What a brilliant day out for the whole family! We spent 7 hours here! There really is so much to do, so many animals to see. A few lovely little parks also. Plenty of toilets around. A few different places to stop for food or drinks.

An enormous zoo just 40 min outside of London! A great place to spend a day! It’s kid-friendly. Buy tickets in advance. We also tried one of the experiences available - feeding the elephants. It was definitely worth it. You should try one too! There are plenty of restaurants and cafes. The gift shop is big and full of interesting things to buy as a souvenir. The parking lot is enormous and it’s part of your ticket so no worry. There are also free tours available in different section throughout the day - look at the map at the beginning of your journey. Dive in the interactive activities that are free of charge!

A great place, especially on a sunny day. (visited 23/3/22). Lots of staff around to help, plenty off toilets and good accessibility for wheelchairs/prams (albeit hilly) A wide range of animals and enclosures to see. The animals seem well-cared for and looked after. Good layout and several fantastic play grounds. Lots of toilets which are accessible. Not all food outlets were open, and are reasonably expensive, taking a packed lunch and drinks is a much cheaper option - especially for a family. If you have a young one, the soft play is great... Sessions are 45 minutes, bookable and free online. Book ahead on the website. If you are in a situation where you are likely to visit more than once a year, get the passes: £69 pp and gives you other discounts. Good value. Overall, a terrific place which the kids (3 year old) loves.

My daughter bought me a Zookeeper for the Day experience. We came yesterday. Loved every minute of it. Keeper's are so friendly and knowledgeable and great to see how proud and caring they are for their animals. Would recommend this for anyone who loves animals, and wants to work with animals. Thank you all so much for a very memorable day.

Had a fab family day out at Colchester Zoo. Cold but lots to do and see throughout the 5hrs we were there. Plenty of food and drink outlets dotted around the site. Toilet facilities too around the zoo. Kids play areas too. Although could not use indoor soft play as it was fully booked. You have to book in advance. Tried to book 2 days in advance and on the day but ended up disappointed. Their was outside play areas to use instead. Downloadable map to view. A great overall experience. The kids and adults slept well that night 😆

Absolutely brilliant quality as always. I always love coming back to see how the exhibits are changing. Staff are always friendly and very knowledgeable about the animals they house. Additionally the facilities are all very clean. Honestly a great day out for anyone, from a school class ot whole family, to just a date. Can't wait to go back again

I liked this zoo when I came the 1st time ten years ago, it was even better this time round with my kids. The things we liked; The lion roaring at the visitors. Sleeping all day crocodile. The hungry otter sisters. Sensible soft play. Bargain new year tickets. Underwater Anaconda. All the little bush dogs by the train station. Plenty of play parks for a sit down.

Had a great day out at the zoo. Plenty to keep all ages entertained for hours. Special mention for Paul who was one of the guides on the train. How he can keep telling the guests about all the animals and telling jokes whilst having to hurd us off on and off the train and through the enclosure without having a melt down is amazing. Keep up the good work. Overall I can't fault anything about my visit. Highly recommend and I will be visiting with the kids again soon.

Lovely big Zoo. Lots to see and it definitely would take a day to navigate and experience. There's plenty of parking and it's quite accessible. The £25 per person entry is worth the price for what you get to see. There are various animals from around the world and they have exotic animals too. Most places have hand anti-bac for covid world and this place is very family friendly. There are play areas and food snack bars every 10-15 minutes on the path. With all the above, you might be asking why the 3 stars? 1. Food prices are a rip off. 2. Food tastes terrible. Basically bring your own food and you will be happy as gold. I am happy to pay good money for food, at a minimum it should have some flavour. I paid nearly a tenner for pasta in tomato sauce with garlic bread. I got hard pasta in tinned tomato and semi froze. Garlic bread. Check out the picture! Shocking rip off.

Enjoyed my day out at Colchester Zoo. This was not my first visit and would definitely not be my last. Would advise arriving for 9 bit of a wait too get in as the main zoo doesn’t open till 9:30 but once in you get at least a couple of hours with minimal other guests. The zoo does get busy but surprisingly doesn’t feel over crowded. Getting around is a bit of a walk with some steep hills but there is a route that you can take that is easier (unfortunately this does not showcase all the animals). All together I feel between the animals and activities it is an amazing day out.

An absolutely wonderful zoo. We visited on a cold March day, yet the welcome was very warm. Lovely the way you wander round. The animals have plenty of privacy but you also get great views. The tiger enclosure seemed so natural. The edge of Africa was so well laid out. Highly recommended

Fantastic day out, even my 16yo & 18 yo daughters enjoyed it. Booked tickets online which was easy . We also booked the giraffe 🦒 & elephant 🐘 feeding experiences, which was definitely money well spent. We went 19/04/22 . Spacious zoo, one of the best that I’ve ever visited. Arrived 9:45 stayed until 5pm . All the animals seemed happy in their environment which was kept clean. Download the App onto your phone as a map etc . Can’t fault this place, even the toilets 🚽 were clean. The staff were helpful that worked there

Only decided to go as I heard there was a deal on and I hadn't been for a few years. Had a great time as always. There was a couple of volunteer workers that came over to us and were telling us all about the animals. They were certainly full of knowledge. Had a lovely day out and would definitely recommend.

Highly recommend coming here. Friendly staff. So many different type amazing animals. Great place to bring your family and good for all ages. Been good few times love coming back and if your love photography this great place to take pics of these animals if lucky may catch some funny pics which I've been lucky to get. But price is a bit over top. Food and drink is at good price.

We had such a good day there. So much to see and do. To go round and see it all in one day, is impossible. So we will be back soon to make sure that we do see it all. With so much going on round you, it's so easy to lose track of time and before you know it, it's time to go. There were lots of benches so you could have lunch and a quick drink. And caffe shops and reasonably priced too. We got to feed the giraffes, but unfortunately the battery on my phone went dead, so no photos at this time. Luckily, we had a camera so we did get planty photos. We were blessed with a beautiful dry day till round 4 oclock and than it started to pour down. All and all , it was a wonderful time/experience for our two little ones. 👍👍🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

It is a great place for enjoy family time there, the donation for feeding giraffe and elephant is worth to pay, my childs enjoy it so much. Also there is a seat that you can have lunch with elephant closely, it was amazing!

