Chester Zoo Reviews

It was such a disappointing visit. Not worth the ticket prices.
It may be different for you if the Elephants are out, the bats were also closed.

WILL SOMEONE PLS HELP CHESTER ZOO, FUND RAISE , MAYBE @ this difficult time some of the NHS. Money to help keep. Our zoo open . PLEASE HELP CHESTER ZOO , BREAKS OUR HEART love this place cannot give up , thank u HELP HELP HELP 04/06/20

Absolutely awful. We arrived on a rainy day. There was no shelter, very little social distancing, queues everywhere; especially for the toilets, and the restaurant was full booked. No prior advice to pre-book the restaurant. There was no where to sit, our children were upset and the only food available was ice cream and snacks; we couldn't get any lunch we we had to leave within two hours. Very disappointed and we don't recommend a visit.

Great day out. Not been for 20 years, nice to see how the place has evolved and emphasis on education and conservation. Busy on the day we visited and we didn't stop exploring all day.

Brilliant even with covid-19 restrictions!
Loads of places to hand sanitise, staff really helpful and manage visitors in a positive way. Felt safe and well managed even in these strange times. The animals are amazing all the enclosures look tip top...I honestly couldn't recommend a visit here enough for all ages. Will be back!!!

Best zoo in the UK I've been too.

Animals are well looked after and very educational

Took our 2 eldest grandchildren to The Lantern Show, it was MAGICAL!!!

Great day out. Animals are well looked after. Helpful, friendly staff. Me and my daughter enjoyed our visit so much that we got a joint membership and can't wait for our next visit. Keep up the good work

Great family day out. The zoo is huge!

Parking; the zoo has a massive parking area with plenty of spaces

The zoo itself is huge, with lots and lots of animals to see, talks run regularly at various attractions and are very informative. There are plenty of places too sit, eat and rest. Whilst it was very busy on the day we went, the zoo is plenty big enough for everyone to spread out and still get good views of the animals.

The best Zoo around absolutely no question. Yes it s expensive but it s doesn t dampen the enjoyment. The animals are amazing, the work they have done to the islands and everything else is just fantastic. I can not speak highly enough about Chester Zoo. Myself and the whole family absolutely love it and can t wait to go back again.

brill night out with lanterns well done to all staff c u next year thank you again xx

Lots of walking! But this is great because it means each animal has plenty of space to run around. All the animals looked happy and well and we had a lovely day. The park is also well kept, clear paths everywhere and everything is accessible to all. The kids play areas alone were brilliant. Thinking of signing up for membership after today!

Visited today with my grandkiddies, pre-booked. Have to say very well organised with social distancing ect, all the staff were lovely and felt very safe in these unc ertain times. Thankyou had a fantastic day

Being a member has loads of benifits. I only get Sunday off from work and this is my quiet little haven :) great to see all the animals and afantastic day out what more do you need.

A well laid out car park, the herringbone style used is much more practical than those used by most public car parks .
We pre-booked our tickets, this did make it faster and easier to gain entry to the zoo. plus it helped that there were a number of people workin at the entry gates.
The zoo is well laid out , easy to follow signs or use the map provided. A number of posts around the zoo make it easy to find your location on the map.
Mono rail or boat ride available to give
different views of the zoo.
The butterfly journey is s wonderful experience in amongst many different butterflies of many colours and sizes
Fruit bat forest has as the name suggest bats, and some are flying around, they never make contact, another great experience.
In many areas are the larger animals, lions and other big cats,rhinos, elephants and giraffes, just to mention a few of the animals that can be seen.
Conservation taken by the zoo very seriously.
For the visiting Humans plenty of facilities, including a few smaller food outlets and a main restaurant/ cafe for meals snacks and drinks.
On exiting the zoo is the shop, to buy your souvenir
A really wonderful zoo to visit. A zoo to visit again, thoroughly recommended.

