San Diego Zoo Reviews

Could be better if only I could of watch the polar bear swim or watched the cheetah run with its companion. Very disappointed.

Wearing a mask in the heat wasn't well. You have make a long line in the parking lot to get screened (in the heat). After that another line to get in the main entrance !!
From my experience I will wait until there's no masks required in California

Great place! They are knowledgeable about the animals and they have a lot to do. Id recommend it to anyone!

Best zoo I've ever been to. Rare animals and the drinks and food along the way were really good!!

One of my favorite places to visit.. so much to see and such a great environment... A little crowded at times but still worth it.

Great day for a zoo visit even though the sky tram is getting an upgrade for a later date. Exhibits allow a close up view of the animals in their natural habitat. Stroller friendly paths with hills to climb and plenty of places to rest.

I'm a member so it's always nice to go at different times to see different animals active. The backstage pass and feeding the giraffes is wonderful. Check the website for details to schedule in advance.

Outstanding way to spend a day. Great accommodations and safe.

The zoo is great for family fun and to see cool animals. If you can go at night you get to see the nocturnal animals more active

This place is amazing. We enjoyed every moment spent here and walked away with more knowledge about the animals at the zoo. The volunteers are super helpful and extremely knowledgeable. This is a great place to spend a Saturday.

Fantastic zoo with plenty of areas to watch unique animals from around the world. Animals seem to be more visible on less crowded, noisy days. Expect longer lines in the panda area. Visit in off days to enjoy the best the zoo has to offer. Panda and Australia areas were interesting. Giraffes were up close and active. Come energized and expect to spend the entire day.

I love out of state and this was by far the best Zoo I ve ever been to! I will always recommend visiting!

This has got to be the best place to visit in San Diego. Our Zoo is like no other, you can actually spend the whole day here exploring and looking at exotic and not so exotic animals. There is something for everyone here, great places to eat, a kids zoo, lots of fabulous spots to take pictures. Enjoy.

Great place to go with your family. Wonderful experience

Kudos for walking the line of safely allowing guests! World class zoo, though many of the extras were still closed in this phase. Still worthy of traveling from NorCal and spending a few vacation days.

Always a great day at the zoo. No bus tour or Sky Safari operating right now though. Be prepared to walk the park.

We had the best time when we went 2 the zoo. The whole experience was awesome. The beauty of the faculty and the beautiful of the animals was great.

Wow !!!! This zoo was amazing huge clean and tons of amazing animals ! I wish I would have known you could bring your own cooler and no bag check !! Would have saved me some money but over all my family enjoyed it !!! Best part kids for in free in October !!!

A very large and beautiful Zoo. Just like the zoo show on TV !

This Zoo is incredible. I think I had more fun than my then 2 and 3 year old. We went in early 2016. We had so much fun the animals are easy to find, not like in a lot of zoos they're either very far or almost dead (Not kidding by the way!). This zoo is well kept and very nice.

Animals are scattered and you have to walk miles to see the animals in unimpressive, small enclosures. Great place if you're a botanist.

Beautiful, well kept animal reserve (zoo). I made the the mistake of taking my 4 yr old Granddaughter with the expectation to see it all. Wrong! Plenty of places to get food and drink but expect to pay a premium, but that is expected. Wonderful place.

Amazing zoo, the walk ways are designed very nicely. Some if the tigers and cheetahs look bored.

Love the fact that it is so big... I know for many it means to much walking but I like the fact that once I have my ticket in hand, I get to see so many animals that seems well taken care of. The kids really loved this stop and there is no reason not to add this to your tour of the city.

This is zoo was so beautiful & HUGE! Unfortunately we did get to see everything we wanted because the zoo closes early for an event, but it was beautiful. Will definitely go back when I'm in San Diego again.

Love the Zoo! Get a pass, hard to see in one day. So much to see. Free parking.

First time here and we enjoyed it! But don't try and buy same day on Groupon you will not get your tickets for 24hrs and lose the money if you aremt able to return. I was told to send in proof I paid twice and I will get a refund, never heard back! That was disappointing I ended up paying double and I live in Texas it was our last day in SD.

We had a blast here however, I do recommend the 2 day pass. The zoo is big and we did not get to see all the animals. We will be back to see the animals we missed.

Huge! Knowledgable staff/volunteers who help made it an amazing experience for our family :) Plan to spend open-close here & be sure to do the guided tour bus/kangaroo bus, 4-D movie & aerial tram.

Here s a pro tip: time your visit to include the last hour of the day. The animals are much more active when the weather cools down, and the crowds are much thinner. Don t miss the new Africa Rocks exhibit, and try to catch some of the keeper talks to get inside stories on the animals here. Enjoy your day at the Zoo!