Amazing Zoo with plenty of animals to see in some great habitats. Personal favourites being the Red Panda and Otters, try to see being fed for the best angles. They also allow you to leave during the day, just remember to ask for a wrist band so you can get back in.

Great day out for 20 pounds per adult. Pictures aren't great behind glass but there are a few open exhibits. Plenty of shows to see throughout the day. Would recommend tacking your own food as it quite pricey on the park. You can go back to your car anytime and be let back in.

I was most impressed today . Although the Zoo was busy I found that there was hardly no queues for anything. The food halls was excellent plenty of seating available inside and out. Very clean everywhere and the toilets were clean and tidy. The staff were very friendly and helpful. I saw all the Animals in there glory. I did enjoyed my first visit today.

Great zoo on a huge area, lots of animals to see. Can be very busy at weekends. Loved the beautiful parrots, who were flying above your head and sometimes stopped on your head and loved the seal show. Good playgrounds for kids to spend some time too.

We have the yearly pass great value for money. Great Zoo all animals look like they are kept very well. Had the chicken pieces and chips great value for money large portions and free sauces as much as you want. Land train is great fun close up and personal with the ring tailed lemas. A must visit well done to all involved. Great day out.

There are a lot of animals here and some really wonderful exhibits. I'd give it 5 stars but the layout of the zoo is a bit odd and we got turned around a few times. That being said, it is certainly worth a visit! Easy parking as well.

This is an excellent place to get over a boring weekend, you can spend the whole day here without covering all the zoo area. It is a huge zoo with lots of animals. Brace up because it's colder in there you need to be well covered up and wear comfortable shoes. Believe me, you will get up to 10k steps 😁by the time you will be done. It is a family-friendly place to visit with ample parking space.q

Even with a wet and rainy day the Zoo was still very good. The staff are all nice and polite. A gold pass holder has a lot of good benefits. Kids love the soft play area which is free but need to book a place in advance as it gets fully booked quickly.

Lovely Zoo, brilliant day out, definitely worth the 2 hours drive there. Parking was fine, the parking lot is huge. Queueing was pretty much none at the entrance, thanks to time slotted ticketing system. Attractions were interesting, children definitely enjoyed them. The giraffe and elephant feeding was a great hit, too! Lots of lovely memories have been brought home.

Very enjoyable

A wander around the zoo on a sunny Sunday afternoon is quite a treat for the family still. There was quite a great selection of animals on show enough to make the day worthwhile going. We're gold card members and it's quite handy being able to come and go as we want throughout the year. We managed to book a place for the kids at the indoor play centre and it's nice to sit and have a tasty coffee whilst they run off the last bit of steam! The staff are very dedicated to both their animal wards and visitors alike. The areas are kept impeccably clean and the toilets in the play area were pristine to say the least. Staff were cleaning rigorous throughout the day and I felt my family were covid safe throughout.

Great day out. Got to do giraffe and elephant feeding experiences. Would highly recommend booking way in advance for those though. Loved feeding the lorikeets as well.. plenty of enrichment for all the animals. Loved the train ride to the lemur walk through enclosure. Will definitely be coming back!!

Colchester Zoo is home to over 200 species, set in 60 acres of parkland and lakes. It's well worth a visit. Visitors can walk around the zoo and there are plenty of play areas to try out and explore. Enclosures are big and many walk through areas giving great views. Facilities are excellent, with plenty of cafés, toilets and seating areas for picnics or just rest areas. The staff members are friendly, helpful and informative, clearly happy in their work.

I personally love this zoo. It's huge ! It's easily a full day out with the family, it's that big that it's hard to see everything all in one day. Everyone I've been it's been clean and tidy with no mess or litter, plenty of bins to use. There are alot of shops scattered across the zoo for food, drinks, snacks, ice cream and even a decent meal if you fancy it. The kids are a good selection of playgrounds/parks to use and climb on, there's lots of photos points scattered across the zoo where u can climb inside animals such as a kangaroo or tortoise. This zoo has alot of animals which you might not find at other zoo, they are a good conservation zoo, trying to reintroduce animals back to the wild. There's a train which will take you for a short wide around a part of the zoo and let u get close to the lemurs. Face paining for the kids or even adults haha only £4 each. This zoo offers animal experience packages where u can get hands on with some of the animals, feed them, learn about them and touch them. It's not cheap but a lovely treat of u can afford it. I love this place ! I've brought a year pass so I can go as much as possible (£69) for an adult. On your way out there's a huge shop so u can buy a present or just a treat to remember the zoo.

Was brought a giraffe feeding experience for my birthday and it was one of the best experiences. The keeper was friendly and after introduced us to some of the female giraffes we were able to start feeding them. He shared some interesting facts about them throughout which was nice. I liked this experience too as it was just myself and my partner so it felt every personal which was lovely. If anyone loves giraffes as much I do I would highly recommend doing it.

Excellent day.. And the weather held out. Friendly staff and food reasonably priced.. Was open until 21.30..got busy later in the afternoon thou.. All round a very good day.

FANTASTIC family day out! The fun begins the moment you walk through the entrance. Super friendly staff who can't do enough for you and all the animals are extremely well looked after. We were very lucky to experience the Extra-ordinary half day. We started the morning with a hearty breakfast and then were expertly guided through many enclosures including the Penguins, Sea Lion, Lemurs, Giraffes and Hyenas where we were filled with interesting facts and able to feed the animals. This was all very interactive, my two children aged 7 and 9 were very much included, they both got to feed all the animals we visited. We ended the guided tour with a slap up lunch in the penguin restaurant. We all came away buzzing from the experience and can't thank Jon, Lisa and all the staff who looked after us enough for treating us all so well. Thank you 🙏 It's a day we will never forget. Just so nobody is disappointed, Colchester Zoo does not have any Dingos 😀

A great family day out! Must visit if in the area.

