Manila Zoo

Manila Zoo is a modest attraction — not spectacular, but definitely enjoyable for young kids. The zoo is relatively small, which makes it easier to explore, and the layout is quite organized even though the overall cleanliness could be improved. They do have the popular animals that children usually look forward to seeing, which keeps the visit exciting for them. Be aware that food and drinks from outside aren’t allowed, but there are a few food outlets inside for snacks and refreshments. Parking can be a bit tight, though you can usually find a spot with some patience. Overall, it’s a decent family outing if you’re looking for something simple and kid-friendly within the city.

🌿 Family Day at the Zoo – Our Experience 🐒🦒🦓 We recently visited Manila Zoo Name, and here’s our family’s honest review: Ratings: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Animal Variety & Care: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5) – Lots of animals to see, though some enclosures could use more shade and enrichment. Cleanliness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5) – Paths were mostly clean. Facilities (benches, rest areas, comfort): ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5) – Could use more shaded seating areas. Food & Refreshments: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2/5) – Limited options due to limited food stalls, more variety would make the visit more convenient. Staff & Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) – Staff were approachable and helpful. ✅ What we loved: The kids enjoyed learning about animals through the signages. The walking areas gave us a good mix of exercise and exploration. The giraffes and monkeys were the stars of our day! 🔎 What could be improved: Add more rest areas for families. Expand food stalls with healthier and more kid-friendly choices. Upgrade some animal enclosures for a more natural feel. 🌟 Overall: A wonderful family experience! With a few improvements, this zoo could truly shine as a top attraction for kids and animal lovers. Would we recommend it? Yes — it’s a fun and educational trip for families! 💕

Fine place to spend a couple hours during the afternoon. If you go earlier in the day, there may be less finger smudges on the glass on some of the exhibits. Non-Manila residents spend 300 pesos a person. Manila residents spend 150 pesos. You can’t bring in your own food or water - probably so they can make more money at their own food stalls. There’s no public water fountains there for staying hydrated. May a marketing strategy, if you are walking around in the hot sun, you are more likely to purchase a drink there. For the value, I think it’s worth a visit. Not the greatest zoo I have been to but probably the cheapest one.

I've been to many zoos and didn't expect them to have so few animals. The birds are well taken care of. There’s not much grass for the zebras to eat and I’m a bit concerned about the lions and tigers in their enclosures, their spaces seem a bit too small for them. They look sad. :(

Our son enjoyed his first visit to Manila Zoo, running around its now spacious area. Although some animals were not present when we visited. One of his favorite animals is the giraffe, so he went looking for it, but he never saw it. I personally appreciate the comfort rooms—each cubicle has its own bidets, good water pressure, and the unique design of the sinks. 😁 They also have a separate diaper changing room for those who have babies/toddlers.

This place is cool. A definite must for lovers in Manila. A absolute must for trips with kids. They have exhibits with a tiger, a lion, and other animals. The scariest exhibit is the one with the aligators. Those things are dinosaurs! The selection for eating is surprisingly varied and rather tasty. The zoo has a nice coffee shop that serves aldente pasta. They should improve the expanded metal walkways as they are already rusty and are slippery in the rain.

There weren’t a lot of animals, but it’s still a really nice place to hang out since it’s super kid-friendly and has plenty of play areas. Too bad it was raining when we went, so we couldn’t chill on the benches and enjoy the fountain view and peaceful vibes.

I’m a bit of a zoo nerd and have been to scored of zoological parks across the world. Manila Zoo, won’t say it was awesome, but it was interesting. Started with an awkward tickets g process where I gave staff cash and they bought the ticket on an app and printed a paper ticket at a kiosk that I couldn’t use. The there was either the painted horse or perhaps Zorse or Hebra, not sure. The outside aviary with the pheasant pictured was primarily filled with local pigeons…on purpose, like as the exhibit. No croc, no primates, butterfly house was small and had like 2 species. Reptile house was mainly pythons, turtles and a few iguanas. Big aviary was just peafowl, which was cool since you often don’t get to see peacock display and dance. But with all the weird lameness of the animals on, or not, exhibit, the infrastructure was nice. A little rundown, but you could tell at some point in the past the Manila Zoo was likely a premier park. Kids playground integrated into primate enclosures, boardwalks, water features. Was probably a nice inner city zoo, but those days have past. Recommend visiting because I’ll always recommend a Zoo, but want to set expectations low. Less than $10 for both tickets for me and my son.

So yeah, what's a Manila tour without a quick visit to Manila Zoo? So just to let you know in a straightforward manner, you guys can do better than visit this place. Because seriously, who will pay 100 pesos to see an elephant who looks more sick than my stomach when it smells prawns. But hey, the good news is the city government of Manila is actually planning to rehabilitate the zoo in a billion-dollar project and a firm who will join forces for a venture agreement to improve the zoo. So at least next time we get to see a healthier version of Mr. Elephant?

Here's an idea: take a kid and a socially-sensitive adult to a zoo, and see just how different their reactions are. A kid will ooh and aah at the animals, and maybe tap on the glass in the reptile room, a la Dudley in Harry Potter. The adult will most likely start off indulging and humoring the kid, but you might see him cringe at a particularly deplorable-looking cage and the sad animal inside it. The Manila Zoo needs to step up its game. I don't know if it is lacking in funds, as there is a continuous stream of people going in and out, especially during the weekends. But the state of the animals is just sad. Mali the elephant has to stand in the heat all damn day. The lions have their bones sticking out from malnutrition, and the tigers are losing their fur. Let's do something about this, please?

From a tourist's point of view, the Manila Zoo is an okay place to add to your itinerary without shelling out too much money. After all, for P100 pesos you get to see a 40-year old elephant, a lion, some rare birds, and more. From any other point of view however, I can't really say there's much merit to the zoo. It's particularly dirty, and having visited on a weekend there were more people than usual, including a group that was rather rowdy and very disrespectful to the animals, disturbing the ones who were sleeping (it was 1pm, an employee told me a lot of the animals, particularly the mammals would sleep at this time). The cages seemed to be in poor condition and the humidity was unbearable even for me, so I couldn't even imagine what it was like for the poor animals. I definitely would not recommend going here.

Zoos, for better or worse, are tourist attraction anywhere you go. I know how controversial they are of late but I feel that they still have a place in this world. Even if you could read up or watch animals online, the educational experience of seeing them in the flesh is still different. That's the ideal anyway. Manila Zoo is a relic from the 60's. I'd wager that what it looked like back then is the same as it looks now. It's old and run down. It's still a cheap way to spend an afternoon in Manila, but it could be better. The zoo has been subject to criticism recently because of activists claiming that the zoo's star, Mali the elephant, is living in deplorable conditions, which is sadly true. I'm giving this three stars because the whole experience is still good for kids. For adults however, it's a completely different story. The zoo is set to be rehabilitated over the next couple of years. Let's just hope that by then it would be something we could be proud of.