Melbourne Zoo Review

What's happened to the Melbourne Zoo?? I remember it being FULL of animals when I would go as a kid with my parents or with school. The lions are in an enclosure that's more then HALF the size it was and they were with the Hyenas AND there was a bridge you could walk across and see ALL the lions now there's 5 and that's it. No small cats, no poison arrow frogs, no chimps, the poor tigers looked so skinny and small and the snow leopard looked bored and had a rotting rabbit carcass sitting near one of the windows... Prices for food and drinks was beyond ridiculous $5.30 for a 600ml Pepsi and $5 for a sausage roll I wouldn't feed to the lions or tigers... Highly disappointed, Melbourne Zoo needs to step up more of they're wanting to charge such much. The cheapest part of the Zoo was the parking but good luck finding one as staff from the local hospitals park there also. Best to catch public transport if wanting to spend the day here...

Melbourne Zoo exceeded my expectations on my last visit. It's a nice, fairly large zoo, with a great collection of animals. I liked the little food court, and the food I had was very nice. I thought the entry prices to the zoo were pretty fair, and kids under 15 even get free entry on weekends and public/school holidays, which is brilliant. Also liked the fact that 16 years old and above is considered an adult by the zoo for the purpose of accompanying someone 15 years old or younger. I definitely think it's worth making a trip to the zoo if you're in Melbourne.

The best zoo I have been to. Excellent displays and the Meercats are great.

Very good place ,good atmosphere thats why like me .

It's very wide, and if you walk the wrong way you will come and go. Although it is a zoo, you can see a variety of things such as an aquarium and a butterfly corner. I enjoyed it for the price.

More like a botanical garden than zoo. Couldn't find snow leapord. Japanese garden was closed as well.

Friendly staffs and easy location to go. Train tram and drive is available. Ticket is bit expensive but good experience.

If you come to Melbourne you can not help but visit its Zoo, wonderful location and managed in an esermplare, the staff is always present and very attentive and friendly, the Zoo stretches along a path that unfolds among the various local, it contains really many species that come from all over the world, the animals are cared for and everything has been done to recreate around them a habitat as similar as possible to them, the parking is huge, it can be reached by train that with the bus lines, This Zoo is the kingdom of children, who can get close to nature in a beautiful way, you can not come to Melbourne and do not visit it, highly recommended

One of the best things to do in Melbourne! Beautiful zoo. Well priced for a day activity. Go in nice weather. Loved the butterfly house!

It was okay. There were a lot of exhibits that didn't have animals in them. It would be good if there were more volunteers or keepers around to answer questions. Only saw keepers in the Lemur exhibit

The environment is very good ~ not many animals ~ the price is not cheap ~ adult 32.5 ~ a platypus three koala seven or eight kangaroos ~ belong to a relatively small zoo ~

Butterfly house is such a beautiful place to be, especially reopened after such a long time.

A zoo focused on the welfare of animals first, by providing them with very large spaces very well equipped for their comfort and well-being. The spaces are clean. The animals are healthy and well fed. Well done! The small flaw for visitors is that it is not always easy to see animals when you see them. However, in certain places (lemurs, butterflies), one enters a closed enclosure where these animals circulate freely among visitors. The Melbourne Zoo is one of the most beautiful animal parks I have seen, despite these small restrictions. Just walking around this space filled with bamboo forests is a pleasure. Another small downside: I have seen few Australian species.

Pretty expensive but cool once you re inside, kinda a lot of kids tho

It was absolutely amazing and may I suggest that you have a close up they were amazing as well.

Great zoo with lots of variety of wildlife, the animals look healthy and well kept. Viewing of animals is very accessible too, highly recommend!

Something To Do In The Summer Is The Melbourne Zoo Twilight Concerts. We Have a Day Out There Every Year And See Some Great Shows. Take A Blanket Enjoy The Open Air Great Family Concerts All Summer Long.

Such a great place to relax and see the animals with family and friends.

The lady working the front desk made this experience fantastic. So chirpy and friendly. The zoo is huge and very well-kept. Cafes dotted about could use a bigger range as food options are limited and expensive. It's incredible that this is right in the city. It feels miles away. Would definitely recommend.

not worth it.
Most of the place was under renovation.
Couldn't explore much.

Brilliant experience for the family, the zoo is well maintained and facities and clean.
The animals are a wonder to watch and a very enjoyable day walking around this special place.