Wow this zoo is big and amazing! Staff is spread all around ready to help out with any questions or concerns. I went on a Friday hoping it wasnt going to be busy. I was wrong, it had a lot of people attending but not over bairing. Multiple types of bus tickets were sold. We got the bus tickets that would stop at certain locations around the zoo to help out with our walking. We even took a different bus that offered a guided bus tour. Many snacks are offered throughtout the park to make sure to stay easily hydrated and nourish. We very much rnjoyes all the animals especially the Reptipr house.

Great place to visit. I liked the bus tours to get familiar with the layout before walking all over.

I usually don't like this kind of thing, but my two year old absolutely loves it, hence five stars. Very nice people and volunteers here. Huge place and very nicely appointed exhibits.

Great big zoo. Special place for kids to enjoy their holiday. Bit expensive in pass along but still it Worth visiting this big zoo , love the new creature freedom in this zoo and natural.

Great zoo overall! Loved the hippo and pandas. Well maintained with a lot of lovely detail.
Some of the exhibits are a bit too small for my taste and I hope that they will be merged into larger ones with future remodeling.

Fantastic. A lot to see for one day. Unbelievable amount of animals.

This is by far the best zoo I ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. I have been twice now. It s a very large zoo, so make sure you are ready for walking. There is a bus/trolley available if you are unable to walk. I would definitely recommend going on a weekday to avoid major crowds.

Beautiful, wish there was more interaction with the animals instead of statues. It gets boring just looking into cages. I could do this by visiting the animals at any local jail.

Not a great place to visit when it's hot. Not many animals out to be seen.

Amazing experience, plenty of photo spots with "close" encounters

Exciting place to explore. Look for the volunteers in red shirts for great information and directions. The animals were active and fun to watch. Recommend starting out with a bus tour to orient you to the park.

This zoo is hugeeee! Unfortunately there aren't any pandas anymore, but there are still tons of other animals. You can easily spend 4-8 hours here because it's so big! Plan accordingly because you want to see it all. There is a cool walkabout area where the kangaroos live. When you go see the koalas, I recommend planning to watch them for 15 minutes because they are slow to move, but the more you watch them, the more likely you are to see them actually move.

The zoo was great! A fun weekend trip or tourist destination.

Amazing zoo lots to see. Spent about 5 hours at the zoo and still didn't see every animal. I recommend to pay the money for the souvenir cup with free refills for the day you are there.

The hype of it being a world class zoo had my expectations a little too high, but it was still a great experience and the kids enjoyed it. Bummer that the skylift was down for repairs.

One of the best zoos in the world! The park can be a little daunting to begin with but after a new minutes and a map it isn t soo bad. Some of the animals weren t on display (to be expected with renovations) but the ones that were out and about put on a good show! They have a wide variety of animals and shops to support each of the exhibits.

Awesome place took my son for his bday. . Lots of walking but well worth it

Very well maintained.
Nice and well oriented staff

I always love coming back here! So much to see and do.

Very well organized to deal with Covid-19. Overall a great experience!

Loved It! Went in October and kids get in for free, which is really nice. Saved $100. So much to do though, well kept up, the animals have nice enclosures and support staff is very helpful.

Great place to take the kids. Discounted tickets are about $50, kids under three are free. Exhibits are very well done. We took the air tram to the end and made our way back. Food is expensive. Not too busy for a beautiful fall day in the middle of the week. Parking is free and abundant.

I've traveled the world and seen a variety of zoo's and none have compared to San Diego. Always a new exhibit in the works. The addition of the monkey forest, elephant odyssey and Africa rocks in the last 5 years have truly added value to the viewing experience. Excited to see what the new children's zoo will look like in 2 years. World class zoo and exhibits at the San Diego zoo.

Great Zoo, they did very well with mask requirements and social distanceing.

I love zoos and this one might be the best in the country. The Africa rocks exhibit in particular is amazing. The animals have a ton of room to roam in enclosures built to feel like their natural environment. There are plenty of angles to view from, so you can always find them from somewhere. Food is very good too

Had a private 5 hour tour with Lisa. Outstanding experience.

Absolutely LOVED the zoo. So much to see and so much to do. It is 52$, but trust me it's worth it! Make sure to do all the things that the ticket is good for!

Been over 30 years since I had been to this zoo. Only saw about 1/3 of what they had to offer, but it was great! Enjoyed the animals tremendously and the information on what they are doing to help preserve their habitats and species.

When visiting the San Diego Zoo you can definitely spend all day there! I would definitely recommend taking the bus tour and sitting on the top deck on the driver's right hand side there are more things to see on that side. Also I recommend walking the Zoo counter clock wise so you can avoid the uphill incline near where the polar bear exhibit. They also have a souvenir cup that you can buy with free refill for the day just remembered to keep your receipt (no one asked us for our receipt).