Still my favourite zoo.. great for the entire family... big zoo and lots to see

A fantastic day out regardless of who you go with, a vast assortment of animals and a good selection of activities and places to eat.

It's a zoo, you really can't knock it, people who complain they can't see the animals should go to a taxidermy museum, there's a great one in Mamchester

Every time I visit there is something new to see. It is a great day out but as the zoo expands it is harder and harder to see everything in one visit so pick your favourites and see them well rather than trying to rush and see everything.

Loved seeing all the animals. Felt very comfortable with loads of hand cleaning and staff to help. Well done Chester zoo

Fantastic day out but take your own picnic. Limited food choices and quite pricey.

An excellent day out and - especially given the great conservation work they undertake - at a very fair price. Two under six year olds were enthralled for a whole day - and we still hadn't explored everything by home time! Just one small gripe - the glass used in some enclosures is to reflective and can make viewing difficult due to glare! Overall an excellent day of learning and adventure!

not had the best experience at all with chester zoo , we pre booked 2 weeks in advance due to limited capacity , we arrived at the park all happy to walk in through the door to see its rammed , literally every path full of people not social More

Was a bit cold and very low sitting sun so quite difficult to enjoy the walking around, but as far as the animals were concerned it was fantastic.

Great enclosures and a real effort to put the animal's well being and comfort first.

Great selection of animals.

Haven't been in years but has been developed so much. Love how they cater for all animals and know what they need. Love the conservation programmes too. Really sad about the fire they had and lots of beautiful animals but are working hard to get it sorted. My favorite zoo by far. Don't usually like Zoos because they don't know how to care for them properly but here they really do. Keep up the good work

Nice zoo to visit with the family once, twice a year. Crazy expensive so make sure you book in advance to save some money

I think this is the best family attraction in the country! Loads for kids of all ages to do, its such a great day out. You will never see everything in one day.

Easily one of the best Zoo's in the UK. You will not be disappointed by a visit here, and you can feel the care they for the animals and really strive for animals that are endangered.

Such a great day out. The only down fall is that the food served is just bad quality and very expensive! Take a pack lunch!

Great family day out which my eldest son thoroughly enjoyed.

Lots of exhibits closed queues everywhere and staff shouting to remind you about social distancing and staying behind the new yellow lines infront of all the glass. Wont be going again till next year

Went in the evening to see the lanterns which is an annual event near Christmas. Great fun for all the family. Can be a little crowded but you can do the trail at your own pace. There are places to get food and drink posted throughout and a little village scene mid way through

Really fun day out. Lots of species of animals and plenty of entertainment to keep kids happy

Normally love chester zoo, but after my visit today I am very very disappointed, social distancing seems to be non existant and the one way system that was put in place is being ignored by both staff and guests, at least set an example and people will follow. I am a member of the zoo but after today I'm seriously thinking about cancelling.

Was fabulous would go again be great to take my nephews next time and it should be warm when u do this

Absolutely love visiting this zoo its great so much room for the animals and so much to do with educational items

This zoo is the best in the country. It has lions, tigers, penguins, bears, zebras and more.
People who come here need to watch their social distancing, however. The staff tell people to stop coming so close but people don't listen to them.
If you are ever looking for a day out then this is the place to go. Will definitely go again.

It was a great day out and now they have changed it since my last visit I got to see a lot more animals plenty of places for food and drink that are dotted all over the place there's a couple places to have a smoke things for the kids to do a Great Gift Shop all though a little on the expensive side but other than that it was a Brilliant Day Out

The best zoo I've been to. There are so many animals to see here, we were here for almost 7 hours and there were still bits we didn't get chance to see. The price you pay for this zoo is definitely worth the money. Literally every corner we turned there was something else we hadn't seen yet. My favourite part about this zoo is that some zoos you go to and if the animals aren't out you just don't get to see them but at Chester zoo you can see their inside enclosure as well as outside so there's always a chance for you to see the animals. The only thing is the prices for refreshments but you get this at every attraction you go to. It was definately worth the journey from London I'd do it again!

