Edinburgh Zoo Reviews (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Great day out

Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom

June 1, 2013

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Prices are high but well worth the visit as long as you are comfortable walking up hill, a lot. Penguins are a particular highlight. Food available is good and the views from the top of the Zoo are stunning. Lack of elephants remains a ...Read more

I went to the animal fair...

by eilidhcatriona

London, United Kingdom

November 8, 2012

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Best of IgoUgo Edinburgh Zoo is in the Corstorphine area of the city, not far from Murrayfield stadium. There are a few buses which stop at the entrance to the zoo, which you can catch from Waverley or Haymarket stations. I had got up really quite early to ensure ...Read more

Fun at the Zoo

by elizabeth1984@hotmail.co.

Halesowen, England, United Kingdom

October 31, 2012

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Best of IgoUgo The zoo was on the top of my ‘must see’ list to get there it was only a small bus journey from Waverly Train station. It was around 15 minutes on the bus and it also dropped you right outside the zoo and when you needed to be picked back up it ...Read more

From journal My Stay in Edinburgh

Going to the Zoo in Edinburgh

by missj1981

London, England, United Kingdom

October 24, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo Edinburgh Zoo is almost a must when you visit the city, at least if you like animals of course. When driving towards the Zoo you can see the zoo well signposted ahead. When you arrive there is a large car park with lots sufficient spaces to park. We ...Read more Edinburgh Zoo is almost a must when you visit the city, at least if you like animals of course. When driving towards the Zoo you can see the zoo well signposted ahead. When you arrive there is a large car park with lots sufficient spaces to park. We were here on a Saturday and although it looked busy inside but outside was more than enough parking. Public transport access is good.

On entry you can see the prices and as expected it’s not cheap. As an adult you pay 15,50 pounds and for children from the age of 3 you have to pay 11 pounds. Quite expensive if you are going with a whole family. We were with the two of us and lost 31 pounds. There are discount tickets available.

When you walk in you get to the chance to get your picture taken but we choose not to. The selection of animals is large and be prepared for lot of walking. There is a special trail for wheelchairs and people with prams. The zoo has many animals and most are not behind bars, so no large fences blocking the way of sight. You can freely take pictures but the animals are on a safe distance. Depending on the kind of animals of course. You can see the most popular animals lie camels, tigers, lions, penguins, birds, alligators, but also monkeys are here to be find. I was impressed by how the animals lived and they had clearly quite a moving spaces. No cages for them and they seems contempt with the space they had. The animals seemed to be well kept and fed and the living spaces seemed clean enough.

There is plenty of opportunity to eat and drink at the zoo. At the entrance you get a map and here you can read where the restaurants and food stalls are. Throughout the zoo you see enough food stalls, benches and bins. The zoo was well kept and clean. The food you can get our simple frites and sausages but also healthier food like sandwiches and salads. The prices of the food were reasonable and we had simply some frites and a soft drink and think we spend around 7 euro’s which was cheap.

It’s very pleasant to visit this zoo. I think it’s very well planned and it easy to find your way. You get a map at the entrance of the zoo and you can easily find your way around the zoo. The animals looked good and well-kept and they were easy to see. When you get hungry or tired there are more than enough opportunities to eat and rest. We saw quite a few staff members walking around and they looked polite and helpful. I think the zoo is worth the visit although it can be very expensive for a whole family. We spent a good few hours here and had a great day. Close

From journals italy part four, England 2012

A great zoo

by linzeeloulabelle

Grimsby, England, United Kingdom

May 1, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo I absolutely love going to zoos and Edinburgh is one of my favourites. My now boyfriend (and long time best friend) lives in Stirling which is just over an hour away from Edinburgh so once a year when I go to see him, we always take a trip to the ...Read more

So terrible

by Glenda_R

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

March 25, 2011

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One of the times I visited was when poor Mercedes the polar bear was still here and that poor old soul was one of the most miserable looking bored creatures I have ever seen.They are particularly bad for breeding animals to work as a visitor draw ...Read more

Don't Waste Your Money Here

by MostDisappointed

Scone, Scotland, United Kingdom

June 29, 2010

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The best way to describe the Zoo is one big RIP OFF…. 1st shock we had to £3.50 to park the car in the zoos grounds. The 2nd was the entrance fee £51 for 3 adults and one child and what did we get for that a lot and I mean a lot of empty cages and ...Read more

Critter Country

by Denise Scotland

Scotland, United Kingdom

November 14, 2009

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Best of IgoUgo A trip to the zoo is one of those days out that kids always love, the last time I visited Edinburgh zoo was 10 years ago with the toddler group. The toddler group used to go there every year, on my first visit I became upset at the conditions of ...Read more A trip to the zoo is one of those days out that kids always love, the last time I visited Edinburgh zoo was 10 years ago with the toddler group. The toddler group used to go there every year, on my first visit I became upset at the conditions of some of the big cats, especially the snow leopard which paced back and forwards in its enclosure looking utterly miserable. The animal was still there pacing a year later and I decided to boycott the zoo afterwards. I had read in the newspapers that the zoo had made massive improvements over the past few years especially to the big cat enclosures so I decided to put my misgivings aside to accompany a group of friends to the zoo for the day to celebrate a friends birthday.

