San Diego Zoo Reviews

Amazing animals and exhibits. I've grown up going here, and have never had a bad experience. It is always incredible

The BEST! For generations the San Diego Zoo has provided a top notch educational and fun experience. The attention to detail and abundance of plants and animals from all over the world is a sheer joy to be around.

It's the world favors San Diego zoo, of course it's great. We are members and go a few times a month, we always enjoy it.

Great adventure, make sure you give a full day for this must see experience. They have shows, tours and lots more programs. Very entertaining for any age and although hundreds of people come everyday there are barely any lines. Love it.

Best zoo I've been too. This place is massive and takes at least one whole day to do it justice. Probably not a great place if you want to avoid kids, but the exhibits are generally well-designed. The only negative if you will is that with San Diego's constant warmer temperatures, many animals go into sleep coma in the afternoons. If you come in the PM, you're more likely to find all the animals snoozing or hiding indoors.

Great zoo but a LOT of walking. Beautiful flora and fauna. Excellent staff and zoo keepers.

A beautiful place to get a lot of great pictures. I went and enjoyed every part. Bit be prepared for a lot of hill walking.
Highly recommend zoo. Very clean and respectful to the animals.

Awesome place to be! During this hard time, wearing a face mask and walking around looking at your favorite animal, makes you forget the times we are currently living in. The zoo has a done a good job social distancing everyone and making sure guests are safe. Thank you San Diego Zoo!

This is probably the best zoo I have ever been to so far. I really enjoyed this zoo. The Safari Park is great too!

By far one of the best zoos I ve ever been to. Love the Koala s.

What an amazing experience! It is a great place to hang out and spend the day! The staff are super friendly, they have so many animals, there is an included sky tram, and 4d movies. The food is also delicious!

So much fun! Lots of different things to see and do.

It takes more than one day to see the entire San Diego zoo.

My favorite exhibit is the hippos.

One of the best zoos. I love the aviary. Take a slow walk through it. Enjoy the free flying birds, waterfalls, beauty and over all peace of the place.

One of the best zoo in the USA, maybe in the world. So many different kind of animals. Small to Big. Rare to exotic animals. Our family loves it. We convert daily ticket to annual pass and plan to go there soon, because 1 day is not enough to enjoy / see all animals. The bus tour guide is knowledgeable. Clean zoo

Have membership here for me and my family that I plan to renew every year. Can't see it all in one day. Always a good experience here for my children. Great place to visit when we have an open weekend. Bring snacks and water, you will need them. Not a fan of their hot dogs down by the pandas though.

One of America's best zoos, we took our grand kids here a few years ago. From reptiles and tortoises and snakes to birds, fishes and mammals, the list goes on. All exhibits are well kept and the animals are well taken care of. While I am not a great supporter of caging specimens, preferring observing them in their natural habitat, this is a good alternative for children and our general population.

The Zoo is huge. Easy to get around. They have bus tours. They have a tram. The animals were beautiful bears, polar bears, elephants, all kinds of animals I'd never even heard of. Great place for family time.

Hadn t been here in over 10 years. Truly one of the most well maintained zoos in Southern California. During COVID you are able to see 90% of the animals, so it s well worth the price if admission. Do not expect to see any if the shows , however, as those are all closed for the time being.

I love San Diego zoo we were there this weekend for our first time. The zoo is so big that we only viewed half of the zoo it took us like 8 hours with lunch, bathroom breaks and getting snacks in between cause we have little ones. We will be coming back to view the other half. The zoo was very clean and workers were very nice at all times. I highly recommend

Wow. The exhibits were amazing and perhaps we had perfect timing. We almost saw every type of animal there was they were all out in the sun.

this is a really big zoo with a lot of animals that are amazing to see. it is a great place to visit and spend the day. the restrooms are actually clean and the food is very good also.

