Which Is The Best Zoo ?

boombap

Another vote for Chester Zoo from me.....and not just because I'm a Cestrian!

S.

creased-leach

Have you considered ditching the Zoo, and going to Longleat? Excellent value for money if you buy the passport, which entitles you to visit the maze, Longleat house, a boat ride on the lake, train ride, butterfly house, large outdoor playground etc etc.

It's a push to do it all in a day, we usually camp nearby and do it in two.

We live very close to Howletts and Port Lymne- also good days out- especially PL as it's set in vast, lovely countryside, and they do fantastic conservation work.

System

we didnt like chester zoo but loved west midlands safari park ,hoping to go + feed the giraffe again this year.

eslick

chester for us and we go each year from newcastle

springchicken

Chester everytime for us Has a wondrous selection of animals and a great play area for kids. Well recommended for all ages.

tehone

Another vote for Colchester Zoo (and I've been to loads of zoos)

ethelsmum

We really enjoyed Twycross zoo. We visited Paignton zoo on holiday a few years ago and really liked it. We are looking to visit Chester zoo this year hopefully and also West Midlands Safari park as my friend went and said it was very good.

PolishBigSpender

Colchester Zoo is really nice, clean, lots of attractions for children, not too big but not too small, places under the roof if the weather is not so good, choice of places to eat... a very good experience.

mumps

Paignton gets my vote. Really clean, animals always look well cared for. They have spent loads on improvements over recent years. My kids have always loved it.

Liz_the_Whizz

We love to see animals in the wild, so we only visit zoos which are top notch in terms of conservation and animal welfare.

Chester is top on all counts. The themed areas (Spirit of the Jaguar, Bears of the Cloud Forest, Tsavo Black Rhino and the Twilight Zone Bat Cave) are excellent and there is plenty of space for all the visitors and animals. For kids, the Fun Ark is a really nice to let off a bit of steam and the monorail is always a favourite with our 7 yo son.

But we also enjoy the different experience offered by Knowsley Safari Park - driving through gives you some sense of what it is like to be on a real safari, and the Wild Dogs are awesome. If you dare drive through the baboons, it adds a real element of excitement and danger (to your car at least;) ). And the funfair and animal shows are a big winner afterwards.

We also were very pleasantly surprised by Blackpool Zoo which though much smaller than Chester had some nice exhibits (lemurs, red river hogs) in pleasant surroundings, plus a dinosaur walkthrough which again was a big draw for the kids.

But if you only visit one, Chester is it.