Houston Zoo Reviews

I have visited many zoos. Honestly? NOT a big fan of any of them. I mainly go to check out the quality of the animal habitats. I truly believe that Houston Zoo could be MUCH better.. and that comes from someone who has visited for 30 years. I also do not like people pressing their hands and faces all over the glass where the animals live - my parents taught me to respect the animals that make this place their HOME. I'm a Baby Boomer, so that's something I appreciate about the older generation. There has got to be a better way.. I DO however, enjoy the plants, gardens, and trees..

Our zoo is a great place for families. Management understands that Houston is usually hot, so there are lots of opportunities for indoor and covered attractions. The food is good here as well and throughout the zoo you can find booths selling cold beer.

The kids really enjoy this zoo lots to do and lots of animals..

Always love the Houston zoo my favorite parts are meet the keeper talks at various hours throughout the day. some talk about their bigger animals while others talk about the smaller ones some even bring out small animals you can even touch. Always a great experience for the whole family!!!!

Good place to visit with family. Although I was a bit disappointed because they didn't had any animals or birds from Australia (like kangaroos ,wallabies, emu ,koalas etc) apart from the kookaburra. And no bengal tigers,hippos etc. It would be nice if they had more animals since Houston has the right kind of weather for these kind of animals.

Nice time at zoo at night. Brew at the Zoo is definitely worth repeating.

Great for an adventure for sure. Was packed. Get there early for prime parking at the park. Other attractions are within walking distance! Entry price is affordable too!

I always have a great time while visiting the Houston Zoo. In my opinion this is one of the better zoos in the country because of the wide array of animals and exhibits available for you to enjoy. The newly opened gorilla and African forest exhibit is just absolutely amazing and a must see for anyone visiting. Also, if you get the chance I would suggest doing any one of the behind the scene tours where you can go behind the scenes with the keepers.

Went for Zoo Lights, great light display, but no animals. Understandable, but there may have been some way to incorporate both. Book online before you go.

The zoo was very nice to go to, specially for summer days. I really liked how the bird exhibit was along with the aquarium. Though. The only things that kinda 'ruined' the experience were how some exhibits were closed due to renovations or cleaning. Overall everything was fine, plus I loved the Lego exhibit trail.

Its not the best but good one. In January the ticket was 9$ so it was worth 9$

They thought of it all! Kids petting zoo is really cute. Lots of animals. Showings of feedings and baths. They have nursing rooms, family bathrooms and a couple different restaurants and food stops. Expensive, as to be expected. Not busy if you go during the week. Staff was friendly, the few interactions I had. Everything was clean.

The zoo is expensive, but worth every penny. Every time we go here they are reworking an exhibit or improving it in one way or another. I would be sure to arrive early because by noon it is packed and difficult to find parking. The zoo employees are very knowledgeable and happy to share their information with anyone who takes the time to listen. Once inside there are plenty of bathrooms and places to shop, eat and drink... For a price. The food and drink in the zoo is obviously very expensive but when you consider the cost of caring for all of those animals, it is easy to get over the $7.00 drink. All in all, the Houston zoo is worth the trip and the price of admission.

We have taken our children to the Houston Zoo for years. If you will go more than twice a year, the membership is a must! Members also get discounts inside the zoo and at the gift shop. We have a great experience every visit!

I don't remembering it being so over priced for so few exhibits and the food was not great. Our picture came out great, but I hate to say it... my daughter and I wont be returning.

Wonderful exhibitions. BEAUTIFUL Animals. Well taken care of.

The Houston zoo is pretty awesome, the kids had a blast, and is a great place to spend a few hours with the kids. Plan to be there for about 3 to 4 hours to go through the whole complex.

Great diversity of animal life, but I found the landscaping equally exemplary. Both Flora and fauna are well maintained. It took me about 4 hours to cover it. It is free on first Tuesdays every month!

Great zoo. It is a big zoo so make sure you wear comfortable shoes. If it's a hot day, I Suggest you buy the souvenir cup, especially if u have children or a large group. The refills are cheaper.

Nice day out! We stopped immediately for lunch after entering from the main entrance.... I don't remember the name of the place but the food was good, however the cashier all the way at the end was quite rude. Bad attitude with everyone she helped. Her very poor customer service skills don't take away from the rest of the Zoo though. Great place!

