San Diego Zoo Reviews

Love it. Only thing that with covid 19 you have to where a must at all time and with the heat its kinda exhausting

Beautiful zoo. So many animals and exhibits to see. I would recommend splitting it up over a couple days. If walking long distances isn't your forte, utilize the buses they have. Worth the visit! Free entry for active duty as well!

The park is huge so make sure you give yourself enough time. There are so many animals here and even the plant life and landscaping is beautiful!

The World Famous San Diego Zoo is a constantly changing entity. Exhibits change, the plants, animals, and even the paths. One goes to observe it at a point in time with many things to see on subsequent trips.

Great space! It was crazy busy, but awesome nonetheless. Definitely will be back next time we are in San Diego.

Best park I've been to by far. Animals are not shy and the tour bus is great. If I lived in SD, I'd buy a season pass hands down.

Would be 5 stars but the pandas weren't out. Great zoo, not crowded. If you like animals you will enjoy it.

The suspension cars above the park are awesome. Absolutely a great zoo and lives up to the hype.

I have been a fan of the San Diego Zoo since I was a child. Now I'm a "Keepers Club" Member and it's awesome. Also if you're visiting the area you can hit the zoo in the morning and do lunch at Balboa Park, great day to be had doing that.

So much fun, activities, snacks. Its a great place to go with the family and/or your loved one. All ages, kids and "kids" can have a really good time so dont think twice and pay the wild life a visit!

We went on a weekend, it was so busy. Compared to LA zoo it doesn't offer much more, although it is more famous, I don't get why BTW. I had a medical incident and needed to visit the first aid, they literally had no help available.

Best zoo I have been to in a while. So clean and the tour we had was awesome!

Great time with the kids and loved the green space instead of the typical concrete and barred cages.

There is a reason this zoo is talked about all over. Had an incredible time all the animals, exhibits ,gift shops and restaurants. It is an all day deal , so take your time and soak in the beautiful creation of San Diego Zoo

I've heard about the San Diego zoo all my life and finally got to spend a day there. Wow, it lived up to the expectations. The exhibits are clean and beautiful with healthy animals and the layout is just amazing. So much to see, and arranged so it is very easy to navigate. Highly recommended!

Great place v fun.
They let you bring in food and water and such.
When you go make sure to bring walking shoes!

I gently asked a worker if they have maps in Spanish for my nephews that came to visit the states. He answered "no, we don't. If you want a zoo with maps in Spanish go to Mexico, they may have" The park itself is beautiful though

I think that the if you have panda that will make you a little bit better I think panda is cute

No doubt it is an amazing zoo. Only reason I give 4 star is because it's not set up well for the size of crowds. Since there are bus tours, walkers, including wheel chairs and strollers are forced to squeeze into small pathways. Made it challenging to experience popular exhibits. Having said that, the aviaries were really cool with active birds. Many beautiful exhibits and fun animals. Takes more than a day to enjoy everything.

Awesome experience. Lots and varieties of animals to interact. Well maintained and well informed staff. Very big and spacious for the animals to roam.

Love this zoo!
I habe been coming here since I was a kid on school field trips.

As an adult I have enjoyed it so much more.

This place is so big, you need a full day to see everything at a quick pace.

It is hard to believe it is in the middle of the city with museums all around it.

The Panda's are so adorable.
The shows are pretty good also.

Try to buy the tickets on line and look for a discount.
Active military get in free with an I.D. card. Family members get a discount. Check git local MWR.

The San Diego Zoo is so cool. They have pretty much every animal you can imagine, and you could spot all the animals. I highly suggest starting out the day on the tour bus, which is included in the ticket, because you will be able to see most of the animals, then choose which ones to explore up close. The koalas were pretty active in the morning and so fun to see. The zoo is huge, so choose which exhibits you want to see at the beginning. I would love to go back and explore again!

Always a great place to go. A must stop if in San Diego.

Beautiful park with lots to explore. It is called the "World Famous SD Zoo" for a reason - incredible animals and plant life. Be prepared to walk a lot though!