Nice place for day out, lots of to do. Long queues to some attractions.

Superb day out for all of family of all ages. Lots to see and do, good food at reasonable cost. Highly recommend.

It was AMAZING tonight. Very very cold but fabulous.

Amazing day out, very well accessible to see all the animals. My only complaint was the price for a family of 4 and it didn't help that they put the price up days before we where due to go. NHS discount isn't even worth claiming.

What a great place! A lot of money to get in but we booked in advance.

Would go more if it wasn t so expensive!

The whole park is continually improving! It s a great place to visit!

Great day out as always, but get there early as it is very busy. The kids love the play areas, which include sand and water, so a small towel can be handy. Plus the Lego big cats are fantastic!

Absolutely fantastic visit yet again! We did it this time with a 10 year old and a 4 year old and the seven hours we were there flew by. Lots to see, very interesting and lots to learn.

It was a lovely day, it was nice to see an arrange of different animals, the staff where really helpful, esp in the closed area's like the butterflies and the jaguar, spent a good few hrs there and still didnt see everything.

Amazing set up. A few indoor exhibits closed due to Covid but still easily enough to see to keep you busy all day.

Definitely one of the best zoos in the country. There's a lot of variety of species and they work hard on conservation. The public areas are also green and pleasant to explore.

The only disappointment I had was the absence of any real food options on site. There are loads of places to get sweets, ice cream, burgers and chips but I couldn't find a single vegetable or salad leaf in the whole place.

Fabulous day at the zoo, we really enjoyed it and wished we had more time there! I love how modernised it is and the fact that they are conservationists is fantastic.

Always a lovely day out. And a new baby elephant. So cute. Only 4 stars this time because of the covid restrictions. The shops were shut and takeaway food only. We took a proper picnic for a change. It was raining and there was no shelter. However, I understand that a lot of the indoor spaces are now open. Still a lovely day with my grandson,with so many animals to see, all looking happy and healthy.

Good range of animals, food was good. Negatives are over priced and over crowded, but what can you do!

A brilliant visit as always. One of the best things to do in the area. So much to do for everyone. Thoroughly recommend!

Chester zoo is an amazing place to visit. Although being so large you do end up missing parts of it. This is the second year we have made the drive up there to see it. We still got to see loads of things we didn't get to see last year. Will More

Nice to see things seem to have recovered okay from recent fire. As one might expect there's always a hassle with other people thinking their kids entitle them to forget half decent manners, however very good and informative set up, even managed to see the jaguar for the first time!

Great place to visit. So many animals to see, you can't see it all in one day, it's lots of walking, especially with a toddler. Family friendly. Staff attentive to reminding people to social distance. Bring a picnic or get food there and eat on one of the many benches.

Absolutely fantastic day out. Worth every penny. We'll be back

Great day however I feel the park could have been organised better with its current one way system, we ended up getting to a point where it was one way only but we had managed to get to this point the wrong way round with no previous signs stating this, when we asked a volunteer she explained we should have been going round the park the other way round and to get to see the painted dogs and meercats we would have to go all the way back the way we came. We understand that these systems should be in place but it was confusing to find this out seeing as half the zoo was not organised in the same fashion.

If you go to see the lions and Madagascar sections first, beware you will have to come back the way you came to get to the other sections of the park. Once we found this out the day improved but we would have definitely enjoyed the first two hours more if there's was someone to suggest going wrote would be the way to fit in with the one way nature of the park.

It's changed a lot in the 15 years since I last went, but all for the better. Great!

Chester Zoo was great. Their new social distancing measures are good, plenty of staff around to encourage / remind people to adhere to the new rules.

Overall the Zoo is rather large, so younger children may struggle to walk everywhere. Also consider the weather, my group visited on one of the hottest days and a lot of families left early because no one could take the heat.

Some attractions now have queues to enter, so that smaller enclosed areas etc have more room for guests to distance.