If you're an animal lover then this is definitely the place for you. Has an absolute wide range of all animals from elephants to tigers, don't worry, they won't bite you ! It's reasonably priced..

The zoo was great as always , just to many people not wearing face masks if these want to get them self's and there family's sick go ahead but not fair for the animals

I took the wife and kids to this zoo and it was a great day out, the kids had a blast and so did the parents!

A great zoo and a nice place to spend the day. I can't wait to see it when the new exhibits open.

This is such a beautiful zoo experience. Surrounded by beautiful lush gardens.

got invited here for neices birthday. loved the animals. talks were good too.

Beautifull place for all season

I suggest once or more a months an expert to talk with kids to explain animal and habitat

So many animals to see and new ones to discocer. Amazing place to visit

Brilliant Zoo with a wide array of different animals. I stayed there for around 6 hours and enjoyed every minute of it.

Its a back to wild experience
Must visit place in the bucket list of Melbourne

Got a year pass for my family. Good value and can visit many different zoos on the pass.
So never need to rush the day. Just stay a couple of ours and bring a picnic lunch.
What ever you don't see come back again and again. Brilliant

Pygmy Hippopotamus:

Small and Liberian!
What an unusual combination!

Very cool place to go with the family and has a large amount land to explore.

I loved this experience, my sons especially liked the lemurs and monkeys and overall I had a truly wonderfully time

Zoo probably good, but don't bother with the dino park - arrived on May 22 after 7.30pm as per the schedule online and there was not a sign of life anywhere, thanks for nothing guys #heartbroken4yearold

Awesome world class , best day out for families and friends , highly recommend a day out at Melbourne zoo

Near Melbourne city, it is worth going, especially the Butterfly Pavilion

nice for place for everyone, variety of animals and food is at reasonable price. will highly recommend to go there once.

Great day for the family. Cheap* parking.

Pay attention to the parking signs. We parked in the wrong spot, a school bus only parking area during school days, and ended up with a $155 parking fine. (We forgot Victorian schools go back to school before South Australian schools)

Food is over priced and not the best.

Was awsome as always the dinosaurs display was a great hit with the kids.

Expensive and not worthwhile at all. Most of the animals cannot be seen as they are generally far or hidden from enclosures.

Tiger was really small as well..

Overall, a very disappointing experience given the asking price.

Would not reccomend.

The oldest zoo of Australia. The garden is lush green and well maintained. Varieties of animals, birds and fishes. Good for education and recreational activities. Also number of restaurants to eating out.

This is a nice zoo, but we could hardly see a few of the animals they were all hid away on Saturday which was frustrating. If you don t have kids then defo don t go on a weekend it s swarming with screaming kids and you will struggle to get in front of the enclosures. It s a very well laid out zoo but lots of construction of areas going on at the moment.

Has become another money churning, price gouging machine. Their female Educational Officers are not up to it - no where near the professionalism or politeness of other zoo staff. Embarrassed to call this our zoo, unlike other Melbourne tourist icons - this falls way behind. Toilets are foul. Money money money. Long lines. Can t see animals. Please look at your Educational Officers.

No doubt Melbourne Zoo is a great family day out but as a Melbourne resident I was very embarrassed taking interstate family yesterday. I have been coming to the zoo for over thirty years and had talked it up but this was the most unkept and disappointing state of enclosures I d ever seen. The water quality in enclosures was raised many many times, enclosures looked scruffy, often empty, zoo staff sparse and cafe staff rude. I will reconsider this as a priority tourist visit for future friends and family sadly.

Greatest zoo in Australia. They really have a lot of different animals and it is close to the city center.

Meerkat:

I have seen many meerkats, but this one was perched on top of a bush!
Such a creative approach.
This meerkat is no mere cat!

I have been to better zoo's in the past but i do really like Melbourne zoo. I think the staff are very friendly and show genuine interest in their job and the animals.
As i walk round a zoo i always wonder if the animals are happy or not. One of the members of staff assured me that the animals are well looked after and spoilt. He said the animals live years longer than what they would in the wild.
Despite this i do think the animal enclosures could be a little bigger. Especially the larger animals like elephants, giraffes and gorrilas.
I think the monkey enclosure is pretty great. They seems to be getting up to alot of monkey mischeif and loved posing for the camera.
I actually lost my phone while being at the zoo & lucky for me it was handed in by a member of staff.
The location of the zoo is great, its easy to get to and in the middle of public transport.
I think it could be a little more sign posted as its a little confusing to get around and not miss anything but the layout and maintenance of the zoo is really good.
I will definitely visit again more in the summer.