So many things to do and see. Beautiful exhibits. Kind employees.

A fun experience for the whole family. Staff are extremely nice and are willing to answer any question you may have about the animals or the facility

One of the best zoo around the world. you spend the whole day to see all the animals. Variety of species. beautiful place. make sure to visit on good weather.

Amazing, worth every penny!! Got to the animal encounter at the ampitheater, sit in the front row, the cheetah was right there!!! Talk to the keepers too, the will tell you all kinds of best things about the animals.

First time going to the San Diego zoo and it was phenomenal. The animal enclosures were great and the vegetation and plants blew me away. There is a good amount of walking, but the bus tour, and aerial tram were a nice break. The weather was perfect. Loved it.

Had such a wonderful weekend with my 11 year old granddaughter. Such a beautiful zoo. Animals and grounds were well taken care of. Staff and tour guides were friendly and incredibly informative. Loved our VIP morning with pandas 2 hour tour!

Wishes we could have been here longer to see more, but happy with what I experienced with my family!

It was invigorating at seeing the jungle like greenery and at the same time looking at the animals saddens my heart to see the minute domain that humans have forced our wild animal to live in and reproduce because of an almost extinction.

If you are in the area you have to visit this zoo. Loved the Grizzley Bear, Polar Bear and the Giraffe.

Love this zoo! It's very large so be prepared to do a lot of walking. There is a skyline which can cut much of this down as well as a bus tour. Plenty of places to eat throughout the park and many fun things for kids. The temperature is never really hot here, so the animals are out and active. There is valet parking available when you arrive but there is a lot of parking available. Definitely recommend the San Diego Zoo! Five Stars here!

Loved it, especially during a pandemic, the place was clean and very well organized for getting as many people as they get daily!

Gorgeous Zoo - the best in the United States. Friendly staff and beautiful scenery. Worth the high price point.

A must see when in Dan Diego! You can really tell that the staff care about their jobs - it shows in the care they both the animals and the guests.

It's the world famous San Diego Zoo. What else is there to say.

The plant variety and beauty are as amazing as the animals.

Super fun but come prepared to get your steps in. If you have little kids bring your stroller and hats.

Lots of awesome animals. Plenty of beer stations. Lots of little kid friendly play structures around the park. The Safari Park is super awesome too!

Iconic. Beautiful. Fun. Best family time in all of San Diego and the best part is your tickets, memberships and park purchases goes toward the global conservation effort

Amazing zoo, amazing exhibits and food. Went on the tour bus this time and it was very informative. The reptile house I can spend hours in. It was absolutely fantastic and me and my girlfriend and her sister had a blast. Everyone I bring here has a fun and amazing time. It would be way cooler if they had an aquarium too!

Albert's Restaurant is a good choice for a relaxing lunch.

Such an amazing experience. So much to do, if you start when it opens you can get through it all but if you go into detail you will need to go again. Lots of activities for kids and adults! Well worth it!

Great place to tour a bit expensive but gotta go at least once wear comfy shoes
Place is huge.

Bus tours are big help jump on jump off. Upgrades to facilities are a good thing. Free water at all vendors. Giraffes are beautiful. Tasmania devils big hit. Skyfari wonderful aireal views.

Free parking. OMG. This is not a small zoo, a full day planning recommended. Panda takes much around 12 which is an excellent opportunity for photos. Animals tends to hide under the shade after 1pm. So go there early.

So many animals! Many were asleep but seeing them up close was very cool. Expect to spend 4+ hours seeing all that there is to see.

This beautiful, informative, and nonprofit zoo is working hard to sustain our wildlife population! Thank you SanDiego Zoo for making our visit great!

This is the best zoo by far I've ever seen. If you're in San Diego, and you love zoos, you must go see the zoo. They have lots of animals which you would expect. But the vegetation and the setting is unlike any Zoo I've been to. The Bus Tour is a must. Do that first and then it gives you an idea of the rest of the parts you want to see throughout the day. Everything is clean and well cap. A fun place for both families and couples.