The first thing that anyone visiting Edinburgh zoo needs to know is that the zoo is located on Corstophine Hill which is extremely steep. There is a free bus which runs from the entrance to the top of the zoo every half an hour but we missed it and decided to walk instead. My legs were aching by the end of the day but the view from the top of the zoo is stunning and worth the walk as you can see the whole city of Edinburgh and over to the Pentland hills.

Edinburgh zoo is best known for the penguins and since my last visit the penguin family has grown in size with bigger enclosures. We particularly enjoyed viewing the penguins swimming underwater through a viewing window set into their pool. We also saw the daily penguin parade where the birds are led through the zoo and enjoyed the talk by the keepers. They have three species of penguin at the zoo, the king, gentoo and rockhopper penguins, the rockhopper earning the nickname of the punk penguin from us because of the brightly coloured feathers that spike from its head.

The big cats were one of the most memorable parts of our visit, the enclosures seem to have doubled in size in the last ten years. The pallas cat looks like a massive fluffy housecat, the tigers look content and my friend managed to use the body language she uses with her domestic cat to lure one of them from his resting place to the front of the enclosure to say hello. The problem is that snow leopard is still there (either that or it is a very similar animal) and is still pacing the same path along the front of its enclosure

Another animal we enjoyed seeing was the wolves which live in a huge enclosure at the top of the hill and there is a viewing shelter to let you see them up close. Other animals of note are the comical little bushdogs, the huge rhino, the tapir and the animals in the African plains reserve like the zebra.

A part of the zoo I had really looked forward to seeing was the new Budongo trail which is a chimpanzee enclosure also used to study the behaviour of these animals, it was of special interest to me because I am currently studying evolutionary psychology and I find the cross species insights fascinating, as they say we are just monkeys in shoes! The trail is a fantastic building with state of the art lecture theatres and glass fronted indoor enclosures and a huge custom built outdoor habitat. The problem was that on the day of our visit the only event was a video, there were no chimps inside to watch through the glass and the chimpanzees outside were so far away from the public viewing areas that we could not see them clearly.

There is another smaller monkey house near the main entrance, I seem to remember when I last visited that the building used to be the reptile house. The enclosures seemed small here, the animals being held behind glass but it was nice to get close to the animals.

Something that was really disappointing was the number of empty enclosures within the zoo including the enclosure for the painted hunting dog, Mercedes the polar bear has now been moved to the Highland Wildlife Park and the Scottish wildcat and beavers were nowhere to be seen. There were signs apologising for the empty enclosures, I estimate approximately 15% or more of the animals listed were not present.

There are various eating and drinking points dotted around the park as well as picnic areas where you can eat food you have brought yourself. The toilets are few and far between and even in November we had to queue to use them. The gift shop is brilliant with several funky low cost gifts to remind you of your day.

Overall I was not too impressed by Edinburgh zoo and it will probably be another ten years till I visit again. It is an expensive day out with an adult ticket costing £14 and a child ticket £9.50 and for less money you can visit Blair Drummond safari park and have a much better day. I did enjoy some aspects of the zoo like the penguins but with so many empty pens and difficulty seeing some animals because of the design of the enclosures there were many more we missed. If I compare Edinburgh to Blackpool zoo which I visited earlier this year then the former is pretty poor and does not have the same laid back feel or focus on giving the visitor a great day out. Our day at Edinburgh zoo was simply ok but not brilliant and I think there are far better family attractions in the area.
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From journal The Athens Of The North

Not Suitable for Disabled

by Topcatdc

wallsend, United Kingdom

August 20, 2009

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the zoo is looking a bit dated and its certainly not suitable for disabled people whether there in a wheelchair or use crutches .even children in there buggys(strollers) is hard work pushing them up the banks.the zoo is built on a very steep hill ...Read more

I Want to Live Like a Koala!

by marymoose99

Workington, United Kingdom

July 10, 2009

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Best of IgoUgo ---We're going to the zoo--- Back in April I was supposed to be doing a firewalk in aid of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), since they have moose in Inverness which I’ve adopted even though I’ve not met them yet. Unfortunately the ...Read more

From journal Edinburgh Weekend - April 2009

IgoUgo

Edinburgh Zoo

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Great day out

I went to the animal fair...

Fun at the Zoo

Going to the Zoo in Edinburgh

A great zoo

So terrible

Don't Waste Your Money Here

Critter Country

Not Suitable for Disabled

I Want to Live Like a Koala!

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Great day out

I went to the animal fair...

Fun at the Zoo

Going to the Zoo in Edinburgh

A great zoo

So terrible

Don't Waste Your Money Here

Critter Country

Not Suitable for Disabled

I Want to Live Like a Koala!