspects and perfect location to tire tiny feet. As a disabled person, catered for with all facilities around the zoo. Barring British weather, it was a very enjoyable time.

I wish there was a clear recommended rout to see all the animals. Still, amazing collection of animals.

Brilliant place my wee girl loved it would go again

Ok, not much has changed in 20 years. Kids enjoyed the park the most. A bit run down.

Had a great day, weather was beautiful and kids had a ball!! That blooming hill tho

A zoo based upon conservation of animals covering a vast area. Well laid out site with lots to see. Only downside is the hills. Some are very steep although there are plenty of rest areas around the zoo.Treetop cafe offers snacks and refreshments at the very top of the site. Highly recommended.

Amazing day out for kids, places to eat and amazing animals to see

Brilliant place for a daytrip with family or friends. Loads to do.

Not all animals available. However, great day out to be with friends and family

Great day out .kids loved seeing all the animals. Staff helpful and informative when asked about different animals. Very educational.

Have not been to the zoo in years, this time we took our little granddaughters for the day out. Plenty to see, watched the elephants being fed whilst keepers gave you information. Walked to the top of what is a very steep hill to the Treetop cafe, amazing views. That is something to be warned about the zoo is set in Belfast hills so does have a lot of gradient. The animals were all out and we spent around four hours even got speaking with one of the keepers who had locusts for the marmoset monkeys. We even had a soda bread with egg and bacon which was actually very tasty indeed. The zoo is getting a little tired and needs some updating of some of the enclosures but all in all a very enjoyable day.

Had a great time here yesterday. It's a small-scale zoo but packs in alot with the space it has. Would recommend for anyone looking for a nice few hours to kill.

Not a great zoo. Quite expensive to visit and being a fairly wet day, most of the animals were inside, so fairly disappointing.

Very well organised . There are different species of monkeys. Saw penguins for the first time. Good place for 1 day outing with family.

Good day out. Animals are plentiful and its a nice but tough walk around. Bring a picnic and enjoy the views. Not too expensive

Great place for the children. Beware of climb up hill if you have health problems.

Restaurant, rubbish, overpriced bad quality food, if they have anything left. Half the animals off show due to being cold weather despite it being the hottest day of the year...

Belfast zoo really needs updating and privatised as beflast city council doesn't want to put money into it.

Lovely walk around the zoo looking at the animals steep hills

Very hilly .. lot of the animals weren't out so missed quite a few ...loved getting closer to Giraffes as my favourite. ....only disappointment was cafe at top shut and cafe at bottom had very limited food available no sandwiches etc...so left earlier than intended as hungry

Overall it is a nice place to have a great family time.

Good place to take the kids for a day out. They get to see all types of animals and it's educational. I hate to see the animals locked up but they are there so you might as well support the work that's carried out. They are looked after brilliantly but it is a small zoo.

Visited Belfast Zoo yesterday (14/07/17) and I've never been so disheartened. It is over priced for the state of the place. It's run down, the glass of enclosures and dirty, most of the enclosures there are no animals in them and it is badly marked out (no footprints for example to follow on ground). The main thing that really got to me the most and my 9 year old nephew was the state of the poor animals and their small boring dirty enclosures. There are loads of animals that are displaying comfort mechanisms and bored/erratic behaviour! The poor lion looked under sized and underweight and also in a small enclosure that you can see and watch the poor guy pacing up and down the same muddy spot. He is one of many doing these same behaviours pacing around or just sleeping. Most animals don't have enough space it's just so sad to watch beautiful animals of our world in that state. The birds enclosures also too small and in a state, also the smaller monkeys (empires,cottontop tamerins etc) in the same situation. Zoos are suppose to be conservations here to protect our species of animals plants etc from being endangered and having breeding programmes in place to put these beautiful creatures back into the Wild where they belong but there doesn't seem to be much of this going on in Belfast Zoo either. I would advise everyone to save their money and go to Dublin Zoo where the animals have a far better life and enclosures and space to themselves. With breeding programmes to help our animal kingdom. Needless to say I wont be back obviously but I felt strongly to write up my review. Hopefully things will change or this place just be shut down.

Too hilly. On a hot day not enjoyable, even the kids were knackered by the time to the top

The zoo was great & all the animals looked well. The hills r quite steep, but a great day out.

It was good, people that visit must understand that it isn't government owned so it wouldn't be the greatest zoo I've seen but they do a fantastic job with what they have on hand.

Great selection of animals which are well looked after by a team of zookeepers that truly care for their animals.

love the zoo, childhood memories are fantastic. Getting to make memories with my children. Looks fab with new improvements.

Took the children recently after allowing to open during the covid shambles. Booked 2.30 slot, didn't open the doors to us til 2.40, path laid out to show directional one way system which I suppose worked. reptile house was open, no distancing, the farm was open, no farm animals except 2 goats though 3 stalls of Guinea pigs or rabbits. Chimp house closed, gorilla house closed, elephant house closed though they were out and behaving concerningly, bird house closed, rainforest house closed. No big cats apart from the lions. why open a zoo with little animals. Disappointing

Great place. Good walk and enjoyable learning experience for kids

A full days fun and family must do. A lot to offer on a bussy day if you are lucky enough to get a chance to see most of the animals. steep hills, but all part of the fun as long as you arnt disabled. although there's a train to the top from the entrance. so it's all good, but I think it is a bit pricey. Hopefully they have rebuilt the cafe at the top.

