Houston Zoo Reviews

Always finding surprises at the zoo. Family friendly gathering.

Zoo was incredible although I didn't see any zebras. But I went on a free Tuesday so that's a plus; DEFINITELY will be coming back soon.

The ticket is only $4.00 if you receive SNAP benefits, just show them your card. You can't beat that price. I was impressed with all the different animals and exhibits there was also a lot of zoo keepers feeding and talking about the animals. The Lego exhibit was an extra 4.95 but well worth it. You should deffiently check out the legos, it's really cool!

It was very cold and most of the animals we in keeping warm.

I'll make sure to stay in the same hotel on my next trip. Despite the cons listed above, one of the nicer hotels I have stayed in this region.

Great zoo experience. My baby under 1 was free. It was a hot day, but there were plenty of cool zones to take a break in... Ticket prices were fair at about 20 per adult 12.50 for seniors.

Great trip, came early in the morning and some of the animals weren't present but they came later in the day, great place to have fun with the family or some friends.

Great way to spend a day... You can bring your own food and drinks here... Crazy expensive food and drink.

Love it love it a lot of new exhibits since the last time I was there over 10 years ago , just to see the look on kids faces , priceless !!!!!

Food is double the price than actual worth. A slice of pizza is $4.49 , icee is $ 6.99and burger is $8.95. Bring your own cooler of food. Student parking was better.. We weren't yelled at by guys riding in golf carts this time. We were allowed to drop off and pick up without harassment. Students were able to see a multitude of animals up close and learn about animals in the enclosures. Our students found a ton of restrooms everywhere. They had a good time so I consider our trip perfect. Thank you, Houston Zoo.

Zoo lights were great. The only bummer was that most of the animals were inside already to sleep

Great day at the Houston Zoo seeing the baby elephant, Tilly, and feeding the giraffe. The zoo works hard to provide a good environment for both the animals and the visitors. I am so happy to have a zoo membership.

Absolutely beautiful Zoo! We loved every minute of it!

The renovations are awesome. I like how they added shades and fans all over the ZOO that it doesn't matter how hot Houston gets. Also i love how the Zoo added Numbers signs throughout to zoo to help you find exactly where you are in the map. The elephant new enclosure is great and the BIG BUGS is fascinating.

I love going to the zoo. There are so many animals to see and a few different areas for kids to play including a splash pad, playground, and petting zoo. I recommend you bring your own food which is allowed although they do have cafes with the standard park food. They have several indoor exhibits where you can cool off too

My kids love the zoo. And getting the membership is so worth it.

Well cared for Animals! A place where you can go see exotic animals up close yet not in the wild where they would be a danger to you. You get to go study them and see what they are like in their great Majesty. The Houston Zoo is huge get out there take a walk enjoy your day. No better place to do it than the Houston Zoo a must-visit. Great food great drinks great time! Stop by and enjoy all the amenities. For me and my family it is always a must stop. The money you spend on the ticket helps care for the animals so please stop by as often as you can as it is expensive to take care of wild animals who need their care.

We ( 1 senior, 2 adults, 3 kids ) enjoyed the whole afternoon. The whole place was clean. The animals looked well taken care of, plenty of restrooms, the reptiles were so active, cafe food was surprisingly very good ( we ate cob salad & turkey sandwich with fries ). We enjoyed watching the kids playing in the potato sac races, hula hooping & jump roping. There were several live bands ( kid friendly music ).
The staff & volunteers were extra friendly and smiling..

The big bug exhibit was overpriced for the experience.
We can t wait to come back.

It's been a long time since I was at the Zoo. It has really been improved since I was last there. Really liked the open areas where the animals could roam and you could see them with looking through bars.

Best zoo in the USA only second to the San Diego zoo

Probably isn't different from any other activity down town. But parking is no fun. The is nice and clean. Exhibits are well done. Even this late in season most of the animals are out and active. Workers are friendly and ready to help. From explaining where you are to the animals they feed. The only draw back is the center cafe. Stay away from there it will ruin your experience. They messed up our order so many time we finally just ate what they brought us. Those workers are rude and considering the majority of what they serve is from the grill. You would think they would keep the simple condiments stocked. Not the case and not interested in helping.

The Houston Zoo is a beautiful, well kept Green space right in the heart of Houston proper. There is quite a bit of construction going on for new exhibits. The staff and volunteers are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, the animals very diverse and well cared for. The restaurants are overpriced ($32.00 for lunch for 2) but that's to be expected, I guess. My advice would be to bring a lunch. Overall it was a good experience, and I will go back.

A lot of work going on in the park right now. I think most animals were available but some exhibits and their animals are closed. The park is pretty clean, the staff were all friendly and I appreciate how close you can get to most of the animals. It appears they have made an attempt at giving the animals a habitat and not just cages but they aren't huge like Ashville NC. Zoo. Those animals can be 100yds away although I think that zoo is a bit nicer. Early spring is definitely when you should visit Houston. It's not 200 degrees yet and the crowds aren't enormous.

