Canberra National Zoo & Aquarium, Australia Review

There are all the animals and some can be touched and caressed

Awesome exhibits, great animals and easily marked tracks and signage. The tigers were a bit skinny so would be good to see them put a little weight/muscle on but otherwise a really fun day. Not overly expensive at all.

Easily the best zoo I have visited. The path numbering eliminates the need for a map, and ensures you don't miss anything. The aquarium isn't huge but is a nice bonus to the zoo. I had a few favourites but the Otters probably take first place.

literally u don t see any animals at all hardly 5 to 6 ..

Very well laid out. TIP make sure you go on an overcast day as, the larger animals hide away in shaded areas and you're not likely to get a good look. Recommend you visit during cooler months or if in summer, a cloudy day. Staff great. As said early, well laid out and much to see.

Really wanted to visit The zoo so took holidays to Canberra. The staff we spoke to were all really lovely, the animals (that we saw) look loved and well looked after. Left a bit disappointed with an upset little girl as she missed out on seeing so much due to a lot of the animals being around the lodges/hotels where other zoo guests can't see them. Also told we couldn't have a giraffe encounter as it isn't available on a weekday. Would definitely recommend if in the area to check it out but not to travel especially to see it like we did.

Quite a few missing animals when I was there in February.

Lovely day out, and so much bigger than it was! Worth a visit.

Absolutely beautiful zoo, great atmosphere and staff very friendly. Great place for the whole family both young and old. Highly recommend!

Fantastic day out, I dare say the best zoo in Australia ever, beautiful and plenty of space for all animals......you spent a nice day with your family and friends don t miss it.

No access for electric wheelchairs on sloshing gravel and slippery paths. The overflow entrance is on top of a very steep slope so nigh impossible to navigate for disabled visitors.

New facilities and animals, and an enhanced visitor experience have lifted the feel of the zoo. Accommodation options are available and give you the chance to stay overnight. The addition of rhinos to this conservation zoo, along with white lions and tigers, lift its profile and give you the opportunity to see these rare and endangered animals.

I like the close encounters. Great for kids birthday parties

New area down the back is good .

Need to do something with the aquarium

The Canberra zoo has really upped its game! The new area is fantastic. Rhino's, giraffes, deer, zebras are all fantastic. Big enclosures, and it feels more like a nature park. The big plus is we arrived on a crazy busy day (both carparks were full and people parking outside on the road), and yet it seemed like there was noone there! The only reason for the 4 was it is very expensive $130 for a family pass.

The new kids parks created next to rhino trials is just awesome added to the usual zoo which is anyways very good,5 stars to Canberra Zoo

Fabulous place to visit and/or stay at. Quality accommodation, excellent food, very attentive staff. The guided tours through the zoo are most informative - you see things in a different way. Meeting & patting a cheetah & a rhinoceros was great. The room has a meerkat enclosure right outside & it was most entertaining to watch them.

Great experience, kids loved seeing all the different animals. Including the fish.

Really great place. Lots of animals to see and the enclosures are really great. The food at thr Rhino Bistro/Cafe is really good to and really reasonably priced. There's lots of walk ways to view the animals from different angles and see them up close. The only thing I would suggest is maybe setting up a clearer "start" - "finish" point on the paths so you can walk everywhere and not miss any animals I did have to look at the map a lot to see where we were going next.

Fantastic zoo. Staff are all very friendly and helpful.

Like all Canberran experiences; a touch expensive but definetly worth it. The animals are charming and very close, there's lots of educational spots and the walks are just so lovely.
I can also highly recommend the new AdventureLand for knackering the little ones.

Great zoo. A large number of African animals which was a pleasant surprise. Big thumbs up for the numbered route system. Makes it so much easier to see all the animals and not miss anything.

Fantastic set up, our kids just loved it! Easy to navigate around with plenty for the kids to see!

Nice zoo, great to have the aquarium attached. Sons favourite part was playing with Zama the dog through the the enclosure glass.
Just dissapointing that they don't accept concession cards because they aren't government funded. Made it an expensive visit if on a pension with kids.

Fine for a small zoo. I hear the lodging is good but very expensive.

Annual memberships were (honestly) misrepresented to us by the zoo staff and we paid too much for a membership we didn't need. When we discussed the issue with the manager, no help was offered to correct this. His response was essentially "you should have paid more attention to the email you would have received after buying the membership and come sooner". Not an acceptable response. Wife and child were very disappointed at the way the issue was treated.

Caution - if considering purchasing anything from this zoo, do your own research beforehand as not all the staff are knowledgeable about the products they are selling.

Easily the best place in Canberra. Love the year Membership. Take my kids so often.

Had the amazing opportunity to stay at the Jamala Wildlife Lodge and it was amazing! We stayed on Sunday night and arrived in the after by 1pm, was served a very delicious afternoon tea and drinks (alcoholic included) and taken on a lovely afternoon tour. Nothing was rushed we had ample time to rest in our rooms between afternoon tea and the optional afternoon tour. Then time to rest/explore before heading to pre dinner drinks. Food and drinks were top notch and quite gourmet. Really got up close and personal with so many animals. Our room included the hyena feeding the next morning after a hearty breakfast we headed off to our guides tour then the hyena feeding. We also booked the zoofari tour that afternoon seeing as you get 25% off after you stay overnight. The guides were knowledgable, passionate and friendly! I definately recommend it and it is well worth the price as you get quality and help their conservation efforts!

