San Antonio Zoo

I visited during Zoo Lights and it was absolutely stunning. The light displays are world-class and really transform the park after dark. Even with the holiday crowds, the flow was good. We managed to see the hippos (Timothy is a legend!) and the new gorilla exhibit before the sun went down. It’s a bit pricey, but the atmosphere and the conservation work they do make it worth every penny. Highly recommend for a festive night out!

The zoo itself is honestly really nice and well organized. Everything was clean, and once the sun went down, the lights looked amazing. That said, a lot of the animals just weren't out. We stayed for almost 4 hours hoping to see everything, but animals like the lion, tiger, giraffe, and bear were nowhere to be seen, probably chilling in their shelters. Still, the overall vibe was super refreshing, and we really enjoyed the other animals, birds, reptiles and fish. I'd recommend going during the daytime if you actually want to see most of the animals, but then you'll miss out on the lights unless you stay till sunset. Realistically though, 2-3 hours there is more than enough.

Amazing cashless place. Great big cats exhibits. Food is great here, order via kiosk. Decorated seasonally. Can get busy over holiday. Family friendly. Hot cocoa & smores offered in winter. Highly recommend.

I guess they are under staffed and over worked. Bathrooms were trashed and 🤮🤮 Places the food was sold were not prepared with enough stock for Black Friday. Caught a virus there that I'm still struggling with. Everything was not well kept or clean. No big cats visible and giraffe were all inside a barn with no lights! Saw the hippos and rhinos and a bunch of smaller things not worth mentioning. People were rude. Only a few other patrons made it worth ducking it up for the grandkids but it was stressful not very enjoyable. Besides what did go right I loved the plants and trees in bloom. Didn't know some of those things grew here.

Visited after Christmas. It was on a Sunday, so it was crowded but it didn't feel like people were encroaching on you. Got to see Congo Falls, which I understand had just opened a few weeks before. It was an amazing exhibit for gorillas. Would have given 5 stars but the experience dealing with food was not at that level. Didn't have condiments or pretzels, no Coke, and no selection of chips, so had to get jalapeno chips. We had a ticket package that came with 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 bags of chips and 4 16 oz drinks. Fire to this, limited to just 3 locations that honored that deal. It was a great deal but it seemed that the food side didn't live up to the lowest expectation. The bathrooms weren't that clean and every one we visited had run out of soap. The animal exhibits were great though.

This zoo offers a variety of animals - albeit rather limited. Even with the mid 70s temps, several animals had moved inside. Not the zoo’s fault. The hippos were very active and fun to watch. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained, and the staff are friendly and knowledgeable.We thought it was overpriced for the size and variety of animals.

Loved it! Great natural looking habitats. They have a good number of animals. The new Congo Falls was great just wish they had a better gift shop area with more to offer. My only complaint is the parking garage is uphill from the zoo so be prepared after a long day to walk back up the hill. I would suggest some kind of tram system to go from parking garage to zoo and back.

This is an awesome zoo to visit. The is is dually accredited by both the AZA and ZAA. The team was great and the exhibits looks good. I had visited in 2018 so it had been a while. I was able to get behind the scenes tour of the new gorilla section during construction as part of the ZAA conference in early October. The Ralston is a great event venue. As a photographer I find the San Antonio Zoo to be really friendly even as an amateur photographer. This is a must see when you are in town.

A reasonably sized zoo in a great location. The kids amusement park is next door, as well as the park. Lots of variety of things to see and do. I appreciate the locals day they offer regularly for $8.00, and that parking is free. I've enjoyed the various holiday events, including Halloween and Christmas lights. Both were done well. They usually have a couple cooling stations in the zoo during the summer with water missing. My only negative would be that it can be hard to find some seating in the shade when you need a break. The limited seats are often occupied. Otherwise, I go regularly to walk around. They do a great job of keeping the zoo clean, and there is plenty of staff on hand to answer questions or assist in any way.