Love this zoo enclosures always look clean and well maintained and staff so friendly and helpful. Would I rather animals were where they should be out in the wild of course but we aren't kind enough to allow them to be safe thar way sadly

Excellent day at Colchester Zoo. It has steep hills in some locations however, there is an easier route to follow if needed. Most of the animals were out and clear to see and photograph. Would recommend!

Great day out. Fully enjoyed it. Plenty of animals to see, we enjoyed the talk on the sea lions explaining about the difference between them and seals, along with explaining about their predators. Where the sea lions demonstrated the different animals. 😂 Would definitely recommend for all ages.

We had a lovely day out. We got there early and did need the full day (10:30-17:45) We had two children under four and a baby, the toddlers loved it! They are both good happy walkers, so if your child doesn't like walking too much you will need a push chair. Lots of hills, but lots of benches everywhere. All the animals were easy to see and all looked happy and healthy. The train ride was fantastic, a queue to get on however they had two trains running. Well worth it as you then walk through the lemur enclosure. Indoor play area was fantastic, they had timed slots, so book ahead. As it's at the start of the park, either do it first thing or last. If you go in the middle of the day you'll be going backwards and forwards. We didn't know the birds that you can feed stop being fed at 16:00. So make sure you do that before then. Also we found there weren't many toilets, there was a wait each time. All in all a very good day.

Great zoo with loads to see. Very clean and well set on. Could do with longer opening times as we didn't get to see everything and had to rush round. Train doesn't go far and you don't see much. Would be nice to have another one as well.

Very overpriced. Most of the enclosures were empty and some of the animals that were there looked bored, I had seen everything within a couple of hours. Very busy on a Friday morning, the first hour was not so bad but after that it was packed. Lots of paths were closed off, and as the day went on more paths were closed which made it harder to find our way around. The floors are also very uneven in places so be careful! Food is very overpriced, so bring your own if you can. Ordered an English sausage and chips from The Gourmet Sausage. Very greasy sausage and the chips weren’t cooked properly. Paid 85p extra for onions and £2.40 for a coke which is a joke. We sat outside to eat which was ruined by the swarm of birds that surrounded us. I was especially disappointed with the sun bears who were in their enclosure inside, but the glass had a massive grass sticker all over so it was impossible to actually see them. Lots of screaming kids, there were a few schools visiting as well who behaved like animals. They kept screaming and running around and ruined our day. It was complete chaos in the gift shop as all the school kids were in there and destroying the place. They kept knocking things over, pushing into each other, and I saw they smashed a mug on the floor and left it there. Overall, very overpriced and not what was expected.

Best zoo experience I've ever had. It has the main animals which you'd want to see (including elephants!) and lots more extras. Endless species of monkeys and the habitats for each animal were considerably spacious. I'm overall impressed with the layout and design of the zoo alongside all the animals it holds within it.

Tickets for 2 adults and 1 child about £80 so if you can use your Tesco points. The big zoo , can see a lot of different animals. The place has cafes , a playing area, an activity area for kids or you can bring your own food, gift shops , ice- cream cafe, toilets). Better to start exploring from the left side ( less people so you can enjoy a nice walk+ not long to wait for the train, usually later there will be a long queue). Kids can feed goats -goat food costs £1 but it's really fun. Usually it takes all day to walk around the zoo so make sure you have comfy shoes.

I visited for the newly added Pygmy Hippo experience and this was a great experience. As well as being informative, I was able to get really close to Venus, feed her fruit and help prepare her enclosure. My keeper was great, deeply cared about all the animals on his section (Giraffe) and spoke about how Venus will be enriched by this new experience as she has recently lost her partner, Freddy. The zoo is fantastic, so much for adults and children to do. I went during the week, which was really quiet, but would I really loved is that all the animal talks proceeded even though I was the only one there. Each staff member waited at the meeting point and happily invited questions. Ate in the food outlets and prices were very reasonable. Breakfast roll was under £4 and cooked freshly for you. Great range of vegan treats and loads for the children to do. Will definitely be returning!

Visited Zoo today....had a wonderful day surrounded by lots of the animals etc...we walked loads got lost with the map even and enjoyed freshly made wraps for lunch ice-cream and drinks along the way... Sea-lions and Lion....tiger and leopard....wolves and elephants and giraffe 🦒 rhino and hyena and 🐒 and Orangutan 🦧 bears and red Panda's all in the lovely established area's. Kept very clean and tidy.... Thank you Everyone x

A superb zoo which is well laid out and spacious. The car park can sometimes be a bit hectic but once inside it is one of our favourites. The elephants, Rhinos and Giraffes have plenty of space which is nice, and you have the chance to get really close to some of the other animals. There is a Dinosaur bit opening in 2024 too which will be a nice addition. A great zoo to visit if you are planning a trip. Our favourites are Colchester, Whipsnade and Paradise Wildlife Park (but that's for the dinosaur enclosure)

A fantastic day out for the whole family. This is a nice big zoo with a huge range of animals. You can easily spend all day here and not see everything. We have a zoo pass and go most weekends. There are loads of places for food and drink. The hot chocolate is amazing! The jungle tumble soft play is a really fun part for younger kids to enjoy. They run in 45 minute slots (you must book!), so a good chunk of time to wear the children out a little. They are constantly revamping areas, so it is cool to see the changes as they happen. Overall there is a wide range of interactive areas and activities. Near the eelphants they have an area where you can hold stick insects or African land snails, etc. The train takes you from the tigers to the lemurs and back again (return trip is up to you). I feel that I could waffle on for ages about this place, but I would definitely recommend it. If visiting from afar, definitely come along for a trip, or if local, I would strongly recommend getting a pass. I had one before having a child and loved the after work walks to the tigers and back!

Even though it's 3+ hours drive, it's a lovely zoo to visit. Few new things since we last visited. Great exhibits, and they're all built with the animals' welfare as first thought. Not good for people who are motility impaired due to the hilly nature, but most of it's still accessible. Definitely worth visiting.