Excellent a great day out. The enclosures are lovely

I like this zoo more then Taronga zoo, the animals here are more active and the setup of the viewing area are easy to access by kids. There is a sell designed big play area next to Rhino cafe, a must visit for all children.

Had a wonderful experience at Canberra Zoo.
Lots of animals!. The highlight was the lions.

Good
-Nice playground.
-Clean public toilet.


Bad
-Paid carpark from 0900 to 1600 Daily(!!!)

The zoo was amazing! It's a shame though that some of the animals they say are there - weren't really there, such as snow leopards. Otherwise it was an experience I recommend.

Went here 4 years ago and there has been such a massive change. Really friendly staff. The animals have massive enclosure that you can still see them. My favourite zoo that I've ever been too.

Great morning at the zoo with my family! Easy to follow the path around the whole zoo. Just great!

7 years ago we visited the Zoo and as a present to my partner I paid for a up close and personal contact photo with your Tiger but NEVER received it I ve tried to contact the Zoo to find out why. Because at the it was a busy time of the year and they said they would mail it out. NEVER received and it wasn t cheap for the photo. So now 7 years later I m still waiting for an explanation or some sort of contact from the Zoo.

Best place to visit with children and kids.fun plqce to visit. I will go back again.

Took a while to get our members card but pretty good otherwise

Great place we'll spread out only disappointment was few animals missing,should be list on entry of animals moved or missing. Besides all that kids loved it and water stations to fill water bottles wouldn't go astray.

Absolutely beautiful zoo. Had an incredible experience feeding a white lion. It's not a very interactive zoo, but it has exceptional enclosures for viewing the animals, and all animals seem happy. Unfortunately there is no option to upgrade your general entry to an annual pass like at other zoos. And a big downfall is that there are no water bubblers. I think this is pretty poor considering how heavily they spook their conservation efforts. If they were really interested in conservation, they'd offer water bubblers for refilling your own water bottle, rather than making you pay $4 for a small (plastic) bottle of water multiple times throughout the day.
That aside, it is a beautiful zoo and I would visit again. I'd love to stay in their accommodation!

We organized a 70th birthday party near the Rhino enclosure, under cover with bbqs, 50 odd people, a great spot. The zoo helps in getting eskis, food etc.. to the place. Would do again.

Easy to get to. Plenty of parking, take a hat and your own water on hot days, only a small canteen style cafe attached to a gift store, so perhaps a picnic lunch as well. One of the nicest Zoo's I've been to.

Zoo was great but aquarium in need of some TLC. Still highly recommended!

The zoo and aquarium is overpriced.
The aquarium experience it was rather disappointed, very small, dark and uninspiring
The zoo was nice and well maintained.

I dare say, the best zoo in Australia. Beautiful zoo with plenty of space for all the animals. You can spend a nice leisurely day here with a nice break near the Rhino Bistro. The bee Adventureland Playground is amazing and offers plenty of area for young kids to explore and play. The facilities throughout are also excellent notwithstanding the fact that the entire zoo is accessible. Do make your way here if you're visiting Canberra.

The tour was great, however the experience with animals was not as good as the Toronga zoo.

Was absolutely beautiful and so much fun... unfortunately the workers were not very friendly and no one around to help with social distancing or rude pushing in zoo visitors...

Great place and my family are members. brilliant views and plenty places to sit and ponder.

A great day out, and lots of the displays have been updated recently

Beautiful Animals and scenery.
Brilliant experience lodging right next to a Giraffe. Exceptional service, food and beverages.
Could not recommend enough!

I loved this it took us 2 hours to look through the zoo and aquarium plus theirs a nice little cafe

The zoo was nice and well laid out but a little disappointing. There was only one of each animal in each pen.

Great place we spent the whole say there, for a couple of partially disabled people that's an effort but it was fun.

Lovely place to take the family or just wonder around. A bit expensive but you can upgrade to an annual pass before you leave, which is quite good value for money.

Not great for pregnant women - benches are few and far between to take a break. Toilets in the aquarium (closest to entry) has only two cubicles and you have to get intimate with others to get to the one soap dispenser. And no obvious way to short cut parts of the trail. Otherwise great set up and a lovely zoo to visit. Any food intolerances, bring your own food.

Well set out but the map is absolutely dreadful - the path has numbers but the nap doesn't!

Was worth visiting, although some of the more epic animals had been moved/were not available to see, the aquarium is cool for kids, but it's not a Melbourne aquarium, just a smaller walk around aqaurium

Best zoo!!
Just many animals was lazy

The kids' playground here is almost worth the price of admission alone!

Excellent value. Not to big and easy to get around and get close and personal with animals

Good family fun and lots to see around for a few good hours.