My kids and I love going to the Zoo. All year round during the day and Zoo lights nov-Jan. They never get tired of it. Feeding the giraffes is their favorite thing to do. Watching the elephants take a bath is mine ;) you can tell they take very good care of their animals. Staff is pretty friendly too. The only thing I m not a fan of is their food, so we usually bring our own snacks and make a little picnic on the picnic tables close to the carrousel.

Small but very nice and well maintained zoo with many improvements in recent years. Definitely a must for anyone visiting Houston.

The animals looked healthy and there was plenty different activities

The animals were very active and even interactive with the visitors at times. I've been to the San Antonio Zoo, San Diego Zoo and several others. I rate this near the top with San Diego. In a way, I like it even better because it still has many great exhibits but isn't nearly as large. Prices are more than fair. I highly recommend.

Amazing time like always lots of shade perfect for this blasting days

Enjoyable day seeing all to see and learning things to boot!

A lovely zoo with a wide variety of animals from elephants and lions to komodo dragons and primates. Give yourself at least 2 hours to spend walking around.

We also hired an electric scooter (with shade cover for $30) for my dad who would have struggled with the walking. This was really worth it.

There is plenty of parking but we had taken an Uber, drop-off and collection were both easy.

My kids love going here. I like that you can bring a cooler with your own food and drinks!

Kid friendly place just don't do it with 6 kids. 3girls 8,7,7. 3boys 4,3,1. Pulling the cooler and push the 1year old .

An awesome zoo, and definitely worth the price if you get the city pass.

This zoo is the best of them all. Sure, it was a little pricey, but was worth it. Gave me a map to plan out the adventure. Saw many creatures you do not get to see everyday, some of them are endangered and may be extinct in the next 50 years! Overall, peaceful zoo. Atmosphere was exceptional. Took many pictures for all to see. 5/5 thank you.

So much to do here! Great exhibits and lots of ground to cover. Definitely spend some time here. Ate at the cafe right next to the giraffes and the food was soooooo good and surprisingly good priced. They have a whole section just for kids too. You can even bring your own picnic and spend time in some of the open seating areas. Only downfall is they dont allow strollers in some of the exhibit buildings.

Best to come around 10a-5p because the animals are awake and active! And from 10-3 there's feedings and learning with the zookeeper's!
I absolutely love coming here and cannot wait to bring my daughter when she's walking.

Great zoo, very easy to get around and it was fun for kids and adults. There were lots of attractions and areas for kids to play. The parking was absabsolut awful though. Very frustrating trying to find a spot.

On August 10, 2019 around 3:45 my family and I were by the giraffe feeding area my two older boys were going to feed the giraffes and I had my 1 yr old baby in a wagon about to go up the ramp when a tall gentlemen at the entrance gate informed me that I couldn t bring the wagon up to the feeding area, no big deal. I proceeded to put my one year old near the fan by the entrance as he was flush red all over his face and it s 100+ degrees outside. At this point the taller gentleman near the entrance said I couldn t put him there I was blocking the exit which to me seemed unnecessary it was a large exit and no one was there at the time except my children that were with their mother. I mainly write this in hopes that some type of upper management gets to read it and explains to the employees the importance of being aware of heat exhaustion. I know the employee was wanting the fan to himself but that is unacceptable when a 1 year old is overheated.

Absolutely loved the renovations done at the zoo. Always loved the Houston Zoo but now with two small children, I appreciate the ease of navigation through the zoo, the cleanliness, and the helpful personnel.

Fantastic. It was neat to watch my grandson discover a place I loved when I was growing up.

The kids loved it, the best part was the train ride around Herman park to finish off the long day. There are some new attractions coming soon, looking forward to it. only bad part is the parking, there is not enough for everyone, its better to get there early or in the after 3 pm.

Amazing experience and an awsome place for kids. Watching some of them too up close can get really exciting. And the pizza (food outlet near giraffe section) was amazing

Was there for the Christmas Lights had a wonderful experience with my friend.

Good luck with parking because it's a mess. After finding parking and waiting in line for about an hour. I must say I enjoyed my time at the zoo. This was my first time visiting. Remember to bring water because you will sweat a lot.

It was like being in Jurassic Park but the dinosaurs didn't escape!

expensive entrance for barely shows in this zoo . the only exciting part of the zoo is the gorilla, elephants and giraffe exhibit. most of the time this place is in construction and they really need to update the lions and reptile exhibit.

I love the Houston zoo ..
I've been there over 100 times..Its great place to take your family and the kids have so much fun!

As an attraction, it's one of the better ones for the city, but comparing to zoos in many smaller cities (St. Louis, San Diego, Fort Worth, etc.), it doesn't measure up toward what you would expect from such a great city as Houston. They had a lot of construction going on, and it seemed they could better utilize space. Parking was awful, take mass transit! Prices were pretty high both getting in and inside (no surprise there). Feeding giraffes was a real highlight. There were a lot of REALLY exotic animals.