Absolutely great zoo. Only had one day. Could have used two or three days. Tours are good. Staff is good at giving information abour facilities and about animals and programs.

Beautiful landscape. A wide array of animals and great shops, food.

We didn't get enough of this place. We plane to go back real soon . One of the best places in San Diego made lots of memories

Great place. They are always improving the experience. Easy to navigate on foot with the map. Designed for maximum viewing of the animals and the flora. Plenty of snack kiosks and dining. A little pricey if you have a large group. Bring your own water. Lots of it. You'll be going up and down if walking, but CNN catch the hopper bus in strategic locations to help you get around. I'm a member, so I go often. Its huge..

It's a great way to get exercise.
The zoo is always extremely clean.
Great access for disabled.
Animals are taken care of with love.
There's always people in red vests to answer
questions.
Great food. Great shops. Great lounge areas.
Landscaping is awesome & info wherever
there is a plant or animal.
The best way to spend time.

Lots of beautiful plants and well kept animals. The sky tram was down for repairs when we went - big disappointment.

It's a huge place with lots of captive wildlife. It took us an entire day to see the whole place.

Amazing! We spent the entire day here. You can bring your own food and drinks which is nice. They have incredible food if you'd prefer to purchase food. Definitely worth the ticket price. Check for specials, coupons, and Groupons for deals.

Fantastic zoo - probably the best I have been to. Expensive to enter (around 50 USD) but the animals mostly have excellent enclosures and there is plenty to see. There is also an excellent cable car to connect you to the entrance with a great view of the park as you travel. A great day out!

My mother and I had so much fun here. But we got there super early and still didnt get to see the panda exhibit! I feel like there has to be a better way and more efficient way so that's everyone could get a chance to see them! Out of the whole zoo that was the only place we didnt get to explore and see. And it sucked because my mother loves pandas. So I felt like I let her down! But all in all had such a great time and hope maybe we can get back and actually see the pandas and relax a little more.

Definitely the best zoo! And the tatertot stick was delicious!!!

Every trip to the Zoo exceeds my expectations. Looking forward to going back b4 Christmas.

First time visiting San Diego from Bay Area. I imagined SD would be such a wonderful relaxing beautiful place to visit even imagined about moving here one day. The zoo visiting made the most horrible parking situation I have ever experienced. The worst is the people I met are so cold, rude, aggressive and low class compare with Bay Area. After 45 minutes of seeking a parking spot with a lot of fighting and pushing from people, we gave up because kids almost throw up in the car and eventually parked far away at the Balboa parking. Then we fought to get on the tram and walked 15 minutes to get to the zoo entrance. We spent a couple of hundred bucks bought the tickets online in advance. At least I want get in.

I feel incredibly disappointed that the zoo had zero employees at the parking lot to help guide people, or charge for parking so we can actually get a spot, or selling me tickets for a certain time or day so we could all enjoy ourselves without fighting or long waiting. At least put a sign to tell us don t get in this particular parking lot because it s completely full. No matter how wonderful the zoo is, for me, it s not worthwhile to come for the fighting and upsetting experience.

Inside the zoo: it s similar to the zoo in your local city like San Francisco Zoo or Oakland Zoo but bigger with mountains of people. Unfortunately, most animals I saw are very sad to be locked here. The elephants area feels like a small parking area. The Condors look depressed with ceiling(cage) just above their head. Overall, it has overly advertised feeling. I can t agree with the word world famous honestly. The bus driver Jeremy was friendly, informative and tried to make everything sound good. However, like other reviewers noticed the fuel is very smelly and the engine is very loud for the animals. I saw the lioness got shocked for a second when the busy was stoping. I suppose she had to get used to it.

The buses and people are sharing roads, so young kids or elderly need to be very careful! You cannot let your young children explore on the road like SF or Oakland zoo.

Wow! What a wonderful zoo! The bus tour around the park is terrific. Don't miss the Skyfari either!

This zoo is so much fun! The animals were very active and a joy to look at :)!

