San Diego Zoo Reviews

Cute retro hotel with friendly staff. The restaurant's are delicious and give you a discount when you show them your hotel room key card. Hotel rooms are clean and have the basic essentials.

I've been there one time with my family. It was very dissapointing because they don't have white rhinos and oxpeckers. How come San Diego Zoos doesn't have oxpeckers?! What the heck San Diego Zoo! My animal suggestion is going to be a "Red Billed Oxpecker". Because there passerine birds that they eat bugs from mammal's fur/skin. It's helpful to get the ticks off.

Fun family experience. Great for visiting relatives.

Half a day isn't enough to explore the entire zoo. If it weren't for the daylights savings, I would love to see the other animals

Amazing zoo, I came to see the polar bears and Panda's, what a show the polar bears put on for us that alone was worth the admission price. It took us about 8 hours to see everything with one quick stop for a coffee, wonderful big cats, birds, reptiles, not many elephants the list goes on, free parking, totally recommend going

We did the VIP tour around the back. It was totally amazing and worth every penny!!

Lots of fun to see the animals, tons of walking though.

Nice place to visit and spend the whole day with family or friends

We had a ball!!! All of the animals were out. A really nice place to take the family. Well worth the 2 hour drive

Hands down the best zoo in the nation, this place is huge! The variety of animal exhibits is amazing as well as the quality. Every exhibit is clean and offers great views of the animals. Definitely a must if traveling in San Diego.

Worth the money! Good animals! I love the ride that takes you across the zoo. You really should wear shoes! No sandals or flats. Walking this whole zoo will give you sore legs, but sooo worth it! Food is ok. Get the gocard!

Nice zoo, friendly staff just a little difficult to navigate. Make sure to wear your walking shoes.

You can easily spend all day into the night here and still not see everything. Had everything you would expect. The only bummer was their pandas were not on exhibit.

I have wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo since I was a little girl. Well worth the wait... Expect to spend the entire day and then jump over to Balboa Park for the early evening.
So much fun and definitely worth the trip. Check out Go City Card for discounts for all the great things to do in San Diego!

What is supposed to be best zoo in the world was very disappointing a concrete world with enclosures for animals with no grass!! The biggest issue was lack of large animals i.e 1 lion 1 gorilla 1 hippo 2 elephants 2 tigers you can see more in Canterbury zoo...!!!
If you like to eat it's fantastic a food concession every 100 yards!! However all junk food... Not worth the money..

We stayed there all day long. We had so much fun watching wildlife being taken care of by great staff there. It is a great place to spend some money and time.

Great experience.ake sure to take your kids this is a wonderful learning experience for them, and a something they will remember for life! Make sure to pack plenty of food, and drinks. The security getting in was chill no issues! Will be coming back once again very soon!

Love the month of October, kids get in Free. Food was actually not bad , overall had a great time , definitely worth coming.

OUR SAN DIEGO ZOO IF FANTASTIC. THEY HAVE SUCH CARE FOR THESE ANIMALS AND THEY DO GOOD WORKS TO SAVE THESE ANIMALS.YES WE HAVE THE BEST ZOO IN THE WORLD I THINK, WE HAVE MANY VISITORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD COME AND VISIT, WHY?..WE ARE THE BEST!

A wonderfull experience - recommendable for everyone.

They have a huge variety of different animals with different sections.

There where some cute polarbears, birds, foxes, monkeys & flamingos.

You can park for free, but the food is pricy.

The entry includes the guided buses as well.

Go for it :)

A great zoo, that is taking remarkable steps to prevent the extinction of animals. If you're enjoying the beer, get the souvenir cup, it's 24oz and has a lower cost refill price.

One of the best news you can ever visit. It's worth the price because all the money go straight to the animals. Excellent time spent. You can ride the city bus to and from.

They have a lot if babies which I loved seeing as well. The koalas were great and baboons as well. I'm not much of a plant person but they have so many different varieties that go with the featured region, it was very interesting. Comfortable shoes are a MUST- lots of walking but worth it.

Beautiful zoo. Everything is kept clean and well maintained. You will do a lot of walking, so wear comfortable shoes.

Beautiful zoo. Lots of friendly volunteers there to answer questions.

One of the best zoos you will ever find! There are lots of animals to look at and there is a bus tour that takes you around the whole zoo.

LOTS of close encounters with these beautiful animals!! Great premise also, keeping animals from extinction and releasing them into the wild when they have a habitat to go back to.

