San Diego Zoo Reviews

I've been coming here as a member for almost a year now. And I always see something new! It's always so much fun to walk around with friends or family or even just cruise through for a bit on your own. Parking is typically crowded near the front the lot (I mean when is it not) so if you dont mind a light 5 minute walk I would park in the back (plus parking is free). When you walk in grab a map but if you ever get in a pickle they have the sweetest volunteers to help you. Also they serve micheladas there now and they are so good!! Don't forget to donte a buck or two when your at a concession stand! Everything is reasonably priced and so much for kids to do! If you have gone to the zoo yet, I say go! What are you waiting for!

Sprawling zoo with huge assortment of animals and programs. Be prepared to walk alot.

We had a great day. My husband and I both rented an electric scooter with a shade. I was worth every penny of the $110. we paid. The staff was very accommodating.

The only thing I would love to see is animals listed on the map and the area they are in. It was very challenging to find all of the animals we wanted to see. They have all the names of the eateries and stores. I think they have plenty of room on the map to do that. It was a perfect day!

I liked it. Go on a cooler day, some of the animals hide because it's too hot. Wear comfy shoes because you will be walking a lot. Lots of good shots of animals up close. The panda line seemed kinda long but was actually REALLY long. It winds around forever. It was worth it but way longer than expected. Overall, a fun zoo. We have gone twice on two separate trips.

I did enjoy being here for the day but it breaks my heart how small the jaguar's enclosure is. He was pacing and pacing the entire time I was watching him, no where to go or hide from the throngs of screaming children and perturbed adults. Felt so sorry for those big cats.
This place is HOT on a sunny day so bring sunscreen and maybe an umbrella.
Fun place to see animals, sad for your heart seeing how unhappy some are.

An inspirational place. If you come to San Diego you need to see our world famous zoo.

The San Diego Zoo is unlike any other zoo I've ever visited. In addition to animals from around the world, they have an impressive collection of plants.

It has so much exhibits that I almost need to come again tomorrow!

Awesome space, exhibits are well done. Animals look happy

I volunteer here because I thoroughly enjoy myself doing so, . . . and because I believe that if we are going to engage others in the fight to protect wildlife and the habitats they need to thrive, we must excite people about the wonders of the natural world.

Some of the animals that we wanted to see were not out. The pandas are gone. But, truly, the zoo is huge and is really, really nice. We had a great time. So glad to have visited it.

We loved this place! They're so many paths and walkways to take. And so many animals to see. I saw several I have never seen and didn't know existed. You feel so close to them too. The viewing areas are very close to the animals. We would definitely go back. The only thing I would ask for is a few more strategically placed bathrooms.

Love the finished areas that were under construction lats we were here a few years ago. Always love a trip to the zoo.

It was a lot of uphill and downhill walking. I guess that's good for exercise? Not a lot of active animals in the day.

We had a great time at the zoo, the cousins met & at the end, unfortunately, some thief stoled my grandchild's toys bought at the toy store near the exit. How disgusting people can be.

I enjoyed my visit. But most of the animals were asleep or hiding

The zoo was really nice, the bathroom was clean, the zoo was clean, I liked all of the exhibits. Nice place for a date, take the kids, or just to visit to animals. Definitely go check this joint out

I proposed to my wife here and now I was able to bring our son here. Great place to enjoy nature.

Beautiful Zoo. Totally worth the visit while in San Diego

It's absolutely amazing !! And huge! Wear good shoes and be ready for 10+ hours of fun !

This zoo is amazing considering how small it is footprint. They've built it up and continue to improve areas and add new places to see. It was easy to get lost but equally easy to find your bearings with all the volunteers and staff around to give helpful information. For what you get with your daily pass it's well worth the price.

Had an amazing experience with my family. My girls really enjoyed seeing all the animals..probably best to go again so we can see the rest and I recommend having a stroller if you have little little ones..

Very Nice clean..organize animals very good condition all well signed. Bathrooms nice clean eith soap and paper towel. Great Zoo !! Worth that entrance of money .

China give us back the Pandas

Aside from that though, this is a huge zoo with more than you can look at in a day.

Their collection of animals boggles the mind and their display of them is up front and personal.

Truly a great zoo experience.

This zoo is so well maintained, informative, and lush. Every time I go I see something new and the staff is always friendly. I recommend taking a bus tour to start so you can get acquainted with the layout! Also, Africa rocks is amazing!!!

Instant vibe walking into this zoo.... One of my faves hands down. As someone who's been to MANY MANY zoo's all across the US I can easily say this is in my too 3. I do prefer the Safari park to the actual zoo if I had to choose. BUT if you have time for both, I'd reserve a separate day for them as they are over 30 min apart and each offer so much. The Safari is bigger than the zoo and hours are slightly different. Overall this is a great zoo. Loved it!!!

