Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Reviews

Had a wonderful time with kids. The bird show was entertaining. Regret we couldn t make it on time for giraffe feeding. Kids enjoyed the train ride.

Perfect day for a day at the zoo. Everything was clean and customer services was extremely helpful. Recommend highly

The famous "baby" Fiona Hippo lives here! Her exhibit is tucked away deep in the African Safari zone, so don't miss the turn as you'll miss it. Went during covid times, had to buy the tickets at a time slot. I went at 1pm, zoo closes at More

A lot of up and down hills but otherwise a really nice zoo. The animals were really active and looked good.

Worth the extra to get in early especially on these hot days. Food was good, restrooms clean, plenty of space to get around, and exhibits were well signed to find them. Enjoyed and will visit again.

Love the realistic enclosures for the animals. They appear to be very well treated.
Wonderful facilities, beautiful grounds. Plenty of activities for the children. Food is expensive so bring your own to eat on the picnic grounds provided. Parking can be inconvenient, seeming far away after lots of walking. bHowever, one almost expects those things. The good far outweighs the inconveniences

Had a wonderful time at the zoo. Great exhibits to explore. Friendly & helpful staff. I would suggest you visit early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The animals were not very active during noontime & early afternoon.

Some animals were out. A lot were not. Person checking the reservation times at end of bridge was a bit terse and cranky, but I'm guessing they were tired and hot. It's a nice walk not going into buildings. Peaceful when the rain came and folks left.

There was an exceptionally long walking between exhibits. Many nice plants and shared areas. Animals were well taken care of in naturally designed habitats.

Big zoo loads of fun for kids, zoo lights was awesome never seen anything like that before. Only thing I didn t like was the aquarium wasn t the best one for a zoo.

Amazing zoo. Loved seeing baby animals. Zoo is clean and beautiful.

Second best zoo in the country? I believe it. Never been to San Diego zoo, but ours is fantastic. Staff is always great. 5 stars all day.

Humid day. Animals staying inside and out of the heat. Made for a poor day to visit but the howler monkeys were entertaining everyone

I've been to the Cincy zoo many times, but recently made my first visit as an adult. A few things have changed in the almost four decades since I last visited the zoo. I remember there being more cats. Also the hills are much easier now. The enclosures seem smaller. The primates seem defeated. I couldn't help but wonder if the enclosures were too small. I still enjoyed my time at the zoo.

Today I took an elderly client to the Zoo and the exhibits were great, I'll say that. The pavement is awful. For anyone pushing a wheelchair or a stroller this is real challenge. I would suggest if you need to raise the admission for new pavement please do so. It is rough, I love our Zoo and I'm a member but smooth pavement would be easier on all of us.

Nice place to visit. Botanical Garden is beautiful!!

The Cincinnati Zoo is one of the best in America! So much to do and see everyday!! Plenty of food and drinks throughout the zoo. So many animals to see and learn about. Also there is a kids area where they can play! All the employees are great and always ready to answer any questions you may have.

Great exhibits. Most are new and high quality. They are in the process of constructing more exhibits as well.

You will spend the whole day here. It is HUGE. Very well laid out, and easy to navigate. It's on a hill, so be prepared to walk on an incline all day.

Purchase your tickets online to avoid the box-office line. If you purchase tickets ahead of time, rather than standing in box-office line, and then the admittance line to scan tickets, you'll only need to stand in one.

Get there early to find parking. There are multiple zoo-parking lots ($10), but they fill up quickly. Once the lot is full, the gate is closed to any more cars.

The animals were awake and active and the crowd was relatively small.

Great place. Buy tickets on your phone and skip the line

Absolutely the best time ever! Perfect day! Everything was spotless! Animals looks wonderful! Anyone (employee) you would talk to was so knowledgeable, polite and full of life! Thank you Cincinnati Zoo! We will be back!

AMAZING light show...a great time for young and adults...only drawback was 7.50 for a beer....dont miss it!!!

Even during COVID they have a great display of animals!

They Cincinnati zoo is one of our family's favorite places all year round. From zoo babies to HallZOOween to The Festival of Lights everything at the Cincinnati zoo is incredible! Also, The new Africa exhibit is beautiful! All of the new upgrades have been outstanding.

We had an awesome time with our 6th graders from Linden Elementary! The zoo and garden was as always a beautiful experience.

Fun place, nice selection of animals. Lots of the viewing areas were one way so you would come in contact with less people.