We had a good time there but we ran out of time to see everything, and some things was under construction. So there will be another time.

I do not recommend the Christmas lights night zoo visits. The lights are nice, but there visitors are not permitted to see any animals, which is enormously disappointing to kids. The lights are nice, but not worth $20/person.

Nice visit today. The splash pad was a great way to cool off.

It is a wonderful zoo. There are many animals and pretty habitats. The parking can be difficult.

Great place and amazing animals. It is also clean and inviting. Petting zoo and feeding the giraffes was also a big hit with my kids. I wish the city had not approved a high rise to be built right next to the zoo. It takes away from the natural feel of the place.

Nicely decorated for the holidays but dont expect to see animals at zoo lights.

Wonderful experience! Food and coffee prices are rather high but that's to be expected.

Although crowded, we were treated to active animal behavior and the zoo was clean, and well staffed

Love the zoo .... circle care is a nice place to rest!

Everyone is so nice, one of the ladies that check you in danced with my daughter. It made my day. Always love coming to the Houston zoo.

Go early. If you have a disabled tag take advantage, parking up front. $19.95 to get in. Take your time. Walk a counter clockwise your this way you will ensure you see it all. Recycling is big, pay attention to the bins and dispose of your plastic and recycling.

Granted the zoo is under construction in some parts... It's still just as fun as ever. It's a great and wonderful place to spend the day at

Here for Brew at the Zoo. Nice cool chance to see the animals and sample local brewery options.

Packed but everyone friendly and helpful. Staff is excellent,m

Love it my kids had lots of fun here. Is nice and the animal looks well maintained.

I love the Houston zoo! They have a good variety of exhibits and get new animals often. My favorite part is the gorilla exhibit. The layout and flow of the park goes smooth. There is a petting zoo and places to interact with the animals such as the giraffe feeding. Cool aquariums. Awesome place to visit! Arrive early for free parking.

Always fun for the entire family. Food, drink, restroom, AC, and parking!

I wish there was better parking. It is like playing grand theft auto to get a parking spot. Other than parking the Zoo is great. Don t spend time in the long lines buying tickets, buy online.

This place is great. All those signs out front telling you what a great deal it is if you buy a family season pass are true if you you plan to come more than once with your kids. Plus you can bring in your own food!

We love the zoo. A wide variety of animals, plenty of places to take a rest and cool down, and you can bring in outside food and drink. The habitats are relatively spacious, the animals are well cared for, and the entire experience is very educational. I would definitely recommend it.

Me and my family come here all the time we all love it I have two boys one is 2 and the other is 9 but they both get to enjoy it. There is a lot of things to do at the zoo. You can feed giraffes, pet animals, and they have little plays for kids. Good food and drinks. All kinds of animals to view and when your done with the zoo there is a lot more free things to do around the zoo. They have parks and other gardens.

Very relaxing and enjoyable for me and my family. Love coming here.

Healthy looking animals and very nice keepers. Friendly staff all throughout zoo, even until gift shop.

Okay, so I am a teacher and I am forced to come to the zoo on weekdays. Unfortunately, the Houston Zoo is one place where it is actually LESS crowded on Saturdays and Sundays! During the week every school, church, daycare, boyscout, girlscout, camp, and youth group in Texas is here!! I feel sorry for the animals at the petting zoo. There are like 6 kids to each animal! There isn't any room to breath. They give the kids a mini hairbrush to comb the animals hair (at the end of the day, I'm surprised the animals aren't bald!). The line to use the restroom is about 3 miles long. NO JOKE! There will be no place to sit. PLEASE go to the zoo on Saturday in the late afternoon, the zoo will be peaceful and you can actually enjoy the beauty of the animals and the zoo as a whole. Overall, the Houston Zoo isn't the best in the U.S. but it isn't the worst either. It is just average, but it is just enough to where your children can learn about the majority of animals.

I grew up going there and it has only gotten better.

Great staff, well maintained, very clean despite the construction. You can tell they take care of the animals because they are usually active and happy.

They're expanding so many of the exhibitions are closed but will be reopened in 2019. However going here is always fun and there's always a variety of animals for viewing and activities for the family.