We visited the San Antonio zoo on a bit of a whim, and had a great time. It isn't the largest zoo I've ever seen, but they really have some great animals to view, and it was a lot of fun. The only reasons I cannot give 4 or 5 stars are (a) a family member had difficulty with the digital ticket ordering system -- it charged his credit card, but did not give him a QR code. He went inside to customer service to sort it out, and they were decidedly unhelpful. And (b) They really lean in on the trope about "exit through the giftshop". There were quite a few additional fees -- $5 here, $10 there -- for small things throughout the park. It made the experience feel a bit like a carnival. They should just price the ticket at the level that would allow them to include access to more of the exhibits.

Went to the zoo with the family to see the lights, but honestly, I was pretty disappointed. I was expecting a lot more, or maybe just a bigger light show, but it didn't really live up to what I imagined. I know the zoo is all about the animals, but it always seems like it's under construction. Also bunch of the snack spots were closed, the Dippin' Dots stand was shut down even the face painting station was closed. Pretty much everything I was looking forward to was closed. Loved the animals even though there wasn't many out (I understand because of the weather) I enjoyed seeing them and even this baby monkey who was really the star of the show here.

Who doesn't love the zoo?!, we finally made it over and a positive perk incentive to go was - free entrance for military and half off for fam members throughout the month of November! The parking lot across the street was pretty packed on a morning weekday, but after circling a few min we followed someone who was leaving and was able to park. Upon entrance, what immediately caught our eyes were the lemur and flamingo exhibits. Beautiful neon pink flamingos gathered around water squawking away, and curious active lemurs whose exhibits included overhead walkways for them to explore. Trails throughout the park were well shaded and with lots of signage. We found most focus to be on birds and reptiles. I'm an avid bird fan and enjoyed viewing some of the most colorful unique birds from around the world. The various types of monkeys were cute too! Cons- Lots of construction throughout Many exhibits were empty Many areas required an extra fee to enter- for example the kangaroo exhibit, couldn't get near the giraffes unless you wanted to feed them, butterfly exhibit, etc All in all it was a beautiful day to view the animals. Suggestion- in addition, maybe exhibit animals native to Texas. Many restaurants, bathrooms, and souvenir shops throughout. Allowed to bring water bottles.

Texas does a lot of stuff big. The San Antonio zoo is on the smaller side compared to some of the bigger zoos like San Diego, etc but I consider it me sweet slice of heaven near downtown. This zoo has a lot of animals and programs through out the year including a Dino theme, Zoo Boo, Holiday lights and the list goes on. It seems like something is always under construction but excited for all the expansions and new features. A new gorilla exhibit is currently being built and recently a new air bnb is overlooking the giraffes and hopeful home to elephants again. A great little walk and so much to see and do. Get the yearly pass and receive discounts on special events, merch and more.

As a local, I avoid the San Antonio Zoo at all costs if possible, but I am so glad I had the courage to go after so many years avoiding it. If you haven't been to the zoo in a while, they've changed so much! The biggest change is that they've moved everything online, so make sure to purchase your tickets ahead of time, so that you are not waiting in the heat outside their gates while you figure out which tickets you want to get. With that being said, the zoo offers a wide variety of packages and discounts, so take your time going over those. During my visit, I took advantage of their back-to-school BOGO sale which was an amazing deal. One of the many reasons why I avoid the zoo is the crowds and how horrible parking is in this area, but since I visited on a Wednesday morning during school season the zoo was absolutely empty which was amazing. My family and I were able to walk around with no problem and since it was pretty early on a cloudy day all of the animals were very active. The rhinos were running around like crazy, the hippos were swimming and overall all the animals were just so engaging. Another new thing I noticed this time around was their multiple "cool off zones" where they have mists, fans and extra water for everyone. I thought that was pretty nice since Texas is known for reaching 3 digits over the summer. Overall I had a great experience at the zoo and will definitely be back on another school day (I am still not brave enough to endure coming here during a weekend or major holiday).

After paying $40 for admission (x3), this is what they serve for $19. I had to go back to ask for bbq sauce for the puny, dry pulled pork sandwich that was supposed to be served with chips. It was even sadder on the inside, just enough pulled pork to barely cover the middle of the bottom bun. The admission is too high, parking unaccessible (my daughter has lots of medical equipment we had to push up a very steep hill to the parking garage), under construction everywhere, crowded, limited animals, and they're straight ripping people off on the food. I absolutely expect to pay a higher price for food in the zoo, but this was just unacceptable to serve to someone at any price.