The zoo is very big. We really had fun, got to see lots of animals

This is an amazing zoo. My family and I will always have great memories from our visit. The hippos were so sweet. The mother was cuddling her young and they were up close for our viewing. The animals are well taken care of and a pleasure to see

The San Diego Zoo is not only one of the best in the country, but in the entire world. With a Safari Park, an arboretum, an aviary, and habitats to match the thousands of different animal species here, the zoo is sprawls across the entire north end of Balboa Park with easy access to and from Downtown. The zoo is one of the only places in the world to see giant pandas in captivity and has the largest population of koalas outside of Australia.

Koalafornia Boardlwalk was a great experience for us and the kiddos with all the fun games!

Our family always has fun watching the animals. A new waterfall has opened up and an entire new section was remodeled. Completely AMAZING!

Had a blast but they dont allow smoking so I had to sneak it

Very expensive but a great experience! I saw a hummingbird for the first time which wasn't even part of any exhibit. I did a lot of walking so wear comfortable shoes. My favorite sights were the elephants, the leopards and, the polar bear.

World class zoo! Beautiful grounds and animal enclosures! Great gift shops. Free parking!

I love all animals. Had the best time ever with family.truly one of my best days this year.

This zoo was a huge change from our small local zoo in Idaho. My kids favorites were the tour, elephant and the turtle exhibit. The bus was awesome for learning adventure and loved the photo centers around the zoo. (Though I wish I realized one of the photos, the panda design covered up my daughter oops) the gift shops were nice we got a few stuffy and souvenirs without to much budget break. All in all kids loved it and we had a blast.

Had a blast at this zoo. It is extravagant! We only did a one day pass, but that was due to time constraints in our vacation to San Diego. If you have the time, I definitely recommend more than one day, as there is so much to see. The tour bus is a must as the guides have a plethora of interesting facts to throw your way. Wear comfy shoes and don't forget to hydrate!

Restrooms are clean and the food kiosks serve food and even beer. Wear comfortable shoes and bring water and a small lunch to eat. Good dining and staff are just the sweetest people!

Awesome to see all of the animals and a great hike around the zoo. Smaller spaces for the animals than I would like but we'll taken care of. Overpriced foods with limited options.

Off season is a great time to spend in such an amazing place, worth the price of admission. Souvenirs, food & drinks can get pretty costly but that's expected for any park these days. Such a big place, but they offer lots of options to help you get around so you can make the most of your visit. Lots of amazing and very helpful volunteers around the park.

I've been here dozens of times and I always seem to learn something new everytime, I love this place.

I moved to San Diego recently and went to the zoo for the first time in November. I was nervous because I read a lot about how people with wheelchairs found it very inaccessible. My experience was really good, however!

I'm sure most of the reason for that was because my wheelchair is a power wheelchair- the hills, especially in some parts of the zoo like around the Northern Frontier and the Panda Canyon, are murder if you're using a manual wheelchair. So I suspect that's where a lot of the (valid!) complaints come from. Personally though, this wasn't an issue with my chair. My chair did run out of battery a few times (I've been having battery issues, I don't think that's typical of what to expect) but there were outlets outside at many of the buildings and restaurants, so I was able to recharge my chair with no trouble.

I think the zoo does a lot to make the place as accessible as possible for disabled visitors. Zoo employees are always easily to find across the zoo and are great at answering accessibility questions. All bathrooms were accessible, and almost every exhibit was fully accessible. (The main exception being the aviaries, which are accessible as far as the paths through them, but could use accessible buttons to open the door- the doors are very heavy and just about impossible to open while managing a wheelchair. The other exception is that some of the paths are a little rough or have bumps in the sidewalk. This is not the majority, however, as it has been in some zoos I've been to, or just getting around the city of San Diego!)

When I arrived, they gave me an easy access pass so that I could use the buses or skyfari more easily in my wheelchair. The zoo also rents out wheelchairs, both manual and electric. I think they're free, though I'm not sure, and I don't know how many of each there are available. If the disabled person in your party requires assistance on account of their disability, the assistant can receive free admittance to the zoo with purchase of the ticket for the disabled individual. Also, according to the website, a zoo employee can be made available to push a visitor in a wheelchair for up to three hours.