Fantastic hill tip views of the city. Some of the exhibits were amazing.

Very fun place with animals and you can also explore to diferent places in the zoo.

Really nice zoo and worth the visit for all the animals

Great day out. We'll laid out zoo. Plenty of exercise getting around

Very good zoo but you have to do a fair amount of hill walking

Lots of hills to climb. Poorly signed. Animals seemed healthy.

Great day out for all the family, no matter what age

The zoo is so interesting with lots of animals and very reasonable prices

Reasonably priced. Friendly & knowledgeable staff who seemed to care about the animals. Really like that the zoo takes in rescued elephants.

Fantastic place for the family it's just a pity the animal rights people will get it closed eventually.

Been a few years since we last visited. A lot of the enclosures very overgrown couldn't view the penguins though the underwater window as water was murky and glass quite green. Wasps everywhere which you expect in August but still unpleasant. Overall an ok day out the girls enjoyed seeing the different animals just not all the hills they had to climb but that was just them being lazy. On that note there is a buggy type vehicle which was taking people about but only seen it once in quite a few hours.

Had a fantastic day helping my daughter with young Zookeeper keeper for the day experience.

Entrance a bit expensive .visite during the week very quiet so very nice
Be careful the zoo climbs a lot .dur for people of young age or with reduced mobility
Ballade made for children.

A wonderful, fun place to go with the family. Friendly staff and lovely views. The best zoo I have ever been too.

Always enjoy the zoo some enclosures need some TLC, keepers are very informative an such friendly staff

I've mixed feelings about zoos. The kids had a great day and the park is Fantastic.

Good mix of animals in good conditions. Be aware zoo is on hillside so a lot of walking on steep roads.
On my last visit they had stopped running the bus so couldn't get to upper levels.
Check in advance if you struggle walking as they sometimes have buggies to take you to top.

Very good day, think my partner enjoyed it more than myself and our son though
One way system is good with most people sticking to it and the booking system only allows a limited number of people in. This seems to keep the numbers manageable, ice-cream van at the park and the restaurant is open to.
Well worth a visit.

Second time we've been. A nice small zoo. Very steep hills.

Was reminded today. Of why I don't like zoos. Never seen as many bored animals as that in a long time. I think now zoos are a thing of the past.. conservation of endangered species is a good thing. But healthy un endangered species should be protected and helped in their own natural environment. Captivity, is no substitute for protection, within their own environment.

Nice do not clearly laid out on the maps not to mention the fact there was hardly any staff and the animals didn't look very happy and by this I mean there was a lot of swaying animals they looked very anxious

Absolutely amazing so many attractions the park is so incredible for the kids. Amazing day out for reasonable prices. Also nice food hot and cold food. All in all brilliant day for adults and the children. Well done keep it up.

Beautiful area for a zoo. I felt that the animals could have a bit more space in their enclosures. But it's well kept and nicely done. It's a bit of a hike, though as the zoo is laid out on the hillside.

Incredibly open and friendly staff team here who don't need a lot of persuading to open up about their passion...Belfast Zoo. Everything they relate is during or after 'The Troubles' which seems quite odd to mainlanders as we only watched it from afar...but they lived it and their animals lived it with them!
Owned by the local council is also an odd concept but once you digest that then you realise that it is actually a relatively new zoo which is only just discovering itself.
Some great enclosures and animal families but just make sure you head to the top of the hill first and make your way down.

As much as I'd love to write a fantastic review of our local zoological Gardens I cannot. I visited in October 2018, my previous visit being over 10 years ago. I can honestly say that there seems to be only one positive change.... The kids play park, which is absolutely amazing! Admittedly it's getting colder now and as you'd expect, most of the animals are inside, however some animals where nowhere to be seen, or even gone due to some kind of breeding programmes at other zoos. The buildings in the zoo, other than the entrance building, are desperately in need of a bit of TLC outside. Indoors they're just OK, with the exception of the Lion's Den cafe which is very clean and tidy. The cafe at the summit of the park was closed which is likely due to the time of year. I feel this should be open if the zoo is open, even just for beverages, especially considering the effort required to get up there on foot! The Floral Hall, a historic building, in the middle of the park lies almost in ruins. It is an absolute travesty that this iconic building has been left to get into this state. Northern Ireland could really benefit from a small & personal concert venue such as this. Reasonable selection of animals, giraffes & elephants being the most spectacular. I blame Belfast City Council for all this Zoo's problems. Money needs invested here, and soon! My recommendation would be to venture to Dublin zoo, a night and day difference between these two attractions!

Not a bad zoo as far as zoos go. I still feel sorry for the animals. Especially any with slight intelligence. Very hilly. Was a work out pushing my Dad around. Even dropped him once