Wow this is an amazing zoo! You can easily spend a whole day here from opening to close, there's just so much to see and so much to do! I appreciate the tot play area so much to rest and children to play. The beach area is SO sweet. The meerkats and otters were our favorite animals to see and the lorikeet experience is our favorite. We will try the butterfly experience next! I wish this place was closer to Austin but it's definitely worth the drive.

The San Antonio Zoo was a fantastic experience overall! One of the highlights was the giraffe encounter, where you can actually feed these majestic animals--it's such a unique and memorable experience. The zoo is well-maintained, and there's plenty to see and do for all ages. However, the prices were a bit of a letdown. Charging $9 for a simple peanut butter sandwich feels excessive, and purchasing a drink cup doesn't come with free refills like many other places. While the zoo offers amazing experiences, the high food and drink prices might catch visitors off guard. Still, it's a great destination for animal lovers and families!

We had a great time at this zoo! The zoo was well maintained with a lot of wonderful animals and things to see. I don't know if I totally like the concept of paying extra while in the zoo for extra attractions, but we were on vacation and said let's spend some money. So we fed the lorakeets (awesome!), we fed the flamingos (woo hoo!), and we visited the kangaroos (this was totally not worth the price as the kangeroos didn't seem all that happy). There were also little machines were you could feed it quarters for fish food to feed the fish which was kind of fun. I really like how the cheetah can walk over the people on that walkway, it did that a few times. If we lived in San Antonio, I'm sure we'd come a lot to this zoo! We were there in March so luckily it wasn't very hot.

Full disclosure: I never actually made it into the zoo because of the very poor ticket purchasing experience. This review is specifically about that. Upon arriving today, I encountered their signage proclaiming they've "gone digital" and can scan the QR code to buy tickets. Thats fine - thats common now. The problem is the confusing and convoluted ticket selection process which promises a given price (namely the annual pass for $39.99) but when clicking through takes you to only higher priced options with no apparent way to get to the originally displayed price. I had to ask a gate person and she had to search around and finally found something actually couple bucks cheaper. "Thats' great!", I thought. But every step of the way the app kept trying to upsell me on one thing after another. When I finally got through that financial gauntlet, I was presented ed with an obligatory extra $10.00 "convenience fee"! Convenient for whom?? Certainly not me. Thoroughly disgusted with this money-grubbing carnival-style nickel-and-dime (now a $5 and $10) sell game, I closed app and walked away. Maybe someday I'll brave that wallet-grabbing gauntlet and pay up - but not today. It soured me on the zoo visit because it is such a dishonest bait&switch carnival huckster tactic to grab visitors' money hoping that once they are that far in, they just decide to buy anyway. Shame on you, San Antonio.

Went on a Saturday morning. Not very crowded, parking was easy and quick walk to entrance from surface lot. Animal enclosures all seemed rather small as others have stated. The layout was easy to navigate. Lots of construction which made some of the walking surfaces muddy and uneven. We did the hippo encounter for extra $40 and loved it so much. One thing we did not like was a third party company approached us offering a free raffle at the zoo today. Only to find out it was a vacation club membership offering a "free" vacation if we joined their club. We told them we weren't interested and they kept giving their pitch over and over and acted like we were dumb not to join their club.

Nearly $40 to get in. Barely Animals are out and the ones that are out are so miserable looking. All that money they take from donations probably goes to the expansion of the zoo but not to upkeep the enclosures. Everything is so much more expensive then SeaWorld and sixflags. To be honest it's a go every couple years kinda zoo