One of the most amazing zoo's In the world. I was thoroughly impressed and spent almost the entire day there. Animals are well kept and you can really tell the staff have a passion for what they are doing. The mentions and efforts for the animals is unprecedented. I cant wait to go back!

Love the zoo! Bring your own food and beers, have a picnic!

Can get pretty busy. Even on a Friday. I prefer the Safari Park (the SD Zoo's daughter site) better. The great thing is it's in walking distance of all the museums and Balboa Park. It's taking responsibility during Covid-19. My only complaint is I feel like if you want to see everything, you have to backtrack. But I'll take it as good exercise

Best zoo I have ever been to. There is soo much to see here. From the way the walking trails are set up to the way the animals are treated is soo good. The guide tour bus was very good and interesting. It took us the whole day to see everything but well worth it.

A bit spendy, but full of amazing animals, spread throughout a lovely park. If you wish to see everything, about eight hours is probably needed. My kids and I, my adult siblings, and my parents all enjoyed our visit.

It's a fantastic zoo and huge for the area, but you can tell that a lot of the animals are kept in environments way too small to live in 24/7. I think they do the best with what they're working with, but compared with other newer zoos there is more of an effort to be humaine to the animals. On the other hand, you're up close to the animals which is awesome. Try out the sky ride too, it's definitely worth it at sunset even with the long lines.

Literally one of the best zoos in the world. Just be prepared for a lot of walking, It'll take you all day to see everything.

Might be the best park in San Diego, I mean it s unbelievable.

If you love animals then San Diego Zoo is a place for you. You can see almost all animals in 1place from tiger to elephant to ziraff. Children enjoy a lot at San Diego Zoo.

We had such an amazing time visiting this place. It was just a great atmosphere so much to see I wish we had more time.

Visited for the centennial celebration year and the Christmas decorations around the park are wonderful! It was not very busy at the park and we were able to spend good time at each exhibit and take lots of pictures

It s been 20+ years since I last visited. Had a really good time. Highly recommend take the bus tour first thing, then walk around. It s best if you can spend all day. We were there from opening to closing and got to see all of the zoo.

This was so much fun! Great place. Clean and staff was very helpful!

My husband and I have the annual membership, so we came to to zoo 3-4 times every month! Best zoo ever! Friendly staff and cute animals.

Such a beautiful place with tone of different Anamals! Get ready for a day of walking though

Liked that the animals have free range in their re-created natural habitats. Great place for all ages and there's something for everyone.

Best Zoo in SoCal in my opinion I love it tons of animals to see. Trams are great get you around easy. Always coupons online for a discounted ticket rate. Parking is free always a plus. Love this place!

Had a great time, zoo was easy to navigate with plenty of signs pointing you in whatever direction you want to go. Everyone was very friendly and willing to help or answer any questions you have

Best zoo I have ever been to, always looking to improve the visitor experience as well as improve the habitats for the animals. The efforts at helping conservation and preserving species is amazing. Well worth the annual cost of renewing my Keeper's Club and three Kids memberships.

I recently made a visit to the zoo after probably a ten year absence. However, in that time, I've visited the Safari Park a couple of times. After this most recent visit, my opinion remains the same - the Safari Park is the better experience.
If you have the time to do both on a San Diego visit, certainly do so. But, if you have to pick one, spend the time to head out to the Safari Park. While the zoo is large, it's not so different in layout from other zoos that I've visited.

One thing we ran into a lot of - no animals in sight! Most of them were hiding away in shaded areas where they were not visible. Several sections could really stand a redesign so that, even when the animals are in the shade (and they were the smart ones, it was hot!) they can still be observed. The visit was mostly a disappointing walk from one enclosure to another with few signs of animals. The Safari Park does a much better job of allowing you to actually see the animals.

One of the big features of the park is no longer in play - the Chinese Pandas have been returned to China. The party that I went with was particularly interested in seeing these and the decorating around the area is still adorned with them - but they're gone.

Amazing experience seeing the Koalas up close. We actually were able to experience a good portion of animal sightings during the experience and set our day up for a much more relaxing time!
Everyone is so very helpful and knowledgeable!
The dining is very good as well.
We ate at Alberts and were thrilled with food and service.
Do not miss this zoo!!

A great place to visit to see plants, birds and animals in a beautiful setting.

Second time here and absolutely in love. Miss the Giant Panda though

The zoo was beautiful, everyone was super friendly and willing to answer any questions. The entire experience was breathtaking.

