Chester Zoo Reviews

Was an amazing zoo had the best day ever . Very well organised and sign posted.Staff were really helpful

Big zoo, great for all the family. Quite large we didn't get round in one day, but my kids love to watch all the animals and spend maybe longer than most at each enclosure. Nice to see large enclosures for animals with our bars, and love what they are trying to do. Go support them.

Great day out. Great value for money
Plenty of places to stop and picnic.

But beware the signs to get around this huge area are not detailed enough. They really need some better directions to get about efficiently especially for those of us visiting with less mobile family.

Just for exampl one sign for one direction; very odd.

Amazing animals with fantastic enclosures. Whilst Chester has really good social distancing measures in place, a lot of visitors were failing in observing even 1m distancing. My husband suffers from mental health and anxiety related problems and we had to leave early as too many people about and too many pinch points. Will come back, but will wait until Covid19 lessens and Hubby's mental health improves.

Not worth going during these times. Too busy not everything can be seen as they are being cleaned. Staff very rude. This time Wasn t happy with our trip. Long waiting times.

Great place to visit, refreshments a bit pricey though

Great place!! Lovely enclosures and the animals looked relaxed and happy. Lots of facilities for visitors.

Not the best time of year to visit. Alot of empty exhibs. Good facilities great organisation friendly and helpful staff and volunteers

Great day out.. first thing on my list after lockdown....great day as I expected it to be....had a great lunch at The Oakfied...great service and food

Always love coming here. Great atmosphere, plenty of animals to see and things to do. Bit limited at the moment with covid but still had a wonderful day out

A great zoo with friendly and knowledgeable keepers.

Chester Zoo was great, with loads of animals to see and loads to learn for the adults and the kids. Food and drinks are very expensive aswell as the gift shops. So take your own food and drinks. Car parking was free which was nice and it feels secure leaving your car there. Staff were very nice and helpful whenever we approached them. All animals are well looked after and look healthy. For smokers there are several smoking places where u can light up and bins are everywhere for you to dispose your rubbish. The whole place was clean. I'd go again sometime in the future.

Fab day out with the family.
I have to say it's got to be one of the best zoo's I've ever been to

Even though covid restrictions still worth a visit. Staff very helpful, just 1 word of warning take a picnicnot much on offer food wise

It was a lovely day out seeing the animal kingdom and the Staff was willing to help visitors.

So much to do! The animals enclosures are very well maintained and the zoo have done a brilliant job at mirroring their natural habitat in the wild. What a wonderful experience. Plenty of activities for kids and abundance of educational opportunities.

One of the best Zoo's in the country, whats not to like! Brillaint contributions to global conservation!

Great fun with lots of animals and activities to do while you're there, the food and gift shop can be a bit pricey but overall a very enjoyable place with some new and upcoming arrivals.

Brilliant day out. You get more than your money's worth.

This is one of the best Zoo's I have visited. I would go back in a heart beat.

Great day out lots to see suitable for all ages staff friendly.
Boat ride was relaxing and free

Great day out with the missus Nd kids only think I can recommend is more toilets and signage for them and signage for way out .

Only regret is that we had not visited before. Had a brilliant full day and still didn't see everything. Every where was so clean and tidy so good work by the staff. Can't think of any negatives.

Chester Zoo were well organized. Sanitizer stations all over the Park, staggering people into restricted areas like Shops, Monkey House etc. If only the People took notice of the signs and being Social distance, it would make it a better experience.

A very good zoo that could keep you busy all day. We arrived in the first hour of opening and didn't see everything. Plenty of staff about and all seem very helpful and offer information about the various animals.

With plenty of routes around the park and many rest stops it didn't feel too busy. Obviously some crowds around the more popular exhibits as to be expected.



It feels massive to walk around and there is a monorail to get a scenic view of the park.

Absolutely the best zoo in the country by far. Everyone working there is outstanding an know exactly how to organise a zoo, everywhere you go is clean an well maintained, can't fault this place. Will always return each year. Well done

Over priced for what it is. Not alot to see. Some areas closed. Not enough under cover areas for when it rains. Will not be going again

Great attraction, very informative. The size of the animals pens have been massively improved from when I was a child. The size of the zoo itself is a lot bigger, you could definitely spend the whole day there, I would definitely visit again we had a great day.