10 Apr 2024 Today we used our $36 each annual membership. Damn, in two visits it will be more than paid for. We are also entitled to a 10% member discount which I used in the gift shop. Our zoo has also ranked in the top three in the country. San Diego is always number one. When I used to work at our zoo, zoo management said there were no official rankings of zoos. Uh, OK. I worked there during high school and through my sophomore year in college. Two of my sisters also worked in concessions. My mom retired from the zoo office. If you visited during the 80s and early 90s, that was my mom delivering the bilingual announcements over the loudspeakers. My husband (then boyfriend) drove a tour bus. Last but not least, my brother-in-law Ray Figueroa was the 'Elephant Man', who retired after 47 years with the seals (remember Sailor the seal?) and the elephants. After he passed away, the zoo honored him with a memorial plaque behind and above a small elephant statue. Today, our zoo is so modern. Restrooms are spaced for your comfort and convenience. They now serve alcohol. There are two 'beer joints' that I saw. Alas, they weren't both open. I guess they are saved for the weekend. A bit pricey - beers were double digits, as were liquor drinks, of course higher than beer. The main concession stand offers a myriad of food items. There are smaller satellite stands. Pellet food for the fish and ducks is still offered for $0.25, but you get way less than before. Inflation? And the general admission entrance fee is not cheap and starts at $27.99. Kids under 3 are free. That's why I recommend the annual membership. We got ours for $36 during a promo. As we walked through the zoo, it is obvious that new exhibits are being planned for. Gorillas are returning to the zoo in the next couple of years and the exhibit area is under construction. Yea! A suggestion in the reptile house and aquarium is to better light up the signs stating the name of the exhibit and other info. These exhibits are generally on the dark side and the signs are difficult to read. We have one of the best zoos in the country!! Go there.

The zoo has such great animals! I recommend buying the tickets on Groupon, because they are about $11 each, versus if you buy tickets from the official website they are $27.99. We went on a Friday morning, and they were not too many people. They have a really beautiful entrance, with a new butterfly piece! I really liked seeing the capybara! Bring an umbrella if it's sunny. They don't seem to have water fountains easily accessible, but you can ask employees to fill up a reusable water at their restaurants. Even though the website says no outside food or drink, they don't check your bags! There are so many diverse animals here; I would highly recommend going to this zoo!

I see why this is ranked number 3 zoo! It is truly expansive and fun for all ages. There is a bit of construction as they are expanding, but it was so enjoyable with family.

Not one of my favorite zoos. Felt like there were a lot of empty exhibits and tons of birds/ducks of the same genus over and over thru out different parts. Missing some key animals the kids wanted to see (elephants, zebras, etc) Parking is a mess!!! The GPS took us to St Marys street which is closed so we had to drive all the way around/the park to get to parking garage. It was packed and took us 15 just to get to top level to park (at 10:45am). Thats where they were directing us to park but then on walk down, theres a lot right across from zoo entrance that was barely being used few cars pulling in. The zoo was packed on a Monday during Spring Break. They did have some unusual species I hadn't seen before which was nice. And I thought the exhibits were well designed or could've been if you time it just right. Upon entry there's a cool over head netted run thru for lemurs but the 3 of them were sleeping in the corner on ground enclosure at 10:45 and 1:20p. Same with jaguar the enclosure is cool with a walk thru across but only one jag - it was sleeping on bridge on one side and so nothing in this huge enclosure on the other side of sidewalk. Again, enclosures were cool, lots of viewing windows and shaded areas (like hallways to see stuff) well designed, just not impressed with animal selection and way too crowded for me (we skipped aquariums) and reptile house due to lines)

This is a really nice zoo, well laid out, lots of activities, and animals to see. Annual memberships are affordable, especially when they're on special.

We used their parking garage, which is quite a long walk to the entrance. Lots of construction and maintenance was going on. We had a difficult time finding shaded areas. They had an interesting array of animals from all over the world. The signage could have been much better. A lot of the terrain is rough, with some areas being unsafe tripping hazards. Stupid Halloween and promotional graphics and words were written over many of the enclosures' glass panels, interfering with the view. Some vendor booths were closed, but it was midday on a Saturday in early October. Many of the animals' enclosures seemed rather small, especially compared to other zoos. It would be nicer to have more shade on and around the walkways. Also, more seating near the walkways would be a great benefit for those with mobility or pain issues. I can't comment on the food, because we didn't purchase any. The drinks were expected to be expensive, and they were. We went on a fairly hot day, and it seemed like the accommodations could have been better for the heat. They had a good variety of reptiles and birds. We were offended by being asked to pay an extra $8 just to go into their kangaroo viewing area. We've never seen anything like that at any other zoo. Sure, you can expect to pay extra for personal experiences, feeding the animals, etc., but not just to go look at them. I thought that's why we paid admission. Overall, they had a lot of interesting animals. There is a Kiddie Park on the grounds. It looks like there is a separate entrance for that.