First of all, RIP Harambe. The pain is still there. This zoo is the second oldest zoo in the United States and it's massive. This zoo is one of the best zoos I've ever been too, and the staff is extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Must see if you're in Cincinnati.

Best place to go for a relaxing day, when you are retired....

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens is always fun. They had alot of activities at insect world today. Kids enjoyed it.

The animals looked sad and a lot of the animals weren t even in the exhibits. they were just empty.

Best place to be with kids, well maintained, need full day to encounter all animals... Loved it,
Save Animals Save Nature...!

Want for there festival of lights. Not many of the animal are out at this time of year. But it still nice to see what is out and all the Christmas lights. An its only 15 for an adult so that not to bad in my book. We got there around 4 befor the sun want down. An some of the attractions closed at sunset. But a lot where still open after. Took us about 4 hours to do and see what all we wanted. Good for a date night or something to do with the kids.

Amazing place! The directions were a little confusing but it was fun. They have a 4D theatre and a carousel.

Always worth the stop. Fun zoo that I always enjoy.

So many different animals. Pretty spread out but makes it feel less crowded. Food services were not as plentiful as they could have been.

I come here almost every year and it's always great

They have a very well thought plan for the re-opening, easy to get in, not too crowded. We love our zoo!

One of the best zoos I have ever been great people great atmosphere and felt safety was a top priority

Great zoo with alot of animal attractions. Offer really good membership deals as well.

The most amazing zoo I have ever been to!! My husband and I go to every zoo in every city we visit and this is by far our most favorite and memorable. Such a respectful place and the animals are clearly loved. I will recommend this zoo to every person I talk to as you can't get this experience anywhere else

Had a great time watching Fiona and her mom Beebee!

We buy a family pass every year.. We absolutely love going here.

Best zoo in the nation. My daughter had an overnight experience here and it was amazing. The staff were very knowledgeable and the accommodations we're "adequate". Cots in a fancy tent. . She loved it! Great place.

Today was the first time I have ever been there! I loved it. Very big, loads of places to sit, has very clean rooms for mothers to breastfeed or feed their little ones, its super clean! The animals seem good in their homes too.

really neat! the new blue penguin exhibit is adorable!

Very nice zoo, clean, staff was friendly, and animals were active. My family of 4 enjoyed our time and would highly recommend.

An amazing experience anytime of the year. Plenty of fun for the whole family.

Love this place, great for kids & families. Season pass is the way to go, free parking & $ off of food!

What a great zoo! We spent the entire day at the Cincinnati Zoo exploring. The animals are, of course, awesome. Their habitats were clean and spacious. The park is very clean. The botanical gardens are basically the park. Beautiful landscape and flowers throughout. Highly recommend a visit.

Timed entrance made everything a breeze. You also get a chance to see animals that are usually too crowded.

The kids always have an outstanding time here. Of course everything is pricey, but it's not overpriced compared to other similar places

Paid nearly full price even online and yet there was only 1 food place open until about 5 pm. We went early since we had to drive two hours and the only open place to eat in the park was HORRID. The staff had no idea who was in charge. We ordered a hamburger and chicken sandwich and my husband waited 27 minutes for the chicken sandwich while his hamburger got cold. Every time he tried finding out what was going on the staff looked bewildered and did nothing. Then when he finally got it and went to pay no apologies or acknowledgement that we had waited so long. Waited another five minutes to pay because the cashier was flirting and taking his time. Then neither condiments area had ketchup despite several people telling them it was out. We went to the welcome center to find someone in charge and all they said was it is a third party that manages the restaurant and they get tons of complaints. I don't care who runs it because we came to the zoo and had no other food options. I can visit zoos much closer to where I live so why would I go here?

My kids said it was the best zoo they've ever been to. We all had a wonderful time and learned so much.

Great experience even though it was cold and I didn't have much time.

1 of the best zoos I've been too! My grandson had a blast! I highly recommend!

The lights are beautifully, highly recommend to go see!!

Beautiful zoo. Well maintained with a variety of activities for kids and adults. And most importantly, the animals are obviously the focus and the care and attention they receive is a big part of what makes this such a fantastic and important place.

Nice zoo... but most animals were not in their exhibits which stinks...can get very crowded at times... but still had fun with the family. $10 parking is a little insane. I prefer going to the Louisville Zoo.

Open year round, really a great time! Lots of indoor and outdoor exhibits. Largest zoo ive been to so far. Great concessions too. Overall a really great place!

