San Diego Zoo Reviews

The first I actually enjoyed. Military members you get in for free and also have access to bus ride, sky air and other things. All you have to do is show your CAC card.

So much fun for everyone! Plan to spend a whole day and bring some snacks, so much to see

This zoo is always a marvel to go to. Their attention to providing you with a whole experience is wonderful. They have aviaries in each area of animals so when you are walking through the forested areas of the display you feel you are indeed at the real thing.
I also love plants so I appreciate the attention they give to plants of the various areas represented. Many also have plaques telling you what they are. I would have liked a tour of the plants but I was there on the wrong day.
The animals in the older displays are not always easy to see but in the newer displays they have helped with that.
I truly appreciate the arrangement of the zoo and the work that has gone into it. I have been to this zoo many times and I will go many more. I have never tired of seeing their displays.

Had my favorite, the Okapi!
The weather was perfect. Kind of pricey for entrance fee, but thankful that our granddaughter and her friends got in free for being active duty Navy.
We only spent a couple of hours here. I wanted to stay longer and ride the bus tour, but my husband didn't..
The animals are comfortable with their handlers, so that says a lot about the zoo.
Saw some animals I'd never seen before, like the bear sloth.
Will have to go back some day. We were in San Diego for the 1st time. We were visiting our granddaughter who is stationed there for now.

Great information. Tour bus guides very informative.

Best suburban zoo. We are so lucky to have this gem! Many, many rare and endangered species are here, ensuring that at least some of the world's treasures survive. Our zoo is a really cool place to take your kids, your out-of-town friends, or just to spend a peaceful afternoon outside. There are plenty of places to get a bite to eat, and a really nice fancy restaurant, if you want to make an impression.

Nice zoo, but I felt bad for some species of animals who were in way too tiny cages.

The zoo is normally awesome, and it still is, but there is a lot of construction going on right now with lots of enclosures empty or inaccessible. Still plenty to see, but if there are any particular animals you want to see, is call ahead to make sure they're available.

I absolutely love this zoo. The staff is always so friendly, the facility is beautiful, clean, and there is so much to see! The animals are of course, the best part. Love then all.

Definitely lives up to it's name. Plan to spend an entire day here if you want to explore and see everything.

Best day in San Diego! This is a must visit if you have any time. Plan a full day for your visit! Don't forget to see the pandas!

Definitely need more than one visit to see it all. We went right after Christmas so it was beautiful!

A nice variety of animals. Shelters and enclosures do not seem as cramped as it seems at sea world. But I'm no expert on animal enclosures.

Spent the entire day starting at 9:00 am. Not too crowded at that time. Did the bus tour which was enough animals for me! Ha!
Great time to spend with adults, teens and kids!

This was on my bucket list of things to do. I have heard wonderful things about this zoo my entire life. It was ok but not any better than some other zoos we have been to. Disappointing to me but I had my expectations set pretty high. So far I like the Cincinnati zoo the best. Milwaukee comes second.

Absolutely the best zoo ever. It is 100 acres, but you can spend the whole day there without walking 100 feet. Buses will take you around the zoo and show you all the exhibits. You can hop off when you want to take a closer look, and then at something, and then hop back on to go further. When I first arrived I was concerned about the price--that is what we might pay for an amusement park. However, it was worth every penny! Great experience! Would recommend to anyone.

As a former research intern, I can vouch that the people working there really care about the plants and animals. They have really big, nice enclosures, taking the care to provide proper food and enrichment for the animals. They have fans and misters for when it gets hot, and heaters for winter. There is always research going on to plan for the best breeding programs, enclosure habitats, and enrichment.

Bring lots of water in summer time and walking shoes. There is a ton to see and enjoy at this amazing zoo!

The zoo is wonderful, with almost all the animals available to observe, but not a lot of room for social distancing. The zoo stated they are running at a "reduced capacity" but that did not appear to be the case. VERY crowded walkways and paths made it difficult to move around, and distancing impossible. We love knowing our ticket prices are helping to support the animals and jobs during this difficult time, just not a lot of opportunity for distancing during a pandemic. I will say the stores were run efficiently, and drink refills were handed to you in a separate cup to refill yourself. Workers were all pleasant and helpful!

Awesome zoo. Truly world class. Always updating and improving habitats and enclosures. Also constantly doing research and rescue for lots of animals.