A great zoo!!! We went from 10:30am-4:00pm and could only just fit everything in! The enclosures for the animals are very big which is great to see, and most of the animals are active which makes the experience even better! The demonstrations are on time and are enjoyable to watch the animals eat. Would highly recommend, and is the best zoo I’ve visited in the UK.

My wife and I visited here for the fourth time and our experiences have only got better. We were welcomed by the staff attending the entrance, and easily located maps of the park. We visited at half nine and therefore weren't surprised when we couldn't see a lot of the external animals. We had a nice stroll through the park looking at the animals we could see and we had intentions on going round the park again. We got some awesome photos and we were extremely lucky with some of them. We had an amazing day and loved seeing how far the park has come from the first time we visited it 7 years ago. While there were refurbishments currently in progress it only makes our next visit even more exciting. I would recommend everyone to see this place at least once and I would also recommend you book online, although you save some money I would also urge you to make a donation while in the park as well. Colchester Zoo always delivers!!!! (Haven't included all the photos but just a few favorites)

The staff are always so happy and friendly. The Billy-Joe walk is very emotional. This is a zoo that truly loves their animals and you can feel the love for their animals - especially the ones they’ve had to say goodbye to. The enclosures are always clean, happy animals, very social! We love going here and will continue to support the zoo due to their caring nature. The orangutan was my favourite. She was swinging around, playing with cardboard, coming up and inspecting people. Thank you for always being fantastic and putting animals first!

Such a perfect day out! So lovely to see all the animals again. Zoo very Vivid safe, despite the number of people unable to understand what 2 metres are. Great value. Would very highly recommend.

Good day out. Some parts are closed due to covid and there is a one way system. However, most parts were open and it was very well organized.

Fantastic zoo. Enclosures are great. Lots of fabulous animals to see. Good indoor exhibitions on a rainy day. Lots of toilets, lots of food and drink places. Thumbs up 👍

Still manages to give a good experience with social distancing rules. You have to go round the Zoo twice to get to see most of the animals because of the one way system in place. The covid 19 measures in place are the best as they can be while offering a good experience. The only thing that lets this down is the people who don't think it applies to them. Over all, big thumbs up.

Clean, welcoming, staff pleasant, animals very, very well cared for. Social distancing restrictions in place. We had a really lovely day out - the last one before school restarted - with our 9yr old Granddaughter.

A good zoo with just about all the animals you could wish to see. Big enough but not spread over miles. Plenty of nice cafes. We spent 5 hours and saw just about everything.

Lovely zoo, all the animals were out, social distancing in place. Some people not wearing masks in enclosed spaces but not enough staff to enforce it. Overall had a really great day, would highly recommend.

Superb place, so many beautiful animals to see, very clean cages and enclosures, walking around the park is also very clean

I visited for the first time today with the family. It is a great zoo and has, amongst many other animals, a great selection of pigs. Red River Hogs being the best of the bunch.

Had a great day today but it was stressful to the point I won't be returning until things settle down a bit. Social distancing by other visitor's very poor/almost non existent making some parts not enjoyable and staff not saying anything to those who are getting too close to others even though they can see it happening. Also my 2 criticisms I have which need to be addressed I feel is the funneling every visitor down one way to begin with which crowds everyone in together so you have to skip that part of the zoo and head straight for the end to avoid the crowds as otherwise you can't enjoy looking at the animals. That needs to be changed and also at the end of the train ride you should let each compartment out individually as at the moment everyone gets off all at once and it's a mad rush to try and get away from others as again social distancing isn't being adhered to properly and again makes it very stressful. Other than those points we had a great day and love the zoo but they need to address those issues before we even think of returning.

Excellent zoo but absolutely terrible food stalls

Had an amazing time at the zoo, got social distancing down to a tee. Took me and my fiance 6 hours to go around, great value for money!!

The zoo is a lovely place for a day out especially in summer!! A good range of animals and lots being done to help the conservation of endangered species👍🏼 social distancing was well managed👍🏼 quite expensive 🤭

Great day out

Very good

Animals seem well looked after and the zoo is very spacious for people and animals. Food options are good with vegan options for my girlfriend. A good day out for a good price only £15 per person off peak.

Best zoo in Essex

Good

Great for family outing.good for kids

Perfect place with little one !

Great day out the wife got to feed the elephants

Very good day out

An amazing zoo. Did not feel very Covid safe though.

Great day for the kids.

Wonderful zoo

Actually best zoo I have ever been to, every time you think you have seen everything you walk around another corner and there are more amazing animals to see. 👍

Always enjoyable no matter how many times you go. Staff are always amazing with the interactions with animals including the insects and lizards and knowledgeable.

It was lovely, and they have put in one way system to help practice social distancing for those concerned with keeping safe!

Fantastic. I've just bought another Gold Pass so the family and I can visit as many times as we like. It takes the pressure out of trying to see everything in a day as we can come and go as we please! They have adapted really well to maintain social distancing by providing a 'one way' system around the zoo to see everything while managing to decrease crowds. It's a shame that the regular animal talks have had to stop, but I can't wait for them to return soon. All the animals are so well cared for and we've been able to see everything we've hoped to each visit. Parking is free and easy, even in the back-up car park you're not far away at all, food and drink is fairly priced compared to other days out, and supports the zoo and it's charities. Wonderful day out for all the family and well worth buying their experiences too as getting up close to your favourite animals is incredible!

Never been here before and I was so impressed! This has to be one of the best zoos I have ever been to. Firstly it's huge (wear comfy shoes), secondly, there's loads of animals. It's a great day out whether or not you have kids. If you do have young kids (especially ones who like to run off), keep hold of them especially going into the wallaby area as my daughter ran straight under the fence and up to the top of the hill inside the enclosure and I had to run up and fetch her! There's loads of great play areas for the kids, plenty of toilets and food stops. I highly recommend a trip here, if we were not moving to the south coast we'd get annual membership.

Great day out!

Lovely place. Great for kids and adults.loads for kids. Play areas and of course the animals. The zoo does a lot for endangered species.

Saw some big kittens

Plenty to see at this large zoo. Small, large and everything in-between.