We love the SA Zoo as a family outing we plan to spend at least two hours or more to hit everything at quicker pace with everyone. Getting the membership for this zoo is worth every penny if you plan to come more than one time in a year. We love the kid area and how they host tons of kid friendly mini events! My kids really like getting to do the zoo experiences as well, highly recommend doing the Loris Landing (feeding the birds) and petting the Kangaroos of all the experiences are by far our favorites. The only reason they don't get 5 stars from me is because compared to where we came from (diff state) the event and membership structure is not quite as nicely laid out as I know it could be, but the zoo is still really nice and they are adding on lots of areas so we can't wait to see it as it begins to finish up with construction!

A fun afternoon at the zoo! I'm an avid zoo goer and dinosaur junkie so naturally my fiancé and I had to go during the Dino Adventure Park event. The event was smaller but cute with a massive animatronic TRex greeting you at the gate and several more life sized dinos in the plaza near the carousel. Upon entering the main gates, which have been redone to be a lot more accessible and look absolutely fantastic to top it off, we were given two randomly drawn complimentary Experience Tickets. Ours happened to be for the Lorikeet Nectar Feeding and the Train. Since this summer has been exceptionally hot, several inflatable canopies have been set up throughout the property for guests to step under and get cooled off by fans spraying gentle mist. As it was 103 when we went, it was greatly appreciated. All of the booths and stores were stocked with drinks, hats, and other things to beat the heat, but they were just as pricey as the rest of the souvenirs. The zoo itself was clean, but there was construction going on to expand a few of the enclosures. The most noticeably missing animals because of this were the elephants, cheetahs, and zebras, but were certain that they will be more than happy with the new space once they're returned to their expanded homes. It was really cool to see a lot of the animals very active despite the heat. Though some were lounging in the shade like the lions, several were swimming in their enclosures or simply enjoying the triple digit weather. As an artist, I also really enjoyed the fact that they seem to be adding in more sculptures and art to the property. It made the experience even more interesting to visit and made the zoo that much prettier. Though this isn't my favorite Texas zoo, I'm excited by all of the recent work that's going into it. You can easily spend the better part of the day there if you can stand the heat, and there is always plenty to see. I'm looking forward to seeing all of the updates when construction is finished!

Absolutely WILD how this zoo is in the middle of San Antonio and yet feels like an exotic safari that you've driven a few hours out for. I came out here with my parents and babies and although we came in early afternoon, it wasn't too much time to look at everything that was inside of the zoo. Not to mention that the ticket entrance had some mechanical issues so we had no choice other than to buy the tickets online. What I LOVED about this facility was how well taken care of the animals were. After having been to plenty of zoos (both national and international) I can genuinely say that the San Antonio zoo is in my top 2 -- the other one being the Woodland Zoo in Seattle, WA. I wish I could say that we were able to roam all of the zoo, but this just gives us a reason to come back.

Got a Groupon to go visit here and added on the giraffe feeding. We were lucky because the giraffes were ready to go and we ended up feeding them before they walked away. It was very very hot on the day that we went and I would recommend trying to arrive as soon as they open up so that you can see the animals and you're not dying of heat exhaustion. This is a very well laid out zoo, though it is very large, especially because we don't have anything like this in the Austin area, so I definitely think that it is worth a drive down to check it out. The animals looked healthy, they had a nice variety. It was very fun for the kids just for a brief time. If you have kids that are around my kids age which are four and six then they might lose attention quickly especially if it is very hot outside. But we did bring a wagon and I would also recommend that.

One of the top zoos in the USA in my opinion. The entrance fee is very reasonable for the amount of animals you can see. The morning is usually the best since the animals are the most active. Once the sun comes out they usually hide. The food prices are also reasonable compared to other zoos. They have up charges for 4D movies and up close encounters with the kangaroos. You can easily spend 4+ hours here.

Pretty suboptimal zoo. On the smaller side with a lot of animals repeated in multiple places. Most habitats are of the old school variety vs modern standard. Prices a premium for high end zoo with an unusual amount of upsell exhibits (not rides) in park. Not a zoo I would go out of way to visit.