This park is a must see more to do and get bus pass it will make your visit to the zoo to see everything easier

Been going here since I was a kid then got the chance to work a few weeks there on a project

San Diego Zoo is rated the best because IT IS! the animals were out and alert, parking is free, yes you can bring a personal cooler and pack your snacks, water, etc. With any large attraction park it was crowded when we arrived, but we purchase our tickets online and was able to walk in with waiting in line. Leaving wasn't a problem, no crowed, and the expressway is nearby

This is definitely the nicest zoo I've ever been to. The enclosures were nicely kept and clean. The animals were active. My favorite animal to see were the elephants. Their enclosure was being cleaned and they were being fed. The staff was nice and helpful. The zoo was massively huge. Parking was extremely difficult. It took my about 25 minutes to get an open spot.

This place is huge. It's one of the best zoos ive ever been to. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes and plan to spend a good part of your day here if not the whole day.

My family enjoyed every minute of it.I do wish they had sometype of system to guide you smoothly through the entire park it makes it complicated when your with a toddler,baby,and teen.and strollers.Beside that they had lots of fun.Wish we had time to do the bus tour.I heard is a must.Looking foward to returning soon.We went during the holidays and they had xmas lights during the night.

Awesome experience! Definitely prepare to be here all day. Daughter loved it, I loved it more.

We love visiting this zoo. Don't expect to see all the animals though. They have such big enclosures it's hard to see some of the animals. You definitely need more than one day here to see everything. We couldn't even ever see the hole park in one day. There's just no much to see and do.

One of the most amazing zoos you will encounter on earth. Some people plan for a day, although you could spend two and not see all the wonders waiting for you.

San Diego Zoo is a great place to visit! Had an amazing time, and the staff is very friendly! Excited to see the sloths! one of them wasn't sure if he wanted to eat or sleep :) he attempted to do both .... sleeping won.

A fantastic Zoo but don't go to early if you want to see the animals they like to sleep late, ha, ha ha

Always fun!! Bring your walking shoes and a light sweater. There's always a small breeze

Fantastic. You need 2 days to fully enjoy every bit it has to offer!

Bring good shoes because this place takes a while to walk.

This is the best zoo I've ever been to --hands down, no others come close. It's a large zoo so plan to spend the whole day there and pace yourself. Take that skytram up to the top and work your way back for a short visit (or walk through and take it back to the exit). Don't miss the polar bear exhibit and be sure to schedules some breaks along the way. Fantastic staff and an amazing variety of animals to see. Fun for all ages!

Huge zoo with a variety of exhibits and animals. You could easily spend the entire day here. The bus tour is great and definitely worth starting off with!

I go to the zoo twice a month. Awesome place for anyone! Get a membership!

Educational, great exhibits, well staffed, and clean. 100% better than SeaWorld in literally every way. Looking forward to visiting the safari park next time I'm in San Diego

Beautiful park and natural settings for the animals.

What a great zoo. One of the best places I have been to. Had a blast back in the day. Great places to stay all around.

Easily one of the best zoo's that I have ever been too. Am now an annual passholder and could not be happier!

This has to be one of the most amazing zoo's I have ever been to. Certainly worth a visit and make sure you spend all day there! Oh and be sure to speak to all the zoo keepers that are dotted around the zoo, they know all the best facts.

Simply the BEST!!! We Always go and enjoy the gr3at walks w| our kids and love all the animals. The staff is friendly and the shows are amazing!!

Sensational! The free bus tour is an absolute must and worth the cost of admission alone. The children's area was amazing. Everyone, wherever they live in the world, must visit this zoo at least once in their life. It's one of the great natural wonders of the world today.

Huge zoo with a big variety of animals. It seems that the living conditions for the animals are decent and humane. I'll go back

World class zoo. Alberts is a great higher class restaurant for sit down service while at the zoo. There is a lot of up and down, you can overlook the sights from many places. Make sure you go for the full day, you will need it all to see everything.

Definitely ride the sky train thing, gives you a great view of the whole place

Absolutely loved the zoo! Also really enjoyed the Safari Park. We were able to see a lot more animals at the actual zoo which was nice. Our ten month old loved the bus ride and skyfari.

At first sight, the ticket price seemed a bit high. But after walking around the zoo and seeing the amount of different animals that were there. Plus, the caring facilities and the staff. It made sense, the zoo isn't overpriced, but the maintenance costs are required to preserve the threatened and endangered species they have. The programs and the activities they've sound amazing, unfortunately didn't have time to check them. But if I go again, it's definitely worth it.

An awesome spot to spend a good chunk of your day. There is a bunch to see here. It's very family friendly but still serves some really good beer for the parents or those without kids. The food is solid as well but expect to pay park prices. This is definitely the best zoo I've been to and is worth checking out if you're in the area.

Good for family with kids. The annual membership is worth to buy. With annual membership, you can take skyride unlimited times. As I remember, the one way costs you $8, however, the family annual membership (2 adult + 2 child) only costs you $136. Located just beside HWY 163. A lots free parking lot in front. I would definitely recommend.