Most excellent zoo! You can easily spend all day here and there s still too much to see! We are members and always enjoy our visits

Awesome zoo management...The employees are very helpful

Far too many bird exibits and not enough main stream animals. The zoo seems to skimp on more popular animals due to a lack of space. It's over priced compared to other zoos in the state. It's on the small side plus they tend to try and sell the zoo to the public by one animal at a time such as the hippos or pandas.

Loved it. I recommend this place over Sea World. If you're in San Diego for only one day and you have a choice between the zoo or Sea World I would recommend going to the zoo. For one thing there are more things to see at the zoo than Sea World. It's more interesting, cheaper, and the kids will love it more. I highly recommended.

What an awesome zoo! Tons of parking. It is HUGE. You will love it.

you've heard how great the San Diego zoo is and you are looking up the rating on Google?
The zoo is over a hundred yrs old. It survived because it is awesome. If you are seriously trying to decide on if you should go, don't. The animals will be looking at you saying "look at that dumb creature"

Pretty good zoo, had to wait 45 minutes to see the pandas and the place was swarming with small children though

Great insight availble on conservation especially with Elephants. Food options were plentiful and well spaced. Construction and updates were ongoing. Overall fun, would like to see more interactive programs and behind the scenes options.

The best zoo that I've ever been too, so many animals and beautiful landscapes. There are plenty of bathrooms and places to eat while you are walking around. It's a huge zoo but it has so many animals and it is so fun to explore.

Beautiful animals, be warned the uphill struggle is real. Plan your route around the Kanga Roo bus tops

This might well be the best zoo I've been to. Amazing variety of animals, including great pandas and polar bears, and other rare animals. Admission is expensive, but the zoo is huge and one can spend an entire day there.

So much fun to walk around and lived Albert's restaurant!

It's the San Diego Zoo! Nothing more need to be said. The volunteers are outstanding.

Awesome experience! This zoo is by far the best I ve ever been to in California! My family loved it and so did I !!

The zoo is massive. We came on a Sunday in december. Despite there being thousands or people it never felt crowded and the animals were active. Monkeys were very entertaining. The panda exhibit has a very long line.

This is a great zoo you should go if you have kids bring the your kids here at san diego zoo.

The zoo is beautiful the variety of animals is perfect will have an impeccable cleanliness both the zoo comk the bathrooms all very presentable and clean the only thing is the food is very expensive and very bad. Half star tastes very bad

Incredible animals and plants. Takes a day to do it! The bus tour was a great introduction.

Best zoo I have ever been to. Period. I went on one of the less busier days, and I was able to see almost everything. Staff there is so helpful and outgoing!

Spent 5+ hours and didn't see everything. Best zoo in so-cal

Wow!! So much to see! The ride that takes you over the park is a must do.

I love feeding the giraffe here the handler was adimet about his job, friendly and helpful. He made sure the animals got treated with respect and love. I had a bus tour of the park with a singing bus driver it made me chuckle at how "shameless" she was and the knowledge she spewed forth unto us was nice.

Must visit in San Diego and recent additions make it even better! Besides the varied and numerous beautiful animals, the park itself is wonderfully landscaped and makes for a great stroll. Sky tram is also a nice way to see some the zoo and outer Balboa Park.

Wonderfully maintained zoo. Animals were healthy. I follow this zoo closely through their show and online periodicals. They do so much for the preservation of animals. Finally got to see it in person. Was worth the wait.

World class zoo. The new exhibits are great. The only down side is the cost and trying to see it all in one day is tough. If you are a local just get a membership.

Super cool Zoo, best I ve ever been to!! It has soooo many animals this is a must see, it s fun for kids and adults! If you love animals you ll love this place!

The best zoo to visit. Staff are super cool n sweet. Food was good(able to get some vegetarian food too). Highly recommendable to visit and dont miss to see panda.

Best zoo experience in the west coast. So many attractions that I didn t even have time to visit within a day. All for half the price of Disneyland. The big plus is that there was no line, even on a holiday weekend. I will definitely come back another time with family.

Absolutely loved the moment I arrived all the way up till I left I'm 27 years old never been to a zoo until just recently and I felt like a kid all over again
Definitely going back!!!!!

Very nice to have the Zoo in our back yard. We highly recommend becoming members!

I enjoyed seeing the animals in their natural habitats. The staff was helpful and courteous. The volunteers were knowledgeable and fun.

The San Diego Zoo offers electric carts for the walking impaired. They also add a tour bus ride.

Excellent collection of rare and exotic birds, simians, large mammals, etc. Beautiful grounds. Doable in a day but better to allow two.

