Is London zoo good for children? London zoo is iconic, and has been around for almost 200 years! It’s part of ZSL – Zoological society of London. This society helps support conservation in over 70 countries. They also provide conservation within the zoo itself, helping certain breeds that are close to extinction. There are often debates about whether zoos are ethical. There are advantages and disadvantages to them, and this article isn’t going to go into that, but if you are considering a trip to London zoo with children, then read on.
I have visited London zoo a few times, and every time I have been there have been lots of children there. The question is, is the zoo actually a good day out for children? We decided to go on a Monday in the Easter holidays. I took my 2 boys aged 8 & 9, and my sister had her two who are 12 and 7. It is recommended to spend a minimum of 3-4 hours when visiting. We spent around 4 hours there, and didn’t manage to see everything. Click here for the top tips for when you visit.
About London Zoo
London zoo is situated within Regent’s Park in London. The nearest tube station is Camden Town which is a 16 minute walk from the zoo. Camden road overground station is around a 20 minute walk. We did the final stretch by bus, there are a couple that stop near there. The 88 and the 274. Car parking is available but it can’t be reserved and is not guaranteed. It costs £17.50, and if your car isn’t ULEZ compliant you will need to pay for this too.
Closing times vary throughout the year but the zoo opens at 10am each day. There are a few different places to eat there, including a restaurant and some kiosks. However there are places to sit and eat a picnic. Peak prices are £34.50 per adult and £24.10 per child. Under 3’s go in for free and discounted tickets are available for seniors, students and people with a disability. There are also heavily discounted tickets available to those in receipt of benefits such as universal credit.
The good
London zoo is directed at children of different ages. There is a play area and a splash park. When we were there, a free Easter egg hunt trail was on offer. Once complete the kids got a chocolate bar and sticker. Obviously there’s lots of animals to see too!
There was a long queue to get in, but it did move quickly. The kids were ok waiting, even my niece who has an autism diagnosis. We had a list of animals each of us wanted to see. My 9 year old decided he had to see the Babirusa’s – 10 points if you know what that is! My youngest – the mighty tiger, and for me, the giraffes.
The zoo was clean, we didn’t see any litter lying around. Lots of bins were available and all had recycling and general waste. Unfortunately we didn’t manage all the walk-through experiences. Our favourite had to be the monkey walk through, their little faces are so cute! The spider walk through though, not so much. Talks were on offer throughout the day and we somehow managed to miss all of them!
The enclosures were a reasonable size for a zoo, I know this does not compare to habitats in the wild. It looked as though there was enrichment provided for the animals. There were also spaces the animals could go away from prying eyes should they wish, either that or there were lots of empty enclosures!
An unexpected highlight for us was seeing the Okapi who was very interested in all the people looking at them. It spent a long time sniffing at the happy little faces pressed against the glass. My eldest loved spending time in the butterfly house. He is quiet and patient enough that one landed on him eventually, much to his delight.
Facilities and accessibility
The zoo seemed fairly accessible, but we were not using a pushchair or wheelchair. A lot of the paths were flat and there were lifts available for enclosures where there were stairs. At the front of the zoo you could rent strollers, which all looked clean and in good condition. I don’t remember seeing many round the zoo, so there may have not been many available.
Water refill stations are around the zoo, these seemed to be 25p each go although we didn’t need to fill up while we were there. There are also portable phone chargers you can hire to keep your phone full of energy for photos and videos of the animals.
The bad
Firstly, I have to say the toilets were awful. They were worse than festival toilets. So much so that my sister couldn’t use them the whole time we were there. As well as being incredibly smelly, they obviously weren’t cleaned often enough and were very dated.
It was difficult to find a member of staff when needed, my niece hurt her ankle on some uneven ground and it took a while to get some assistance. However, the lady who did eventually help us was amazingly friendly and got a first aider to come to us. There is a first aid kiosk by penguin bay, just as an FYI. The first aid was basic, as expected. However, the first aider diagnosed a sprain which it usually quite a complicated diagnosis to make.
The butterfly house was incredible and packed full of beautiful butterflies. However, they let far too many people in at a time. It felt like cattle being herded through an incredibly humid tent. It made it difficult to fully enjoy the experience, and all but one of the kids were in and out very quickly.
During the time we were there we saw at least 2 people walking round pulling large suitcases behind them. From this I think there are probably not enough locker facilities available.
Was it worth it?
Ticket prices vary throughout the year. During peak times, it would cost £82.70 for 1 adult and 2 children. Do I think it was worth that? Honestly, no. Although there was lots to see, the kids all wanted to leave within a few hours of being there. For that price I would expect clean toilets as a bare minimum. I appreciate the money they make goes to looking after the animals, but they rely on visitors and there should be basic cleanliness.
Being in receipt of universal credit I got all 3 tickets for £15. It was definitely good value for money with that in mind. There are limited universal ticket credits available each day, you need to book in advance. I booked ours in January as I knew it would be busy during the easter holidays.
There are ways to get cheaper tickets though! If you present a valid National rail ticket then you can get 2 for 1. You can also pre-book these so you have guaranteed entry. If your child has a Blue Peter badge then they get in for free with a paying accompanying adult. There is also a discount for people with a blue light card.
Tips for visiting
- Take a packed lunch! There are places around the zoo to sit and eat. We didn’t visit the restaurant but reviews online said it was busy and the food wasn’t great.
- Take a photo of the ‘What’s on’ sign as you come in. We missed all the talks because we couldn’t remember what was happening. There is also an app you can download which will send you reminders.
- Remember you may need to go back to enclosures if there’s something you really want to see as the animals aren’t always out.
- Take a change of clothes if your little ones are likely to go in the splash zone.
- The way out of the zoo takes you through a gift shop. However, there is a way to leave without going through there and avoiding the tantrums if you aren’t going to be buying anything. You can head out back through the entrance.