I ll probably move here just because of people and courtesy of the staff in San Diego. Having said that,San Diego Zoo is one of the best zoos I have visited. And by far the largest, and cleanest. The walkways have a lot of shaded areas so you don t feel too hot. Do wear comfortable shoes because you may walk a bit.

I do suggest being there early morning, as the animals are more active then and later in the evening.

One of my favorites... The world visits here and I am fortunate to live in the same city. These people are non profits and invests heavily in conservation, rescue missions and breeding. It's not only about the experience fauna but the Flora created around them is outstanding. Every animal get to live in their own ecosystem. Here, every mile has a bus loop, every yard is educative, every foot is tidy and every inch is fun filled.

Well maintained restrooms, every Park ranger is friendly and knowledgeable, great restaurants, rope cars are or if the world... The list goes on....

A lot of walking but that is expected. There were alot of rules because of covid like where we could sit to eat amd how we can walk into the buildings. Lomg lines for food and souvenir shop. If you plan to buy a suvenoir get something from one of the small stands throughout the park instead of the big shop at the front.

Had a great time the weather was perfect and the grandkids had a great time at the shows

Can t say enough about the zoo. They have everything to make this an all day experience. The animals are kept in state of the art areas and they look to be genuinely enjoying themselves. We bought a year long pass and it is so worth it to just pop in for an hour or two to go for a walk.

Beautiful zoo. All enclosures look really well taken care of and animals look as happy as they can be.

Love that active duty military is free and family is discounted. It is a very large zoo and such fun.

A great way to spend a morning or afternoon! The best zoo in the world, with great exhibits and an overall fun experience. A must see for visitors to San Diego...

Beautiful, but not exciting. Food and beverages are overpriced.

We had an amazing time seeing everything that this zoo has to offer. We loved how we could get lost in one of the many trails. We advise you to pack a pair of comfortable shoes or to enjoy taking a bus or private tour of the zoo because they can be very hilly in some places.

Beautiful park, mostly nice to beautiful areas for the animals and great pathways. Liked the difference in height/levels. Great potential. Very pricy however and many animals were not visible. The sky train is disappointing. Not much to see really and only a short ride. All together it is a nice experience but very dependent on whether you will see the actual animals.

I recently became a member of this zoo and I love it! If you're local to San Diego, I highly recommend joining so you can avoid the lines and go whenever you like, for as long as you like. It's a gorgeous zoo to walk around and you can always find something amazing to see.

This place is amazing. It s easy to spend a full day here and it s worth the price of admission. Do the free bus tour first thing. Sit at the top of the bus on the right side for the best views. Parking is free.

Very nice. Can't wait for the Danny Sanford remodeling project to be completed. Should look really nice and the Keeper's Club membership should come in handy.

Thou most of the animals were sleep hiding in their dens it was still a great place and time.

Great place to spend the day. I definitely recommend coming here on a cooler day because you will be doing A LOT of walking.

This place is amazing for little kids and adults alike!! Fun walk through amazing lush forest and fun animals along the way! They are doing amazing things for conservation of endangered species!!

Be sure to check out Africa Rocks. It's a new area. The night time zoo is very nice, less crowded and you see animals not out in the heat of the day.

Parking lot was full, as expected to be on a summer day. Layout just gets better and better. Though it was crowded, everything flowed. Plenty of room to view and receive knowledge of the animals. Owen's Aviary is paradise!

Big but not cozy, you have to walk a lot before you see first animals there, a lot of concrete and asphalt around. The air tram was good.

Awesome zoo. Active duty military get in free as long as you show I.D.

Highly recommend the tour bus! It helps you tour around the whole park and almost cover most spots. We got several pictures that so close to the polar bear.

A recommend route: entrance - tour bus - walk from bus unloading zone to skyride - skyride - visit around (Polar bear, 4d movie, etc) - walk to kangaroo bus stop 2 - take bus and leave at kangaroo bus stop 1 - visit around (Koala, giraffe, zebra, etc) - go to exit
This route covers most spots and saves time.

Overall, we had a great experience here though the weather is pretty hot.