Amazing adventure at the zoo! We started with the tour bus, then the aerial ride...then walked through the entire zoo. Volunteers were everywhere to answer questions...and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Highly recommend seeing the San Diego Zoo!

Koalas are my weakness. That s all I have to say. I came for the pandas for this specific trip though since they re going back to China soon.

Amazing!!!! So much fun will go every time i vacation in San Diego!!!!

Awesome family place in San Diego to come visit anyday of the week.

Free parking and the cheapest ticket prices between it, Sea World, and Lego Land already make it a good option, but the food and alcohol inside the park isn't as excessively priced either and the tour buses are nice when you're done with walking!

The highlight of our San Diego trip! We loved the elephants and the Andean bears.

Nice plane and you can see a lot of animals there. They are live suvivaly. You should go now!!!!!!!

This place is amazing for everyone I love being able to see all my favorite animals and let me daughter learn about all the amazing animals of the world

My husband and I have year passes and we like to go later in the day when it cools down and all the animals come out. Free parking, great food, happy hour at Albert's. You get a great walk in and see all the animals. Then, take the team back and get the best sunset views of San Diego.

It was exactly what I thought family friendly and exceptionally clean i must say .....if you are seizure prone like I am or have any type of ailments that will flare up in the heat then I'd recommend waiting until it cools off....I almost passed out all day....other then that great overall

Truly the happiest place on earth. As a San Diego native I finally had the opportunity to take partner to the San Diego Zoo. They loved it!!! Although amidst the COVID-19 chaos, everyone wore their masks (accept for one woman who took off her mask to sneeze and then put her mask back on. If I could write a review of her it would be zero) and there was plenty of hand sanitizer. We went as soon as they opened to avoid the crowds. However, this worked in our favor as a lot of the morning animals were awake and busy! The koalas were enjoying a mist and a breakfast of leaves when we arrived and the highlight of the hour was the BABY HIPPO! So very cute, I had to attach photos! Although I miss the Skyfari I entirely understand why it was not open. I got some great swag at the gift shop, but to be perfectly honest the children's gift shop has better stuff!! I wish they made some of those shirts in my size!!! I truly cannot wait until the world is healthy enough for me to bring my partner to the Nighttime Zoo!! or Jungle bells!! Such a great time.

Such an awesome place. My grandparents took me when I was a kid and today I was able to share the same experience with my kid!

They have done a thorough and thoughtful adjustment to the COVID-19 situation. Our health and protection were obviously a high priority.

We have a membership, so it is nice to go animal and people watch! We usually take some fruit, cheese and PB&J's for a picnic lunch. Then take our sovenier cups to refill with soda or lemonade for about a buck!

Only regret is not planning for two days there! Great zoo - all about the animals! :)

The cablecar is broken. The panda is not there anymore. Still, it s a beautiful zoo to visit.

A great kid friendly place to visit. The animals are active after 3pm.

Great zoo, a bit overwhelming, because it's so big. A few of the older exhibits need renewing or new fencing. The height differences made for some spectacular viewings and exhibits. They have a great collection of animals including an amazing collection of reptiles. Unfortunately, we did see some social animals that were housed alone or with only one mate.

Awesome zoo and crazy big. Completely spoils other zoos is really the only downside. It can get hot so bring hats and sunscreen. If you're a walked skip the tours and foot it around as there is a great deal more to see than a tour will cover. Make a reservation at Albert's restaurant ahead of time for a great meal and be ready to tackle more from it's near central location. Definitely do the gondola, great was to cross the park and the kids loved it, but sadly not much to see up there other than trees.

$$ but still the best zoo experience. Lots of great exhibits - really too many to see in a day. Be ready for some walking.

We had such a great day here! There is an extremely large variety of animals in pretty big enclosures too (not the case in many zoos). The best part was how almost all the animals we saw were right up front and visible to people. It seems like with all the other zoos we ve been to the animals are always hiding or up for the day. We got so many great pictures! If I ever get the chance to go again, I would prepare ahead. To no surprise, the food was very expensive and the lines for food were long but I believe you can pack your own lunch and that would save a lot of time and money, especially for families! Tip: if you don t bring drinks, buy the souvenir cup, the soda refills are free and it pays for itself. The exhibits were beautiful, the walking didn t seem too bad and the Skyline was the perfect ending to a wonderful day. If you are ever in the San Diego area, definitely do NOT miss the zoo!

What a trip and get away , had the nicest time in the zoo with the family just one thing that s a must guys ( sun lotion) half the park is open . The forest side well let s say I didn t want to leave and the people are super friendly

Even better than I remembered from when I was a teenager growing up in San Diego. That was over 50 years ago so how great is that?