Healesville Sanctuary (Zoos Victoria)

It’s a big, beautiful place dedicated to native Australian wildlife, unlike any zoo you’ll find elsewhere in the world. We visited in winter & the freezing weather made it a bit tough 🥶 Highlights included spotting adorable sleeping koalas, kangaroos roaming freely & the cute Tasmanian devils. We also loved the Wildlife Health Centre, an eye-opening & educational stop. Sadly, the wombats were hiding during our visit 😭

Wonderful day out - can recommend the days before Easter long weekend as a great time to visit! Beautiful weather, smaller crowds, lots of opportunities to see animals up close without any time pressures! Nice food and toilet facilities throughout the park, including picnic tables. April is a great time to visit with the trees providing plenty of shade even in the middle of day. Our favourite animals on this trip included the Goanna, Echidnas and Koalas!

An absolutely fantastic zoo, that showcases some of Australia's best wildlife. I took some family visited Melbourne to Healesville and we all had a blast. The koalas and Kangaroos were plentiful and easily visible. The layout was intuitive, and easy to navigate. We enjoyed the variety of enclosures, especially the bird cases which were unexpected hits. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to see Aussie animals. We also did the echidna experience, allowing us to get up close and feed the echidnas. That was truly once in a lifetime, but it was a premium ($58 pp). If you're thinking of coming, keep it mind it isn't cheap. I'd highly recommend any of the added experiences, so it'll likely be close to $100 pp. There are cafes on site, but there's no reason not to bring your own snacks and drinks if you prefer.

This sanctuary is so so so lovely. Not only are the people who work here extremely friendly and eager to give any information regarding the wildlife but they have a beautiful layout and an extraordinary bird show that we couldn't help going to twice. Will definitely be back, probably with a membership.

Such a fantastic sanctuary!! And definitely felt more like a sanctuary than a zoo which I loved!! Was awesome to experience some Aussie wildlife!!! Highly recommend! A grey day outdoors

Healesville Sanctuary, nestled in Victoria’s picturesque Yarra Valley, is one of Australia’s leading wildlife destinations, offering an immersive experience into the heart of native fauna and conservation. Established in 1934, the sanctuary spans over 28 acres of natural bushland and serves as a haven for more than 140 Australian species. Visitors can encounter iconic animals such as kangaroos, koalas, wombats, emus, dingoes, and echidnas in habitats that closely replicate their natural environments. One of the sanctuary’s most remarkable achievements is its success in breeding the elusive platypus in captivity—one of the few places in the world to do so. As part of Zoos Victoria, Healesville Sanctuary plays a vital role in wildlife conservation and education. It houses the Australian Wildlife Health Centre, where guests can witness veterinary teams in action, rehabilitating injured and orphaned animals. The sanctuary also supports breeding programs for endangered species, including the helmeted honeyeater, Victoria’s state bird. Cultural significance is woven throughout the sanctuary, as it sits on Wurundjeri land of the Kulin Nation, with educational programs that respectfully integrate Indigenous knowledge and traditions. Open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and just an hour’s drive from Melbourne, Healesville Sanctuary is an enriching destination for families, nature lovers, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Australia’s unique wildlife and cultural heritage.

If you want to see all of Australia’s wildlife in one location, Healesville is the place to visit. Early morning is best, especiallyin terms of parking and crowds (it can get really busy during school holidays and weekends). I recommend doing one lap then returning back to the koalas as they tend to wake up around 11:30am to 12pm... There are experiences you can do which gives you a closer encounter with the animals or you can just ensure you are there for the keeper talks to get more information and a better view of the animals.

About 1.5h drive for Melbourne city. If you are driving there in the morning, the visit should take you about 4h as recommended. You can then swing by the Yarra Valley area after visiting the sanctuary. You get to see the kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and Tasmanian Devils. Also get to see birds and reptiles… The cafe serves reasonably priced food. The Benedict burger was great. They offer ketchup and sweet chilli sauce without charging. So you don’t have to pack your own. Don’t miss the bird show at 12pm or 3pm. Grateful for the work they are doing for conservation and also rescuing the injured animals brought in to their animal hospital.

This place basically focuses mainly on Australian animals. It happens to be one of the three main zoos in Melbourne, though getting here is actually pretty tricky, especially if you are relying on public transport, as we where. However, you can get here, which I have to admit is pretty cool, though the trip does take a bit of a circuitous route. It is a pretty big place, and there are a number of events as well, including a pretty good bird show, which we watched. It certainly is a pretty good place to check out, especially if you happen to be like my brother and like animals.