We had a lovely time here. The zoo is walkable clean and very nice. The sell corn puffs with Valentina sauce to accommodate the Mexican locals in which i thought was pretty awesome. They also sell soft serve vanilla ice cream cones in which i had two on this visite cones were awesome all that was missing was the rainbow sprinkles. We saw all the animals there was to see. Overall had a great time. Highly recommend.

You definitely have to go there. It is amazing. Animals are great, they are very good taken care by the guardians. Facilities are clean and you can tell when animals are happy. The whole place is a living thing, there is always something to do. They are also doing something new too.

The kids loved the giant bug exhibit so much we had to go through it twice and they ate well at the Mccaw diner.

Is it possible that at least once you will get to see 80% of the animals. I mean it is a zoo after all.

The only downside was there wasn't a natural flow, like at other zoos.

Nice atmosphere. Good place to take kids. Always expanding and building new exhibits.

Beautiful animals! Nice big exhibits! Good space for all.

If you haven't been lately, then make a visit. Every year the zoo gets better for both the visitors and the residents. The elephants are noticeably happier in their giant new enclosure with ponds for cooling off on hot Houston days. The park has strategically place exhibits with AC to cool off the two legged. My one complaint is that the frozen lemonade vendors aren't there anymore. They've been replaced with those dot ice cream guys.

They are doing a great job during the Covid-19 situation. Some parts of the zoo are closed of mainly the play area for kids and such. You have to buy tickets before hand and have a slotted time to be there but is okay if your stay a little longer. A great experience with everything going on.

Never fails us. Always enjoy a day at Houston Zoo!!

Our trip to the zoo was so much fun! Our group included 2 adults and 7 teenagers. Our group never had a dull moment!

The most amazing zoo experience I ve ever had. It was a very wonderful trip and everyone there was so kind and helpful.

They are doing a great job socially distancing selling tickets ahead of time for 2 hour time slots. The animals put on a great show. Water and snacks are available. Restrooms are open. Sanitizers are all over the place. They are operating at limited capacity but doing a great job.

Great for the kids but they are very expensive and continue to raise the price for admission. Used to be super affordable for the whole family every weekend now not so much.

Zoo boo was a success.. Able to see the animals in costume and get a bowl full of candy when we left. Kids loved it

Use to be a great family outing. Now that the population has inc6in this city it is crowded as hell. Impossible to find a parking space. Go early leave early.

Always love the zoo. Even in a hot day it's still perfect since there is many trees that provide shade and indoor attractions. Best time to go is early around 9am. If u go later all animals are napping l

This is always a good spot to take your family to. Great place to make memories. Hate that the prices are so high on things out there but I understand why. We have a new tradition when we go out there, we ride the train, and then we go walk around for a couple hours. Glad we are able to take in coolers. Also love that they have a carousel for my son to enjoy.

Great park gorgeous to see i would come again. I will give it 5 stars

My 4 year old daughter had a blast. They open at 9 a.m. I recommend checking it out.

Houston zoo is amazing the continued upgrade to animal exhibits is awesome. The staff is well informed and helpful. The kids zone is a great place to take a break and let the kids roam free and run around without being worried about disrupting other patrons fun. One of my favorite place to take my daughter multiple times a year.

Tons of fun! You can wander around here for hours and still miss stuff. If you want to be sure to see everything, stick to your map. The exhibits are really neat, but mostly outside, so be sure to wear/bring sunscreen, especially if you're pale. Definitely worth a visit (or several!)

Love visiting. Over the years they have upgraded the enclosers

Awesome Houston Zoo! We were there from 9 am til 5:30 pm.! We saw everything!

Pretty good!!! Amazing animals, the water park is perfect for kids! Bring some water and fruit.

Clean facilities, helpful staff and educational and fantastic exhibits.

Awesome place for the whole family. Save half a day at least. And be prepared that parking can be an issue.

ever time you get hot you seem to get near a chill spot. Perfect set up.

Went to zoo lights and had a great time. Good place for families and couples. They have a spiked hot chocolate that was awesome since the weather was cold. They also had a various spots to stop for food. One BBQ truck had awesome loaded fries. They also had funnel cake fries that were delicious.

F%$@ing amazing, you can feed the giraffes at 11am and 2pm!