We recently visited Chester Zoo in Cheshire after having a visit on our list for quite a while. The last time we visited was when Adam (now 18) was a baby! I can not quite believe it had been that long.
We arrived around 11 and got parked pretty easy as we visited as part of a coach trip (AD) with Family Outings North East. The weather on the day we visited was warm and dry so we made sure we had plenty to drink with us. Unfortunately we visited on the weekend of June half term so it was ridiculously busy and this made it very difficult to get around.
Anyway, we decided to choose a route and then just follow the pathways and doing this we did make sure we passed most of the enclosures. The pathways and walkways are wide and easy accessible. Please do bare in mind the zoo is over 125 acres so if you have smaller kids I would suggest a pushchair. You can hire pushchairs from the zoo if you need too.
We enjoyed the boat ride although it was quite a long wait to get on one and then we did have a small child in the back of the boat who decided to unleash hell on his parents and screamed and kicked the whole journey. I did notice they have access for disabled visitors so they could also enjoy a boat ride. This is included in your admission.
We did manage to see some of the animals including Elephants, Bats, Giraffe, Lots of Birds in the aviary's, Snow leopard, Boars and a few more. Unfortunately we didn't see as many animals as we expected and I put this down to the number of visitors and the noise, maybe the animals were hiding?
We will re visit later in the year and during a quieter time, I will update this post once we have been back.
Chester Zoo plays a huge part in conservation and is one of the worlds largest leading conservation based zoos. They have lots of different things going on from Breeding programmes to working in more than 20 countries to recover threatened species. I liked how there was display boards everywhere telling you about each animals, its endangered rating and there's even a bit about conservation which was really interesting.
Chester Zoo is also the most visited Zoo in the UK with almost 2 million visitors every year, and they are committed to preventing extinction.
The zoo employs over 1,000 staff members however I do want to point out that when we visited we didn't see many staff members other than in the cafes and at the boat.
I would recommend taking a photo of the map so you can come back to it or you can download the app which is what we did.
Our Top Tips for visiting
Take a picnic and plenty of drinks, if you have to purchase a drink I would recommend a refillable cup from one of the gift shops and cafes so you can fill up throughout the day for free.
Make a hit list of the animals you want to see first, because the zoo is so big you might not get to see everything.
Plan ahead and check the weather
Use the app to get around because you can not get anywhere near the map boards when it is busy
Sturdy footwear, yes it is concrete paths but your feet will ache by the time you are done
Highlights of our visit
Experiencing the Bat cave again, we enjoyed this as we remember going through it when Adam was a baby and Elliot loves Bats so he was looking forward to it.
The Butterfly house was fantastic and we spotted quite a few Butterflies that we hadn't seen before.
The Elephants walked to us when they spotted us watching them
Good to know
Over 31,000 animals to see, does this include Ants?
125 acres to walk around
Huge number of plants and animals to see so please bare this in mind if you are visiting with small kids or anyone with mobility issues.
Plenty of eateries dotted around but they are not cheap. We took a picnic to save some £
Toilets can be found in most areas
Large gift shop located near the entrance
Plenty of play areas to enjoy including Madagascar play, wildlife woods, treetop challenge and Manado play.
Craft stations and face painting (Face painting was £15 this included an animal tail and ears)
Some of the outlets are cashless.
Book online to avoid queues
Ticket prices
There's so many different options. So based on a family of 4 ( 2 adults, 2 kids)
£124 (this is with a donation and based on 2 kids aged between 3-15) I would check out the prices online though because there's so many different options. Ticket prices
To avoid disappointment and to get the most out of your money I would not recommend a visit during school holidays
Opening hours
10-5 (sometimes its open until 6pm)
Accessibility
Free entry for careers
Free disabled parking at the entrance
Wide pathways
Free wheelchair and scooter hire
Wheelchair access for the lazy river boat
Chester Zoo acknowledge the Sunflower scheme
Qualified, registered assistant dogs only ( no training assistant dogs are allowed)
Multi sensory experiences available
Quiet hours every Sunday from 10am
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