Great day out, good measures for Covid in place. All enclosures well laid out and kept to good standards

It's been 28 years since I'd been to colchester zoo and it still be another 28 before I go again. The animals didn't look overly happy, that's if you could see them. Lots were 'hiding'. Food outlets & gift shop very expensive. Sorry colchester, you're not for me.

ELEPHANT MAN

Great day out recommended to anyone who loves a zoo day out

Lots to see very clean

We had a fantastic afternoon, very well organised, totally adhering to covid regs with lots of sanatising points, felt very safe. Look forward to visiting again in the future😀

Lovely day out

Love this place. So good joined for year.

Colchester Zoo is great! It's always fun and there's plenty to see.

Always something new to see. Happy animals, happy staff, well organised. Have been coming for years, and hope to visit for many years to come 👍🏻

This is one of the best zoos to visit. Please support it when the lockdown restrictions are lifted. It costs so much to run the zoo and every penny counts. An amazing place for young and old to get up close to some of nature's most wonderful animals. The work and development of the zoo speaks volumes for what they are trying to achieve, we have been many many times and there is never a dull moment.

This is an excellent place to visit, well thought out and accessible. They are heavily involved in conservation projects around the world and support many through their charity "Action for the Wild". Highly recommended.

Attended Colchester Zoo today with family, greeted by friendly members of staff who checked you in. Everyone compiling with face covering in the indoor areas. One route round the Zoo which allows you to see everything. Toilet are clean, as is the eating areas. Some true remarkable animals here. The kids especially loved the elephants and rhinos. Would highly recommend a trip here.

First timer! Super fun for all ages! We went mid day and it wasn’t busy and they had a lot of social distancing which was nice. Some exhibits were closed but we had a great time overall. Will definitely visit again!

We were concerned at first as whether the zoo had pit too many restrictions in place but pleasantly surprised that it didn’t hinder our visit and we have a lovely time. It was great to see so many animals, all looking in great condition

A lot bigger than expected, so many animals to see and loved the free reigning wallabys and goats. We had a 12pm slot and spent the whole afternoon there, right until closing time. Lovely weather too which was lucky!

Best zoo I have been to in years. Pre book due to covid. So no crowd's.

Really enjoyed the visit, especially the elephant feeding ( extra cost)

One of my favourite zoo's. Nice and big so you can easily spend all day here. I have been prior to covid and again this year in October. Previously it has been very busy, but lockdown has made the mass of people less, which has made it nicer to walk around the zoo. I have children ranging in ages 4-9 and they all love the zoo. Lots of walking and areas to stop to have a munch. The parks are good for the children too, which I leave until last so they're definitely knackered 🤣 the only disappointing thing is that you don't always get to see all of the animals, like the bears. I haven't seen them both trips I have made to the zoo, and I walk around the zoo several times when I have visited. But I'd definitely recommend a visit

Brilliant family day out

Despite COVID we had a lovely time, and safety measures were in place. The road train was still running and the children had fun.

Great day out o much too see

Fantastic zoo! Saw so many animals looking happy and lots of enrichment. Great to see good spaces for their animals and viewing areas that let us get up close with the animals without intruding on them! Top tip.. They have lots of feeding experiences that you have to prebook so don't miss out!!

Perfect family day out! Loads of animals to see/ feed, perfect for all ages, but great for taking your kids, for something exciting to do. Food available all around the park, with facilities dotted all around. Park follows all rules for current situation, with distancing measures in place.

A whole day out.... Colchester Zoo is a fantastic zoo. The grounds and enclosures are really well maintained and spotless all around. Get some comfy shoes on as this is a big zoo and lots of hills to climb. The kids, adults and grandparents will all love it. You are never too old for the zoo. Highly recommended.

An amazing zoo and well worth the money. The staff were all fantastic, friendly and kind. They have worked hard to comply with all the health and safety measures as well as making all the zoo accessible. The animal enclosures are all exceptional and the animals all looked relaxed, calm and happy. Had a really great day!

An Excellent day out on the day before Halloween. Do stop by The Sausage Hut for their absolutely amazing food. Be warned some people still refuse to put their masks on in enclosed areas but overall a lovely day out for the family.

We have just had a fantastic few hours wandering around. We were very impressed with the enclosures. The animals all looked very happy. We particularly liked the Tigers. The viewing areas were very spacious and we felt very safe.

Great zoo! Went on a Saturday, social distancing was okay too and toilet facilities in a good way. Definitely would go again

Fantastic Christmas themed day out at the zoo. The Madagascar train ride was great for big and small kids alike. Very easy to social distance and lots of Covid safe measures in place.

This is a fantastically compact zoo, suitable for all ages. Everything is easily accessible. The staff are always friendly and you can get right up close to most of the animals. Set in the beautiful Essex hills, it's a place to escape to for the day. Themed in such a way that it could feel a little like an amusement park, rather than just feeling like a huge field with fences around animals. Well worth the yearly membership.

Great place to visit with or without children. Bigger than you think and you could easily spend a full day here and more

Can't wait to return

Large variety of animals kept in humane conditions. Lots of opportunities to see keepers with with their animals. Grounds kept in immaculate condition and very pretty to walk around. Since the first lockdown, I have taken a walk past the zoo roughly once a week. Although now closed, you can still see reindeer, pigs, horses and donkeys in adjacent fields. During the first lockdown one enclosure housed llamas and alpacas, followed by all the goats in the zoo.

One of the best Zoo's in the world and that's a fact!!! Looking forward to visiting again soon

The lion ate my pizza help

Moo

Very great place to visit. You can really see that animals are treated well.

Me and my family go here alot. My cousin has been raising money for the Zoo, I am really happy about that. Perfect for a day out with a family. Highly recommended! 😃

Great day out with the family

Great zoo, good for all the family. Well organised and felt secure even during covid.