The zoo itself is lovely, nice and clean. The only disappointment we had was we hardly saw any animals, all the enclosures looked empty, the whole point in going to a zoo is to see animals but we saw nothin. Blackpool zoo is much better and that's where we will be going from now on

Great Zoo but a lot of attractions are closed atm due to covid

A lovely Zoo. Book online to skip the queue for tickets at the desk on a weekend and holiday season, good to see the monorail is still up and running which is a great way to get from on end to another. It's been a long time since I last went and it has grown! You can definitely spend the whole day there. I went on Easter weekend and thought it would be too busy. It was busy but because its so big people spread out and I was not falling over people so was ok. The whole place is wheelchair and pushchair friendly. A great family day out.

Great day. Staff very friendly and helpful. Animals amazing . Loads of seating, toilets and cafes around which makes it easy stop, rest and move on then you don't miss any of these incredible creatures. Thank you all.

Always have a great time, been members for a few years now and definitely worth it! The boat ride is a good way to see the animals too. Cannot comment on food/drink prices as we often take a picnic :)

Excellent place to visit for tourists or a family day out!!

Good new lions enclosure and male lion was on top form roaring today.
Elephants always a joy to see and especially with baby at the moment.
Interesting perspective of Penguins through glass windows at side of pool.
But having said this overall a little disappointed at expense of entry and how little of Islands area was open or worth seeing especially given how far you walk to get there.
Only one Tiger in large enclosure and it was not surprisingly hiding away.
Maybe need to drop price whilst Islands area awaits full repair or perhaps even design enclosures better so visitors can see animals better.

Another great day at Chester zoo , new lion enclosure is amazing

Just not good at all, most animals not present, empty cages pens etc.
Social distancing was a joke.

Great visit, pre booking is required due to C19. The zoo has restrictions on some enclosures, which are closed. But numbers are limited so the zoo is far less crowded than normal so you get more opportunities to view the animals without being crushed or 4 people deep at an enclosure.

We've been members for a few years now and love going to Chester Zoo. You may not see all of the animals every time but that's a good thing. It means the animals have private areas where they can get away from the people.

If you take your time going around the zoo you'll never see everything, it's that big.

We love coming here and can't recommend it enough

Really nice zoo. Only thing that lets it down is the poor signage to help you get around.
Although if you install their app it help quite a bit

Best UK Zoo, loads of stuff to look at, so much so that you could do it over two days. Bat cave was an interesting highlight!

Totally loved it.

Spent the whole day being a kid and getting excited. The chimps are my favourite and food is also good. We ate in the restaurant and the service was excellent.

Great zoo, spent 6 hours wandering around, plenty to do and see

Well guys if u plan to visit Chester zoo u gonna give it a full day from 6am to 6pm very big place very wonderful place to visit really I did love how they did design everything to take to the animal home country

This place does amazing work for conservative around the world. The animals always look happy and smiling and staff help us around and taught us a lot. Thanks again

Haven't been for years and loved every minute there is so much to see I do wish the layout was a little clearer but all the animals are given so much space and care

What a wonderful zoo It really is a fantastic day out. Very well maintained and the option of photos too - we loved this. Can't believe how close we got to the Rhino!! Lots of places you can rest, with food places that don't break the bank.

It is a great place to see all different animals not in cages and good for children it is good day out rain or shine they are doing a good job to protect endangered animals

Excellent variety of animals, filled the whole day exploring the different areas. Was really pleased to see loads of focus on conservation and preservation that made it feel very ethical compared to other zoos.

Love this place still very expensive for what you actualy getting out of the day but loevly to see the animals and to enjoy time with family

Big well run zoo,great day out,and free parking! :)

Really enjoyed the zoo, all areas were clean. Parking was free and food and drink was an average price.

our kids loved it here. there was plenty to do and see, we spent all day here and still didn't get to see everything. worth becoming a member to take advantage of coming back whenever you like would really recommend and will definitely be back

The animals look well-cared for, it's very accessible, good ice cream (though took ages to get served with the best farm-made ice cream), great zoo.

