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San Diego Zoo

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IWW639
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San Diego Zoo Love

San Diego Zoo Love

When our family recently took a trip to California we stopped at a famous spot:The San Diego Zoo. This is a great place for kids, teens, and adults. The ticket for adults(12 and up) is $35 and the tickets for kids(3-11) are $26. Which is a fair price, but I do recommend getting your money's worth.
Okay here's a tip! Things to bring are; walking shoes, water(optional), a sweatshirt(if you're going in fall or winter), sunglasses(if you're going in spring or summer), camera, and a stroller(if you have small children because the zoo is really big).
There are many animals so make sure you take the time to see all of them! If you get tired you can also take the transportation that is provided by the zoo to get around. Really this zoo is a sight to see :)
Editor Pick

San Diego Zoo

  • June 14, 2008
  • Rated 3 of 5 by MikeInTown from Norristown, Pennsylvania
San Diego Zoo

There are discount coupons to this zoo all over the Internet and other publications. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the $8-off coupons I had printed from www.mousesavers.com. Therefore, I had to settle for the $2.50-off per "Best Value" ticket I got using my AAA card.

Our "Best Value" ticket package to the world-famous San Diego Zoo enabled us to do the bus tour and ride the aerial tram. We never got around to getting on the aerial tram but we did do the bus tour. The tour is a narrated 30-minute orientation ride on a double-decker bus around the zoo. One of the workers told my wife and me that the best seats were on the top near the middle because the bus driver always tries to center the bus anytime she stops at an attraction. Truthfully, we could have done without this orientation tour because the zoo has directions posted all over the place, we were given maps when we entered, and there are plenty of staff all over the park to lead you to the animals you want to see. Our Denny's Grand Slam breakfast we'd eaten earlier had begun to kick in near the end of the ride causing both of us to start bobble-heading while we were attempting to fight the strong urge to take a nap.


The San Diego Zoo is quite hilly but wonderfully shaded with exotic plants and trees from all over the world. As expected, there are many species of animals to observe – everything from tiny reptiles to large carnivores. Most of the exhibits mimic the animals’ natural environments. There are not many cages with iron bars and concrete floors. Techniques such as glass and trenches are used to separate animals from people. Most of the animals we saw that day were sleeping. However, we did spend quite a while watching the golden-bellied Mangabey monkeys take turns grooming each other.

The most popular attraction is the giant pandas exhibit. In fact, you have to wait in a maze-like line as if at an amusement park to get a turn to walk by the enclosure. There is zoo staff there to keep the line moving. One of the pandas was napping while the other one was chomping on bamboo sticks.

Definitely bring comfortable walking shoes. The zoo is large and hilly. I was surprised at how long and steep the path is that leads to the polar bear exhibit.

We spent about 4-hours walking around the zoo. Afterwards, we took some time to walk around Balboa Park that encompasses the zoo. The zoo and the park turned out to be a pleasant outing.

From journal First San Diego Visit

Editor Pick

San Diego Zoo

  • June 25, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by ak1 from Auburn, Washington
San Diego Zoo


The best part about the San Diego Zoo is knowing that you will get to see some animals during your visit. It is one of the largest zoos in the world and it contains more than 800 different animal species. The Zoo is located in Balboa Park and it is situated on over 100 acres of land. The map that you receive at the front entrance is definitely needed in order to find your way around the maize of animals living here.

The San Diego Zoo was the favorite part of my whole trip. That may seem strange but I love animals. I bought my tickets online because it was supposedly cheaper to get the admission, bus and skyfari rides all together, which it was but the only problem is that the bus and skyfari rides fill up fast and had huge lines. If you’re not willing to wait in a long line then it may be easier for you to buy just an admission ticket.

The guided bus ride that we took went around most of the zoo. This was not the express bus which is what we should have taken. The only advantages to riding this bus was that we were able to sit for awhile and also able to get our bearings on where the animals were located at this massive zoo. The thing that surprised me most by this bus tour was that it went right through the middle of the main roads at the zoo nearly running a few oblivious people over on our excursion. My advice is to make sure you’re always on a sidewalk.

Long lines seemed to be a fad everywhere. The exhibit for the Giant Panda’s had a line that was forever long and when we finally got into the exhibit they made everyone keep walking which made it hard to take good pictures. The line was worth it to see Panda Bears in person but it was a little maddening not to be able to take my time after waiting so long.