Magical place for all the family. Great visit and lots to see and do

So nice and big place, a lot animals good spend time with kids :)

Great place for a day out

Really great place during lockdown

Great all ages

What a brilliant time was had here for my daughter's seventh birthday treat. Such excellent value for money. Lovely animals loads to do for kids and excellent facilities. The many cafes in site were so clean and full of choice and priced very good. Have a lovely day here and can't wait to come again even though it's two hours from our home. Very helpful friendly staff and all the animals and enclosures were well looked after. We learnt a lot of facts too. Would recommend everyone visit here. Would give a hundred stars of I could. Definitely buying a season ticket gold card. Thank you for making my daughter's birthday weekend special. Covid safe and plenty of places to wash and sanitise your hands. Well done Colchester zoo xx

Socail distancing not great indoors but lovely zoo

Great zoo and needs supporting

Amazing zoo-have been every Christmas since 1992. They just make everything so magical and each year sees an improvement to another enclosure. #bestzooever

Always a good visit plenty of social distance signage

Animal / Zookeeper experiences are thoroughly recommended.

Great as usual

✔️

A great day out for the family. The zoo has a wonderful collection of animals with new arrivals throughout the year (helping conservation). Our favourite area is the African animals where you can see Rhino (including 2 babies), Giraffe and Elephants. The facilities are well looked after and the catering offering is good. Currently there is a one way system in operation to aid social distancing. You do need to pre-book - social media channels will let you know when tickets are released. Definitely worth a visit.

Great compact zoo with great variety of animals.

We was lucky my grandsons favourite is the lions and they came a wake when we got there

Colchester zoo was a magical experience when it became dark and was lit up

Would be better if not for covid19

Lovely animals, not too crowded, great animal welfare+amazing information about preserving the wildlife and conservation 100% worth a visit

Good

Great zoo

A fantastic day out . Well organised during our current covid crisis

Christmas lights at the zoo👍

Great zoo with animals living in interesting well thought out environments and fun play areas for children.

Brilliant day out with all the xmas lights

Nice day shame about the weather

good day out for all ages

What a beautiful day out, with gorgeous animals and plenty for the whole family to see and do , have lunch with giraffes and elephants, or ride the train, feed the parrots ( careful they don’t land on ur head lol) see the farm animals and watch the tigers, lions and so so many more, a must see attraction for everyone

Great Zoo!

Love this zoo always manage to see something different last time baby rhino

Fun for adults too, lots to do (we spent hours there and we dont even have kids and weren't even reading everything or did every activity!). Really enjoyed feeding the elephant too. It's also good to know that they are connected to a charity to do more for the animals who are endangered in particular. I would say that this is even better than London Zoo!

Absolutely love this zoo. Had a great day. Very interesting and informative as well as plenty to do for the children. Only downside is the hills, be prepared to hurt for a few days after...

The whole park was very clean, hand sanitizers everywhere and toilet facilities. There was a limited number of people in the park which allowed us to safely visit the park and social distance. The online map was a bit hard to navigate and the app kept on crashing whenever I tried to map a route to a specific exhibition. Apart from that I loved all the exhibitions, play area and the train attraction was very nice

Good selection of animals. Layout easy to get around and see everything. Decent size and enough break out areas for picnics etc.

Great place to revisit - too much to see & too far to walk round in one day. Animals looked content. Plenty of "comfort" areas and handwas stations. Covid safe.

Great family day out. Recommend still wearing a face mask 😷 inside the buildings

What a lovely day out. One of the best zoo's we have visited in the UK. It took us about 4 hours to walk through and see all the animals. There are toilets and shops dotted around the zoo which is quite handy. The price of food and drink inside is quite steep though. They have such a big variety of animals, big to small. You can book in advance to feed the elephants and giraffes (something we wish we knew before hand). Make sure to wear comfortably shoes as its a lot of walking!

best zoo I have ever been too and my children love going so much we brought gold cards, I think all ages enjoy the zoo well at least I do enjoy it as much as my girls do and I am nearly 30. definitely a place to go and spend your day, plenty of places to buy food or you can take your own picnic and there are loads of places to sit and eat. and some amazing parks for the children to play on when the adults would like to sit and have a rest with a cuppa.

Loved it. Lots for everyone to see and do. Most of the eateries were closed, or renovating. Layout good, animals are healthy and we enjoyed at least 5 hours there. Amazing conservation efforts too, really well worth your visit. Helpful young people serving, smiling throughout service( we found a chip shack) not enough seating though. Shared with another family

Fantastic place. So much to see will have to go back again. Sealion pool is amazing. Great to walk underneath & watch the beauty of them in the water. The wonderful elephants ❤️watching them with the keeper's as they checked them over at the end of they day just showed how clever they are & the bond they had with each other. The zoo made use of every bit if space in the place. Just lost our bairns at times as map was too small for me to make out even with my glasses on 🤓 but it didn't matter too much as there was always different beautiful animals to see. Good to know also the money paid to get in & any donations made don't just go to the zoo but to helping the animals in their native homes also. 👍♥️🐘🦒🦧🐒

Fantastic experience. It was magnificent to see such beautiful and Majestic animals. The park was very clean. Staff was delighted to help you if required. It is a great day out with those you love. I'd recommend taking a picnic as it makes it extra special.

One of the best Zoo's we've been to, to date. Saw almost all the animals including the leopard and also the sun bears. A great family day out with plenty to see and do, highly recommended

Fantastic day out, with lots of interesting things to see. The animals looked happy and healthy. Plenty of facilities dotted around for food, toilets and play areas.

My 1st visit to the zoo and I wasn't disappointed. Was lucky to have a zoo keeper experience for the day which included meeting and feeding the Elephants, Cheetahs, Komodo Dragons and Hyenas. A big thank you to Joe, James and Amy the keepers who shared there love and knowledge of the animals in their care. You are all a credit to the zoo. A great day out, friendly staff and keepers who all share a great passion looking after the amazing animals. Great for all the family. I had the best day ever.

Best zoo I have visited in a long time. Large range of animals to see and well looked after. The giraffe and elephant feeding experiences are amazing and great for children. Will definitely be back visiting again soon. Amazing day out!

A great day out at Colchester zoo, it was a sunny autumn day and the animals were outside and quite active. Highly recommended 😃

What a fantastic place to visit. You get to see a plethora of different species of animals in very natural surroundings. The environments that the animals live in are perfect habitats and the report between animal and keeper is astounding.