A bit expensive, but awesome zoo. Would be easy to spend an entire day here and great for the whole family. Seeing the pandas was cool!

The San Diego Zoo certainly did live up to its reputation and our expectations.
You can probably do the zoo in one day at a very quick pace or take a day and a half to slow down and truly enjoy everything.

We spent two days here, loved every second. Still didn't see everything though. Can't wait to go back!

Wow!!! Fantastic and so much to see and experience. It's a wonderful zoo. A must see!

Great place to take a family, loved all the animals.

The best zoo I have ever visited. It is way better than LA Zoo and Lincoln Park Zoo. This zoo includes Pandas, Koalas and hundreds of other animals in this huge space north of Downtown San Diego

Hands down best zoo. Bring good walking shoes. You will do alot of that. Elephant exhibit is the best. They also put some dogs mixed in with some of the wild animals to have as friends which was pretty awesome. You can get your character drawn too. Expect to spend a whole day here. I have been going back to this zoo every year and they seem to keep making it better.

You're children will be captivated and so interested in all the animals, just as you imagined it.

One of the best zoos, hands down. Expensive, but that was expected. Food was decent, if a bit basic. We came at open on a cloudy day, so the crowds weren't too bad. Wear comfortable shoes if you plan on walking. The ride on the gondola offered great views of the zoo and Balboa Park beyond.

Pretty spendy but there's a LOT to see!!! Make sure you wear comfy shoes!

Everything is amazing! Amazing zoo with phenomenal amenities! Everything is handicap accessible, plenty of staff to help, and amazing animal facilities! Bathrooms everywhere, great Mexican food, not overly crowded in any one area!

Great zoo. Had a great day with my friends here. Thanks

One of the most beautiful zoos I've ever been too. The walks and landscape were gorgeous all by themselves. I wanted to camp out in the rainforest section for the rest of my life.

Do yourself a favor, and get the biggest yearly pass if you live in San Diego. Then, instead of going to Balboa Park just come here. You can hang out by the Leopard, watch bunch of colorful birds, take the bus tour, or sit and relax. It looks a lot better and bigger than last time I came here which was more than a decade ago. Animals look comfortable and cared for. Little ironic though, cafes and restaurants sell animal meat, I guess when you are not near-extinct or exotic your life is not important.

The zoo may not be as expansive as the Safari Park but they make up for it with special events like Jungle Bells. Volunteers are stationed throughout the park to help navigate and are easy to identify with their red polos and khaki bottoms. A ticket is a bit expensive so it's more worthwhile to get a membership if you're able to visit the zoo at least 2-3 times in a year. Highly recommend!

A fun place to spend the day. Always enjoying seeing all the animals.

I worked there one summer as a teen, so I'm biased! But it is a very nice place. It's huge with lots of hills though.

Fun zoo to visit and learn about the animals. Always find something new on every visit.

Wonderful natural settings for the animals! Most important- the work they do to conserve creatures and end Extinction all over the world. Be sure to stop by the 120+ year old Galapagos tortoises, a part of the Zoo's success story to fight Extinction

We spent 6 hours here and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The baby chimpanzee was our favorite, as well as the giraffes and elephants. Watching the macaws fly out to open the zoo is something special. The park is laid out in a friendly and walkable way, UNLESS you need to get somewhere quickly. While unlikely to happen, having a pedestrian loop that mimics the bus route would be very helpful as to avoid the crowds when trying to make a quick exit. The aviaries are also something quite special. Bring your in food and snacks. Albert's was a nice lunch experience, but not worth $72 for two sandwiches and 2 beers. Definitely worth seeing.

There's a reason this zoo is touted as the best in the world. For one, it's huge, and you'll walk miles to cover the whole zoo by foot. Second, it has the largest animal collection I have ever seen in a zoo, and I'm sure it's up there in comparison with other large zoos in the world. Third, there are a bunch of ancillary experiences you won't get in other zoos, such as Skyfari (a gondola the spans the East and West parts of the zoo). You can easily spend the entire day here.

Bring snacks and water. Wear comfortable shoes and slow down to enjoy the animals. There will be lines but they move at a good pace

Awesome we all had a great and fabulous time. They let you bring water and food into the zoo ( no coolers). Lots of things to do and see. We spent approximately 5 hours of fun. I would recommend this zoo to everyone! The experience is amazing.

Huge zoo with alot going on, from omaha so nice to see another great zoo