Well organised zoo and well cared for animals. A pleasure to visit

It was just ok. Some of the enlosures are very small, the tiger looked like it was losing its mind with boredom. But i also don't like the idea of animals in captivity. They should be free.

I have been to hundreds of zoos and this rates low. I have been to zoos with far less animals and facilities and been impressed because they work well but this is a farce. The awful visitors should be in cages not the animals. I went in half term which was a huge mistake because Australians clearly don't care to teach their children right and wrong. I saw kids screaming and climbing over everything including the open enclosures! Kids were kicking sand in the face of a sleeping kangaroo with 2 staff members watching apparently too nervous to say anything... and the worse thing... when the kids aren't doing it then their parents are encouraging them. Banging on the glass, screaming, pulling feathers off the emu, climbing into enclosures, fingers through the fencing (Inc big cats!)... This is a case of animal welfare!! Also the signage is awful, no chance of education here. Not all enclosures have signage and those that do provide limited info. I heard 2 parents arguing about whether the tapir was a bear or boar before the kid said it was a dog.

It wasn't all bad, the enclosures were quite nice and there was a good selection of animals. But if this was in the UK I think we could petition your closure based on what I saw today based on animal welfare.

I love visiting it be l love nature and the gorgeous adorable animals

He said he visited in early June, so it's cold, so there are no animals. I haven't even seen kangaroos and koalas. The interior is well decorated like a park.
I couldn't find any animal even koala and kangaroo.

my class mate Sammy ended up in elephant exhibition and people thought he was an actual elephant

Great day out. Most animals were visable. Coffee is alwats a bit ordinary but oh well. Food is a bit expensive too but y9u can bring your own.

Nice zoo,helpful for children to learn about animals ,My Little son like tortoise .

Absolutely LOVED the zoo. It's massive and it takes a few hours for you to be able to explore it properly so it would be advisable for you to get there early. The animals are absolutely breathtaking and they are well taken care of and it is just beautiful. And the gift shop is so cute, they have plushies of all the animals and they're all so ADORABLE, it's hard to just get only one thing and leave. An absolute must see for anyone visiting Australia for the first time. This place literally made my holiday, one of the best trips of my life.

My partner and I got the feed the giraffes pass and a guide called Joe met us at the meeting spot, took us to the giraffes and stayed with us during the entire thing. He was incredibly friendly, funny and knowledgeable! We had an absolute blast and he took so many pictures and videos for us! We want to give him a huge thank you for making our day so fantastic

Very good nice and big, spent 5 hours there easily be able to spend more time

Looking a bit scruffy in certain areas ... They could possibly invest in a couple of brooms and show the staff how to use them ! Numerous areas were closed off too so we didn't get to see everything despite paying for full price tickets. One of the elephant viewing areas was a huge puddle ... It wouldn't have taken a minute to clear it with one of the brooms they obviously haven't got ! The good bits are excellent but the poor bits certainly let the zoo down. The manager needs to get out the office & have a good look around !!

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT !!!!
great for the whole family amazing animals from around the world lovely to see
and wonderful and caring staff to go with it

Some really nice upgrades. Always a great place to visit.

Great family day out but dress warm as it gets extremely cold. Highlight were the chimpanzees

Lots to see, but can cover the whole zoo in about 5 hours.
That's perfect because the parking outside is maximum of 5 hours for only $2.
No need to carry any water around as there are plenty of water fountains conveniently placed all over the zoo.
The layout of the zoo is also appropriate for you to be able to easily cover everything without having to repeat any paths.
Butterfly house is a very exciting indoor area for all ages.
Cafes are strategically placed with plenty of reasonable options (best ham and cheese toastie I have had in my life)!

It was a hot day but there were surprisingly quite a lot of animals out, also managed to go early enough in the school year so there weren't any school groups there, yay. The butterfly house is really great, so many butterflies. We saw an elephant swimming to get his food. I recommend it, it's an old zoo but they seem to be giving the animals a fair bit of space and lots of enrichment.