Wonderful day out with my 8 year old son. So many animals to see and it kept him and myself entertained for over 4 hours.

Fabulous 👌 always a brilliant day out and a great array of animal that all looked well cared for and content.

Lovely place. Went at Christmas time, my 5yr old really enjoyed herself. Oh my, we got lost trying to find some of the Christmas activities a few times but it was an experience. Lovely experience.

Amazing day out. Lots to see and do for the kids. Great deal on admission during the winter season with plenty of indoor areas for if it rains. Food onsite is slightly pricey but no more than you would expect. Highly recommended.

Really nice zoo, lots of animals that are well looked after. Prices are reasonable, what you'd expect from this sort of venue. Is definitely cheaper during term time, not that I'm advocating taking your children out of school though!

Colchester Zoo is always a great day out. Plenty of parking, good facilities, good food options, outside and inside play areas, as well as all the different animals you're going there to see. Just be prepared for plenty of walking 😄

Great place for all ages to visit. Wheelchair accessible, a couple of short hills but manageable by most. Good range of food options throughout the park and the coffee is better than most high street vendors.

Superb zoo - up there with the best in the country. Easy to spend an entire day there with the family. Expense of tickets completely justified. + Presentations, feeding times and hands-on experiences are well-advertised, good quality and frequent + Enclosures have good visibility, have clear animal welfare priorities and are well labelled + Colchester Zoo App is a quality piece of work with up-to-date feeding times, features on animals etc + Lots of toilets andamenities for family visitors - Food options inside the zoo are fairly limited to fast-food style takeaway

Best zoo in UK by far. The animal enclosures are well maintained and create interesting and great viewing opportunities. Lots to see. The kuds lived that there are several separate play areas around the zoo, rather than one large one. We saw Bailey the lion and watched an animal encounter with the red pandas. Chips were also very reasonable in price.

Absolutely brilliant zoo? The size meant that even though it was busy it did not feel crowded at all. There are so many different species including tigers, cheetahs and African elephants. The food is also not expensive and pretty decent for a zoo. For those that don't want to dine in there are picnic areas as well. Wonderful day out - would recommend it to family and friends!

We purchased our tickets online and made a little saving. And good that they offer a free place for a carer. But make sure to download your tickets before you get in the entrance as it will delay getting in....it is a wonderful day so much to see. The staff are helpful and happy to help and direct you..and we got lost many times....plenty of places to eat..but we took a picnic and did have an amazing coffee at one of the many places around the zoo. My only disappointment was we paid £1 cash only for food so the children could feed the goats etc..and though the cup was a good size was only a quarter full..so the children were disappointed. They did get a sticker when they came out. Lots of toilets around. Also good amount of play areas for children of mixed ages. Face painting..there will be a queue so maybe walk around a little and then come back to it..but only £4. gift shop is amazing something for everyone..you'll be lucky to get out there empty handed. We didn't. 🤣🤣

Went to Colchester Zoo to do a wreath making class with my aunts, it cost us £50 each and this included everything to make the wreath, drinks and some pastries/mince pies as well as entry to the zoo after the class. The class was held in a private room off the main restaurant, the only issue we had was the lighting was a bit too dim but otherwise there was plenty of space and the room was nice and warm. We were provided with a great selection of materials to use and lots of decorations to add to our wreaths, it was amazing how different all of our wreaths turned out! The lady running the class was lovely and a great teacher. Hopefully more people will sign up for the class next year as it is great fun and well worth the money! We also enjoyed going round the zoo after our class, the enclosures throughout the zoo are all being gradually updated and modernised and all the animals we saw looked happy and well looked after. If you have children too young for school or no children I do recommend visiting during the week and during school term time as it is a lot quieter and easier to see the animals- we often see more animals out in their enclosures, probably because it is quieter. There are still a good number of food and drink outlets open throughout the park during the week. So I really recommend both taking part in any extra activities the zoo offers as well as visiting the zoo during quieter days! Both are well worth the money!

It's good but not very accessible if you use manual wheelchair. Best to use electric or scooter if you have accessible needs as the hills are bit steep. Probably best to visit when it's warmer as didn't get to see any lions as they were probably sleeping due to cold weather.

Fantastic day out for the family! Just be careful how hot it is, there are quite a few places to get some shade but it is a big walk around the park. Great day out, plenty of animals to see and loads of information around the park. Train ride is great! Last about 20mins but loads of information from the keeper/driver and you get to walk through the lemurs.

Always love coming here. My partner and I come here often and we always find it brilliant. Staff are very attentive and the zoo is always clean, most importantly the animals look very well looked after and when asking keepers they are always so knowledgeable of the animals they are caring for. The food areas are great, kept clean and the food although basic (as expected for a zoo) is really nice and there is plenty of different things to get. I would highly recommend if you live in the area to get an annual pass for the zoo as it works out a lot cheaper and you can visit any time in the space of 12 months. This also entitles you to some discount in the gift shop and some food outlets. The adoption packages at the zoo are brilliant too - great gifts to buy for loved ones at a reasonable price. Overall, I would definitely recommend visiting Colchester Zoo and supporting them. (Pictured are some of my favourite animals at the zoo!)

Good day out. It cost us £26.50 each per adult, bit pricey. Didn't get to see all of the animals, a lot of walking. Wear good comfortable shoes. Lots of places to sit and rest. We took our own food, plenty of places to stop and buy food though.

A great day, we all preferred the second half of the zoo where the bigger animals were kept as it was a lot more open, less cramped and less slopes. Overall there was a great selection of animals to see and things to do for all ages. Took us all day to soak it all up without really stopping to eat. Feeding the giraffes was definitely the highlight for me and the Komodo dragons talk was the highlight for my daughter

Excellent zoo with lots to see, Not the cheapest and often deals on tickets via Groupon/Kids pass (saved over £5 with this one), etc. Includes some farm animals, goats, pigs. Worth checking the times for various talks/feeding times as well. We were lucky enough to see the Otter feeding.