Recently visited Healesville sanctuary on a visit from the USA. Beautiful place. Tons of Aussie animals to see. I wish there was more of a hands on type approach such as like the Steve Irwin Australia zoo. Very cool seeing the surgery room where they can help injured animals. The bird show was great ! Over all a nice visit if you're in the area.

I went there with Lily this morning and we enjoyed ourselves but when we wanted to feed the kangaroo the lady said you can't feed it you fucking basted/fucking bitch so get lost then we walked away feeling extremely uncomfortable after she spoke rudely to us.

An amazing and beautifully laid out. Tons of animals and encounters. My husband and I visited as part of a tour group and so, unfortunately, could not spend the amount of time here that we wanted. We booked an Echidna encounter and the Tawny Frogmouth encounter and got such a treat! The two Tawny Frogmouths (Kermit and Tiny) were so sweet and beautiful and it was so amazing to get to see them in person! The echidnas decided it was too cold to come out, so we didn't get to interact there. Instead, Fiona (one of the keepers) took us on a little mini-tour of the sanctuary in hopes of finding spinebills and fairy wrens! Fiona (and the rest of the staff we encountered) were so friendly and excited to share information, which made for the most incredible visit! We went on a drizzly fall day and so the sanctuary felt like we had it mostly to ourselves! We saw lots of beautiful animals and even got to see an adorable platypus! We also learned that they have 9 wild platypuses in the creek! It was an amazing experience and even the food was pretty good! I would recommend this to anyone looking to see Australian animals, any animal lover, anyone who loves the outdoors, anyone who likes to learn! It was wonderful!

My cousins took my sister and I here because we wanted to see native Australian animals and because we wanted to hug koalas. Turns out we cannot do that here and fed kangaroos instead. The sanctuary is very big and there were animals in enclosures as well as some roaming around. We were able to see kangaroos, koalas, dingos, etc. The highlight of this visit for my sister and I was feeding the kangaroos. We fed a smaller and friendlier variety and they were so cute and docile. Admission was a bit pricey ($37) and feeding the kangaroos were an additional $20. To me it was worth it because I was able to see most of the Australian animals that I wanted to see.

They may be pushing the definition of "sanctuary", though the enclosures are a lot larger than most zoos. Healesville itself is a beautiful area. If you're in town without a car, don't be deterred by the seemingly long transit directions. The fairly long train ride out of Melbourne isn't too exciting, but it's direct. The bus you take is virtually a shuttle as you travel about 30kms with only a handful of stops, and brings you right to the zoo (there's no walk as my google directions provided). And the drive is gorgeous! You're driving through the Yarra valley and it's an experience in and of itself. From looking at the website, Healesville has more of the Australian animals you'd be looking for than the Melbourne zoo - namely: koalas, kangaroos, platypus, etc... You even have a chance to walk amongst the kangaroos and pet them. The kangaroos there are from Kangaroo island, which are smaller (and safer) than others since there are no natural predators there and they didn't need to evolve accordingly. Note that you are supposed to book ahead for this experience and it can fill out. I was fortunate enough to walk in the area obliviously and still have the experience, but you may not be so lucky. The zoo is nicely laid out, and a good size for about a 4 hour visit. Nice gift shop too, and fairly reasonably priced.

Great sanctuary full of animals. Staff and guides very friendly and you get to feed kangaroos! You can't touch the koalas but you can get pretty close to them. Recommend spending a little extra on the tour makes the whole world of difference you really learn a lot

Well worth the price of admission ($26.10), Healesville Sanctuary is a must if you want to wander among the wildlife and see all sorts of species, many which don't exist outside of Australia. Unbelievable on so many levels, here's a sampling of what I saw there: Kids petting dingoes. (Is that really a good idea?) Jumping kangaroos. Kangaroos are cool to look at still, but watching one jump is fascinating. And they're so much bigger in real life than you think! Lovely lyrebird feathers (they'd look great incorporated into a fascinator, not that I'd advocate such a thing). The platypus show! During which we learned that platypuses are monotremes (mammals that lay eggs) and that while both male and female platypuses have ankle spurs, only the male's spurs produce venom. Koalas munching on their lunch. These funny fury creatures are just so cute and watching them eat is a treat. An easy, pretty drive from Melbourne, a visit to Healesville Sanctuary is an absolutely delightful way to spend an afternoon.