So tl;dr, using a power wheelchair, I had no trouble with the hills and found the zoo to be very accessible, but I have no idea how I would have managed those hills in a manual wheelchair.

Also, the zoo itself was great! Well organized, lots to see and do. We were there most of the day and didn't get through the whole zoo, so you definitely won't be bored!

Magnificent..perfect place for a everyone
Plus they are having those wonderful events with lots of benders, great food, entertainment,

Went to night zoo. Beautiful zoo. Need to research what animals are up at night before we go to night zoo again. Skyfari was nice.

Our family loved it. Went early, you have to go early it's so worth getting there when they first open.

The staff is very friendly and helpful. The zoo is pretty and the guided tour was interesting.

Nice zoo. Only downside is a lot of featured items are closed, like the tram and skyfari but the price remains the same as if they were still included.

My favorite zoo of all time. The yearly membership is totally worth it. The staff are friendly and the zoo layout is clever and accessible no matter your physical capability. The hippos are my absolute favorites followed by the atriums. Kids can have there face painted, there's a playground available for them to burn some energy off, and the petting zoo is very cute as well. There are quite a few restaurants available throughout the park and many kiosks to buy small items like ice cream and bottled water. Be sure to take the air tram across the park for a fun view.

There is usually programmed events going on throughout the zoo. There is also many animal camaras that can be monitored from your home computer or phone so that you have an idea of the animal activity and behavior.

The San Diego Zoo is a wonderful place. It is well kept and beautifully designed. The animals are active and happy. There is plenty to do and see. Food is great and all purchases help the animals.

Lovely, great bus tour to start with. Lots of things to see, environmental consciouness raising!

Awesome zoo. Definitely a must see. Be prepared to walk but the the guided bus tours and on off bus are really nice. The on off bus only covers about half of the park fyi. Great day for the whole family.

Love this Zoo and it is a must see if you are in the San Diego area. The zoo is fairly big so make sure you have good walking shoes. It can get busy so it s a good call to go early if you can and an added bonus is the animals are much more active in the morning. The stand outs were the zoo talk at the polar bear exhibit (they do feedings which get you literally an arms length from the bears), elephants, orangutans (the young orangutan has befriended a baby ape in the enclosure which was cute to watch) and the rhino. We tried the sky tram and the tour bus but I would pass on both as the lines were long and the payoff was not worth it. Overall this was a great experience with so many animals to see.

One of the finest American Zoos and the world. They facility itself is massive and the habitats and animals are diverse and fascinating. Their commitment to conservation is also commendable.

Definately one of the best zoo's I've been to. Lots of animals to see (some enclosures a bit small though) and the bus tours and cable car are a nice addition. My only negative is that I kind of question why a place that preaches about the environment drives busses around constantly and prints out every guests photos whether they buy it or not.

Fantastic place to visit. It was very pleasant and even with the whole covid 19 issue, the staff have taken the right precautions. Going to zoo now is actually nice because there is less people. I loved it and will be going often.

Had a blast with the family ...huge zoo decent prices

A botanic, zoologic and geographic exploration all in one!

Sets the bar for other zoos around the country, whether you live in San Diego or just visiting this place is a must see.

What a fun experience this was to take my family. We got lucky and walked the zoo around the outer edge counter clockwise and didn t have to hike the hill. Would be nice if the map pointed out a good direction because the hill in the zoo is a beast, I wouldn t have wanted to push my stroller up it in the middle of the day. Staff was friendly, the exhibits were great and the animals were fairly active. Some peacocks were wondering and it was fun to get up close and personal with an animal like that. Would go again in an instant, as there is so much to do here.

Best ever, especially behind the scenes tours. Super worth it

Love this place. Definitely better in the off season.

I like photos pretty nice but they don't have a lot of time

The Zoo is nice and big, planty of places to go.

Panda was a long waiting line, and it's Friday today.

Foods and drinks are just like any other parks, expensive with few options.