To save a considerable amount of.money consider taking your own bottles as most food outlets will happily refill them with tap water for free, which is essential on hot days.

Overall though, the experience is great, soo many animals to see and the closed off or free fly zones such as the butterfly house are fantastic.

For a family trip, Chester Zoo is definitely are great place to visit.

Great zoo, so much to see!
Facilities are plentiful and clean, the new predators attraction is really cool. Staff are helpful too
Can't fault the place 10/10

Great place for a family day out and the kids love it.

I loved being able to see the animals. Some of them looked sad, left me a bit emotional so that's why not 5 stars.
The place itself is a bit confusing (or maybe I'm just rubbish at navigating a map) ended up in the same area for a long time and didn't get to see the tigers plus a others . I'd recommend prioritising as you might not make it through the whole park.

It's an amazing place for the animals to roam about in there large fields with plenty to keep them busy. It's hard on your feet with all the walking. They lost a star because there's not enough sign where to find then next animals, yes they give you a map, l am good at the reading them but a sign at the corners to them would help. Also the way out we only saw one sign and that was near the exit. Place to eat, we had a berger. It was good. Lots of other food. I had a take away coffee a latte only it was alful. Good toilets about the place. A big predator section was very interesting. And the animals were amazing.

My 1 year old loved it and so did we and the other adults we when with ,would only go every few years though

A generally lovely place with seemingly caring staff and nice clean enclosures, animals appear well looked after for the most part. Its a very educational place and provides good information about its animals and conservation. Inevitably there are some improvements to be made, one thing weve noticed is some of the larger animals appear bored, with chimps sat rocking and lions pacing in their pens, no form of entertainment other than ropes and straw inbetween times where they interact with keepers.

Had a great time at the zoo its been many years since I last visited and the changes are really good. The new enclosures allow to get really close the the animals in a more natural habitat.

There is so much to do that a full day is a really good idea, we only went for the afternoon and did not manage to see everything which is not a problem as we live local and will be back.

It's a lovely zoo, but so much of it was closed off due to works going on at the park that there were a lot of enclosures that were closed, and it seemed wrong that we had paid for a full price ticket, despite the significant amount of enclosures behind scrim.

Too much closed, it was raining all day nowhere to sit inside to eat, queues for animal exhibits that were inside but no shelter. one way systems in place which meant we were going in circles, food hall open but no seating inside, left by 1pm fed up and soaked.

Out of Lockdown visit to Chester Zoo. Masks need on indoor sites, toilets monitored by staff for numbers. Social distance on the whole observed but still too many peolpe getting too close without masks (not needed outdoors). Because of this i would Avoid the Elephants at the begining and see them at the end if your trip.

Amazing place. Not a fan of a lot of zoos as they are too small, however the animals seem happy and most have large enclosures. You need a full day there at least to see it all.

The zoo is clean with a good selection of animals and child friendly . unfortunately not very good for breastfeeding women as there was a lack of privacy

Absolutely loved it here today 28.1.20. The zoo is spotlessly clean ...even the toilets are spotless. The animals and their enclosures are amazing ...well cared for by brilliant staff. Highly recommend a visit .

Love to visit the zoo! All staff and volunteers are helpful and know lots about the collections within the zoo. Animals are well cared for and the enthusiasm of the zoo in conservation is clear. Well worth a visit (or several!)

Great day out! A shame some parts are still closed due to COVID

Obviously things were very different but we still enjoyed our day at the Zoo

Really good for little kids, my young brother (who is 6) loved it. Lots and lots of animals such as jaguars, lions, elephants, anteaters, bats, giraffes, etc. It did involve a lot of walking but was definitely worth it to see all of the animals. There was a cafe and a picnic area where you can eat your own food, however the cafe was quite expensive so I would recommend bringing your own food!

Fantastic Zoo!!

Currently a lot of changes in place to make the place Covid safe.

Fantastic zoo! Loads for kids and adults to see, learn and do.