The zoo is well kept, quite compact, but with a large variety of animals. Fairly compact nature and good planning gives you a good probability of covering all the animals within a day even on foot. They have a cheetah thingy on certain days so be sure to check their website to find the times for this if u would like to see this.
All in all, a positive experience.

Been in the Tri-State area for almost 8 years. This was my first visit to the Zoo here. Very well done. They did a great job of making each exhibit themed to the animal's native surrounding. The park is spread out and it never felt busy. It seemed today was a "slower" day not all the snack places were open today. There were a few exhibits where the animals were not there which was a little disappointing (manatees) and some signage indicating what we were looking at was missing. Other than that a great time. We were able to see almost everything in about 5 hours. It's also not overly comnercialized which is also nicea

One of the best zoos in the country. Very clean and very customer-focused.

Festival of Lights was an amazing experience. Great for date night or a visit with the little ones

Great place for kids and parents! There is always some kind of animal encounter going on. (Feeding giraffes, penguin parade, etc.) During the summer the food options are awesome! Things close down and options are limited in the winter. If you want to go to the PNC festival of lights, go on a weekday or show up at 3:30pm or 4pm and stay until it gets dark so you can park. Otherwise you'll spend an hour or more in traffic.

Get the membership. After two visits it pays for itself. If you have little ones that love to ride the train and carousel then upgrade your membership and ride to their hearts content.

not really a botanical garden, and we visited while the christmas light show was going on, but it was overall a very nice little zoo! had a cute train riding around and the lights were lovely. got to see a few animals there as well!

This is by far the most organized and wonderfully kept zoo that I've ever been to!

Love this place this is one of the most beautiful zoo's and botanical gardens in the country I have traveled to lot's of zoo's, and Cincinnati is highly recommended ,the animals are healthy and well cared for.. Great job to all the employees !!

Great family place. Got to hold hissing cockroaches!

The zoo is great. It's pretty expensive though. If you plan on going more than once I would just get the pass. Parking is 10.00 and adult tickets are 21.00. That aside it is very clean. The animals look to have good facilities and they seem happy. The African plains area is the best. It is so peaceful watching the animals. I would have given 5 stars but the parking is atrocious. Its 10 bucks and you have to go looking all around the zoo from lot to lot only to find they are all full.

Took our 5 month old son and had a blast. Parking hard to find with GPS as it is across street from zoo. GPS took us to an employee lot to park. Only downside to the zoo was the time of year and many animals were off exhibit.

Nice Day trip with Grandkids even during a pandemic.

The bees made us throw our food away. They were relentless.

One of the best zoos in the country so many different things to see. they're always upgrading so many things they have a pretty big upgrade coming up soon. Excited to see what the zoo looks like in 5 years

It was a beautiful day. Not too crowded. A great time spent with family looking at God's creation.

We went for the festival of lights and were a little disappointed as we were comparing it to the Toledo Zoo. The displays were ok however I didn't find anything to take a picture of... We did enjoy seeing the new baby giraffe and manatees....

Beautiful, clean, and always something to do! 10/10 recommended. Fun time for families. We spent over 4 and a half hours here and were entertained the whole time!

This zoo was a great escape, the animals were up and moving. The parking was easy to find and getting into the zoo was easy.

Fantastic zoo and very clean. Went for the Zoo lights, and the displays were awesome. Only issue was the limited food options and if you stay late they will likely be closed. To counter this, this zoo let's you bring your own food and drink.

I have not been to very many zoos in my life, but I can say without a doubt that the Cincinnati Zoo is the best one by far. Even on a rainy day, there was way more to see than we could fit into our 4 hour window. Everything was clean and organized and the animals were healthy and active. I told my daughter the story of Harambe and used it as a teaching moment for why we always stay together. Why couldn't those parents watch their child, WHY?? RIP Harambe

I love Cincinnati Zoo, it's a big zoo and my grandson loves to pet the animals.

Easy in and out. Lights were beautiful. All staff we encountered were friendly.

Took family and everyone love it. Price was good for what you got as well

Fantastic place. Lots of small cafes and resting areas. Beautiful all around. Lots of trees and plants. It was shady. Bathrooms were very clean when we went! It was about 7000 steps to go around the whole park, without the inside exhibits, since they were closed due to Covid 19.

A phenomenal zoo with great attractions and an interactive staff. Their enclosures are very nice and the animals seem to be well taken care of. I highly recommend going to this zoo!

Grandparents day so a little crowded but not too bad. Lots of flowering plants right now but animals looked a little stressed by the heat.