Today we came to do the touristy thing and experience some of Australia's unique flora and fauna with my friends new husband from Mauritius. We were able to book into special encounters for different animals so that you could have an up close and personal experience with the animal of your choice for only $12.50 extra. We chose Kangaroos and were able to have a behind the ropes feeding and feeling experience. It also included a professional photographer to take some snaps that you can purchase from the gift shop. The animal enclosures are well maintained and have many vantage points for animal viewing. It is very hard to miss the animals however hard they try to hide! We had an ok lunch at the cafe inside the zoo. The meal was quite expensive for what is really just a cafeteria, next time I will probably pack my own lunch. It really is a well maintained, interactive and well laid out animal experience. We had a fantastic time!

I didn't expect to have this much fun, but I'm so glad I came! We were coming back home from Yarra Ranges and saw the signs for the sanctuary. We only had a 1.5 hour left before it closed, but we opted for the kangaroo feeding experience, which was additional to the general admission. The kangaroo / wallaby area was really worth the extra money paid. I had 10-15 minutes of feeding and petting the wallabys. I took a lot of pictures and had two wallabys following me around the entire time. There was even a mom and baby that wanted to get some free food from me. I thought it was a great idea that the animal experts walked around the park holding different animals so you can get an up-close encounter and ask the experts anything about the animals that you would like to know. I got to see a Tawny Frogmouth up close, which was cool. We ran through the park as fast as we could trying to see everything, but there is so much to enjoy here that I want to go back and maybe become a member. I really enjoyed the koala exhibit, the Tasmanian devils, wombats, and wallabys. The bird house and other animals were great too.

We spent 5 hours here, and still didn't get to see everything! So many animals, and you can get really close up with some of them too. Go early in the morning to book the experiences (limited quantity everyday) and also see all the free shows (most are in the morning). For the two big shows (platypus and birds), make sure you turn up at least 10 mins before the shows. Get the front row seats in the middle sections, those are the best to get the full experience. Food pricing within is surprisingly good value ($5.50 for a large beef pie), although salads are a rip-off ($12+)

This is a nice sanctuary of native Australian animals set in the bush land of Victoria. They have the usual natives: Kangaroos, Wallabies, Tasmanian Devils, Koala's & wombats, just to name a few. It's on a small scale but nice, it's also in wine valley so "Wine & Wallabies" it great! That's how the cruise ship sold it to me LoL

Had an excellent time here! They have meet and greet times with certain animals - which each one costs money to see. I was able to pat a kangaroo for 10-15 mins! It was def pretty rad. They also had vegan snacks there

We really enjoyed this stop on our vacation. It's like a small zoo, packed with native animals. It's really well done and we were glad we stopped here as our last stop in Australia before heading to the airport hotel.

One of my favorite attractions in Australia, the Healesville Sanctuary is the perfect little oasis to visit all of our favorite Australian animal friends. The sanctuary is very well done - animals seem happy, they are easy to see and take photos of and the facilities are nice and clean. I'd highly recommend the animal encounters and tickets may need to be pre-purchased online if you'd like a guaranteed spot. We purchased tickets when we arrived at the park and the only visit left (thankfully) was with the kangaroos. We would have loved to have done one with the koalas as well, but we were very happy that we still got to see them up close. Highly recommend - perfect little day trip from Melbourne - would visit again!!

Is it wrong that I am about to write a bad review about a zoo? Ok look, unless you're an old grinch like me it is hard to have a bad time at Healesville Sanctuary. Unlike Melbourne Zoo the animals aren't entirely caged, so you have the chance to be up close and personal with a kangaroo, koala or even a Tassie Devil! There are regular 'meet and greets' with some of the animals and the trainers are incredibly knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions you may have about the animals or the sanctuary itself. Despite all this, I was still a little disappointed. I imagine this would be far more exciting for an international visitor as perhaps I am unimpressed with Australian animals (as silly as that is) as there are no other species from different countries here, just home grown creatures. The saddest part? The platypus enclosure featured one platypus. Yes, I am a grinch but if I'm paying $25 entry I wouldn't mind seeing another platypus around!

As a Canadian who's been living in Melbourne for going on 4 years, I never tire of seeing Australian animals, especially in such an environment as the Healesville Sanctuary. Lots of open spaces, which makes it feel more like a sanctuary than a zoo, there are lots and lots of animals to see, and even pat. Friendly zookeepers walk around with snakes and other reptiles and answer questions and pose for photos. All the shows are great (when I visited there seemed to be 3 on permanently) and the bird show in particular is a must-see.

Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary is a no-brainer when it comes to entertaining tourists, kids or your grandparents. With a relaxed atmosphere which embodies the Australian bush, this place is guaranteed to provide an enjoyable day for all. Things to do include; 'Birds of Prey' show - which has been updated since I last visited to include native parrots Meet the keeper - most areas have time when a keeper will come and talk about native species and provide opportunities to get your photo taken with those animals. I love the open and natural ambiance the sanctuary provides, and much prefer it the 'play on demand' feel that many other zoos have.

I hadn't been to the Sanctuary since I was a kid, so taking my Mum and a 3 year-old was pretty fun! The bird show was amazing - informative, entertaining and also a great way to rest the feet for 30 minutes. It's pretty terrifying when the birds swoop close to your head, especially if having grown up in Australia you were swooped by magpies as a young tacker. A membership is a great idea if you intend to visit the Sanctuary or Werribee or Melbourne Zoo more than a few times in 12 months.

so maybe I added one star because I'm a tourist. who cares! australians have awesome animals! I want a koala! what I loved about healesville was that the animals are not completely caged off. mostly they're left to wander around as they please, with low wire fences separating the walking path from their areas. I guess they know instinctively just to stay within boundaries or else the obnoxious tourists will blind them with flashing cameras. the bird show (I forget the name... masters of the sky? something epic like that) was pretty impressive to my sleep-deprived brain. birds swoop over and around the outdoor theatre, over the audience, wheeling around in the air. one bird got close enough to knock my friend's hat. I'm not too sure how impressed you'd be if you weren't a tourist. actually, I do. someone we knew from melbourne took us here (as an alternative to the melbourne zoo) and he provided a running commentary all day about how adaptively-behind australian animals are. I don't care! they're so cute!

Amazing experience, the staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. It is definitely worth the extra money to get the magic moments with the wombat and the kangaroos, with the Koalas you can get close enough without the magic moment that you don't necessarily need to spend the money. Be sure to visit the animal hospital too while you're there!

Great day out for the family, friends or in laws. The animals are always out, the staff are always friendly and full of information and laughs. Nice to get out of the city and see some Aussie animals and learn a bit more about the animals in our own back yard. They have lots of hands on experiences- some paid for, others just being in the right place at the right time (stay late when feeding time occurs- like 4-5pm, and the Rangers will let you get up close and personal when the crowds are less). The shows are worth sitting amongst the prams, babies, grandparents and tourists for- saw the birds of prey show and it was pretty spectacular if I don't mind saying so myself, and just long enough (1/2 hour). The park isn't too big but you could definitely spend the entire day here or about 2-3 hours. Best option would be to come up for the day, go to the Healesville pub afterward for dinner and drinks and either stay the night or drive home later.

I don't like zoos. I'm not a fan of caged animals. But, we went and for $30 per adult, it was something to do for a few hours. Now I've been and don't have to go again. The good thing is that not all the animals are caged so theoretically, you could pet a wallaby (if it comes up to you), but otherwise, you have to pay an extra $15 for your "magic moment" with the animals. I was willing to pay but they had run out of moments of magic.

By far the best place to get the best Australian animal encounters! The experience we had with the Kangaroos and koala were unimaginable beyond a dream. The staff photographer was also superb at capturing the whole thing. Would go back in a heartbeat. The Taronga zoo can't even compare!

Love all the animals best place ever to see the wonderful wildlife of Australia!

Just over an hour's drive from the city centre of Melbourne, and situated in the midst of stunning Yarra Valley wine-producing country is Healesville Animal Sanctuary. Within the boundaries of its thirty hectares, over 200 of Australia's best-known and best-loved species can be found. One of the first things we managed to catch on our way into the park was the Birds of Prey exhibition. Swooping quickly (and heart-stoppingly closely!) over our heads were a wide variety of native raptors, precision trained to return with the smallest whistle. Next we met a member of the local Murrindindi tribe, a native guide who gave us a quick demonstration on how to play a didgeridoo before settling into his main presentation, which was a fascinating insight into the carving and throwing of boomerangs (we found his hand-carved boomerangs made excellent souvenirs). After that, it was on to everyone's favourite, the koala, for a bit of oohing and awwwing before the highlight of our trip - the Platypusarium, where the notoriously shy (and surprisingly tiny!) creatures could be seen swimming around in their darkened habitat. Compared to other zoos, Healesville feels incredibly alive; the animals all seem healthy and happy in their environments, they have loads of space to play around in and the whole experience is overwhelmingly positive and enriching as a result.