Came from out of state. Such a fun zoo! Super clean. Fun decorations for the fall. Great tourist location. The butterfly exhibit was one of my favorites

San Antonio Zoo is an icon in San Antonio we came here today with our 5 grandkids and being the first day of spring break it was packed. But overall it was open until 7 and it was clean plenty of room for everyone. Parking was crowded but we found a spot with little problem. Food and drinks are very expensive, expect to pay amusement park rates. Entry is over $25 each so again expect to pay that to get in. Overall it's a neat place to bring your young kids but play on paying for the experience.

The zoo and now kiddie park combo and train ride are a staple in most San Antonians childhood. Always check Groupon first if you are not ready to pay 30 per adult. However the San Antonio zoo has come a long way.

We were here in early May 2024. The weather was typical TX, muggy, overcast. I really liked this zoo. So many different animals to see and learn about. They seem to have an emphasis on birds. I wanted to feed to lorakeets, but in order to do so, you have to wait in line with people buying food to buy a cup for the birds. Should be a separate line for the lorakeets. So, I didn't do that because I waited in line for 15 mins with little movement, so I decided it was a no-go. Staff was friendly. Food choices were lacking. I am a zoo Member at another zoo so I was able to save 50%. Free parking. Beautiful grounds. Definitely a fun day.

We went at 5:30pm & The exhibits all looked empty. The only 1 thing we enjoyed was the carousel.

Really fun experience. The zoo is huge and has a lot of animals to see. It can be a bit overwhelming because I feel like theirs a lack of signage so you don't know each area very well. I did the kangaroo experience and it was so cute and enjoyable. I would have liked to get to experience the giraffe feeding but maybe next time. Overall, I would go again.

Although it was a very hot sunny day. I still enjoyed my time spend there. Animals were limited due to the heat. There were mist station but families of course occupied them. I took advantage of the buy a day pass, get unlimited visits for a whole year. Love the remodeled version. I Hated that people decided to use the crosswalk area to offload and unload folks. Will come back when it gets cooler. Hopefully more animal are out by then.

I have season passes for 6 people. Mainly for all the seasonal events like zoo boo. Usually there are at least 10 to 15 places to get candy for trick or treating you never have to wait in line for long. This year there are 4 places to get a treat and we waited for over 20 minutes. don't plan on getting season passes again this is bad they got cards no candy.I would not recommend coming for trick or treating this year it makes me sad my granddaughter got two trading cards and two pieces of candy so not what we come to zoo boo for.

First time here in a few years and nearly everything is different. There were several displays where the animal was nowhere to be found, to view certain animals you now have to pay and there's lot of construction occurring. Overall it was decent just not something to rave about. I do however truly appreciate all of the cooling zones and mists set up around the park, in this heat it's the only thing that made it possible to get through the entire park.

The animal closures seemed small for a zoo. The layout was nice and chronological but the enclosures just seem so small and lacking activities for the animals. They did have cooling stations with free water which was nice. Parking was easy to figure out but all tickets were bought electronically, which was not fun to wait for your phone to load. They also don't search or metal detectors when entering so I was kinda sketched by that since I have zero trust in other people. Pretty clean zoo just felt sad for the animals not having a lot of room. There was also a lot of construction for some reason which was a wrench in the aesthetic.

Update on the Beastro cafe in the zoo. We order the green goddess sandwich every time we go and really enjoy it, even if it is $15. It's for convenience. But this time, They must have been running low on ham because they really skimped on the meat!! it was always much more than this. Disappointing and hope that they fix this. Apparently some other lady waiting 30 minutes for a bucket of French fries too. Something was off that day! Overall they are pricey especially with their kids meals - $9. A packaged pb&j sandwich meal cost $9. Pretty sure that crustable is like $1 max. Bring your own food especially for the kiddo if you don't want to waste money on food. I'd rather spend $10 feeding the giraffes and getting a good selfie and experience.