San Diego is the perfect place for a family fun day! All the exhibits are big and great for the animals and plenty of space for everyone to see. Love the food and beverage options.

Took our 3 young kids here and they had a blast! I reccomend going in the evening where they are not nearly as busy and the animals are more lively. You can see the park in about 2-3 hours and you can see about 65% of the park from their bus.

As awesome as ever. Sad that pandas went back to China though.

Definitely not worth a $56 entry fee, but nonetheless, alright! Eighty percent of all the animals were asleep or trying to stay cool, or maybe they were tranquilized, haha, I'm not sure. But it's maddening, when you only have a one day pass. However, the Skytram and there Kangaroo Bus more than made up for the mishap and free reflills when you buy a drink. Another upside to it all, ALL staff is very friendly. No matter what area I visited or even when I seemed lost, the employees were more than willing to assist and were very personable. That says a lot about the place itself.... It's a huge place with lots of walking, so make sure you wear comfortable shoes.

Zoo was great. They are doing a lot of new construction so baby area is closed. Everyone is wearing masks and keep 6ft distance. Very humid there so take so frozen water bottles and put them in you backpack keep your back cool and it will cold water in no time!

The best zoo I have been to - and I have been to plenty. Beautiful, in the wonderful San Diego hills and makes grest use of this topography. Great exhibits and biodiversity which calls the zoo home. A must do for anyone in the area.

Hot, masks required and enforced. Year pass worth it for 2 adults $258.

Every time we visit the San Diego Zoo, there seems to be a new exhibit. The new Africa Rocks section is really easy to navigate. All the employees are eager to help. It was another excellent experience.

Loved the tours! The volunteers who help with the directions and of course seeing all the beautiful animals!

As far as zoos go, one of the he biggest, one of the best.

Fun place for little kids.
This place still is our one of the favorite park.

This is very good Zoo and aquarium and I will be in the future of our games are based on the phone with me and I will be in the future of our games are based on the other day and I will be in the future of our games are based on the other day and I will be

The biggest zoo I have ever visited. I walked about 10 miles in the zoo. The zoo offer visitor a wonderful opportunity to be very closed in distance with those animals. The only regret I had was that we didn t have chance to see the rhino. Those bird cage is almost my most favorite.

Love it here. So many plants and animals...its beautiful!

If you've ever wanted to go to Animal Kingdom skip it and come here. It's as good as any amusement park, even without any thrill rides. Seriously, it's that good.

Always a great place to go and look around bring your walking shoes

Very big and beautiful. Some interesting animals. It's a pity that the giant panda is gone but there is still plenty to see, to do and to enjoy.

put your walking shoes on and have a good time. One of the best zoo's in the world.

We're members and glad we are.
Great experience and weather was too.
Thanks to everyone there for making our visit so wonderful.

One of the best zoos I've ever been to. Be prepared to do a LOT of walking and wear loose clothing. It was hot. They had so cool many animals there. We finished everything in one day (approximately 4 hours). I feel the $50 dollar price is reasonable for a zoo this large. Don't forget to try the sky lift. The view is amazing and it's a quick way to get from one side of the zoo to the other. Mind you, we got on in no time in the morning, but by the time afternoon came around, there were about 50 people in line to ride it.

tl;dr get there early, wear good shoes.

Nice zoo, well laid out, variety of animals is good. Not sure it's worth the price compared to other zoos around the world though

Like walking through a tropical rain forest with awesome animals. Wear you walking shoes!

After visiting several times throughout the years, it is still a fun place to go. Restaurant (the only sit-down one in the park...cant remember the name , I think it was Alberts) was amazing! 2 year old loved the attractions, shows, and gift shops!

Great animal exhibits! And great food at Albert's restaurant!

Very entertaining. We spend 8 hours to see everything. It was great !

Huge zoo. Lots of things to do, to be honest probably more than a days worth if you took it slow, especially if you wanted to tie it in with Balboa Park.
There's a tour trolley and a hop on hop off trolley, plus an overhead cable car which can help you get around. Lots of places to get food and snacks and water fountains to fill up water bottles.
The aviary where you can see hummingbirds was great.
The panda exhibit is the only one we came across with a queue and that took 30-40 minutes, so maybe do that first.
All in all a good experience and a good zoo

I think the SD zoo is one of the Top 5 zoos in america. Love this place! Africa Rocks section really ROCKS. It s a must see. It s a big place so make sure you buy the bus ticket the first time. It will give you the layout to roam on your own. Such a great place for children and adults-Enjoy!!!

Is there a real lion here? We didn't see it, except for the large statue in front. Otherwise It's a great zoo

Amazing habitats. Humming bird display just closed for reconstruction. Please come back soon!