The Polar Bears were another favorite of mine. I was amazed at how many people crowded into the tight viewing areas when the bears were out. The zoo keepers did a good job of enticing the bears to play and kept everyone’s interests perked.

This zoo has several remarkable and different animals. The mild Mediterranean climate in San Diego makes it suitable for so many different types of animals and plants to exist. The San Diego Zoo shelters many endangered species and is very conscience of the environment. The landscaping, the animals and the animal’s habitat are all incredible at this zoo.

Overall this was quite a remarkable experience. On this trip I got to see an abundance of different varieties and a few baby animals. Besides being tired from walking when I left, I felt like I got what I came for, my best trip ever to a zoo.

From journal Highlights of San Diego

Editor Pick

A Frolicking San Diego Zoo Excursion

  • April 18, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by goodtogo from Oakdale, Connecticut
A Frolicking San Diego Zoo Excursion

Our friendly City Sightseeing bus tour driver, Emmitt, a lifelong San Diego native, suggested we disembark to spend a half day at the San Diego Zoo. So that’s what we did. Having heard about "the world-famous San Diego Zoo," we were nevertheless surprised by its size. Being pressed for time, we decided first take in as much as we could via the zoo’s own bus tour. I recommend taking this tour when you arrive—preferably in the early morning when the animals are out. Try to sit on the right side facing the driver to get a better view. We were lucky to see so many animals from the bus. The only animal that didn’t make an appearance was the polar bear. Our driver noted special shows or feeding times for some of the animals.

The tour also helps you get the lay of the land: you’ll traverse much of its 100 acres, learn about its exotic plant life, and plan which areas to revisit. With our overview of the zoo complete, we realized the enormity of our task: we had to hustle to see our favorite animals up-close and catch our city bus home. We were able to revisit our favorites: the hippo, pandas, monkeys, and koalas. The hippo was visible underwater through a transparent wall. It’s amazing how long it could hold its breath before raising its nostrils above water. We had fun trying to hold our breath for as long. Human lung capacity doesn’t compare to a hippo’s. The pandas drew us too. My 7 year-old daughter commented that the large crowds were "annoying" since they blocked her view but said she "learned a lot" from the commentary of the panda expert. She was surprised that pandas aren’t aware that they are giving birth until they actually see their baby. I think this fact pleased about her mom’s attentiveness…

My daughter loved the antics of the Allen’s Swamp Monkeys, even remembering their names when questioned about her favorite animals at the zoo a month later. She was fascinated by their acrobatics, their tail-grabbing, and their general frolicking as they played in their tree house. We had to pry her away half an hour later. To us, the cutest animal was the koala. You could see the koalas both in their native habitat, the eucalyptus tree, and up-close, in a special glass viewing exhibit. Shy creatures, they tended to avoid eye contact with humans. Be patient for them to turn their heads towards you, and you’ll be rewarded with vulnerable-looking teddy-bear smiling at you. Memories of a visit to this zoo will leave you smiling, too. Enjoy your excursion to the zoo, but if you have time, spend an entire day there. Your family will appreciate taking their time, and your legs will, too. Boarding the city tour bus to leave the zoo, we were pleased that during the city tour to be seated.

From journal San Diego Adventures

Editor Pick

San Diego Zoo

  • March 31, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Travelingon from Milford, Massachusetts
San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the world. More than 4,000 animals are on display. There are walk through aviaries, koalas, giant pandas, monkey trails, and polar bears. There’s a sea lion show at the Wedgeforth Bowl and a wild animal show at the Hunte Amphitheater. There’s also a children’s petting zoo and Horn and hoof mesa. Our favorite part was the Hummingbird Aviary. You can stay inside as long as you like, and the hummingbirds are flying all around. The birds are tame and actually landed on the palm of our hands. I think they were looking for food.

There are nine different restaurants to choose from and assorted snack carts throughout the park. There’s too much to see in one day, so you have to decide what you want to see and arrange your route. I would recommend two days to fully enjoy the park. We visited two days and still didn’t see everything, but saw most of what we wanted to see. There are two sets of escalators that transport you from the canyons to the upper mesas. The express bus stops at five locations to save some walking time and wear and tear on your legs.

I would recommend the deluxe ticket that includes admission, a 40 minute bus tour that gives a great overview of the park, an aerial tram ride and unlimited rides on the express bus. The zoo is beautiful, clean and the variety of animals to see is amazing! We thoroughly enjoyed our two days at the zoo.

From journal Week in Carlsbad California

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