A really good zoo. Some areas need an upgrade, some are great as is. A very pleasant day at a beautiful zoo.

Large variety of animals, very clean and organized. I would suggest if you plan to go, go early in the morning. Parking is a NIGHTMARE if you decide to go in the afternoon.

Friendly personell, healthy looking animals. If you have kids, it's a great place to visit. I was visiting Houston and only had 3 free hours to walk around, no regrets I picked Houston Zoo to visit.

We went to see the zoo lights. The are always good but the lay out this year did not let you see a lot of animals.

Beautiful zoo with a lot of animals. For the most part, they seemed well cared for with big enough habitats. The parking area was extremely crowded (it is also shared with Herman Park) but once we were in the zoo, we didnt experience any crowds, there was plenty of space for everyone. If we lived closer, we would definitely consider becoming members!

Wish there was more activities. And shops, maybe more flowers and greenery. But over all it was a great place and day. We enjoyed it.

Absolutely love the zoo. Took my daughter and she enjoyed every bit of it. The only downside to the zoo is the price. It can get costly very quick. The tickets to get in the park are quite outrageous. And that doesnt even include the dinosaur park. Food is costly as well. So be ready to bring your life savings.

Great zoo! I recommend getting the city pass to enjoy other things around Houston.

I came here a couple of weeks ago, and I had a lot of fun. Animals were fun to watch, especially in chimpanzee section. The restaurants were pretty great and the food in it was too. The staff was pretty friendly and nice. The gift shop had a lot of cool stuff as well and for cheap prices (same with the food as well). I'm 16 so I didn't expect to have such a fun time here. They also have I splash pad I think but my family didn't go there. They also have a park next to the zoo (it's not part of the zoo, but you have the option to go there before or after visiting the zoo).

Going downhill, and getting pricey. Only reason it's not a lower score because kids thought it was tolerable, which isn't good for a 6 and 8 year old

Houston Zoo was amazing. My family & I enjoyed ourselves but however due the pandemic we didn t get to see everything. Still loved it either way. We came from Dallas & we would definitely come again.

The zoo is a wonderful place!!! I truly enjoy the experience once in..although when paying almost $50 for 1 adult and two, 2 years olds,food almost $30, I wanted souveniers until I seen prices. (Maybe it's just the fact that I'm middle class to rich for assistance but to poor to afford)

Great fun, beautiful animals good food and overall amazing experience

From the moment you walk in, you are greeted by the amazing staff. This zoo offers such a wide variety of different animals. And the scenery, breathtaking. The 5 hour drive to Houston was most definitely worth it!

People were really nice animals were well taken care of but the prices for drinks were to high

Always a fun time!! The littles love seeing all the animals

Its great to come with your family and enjoy this energy it has i loved it my kids even more want to come and see the animals even there thinking of wanting to adopt an animal

They say the Houston Zoo is a 55-acre zoological park located within Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. The zoo claims to house over 6,000 animals from 900 species. It is said to receives 2.55 million visitors each year and is the second most visited zoo in the United States. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Great zoo! If the many times we have gone to a zoo the animals at the Houston zoo always seem to be out and moving around.

This place had it all. Lions, tigers and guess what? They had bears, not a lot, but still enough to impressed me and my little girl. If you like animals, and I mean any animals, this is definitely a place for you. Will be back.

Went on a date because I havent been In a very long time and most is all the same they added a few new things but there was construction like they were adding more. Only thing I would recommend is go early to watch alot of what they offer to see involving animals.

No parking. Workers and security were very rude when asking questions about how and where to park

Thought we loved our DENVER zoo then we came here, wow

Overall it was awesome, I just didn't like how we had to pay two admission fees. One to see the animals until they closed and another for the Christmas lights. It was beautiful and they kids had lots of fun, it's just expensive.

So enjoyed our visit! The dinosaur and water areas were big hits for the kiddos..and the adults:)

Many aminals. Lots of the bloops. They have a secret stash of chickens...be on the lookout. The cow in the children's area just wants the scratches (use the brush attached to the fence).

We had a wonderful time! The animals have large enclosures and looked like they were happy. Most zoos we ve been to, the enclosures are small and the animals look miserable.

There's so much closed inside the zoo that it was very sad. No reptile exhibit, no birds, no seals, no bug exhibit, no aquarium exhibit. They're doing the best they can during the COVID-19 social distancing measures but the entire visit was just very sad.

I am always a huge fan of visiting zoos wherever I go. This, although is not the biggest zoo I have been to, is the liveliest zoo I've ever been to!
There were a lot of staff there that sincerely love animals. And the petting zoo and giraffe feeding were definitely worth the visit! They couldn't get a good enough picture of me at the feeding section and gave me an extra lettuce just to get me a good giraffe feeding photo!