Best Zoo ever! Cleanest place ever. Cleaner than Disneyworld. Very knowledgeable and friendly staff. A must do!

This is the best zoo in america hands down. There is never ending fun to he had at the San Diego Zoo, you could spend all day there and still have things you didnt see.

It has a variety of animals and is fun for all ages.

Maps and signs are wrong, and once you find an attraction, the animals are gone relocated months ago. So why aren t maps/signs updated? Restrooms are tiny and don t even have soap at each sink. Restaurants are overcrowded. Poorly executed.

Love this zoo! Best time to go is at 9am - feeding and playtime for the majority of the animals waking up! Especially the monkeys and elephants! If bears and Koalas are your thing then wait till after 4pm - there is a lot more activity from them the closer you get to closing time!

Amazing place. They have all types of animals and we really enjoyed watching most of them. The zoo is too big to go over everything in a day. Great trip!

Amazing experience to see all sorts of animals, its such a nice place to go to with family.

I love visiting the SD Zoo. It's my third visit and was the first time I was able to see everything. Go at night for the bigger cats to be more active. Friendly and helpful staff. Food is overpriced as expected when going to these places but if you get the refillable cup for the family you can save a few $'s.

AMAZING ZOO! I can't say enough about the staff that were scattered throughout the park. They were very kind and knowledgeable. The plants are just as amazing as the animals!

Great, but make sure to get there early so you can take advantage of everything!

Wonderful...the animals appear to be healthy and content

This place is hugh!!! Really need more than one day to see everything. So much to see and do here.

So worth getting the yearly pass. We go on the weekends to walk and always find or see something new.

I have been to several of the "best" zoos in the country including the National Zoo and the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. This zoo has a large selection of different animals and nicely grouped sections. It has a small playground for kids. Food and gifts are over priced as expected. The koala, hippo and primate exhibits were very cool, but the panda exhibit was disappointing as you had to wait in line and file in to see them. The pandas in DC are better. You also need to be prepared for a ton of walking if you plan to see the whole thing since it is large and spread out. The exhibits at the top of the zoo are located at the top of a large hill and navigating the walkways with a heavy stroller was a little challenging. Anyone without the ability to ambulate easily should beware of the hills. We did not do the sky ride or pay to ride the buses.

Truly a beautiful zoo, and the animals are so well cared-for. The reptile house is especially impressive... I love the galapos tortoises!!! Such a wonderful place to visit and the conservation work they do all around the world is impressive and inspiring.

They have great animals to look at and to learn about. They also talk about if the species is Stable, Threatened and Endangered

Very nice place for visiting with family and friends.

Incredible zoo. My kids enjoyed a lot when we visited there. Hope we can go back to see more attractions.

The zoo to me is the far best zoo I have ever been too. Their mission and beliefs are truly inspirational. Thank you San Diego Zoo for being apart of my childhood.

I'm from Atlanta, and the San Diego zoo kicked our zoo's butt! Had a ton of fun and got to see lots of the animals out and about. Grabbed burgers for lunch on site, and the staff was really friendly and understanding of my wife's food allergies. They helped us find a good option for her to eat. Family and couple friendly, so go to the zoo and have some fun!

It's the greatest zoo in the world. I've been to zoos around the world and nothing even comes close. The exhibits are always evolving to show a more natural habitat and doing more to help ensure these animals are able to stay in the wild when possible.

Very fun and lots to see! Come prepared because it's so big inside and expensive.

Such a beautiful place to visit. The San Diego Zoo takes at least 2 days to completely see everything. Their conservation efforts are amazing. I would definitely recommend visiting.

Another beautiful day @ the San Diego Zoo. So wonderful to see all the animals and continuing improvements for them

The zoo is by far one of the most important sites to see if you're visiting San Diego. If you live here it's also important to come out and take a look every now and again. I have an annual pass which is very affordable if you use it throughout the year.

Beautiful and clean with a great selection of animals!

We as a family been to many zoos all over the United States this by far is the best. They are committed to the conservation of our animals.
We will be back.
**Keep in mind don't come unless you get a two day pass.**

So much to see and so big! We did the bus tour then tried to see as much as possible on foot. All the animals were out and the habitats are awesome. We loved the Gorillas, panda bears, monkeys and the kids loved the children's area.

being a San Diego native and also being a zoo yearly member passholder is definitely worth it. Especially now in the summertime with nighttime zoo you'll be able to experience nighttime animals. The parks layout is always nice full of food and drinks and the animals seem to always be active. Be sure to wear a hat and sunscreen as it will get hot and definitely have patience because a lot of school groups are definitely around in the summertime.