Best Zoo I have taken the family to so far. Really need 2 visits to properly see and read everything about the residents. Great day out, worth the price knowing how great the habitat's are.

This zoo provides a great family fun day out! We all enjoyed our experience. There are various different types of animals and so much to see. You definitely need the whole day to explore. There are also lots of fun play areas for little ones which is fantastic! The zoo itself is huge and takes a while to get around. They also have a free train service incorporated within the zoo that allows anyone to get on and go on a short tour with the guide. The toilets are well maintained and clean. The feeding facilities for babies are also amazing. There are plenty of shops around and lots of sitting areas, perfect to bring your own food and enjoy too!

A really enjoyable visit, especially loved the African area - giraffe zebra rhino all in together, fantastic! Lots of cafes and toilets Designed very well, lots of bamboo and plants along the walkways, well worth a visit fir all ages.

We absolutely love, Colchester Zoo. Lots of talks and interaction. The parakeet feeding part, was new to us and we thoroughly enjoyed it 🙂. It is a shame though, as years ago, you could queue and feed the Giraffes and Elephants. But you now have to pay extra for that. But I appreciate that it can't be cheap to keep a zoo going, especially in this economy and they do a lot to help support wild animals, so it's all worth it 😊.

What a great day we all had at Colchester zoo … my Grandson had two tickets brought for his birthday ! (experience with animals one to one. ) we was with a young lady called Charlie .. she was wonderful and explained about the animals in detail and answered all the questions that my 6 year old Grandson ask her .. she was so professional and so great with children… the experience lasted over two hours .. would highly suggest this special treat !

Great - not to busy as it was just before summer holidays. Would have been great if all facilities were open, such as cafes and pop up balloon kiosks. Animals were great!

It's a good zoo. Animals are very well cared for. The educational sessions were good. Some enclosures seem a bit baron like some of the activities for smaller children. Food offerings are quite basic and lots of unhealthy options. Worth a visit.

Great day at Colchester zoo. Staff were incredibly polite and helpful and food outlets were good. Saw lots of animals that were obviously well cared for. Also loads of toilets around the site which makes the trip easier. Only criticism is that a lot of the information signs on the exhibits are faded and illegible- especially the ones designed for the children to read.

Lovely zoo, very big so comfy shoes are a winner. Great variety of animals and staff were all very helpful. Only thing we found tricky, was it could have done with some better signage. We did a lap twice before we found some things as it wasn't as clear as it could have been which way we needed to go.

Decent enough zoo, but we were frustrated with the layout - finding it difficult to work our way round in a sensible and logical way - it all seemed a bit too spread out. So despite arriving close to opening and leaving last thing, we sadly didn't cover everything off. Nice to see the same hours of operation in place for a Sunday as other days in the week. Ticket prices felt expensive compared to similar attractions. Mobile phone reception (not the zoo's fault) was poor and wifi coverage (from the zoo) was patchy and unreliable at best.

Alway love visiting Colchester zoo. Good sized enclosures for the animals with indoor and outdoor areas available for them. There was summer entertainment for the kids with a main stage and as we were leaving they were doing a little goodbye show at the exit. I wish there were water refill stations around the zoo as I had to keep buying bottles of water. But other than that 10/10

Fully recommend the zoo. We always renew our yearly pass as there is so much to do and see here and the children love coming here. Great to see all the animals close up and never a dull moment.

A brilliant day out with the family on my return visit after quite a few years. Very busy bankholiday Monday, which added to the atmosphere. Plenty of parking with entry being managed very well and efficiently without queues. Place was very clean, well designed, and easy to get around. Plenty of cafes, food outlets and ice cream Stores to keep family happy. Most importantly the big 5 were out and not hiding🦁🐯🦒🐘🦏

Had a great day out. The zoo has lots of animals. The enclosures are well kept and the zoo is spotless. We only had coffee so can't comment on food, but all the staff were very friendly.

Good day out, huge variety of animals. Such a huge place that I do find difficult to navigate. Great food and drink options available all over too. I did feel quite sad seeing the Lion just laying there in his pen though. I wonder if he gets to run and play and has company.

Loved it with the kids till they got exhausted, a lot to see, play, and enjoy. You feel like you're walking through different jungles. There were play areas for kids, and parents to have a brake. I guess a lot enjoy feeding and petting the goats if they are not afraid 😉.

Such a Great Zoo haven't been here for a few years but so amazed by all of the incredible animals to see if you get the timing right. Easy to get about but a few steep hills. Friendly staff and knowledgeable about the animals, very happy to go again.

The best zoo I have been too. Lots of animals, lots of play parks scattered around the zoo, a train ride around some of the park into an up close visit into the ring-tailed lemur exhibit. Food seems a little pricey but that's no different to any other place.

Absolutely love Colchester zoo. The animals are great, we always seem to find something new each visit and staff are helpful. Food outlets are okay, our favourite it Wrap and Roll however occasionally we've visited and this has been closed. I now check at the entrance which food outlets are running that day so I can plan. Keeper talks are informative. Love the Madagascan express. Really looking forward to the new dinosaur area being built.

So much to see and do, it's a huge space with a wide variety of well kept animals. Great day out, especially for kids there's a lot of fun experiences and encounters. Ample parking space, good amenities dotted all around as well as decent food options including vegetarian/vegan. Entry price may seem a bit steep but it's worth it for the welfare of all the animals on display. You can save a few quid by booking in advance or convert your clubcard vouchers which count as double value to use on the day. Wish this place wasn't so far from me, I would visit much more regularly. As it is, it was a great day out. Highly recommended.

We visited Colchester zoo today(15/01/24) for the extraordinary experience full day for my son’s Christmas present and it went far beyond expectation. From start to finish you are met with a wealth of knowledge of the animals and zoos history while having special encounters with the animals. You are well catered for the day during your experience making the day care free. Our host Amanda was so knowledgeable and went above and beyond to make the day amazing as was all the keepers we met through out the day. The care and passion the team have here for the animals is very evident. Experience was true value for money while the memories you keep from it especially for my son!