We got here around 9 in the morning, so parking was wide open to pick your spots.

I didn't know this was on my bucket list, until I saw the two headed king snake. I loved seeing the different animals and my son had a great time.

The zoo was great. A place I have always wanted to go since I was a kid.

Very organized, very clean, huge selection of animals and plants. This is pretty much as good as it gets for a zoo!

A very big zoo. You may have to spend two days to visit every part of it. Lots of animals to see.

We loved the San Diego Zoo and spent the entire day here. I would highly recommend getting there early and taking the bus tour. We most enjoyed the koalas, pandas and large cats. There is a lot of walking so wear comfortable shoes. The large drink with free refills on day of visit was a great value. Don't miss the beautiful plants and flowers too.

Really worth walking in the zoo and taking Skysafari

Best zoo I ve been to, by far. So much fun and the animals appear to be taken care of very well.

The one that set the standard. Beautiful, helpful staff, tour bus guides were very informative. A day well spent!

This zoo is a world renowned zoo for a reason!
What an incredible experience to visit the place. The zoo itself is visually stunning, the walk ways to see animals and the way it is set up are great. Aniamls seem happy and healthy! A word of caution it is VERY hilly in parts so be prepared for a good leg work out. Also a double edge sword with this park is that its huge! It's great because that means more park but you definitely might want to take 2 days to do it. That way you can enjoy it fully. And then you might want a day to do the safari park as well.

This is my favorite zoo. My favorite exhibit is the hippos. The zoo is always clean and has a good selection of animals. Only reason for not being 5 stars is it doesn't have enough parking on busy days and the food is acceptable.

Great variety of species with incredibly knowledgeable staff to explain it all. Animals are kept in pretty open areas and some cohabitate, so it doesn't seem as constraining as some other zoos. Great for self-guided tours or several different guided tour options. Multiple transportation options to get around the zoo as well. Property is gigantic, so it takes a full day (or more) to see everything.

Best zoo in the world. Wonderful environments for the animals and the vegetation is extraordinary.

What a zoo!!! Absolutely amazing great organization and facility!

The staff and volunteers all throughout the zoo are very friendly and knowledgeable. Bob, a volunteer, went out of his way to locate some brochures of the plants they have and delivered them to us in person. I would definitely work here if I lived in San Diego. We always watch "The Zoo: San Diego" on Animal Planet. An in-depth, behind the scenes look at the caretakers and staff loving the animals they take care of.

Amazing place easy to walk but also has trams and gondola with great tours. I live in San Diego and we get yearly passes, summer can get crowded but it is still manageable. Take your time and plan your walk you can get more down hill paths. Remember it's San Diego the weather will be stable you can count on good weather year round a bad day in San Diego is still a great day.

The hill is just nuts but everything else about this place rocks! Feeding the giraffes, feeding the birds, petting the goats - there is just so much to do! The walk about is great too and my 3 year old had so much fun interacting with all the animals. Make sure you have cash though, you need it to feed the animals and to go on the carousel.

I absolutely loved this zoo. The food is a little pricey for what you're getting but that is expected. There is a huge variety in animals and exhibits here. Definitely something for everyone.

I like this place, but to today I go with my family feel didn't respected. Three stuffs working close to the exit in the kiosk when they see us they all turn around the faces. But when they see the other visitors they will smile and say hello. First I want to said we didn't do anything or pretend anything. Hopefully will feel better next time.

It is nice place, but they didn't warn you that the main attraction animals like pandas are not there any more. Lots of birds, i like the orangutans. I found it was more walking then looking. Lots of empty cages.

Loved it. Took grandson. Price wise it's very expensive but worth every penny

Great place to go but need a better way to get around the ups and downs of the park. Kids got to tired of walking all over. They have a transport bus but not in the best locations.

unfortunately last I was here there was massive construction going on and many animals were missing. but I still had an AMAZING time. I mean come on this zoo is ginormous (if that's a word). would definitely come back again and again if I lived closer.

Lots to do. The food prices are not bad for amusement park.