Let us begin at the beginning..... As a previous commenter posted...the online ticket/membership buying process is a fiasco. "Best Value" button takes you to 25% off...great....mmmm....not so much. As previously stated....you purchase one at 25% off and can't get past the higher price for the rest after. Ah hah.....simply add one to the cart, go out to the home page, hit "Best Value" and start the process again...and again...and again, until you buy ALL of your memberships. There you go...now....as previously stated, they hit you with the....convenience fee????? What was convenient???? It was a clunky fiasco...*I* entered the data (instead of their workers entering it, so WHO was this convenient too???)......i had to wrestle with their system to get it to do what it was supposed to...and wow....the initial fee is charging 25% of my annual fee????....oh but its only adding a 12.5% fee to the rest of my memberships....my grandpa used to say "it's a percent off of what??".....25% off to bump it up 25% in fees...please don't insult our intelligence....just charge what you're going to charge...we understand.....all of the new "upgrades" are expensive....you sure don't seem to be spending it on the animals that aren't there (more on that in a minute!)....anyhow, i chose to look at it as an extra donation...fun for the kiddies right???...moving on... As was mentioned...you get excited on seeing the cool statue of the gorilla out front, and wow!!! The lemur run...loved it, the rest...not so much. Going to the bear area...where on earth are the bears?!?! There were all these empty areas...there was the specktacled bear...not a lot else....there were ginormous speakers BLARING "Roar" from Katie Perry...Katie Perry "Roaring" does NOT replace animals roaring...maybe the animals were fortunate enough to find a reprive from the loudness...good for them because, to my human ears, this was LOUD (and i am young but it was out of place for nature and a zoo)....even my young son commented how it must have hurt their ears!!! Moving on....the area like a cave by the reptile house....missing, missing, and more missing animals... The jaguar enclosure...oh cool...they have a walk way to the enclosure overhead...except...you can't see them...they are too high...a zoo worker pointed out where they were... i quickly looked...the tip of a tail..briefly...we stayed a while..nope, thats all we got... Next...the hippo area....WHERE are the hippos?!?!?! I saw no explanation...just...GONE!!!!....keep moving to the connected outside...the monkeys...GONE...the okappi???? GONE...keep moving to the area the elephants used to be...a MASSIVE building...no elephants...are they there...are they not there...if there was a sign at this point, I don't know...i didn't care anymore...was just ready to go...(again, partially thanks to loud and annoying music and the disappointment of that many missing animals) ...moving on...more missing animals...yada yada yada....now my young son comments on how everything is so commercialized...this is a kid...but he's right....i realize they are trying to pay for all the "improvements" ( give me back my OLD zoo!)....but the focus (as I see it and him too) doesn't seem to have gone back to the animal exhibits very much and a lot of it is a fail. And the turtle exhibit...this broke my heart...there were all these massive turtles...two had made it to the "watering hole"....but...NO WATER...not a drop...they all looked...depressed...i realize, they are turtles...they are not going to run a marathon but...no movement...at all..for forever...i have never seen turtles like this at all. Sad. And one other poster said they CHARGE to see the kangaroo...as they said...experiences you pay for but to just SEE the kangaroo...are you KIDDING me...have these people gotten financially in over their heads with the "improvements" that they can't display animals and then charge extra for what should be automatic????...thankfully, i didn't see that part for myself...i would have blown a gasket!!! I'm disgusted, disappointed, but..."no refunds"...plainly stated people...beware!!!!

I really liked this small zoo, it was also very nice to cool off in the heat under mist, we enjoy thime in this zoo

It's been almost 5 years since our last visit and we live locally, and I have to say this place has made major improvements! We loved getting to feed the flamingos and giraffes and it was a relatively inexpensive add-on. If you have kids, I recommend doing the day pass and buying yourself one as well to be able to take pictures/videos. The new children's area is incredible. There's a small hidden water area to the left of the butterfly house that was a great way for my kids to run around, cool down, and gave me a minute to sit down and relax. I cannot say enough great things about cooling stations placed throughout the park!!

Went for my friend's daughters' 6th birthday! Haven't been to a zoo in ages. I really enjoyed myself, and I'm glad the kids did also. The Texas heat wasn't too bad the day we went.