Went the other day. Was sad to see the animals in cages and not in their natural habitat

It was a great day out very enjoyed it. Well worth a visit, I think my favourite animal were the orangutan

Can and never will fault this zoo. The best I've ever been too even over and across Europe, the conservation efforts amaze me everytime. This kind of work has never been more needed, car park always has enough room no matter how busy. The food and canteen options are standard for the price a lovely day out and can easily spend a full day there.

Good views of all the animals and plenty to see and do. Could do with a few more small areas for toddlers to play very limited,but my little boy still had fun. Food as always in these places pricey and cold,but fills a gap.

A bit expensive compared to Doncaster but really nice. My kids really enjoy to spend time here. it is an impressive job the staff does here everyday.

Took the children both under 12. We all enjoyed it. Lots to see. A tip is buy the refillable drinks bottle.

Fabulous day out for everyone. So much to see although at the moment some areas are not accessible due to Covid restrictions. We thoroughly enjoyed our day. Make sure you plan exactly what you definitely want to see as some areas close early. There were also some long queues. If you wait till after 3pm the queues reduce considerably. Absolutely fantastic zoo. The enclosures be are well planned out to enable viewing and private areas for the animals. There is such a wide variety. Lots of places to eat or picnic. As well as the animals there are beautiful, peaceful garden areas and play areas for children of all ages. It really is a full day out. Parking free and easy.

Chester zoo is world class turn any corner for a surprise, turn any corner for conservation, turn any corner and meet local volunteers with a passion for animals.
Unfortunately we need zoos for the future protection of vulnerable animals and Chester zoo is a world leader.

Great evening at Chester Zoo lantern walk. My 5 yr old son had a fantastic time. The staff were very friendly and interacted well with the children.

It was amazing 10/10 reccomend. Mainly have ramps so buggies and wheel chairs can easily get through too! ( )

Our 2nd visit to the zoo. Nice to see that developments are happening to improve lifestyle of the animals and give visitors good views. Well done to all the team.

Excellent during strange times,my bout two and five loved it.

Love it! Bought an annual pass. They do soo much charity work. Love the different events. Staff are super friendly and over all highly recommend for everyone to visit. Great day out for all.

Great day out, great access. We never get around in a day so finding the passes really good value.

We always love coming here, it's a different experience every time

Lovely staff and an amazing environment for all the animals that are kept there. The enclosures are constantly being updated with new enrichment and welfare is always being reviewed and improved.

Considering the current climate, yesterday had more people at the zoo that I have seen there before. And the lines for the women's toilets were insane due to some dumb dumb closing every other cubicle. Although understandable in the mens I can't see the reasoning in the women's?

Just a fantastic day out even tho it rained most of the day.. All the staff were so helpful and friendly

Great day out took my boy for his birthday aps loved the whole day

I love this place and everything it stands for. Great day out at any time of year!

I do usually like Chester Zoo but through the unforeseen pandemic, the necessary 1 way systems and queuing systems to see most of the zoo, the experience lacked it's usual spark. I'll be waiting until things return to normal to revisit.

We had a great time, spending 8 hours in the zoo. There's a wide range of animals and we found the keeper talks interesting. There are plenty of toilets, food kiosks and places to eat your own picnic.

We didn't like queuing for 45 and 30 minutes for the two times we used the monorail. (We paid in advance for an all-day ticket, which is cheaper if you'll use it more than once, though you can also buy this from the front of the queue for the same price as in advance.) It'd have been far quicker and easier on our legs to have walked. There are only two monorail trains, each taking a maximum of only 28 people. Six of the eight carriages have worn out windows that you struggle to see through, so you're likely to have wasted your time if you expect to see much.

If you like map reading, note that the free map given as you arrive can't be taken literally. It doesn't show all paths and not everything aligns with reality, making it hard to pinpoint some landmarks and destinations.

Prices in the big gift shop at the entrance/exit are mainly surprisingly reasonable. All staff we encountered everywhere were friendly and helpful.