The Best Zoo in the USA!
The San Diego Zoo has the most beautiful habitats with a huge focus on education and preservation.
The zoo houses over 800 different species from all different habitats, and they are grouped by country in the landscape.
All of the walkways are beautifully done and the whole zoo has a rich feel to it. The animal encounters provide an indoor viewing area as well as an outdoor viewing area in most exhibits, so you can almost always see the animal you are looking for. The food is very tasty, and there are several options, including a full service, fancy restaurant.
The habitats are so well maintained, and they are very large. These animals are well taken care of, and the zookeepers always had a smile on their faces. The vet area was state of the art, and you can tell the animals all enjoy their habitats, especially the elephants and the monkeys! All of them are kept comfortable and have several options of rest, shade, and nourishment.
The San Diego Zoo was the first stop in a list of sites to hit, so we went straight from the airport to the zoo. It was an easy drive to get there, and the signs were easy to follow to find it.
We parked in the designated parking, and it is designated using animals as reference, so a good tip is to take a picture of the animal on the sign where you park so you are able to find your car when you are ready to go.
The parking lot is HUGE, and it is a decent walk to get to the entrance. There is a lion photo op right at the entrance – you cannot miss it!
You will be doing a lot of walking while in the zoo, but there is a physical map and an app you can download, so it is easy to navigate between exhibits.
Weekdays while school is in are the best days to visit because they are the least crowded.
It is a huge zoo, encompassing over 100 acres, so we saw all of the animals, but we did not see any special experiences. It still took us 3.5 hours going at a fast pace. We do not necessarily stop to read every plaque, but they make it easy to understand simple facts about each animal.
Because the exhibits in the Africa section are so big and so well done, you can get very close to the animals, so this makes for some great pictures, especially in the outdoor habitats.
Guided Tours
Fun Fact!
There is also have a Safari Park in the same area. We did not do that one, but I have heard great things about it!
Featured Animals