It was a nice zoo but it was really unclear where to buy tickets in person. I don't think there was enough signs from the parking lot saying where to go. We went to the entrance and we're told we had to buy tickets but wasn't provided good instructions on where to go. We only had 2 hours before it closed so we didn't want to waste 30 minutes on figuring out where to get tickets. I just bought on my phone and paid the online service fee. The zoo had a lot of animals and plenty to look at. There were food vendors throughout. We noticed a lot of bees, I wasn't surprised bc when I bought an icee it wasn't served with a lid. That's just asking for spills and bees! Thanks for helping me become the bee attraction. Just didn't make sense! 2 hours ended up being perfect for us with our toddler. We got to see almost everything and we were exhausted. Parking was free.

We went here expecting a smaller zoo and we were pleasantly surprised that it was a pretty good experience! Being from San Diego we are a bit jaded when it comes to zoos... IYKYK....Clean walkways and a pretty good educational environment... I would give this a thumbs up as far as zoos go.

Visited the San Antonio Zoo this pass Saturday while visiting family. It was my second time coming here within 12 years. This is such a beautiful zoo! This zoo is very clean with so many beautiful animals and exotic birds! It's one of my top favorite zoo's for sure. Took us a little over 3 hours which is a perfect amount of time. We all had so much fun! For a Saturday the zoo wasn't so packed which was nice so we were able to enjoy our time at all the exhibits. One thing I loved about this zoo is all the exhibits are close to each other so your not walking so much which is nice compared to a lot other zoos i'vebeen too. Also this zoo had lots of tree's and misters for shade which was great. Tip: purchase your tickets online. Other wise when you get there they will make you scan an app to open on your phone to purchase your ticket before entry.

poor customer service I needed to switch my monthly member card and the only card I have is a cashapp card. I we went to the guest services with my 6 yr old in hopes of updating my card and having a great time. the 2 workers there were not helpful or pleasant at all. they told me it could be any other card but cashapp. So if I wanted to get into the zoo it would be $64 today for a child and adult day ticket and I'd still get charged the monthly membership fee of 22$ once I found an acceptable debit card to replace my old one!!!! it's the principle I was not going to pay $64 plus when I have a damn membership. so dissappunting. DO BETTER.

Great zoo but as soon as you get there or think of going look into their schedule. The zoo only has something's at sometimes.

I. Love. The. SA. Zoo. such a great zoo. It's clean. The animals look cared for. Lots of activities at the zoo. My favorite exhibit is the jaguar one! I don't mind the price because it's a non profit. I've done a 5k walk/run. The zoo Lala. And a pride event. Always a good time! Even just to get steps in. The terrain in great!

Amazing zoo. Have visited every zoo in the major Texas cities. This zoo is exceptional and receives a lot of care. Took my daughter her every week.

It had been YEARS since I'd visited the San Antonio Zoo, and I'm talking way before they built the new parking garage and had undergone all the renovations they've done. We had friends from out of town visiting us with children under the age of 2 and thought it would be a fun outing for the kids. We all had a BLAST! We purchased the Fun Day tickets that included admission into the zoo, entry into Lory Landing (more on this later), a ticket to ride the Zootennial Carousel, and a ticket to ride the San Antonio Zoo Train. Right outside the entrance to the zoo, to our pleasant and nostalgic surprise, was the Kiddie Park! It is it's own entity, so you purchase tickets for rides on-site. My Husband and I grew up visiting the Kiddie Park, our parents grew up visiting the Kiddie Park.. you get the hint! The original Kiddie Park was located down the street from the zoo on Broadway and many of the rides have been relocated to the front entrance of the zoo (some of these rides date back to the early 1900s!), which is super cool given it's unique history to the city. The zoo itself has undergone the best glow-up I could have imagined - the grounds were fresh and clean, the buildings and exhibits looked new and well taken care of, and most of the animals were out and about which is a rare sighting at zoos these days! I think our favorite part of the day was visiting Lory Landing, you must purchase a ticket to visit this exhibit, where we got to feed nectar to beautiful lorikeets. They will literally fly and land onto your hand, shoulder or head and hang out while feeding on the nectar! It was the coolest experience for both the adults and the kids! One of the kiddos even got to feed a giraffe! Overall we were so impressed by how much care has gone into maintaining the overall atmosphere and integrity of the zoo. It makes me proud to live here!

We had a blast at the zoo. The animals were actually roaming their sections. Plus the zoologist knew so much about the animals. Great family fun