a great family treat (Chester Zoo)

Member Name: forestgateaux

Product:	Chester Zoo
Date:	08/11/08 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a huge zoo where all the animals seem happy

Disadvantages: quite expensive compared to some zoos

My family don't go to church, instead we have a family anual pass and go to Chester Zoo nearly every Sunday.

We never get bored because the animals are always up to something!

It's an expensive day out, costing around £45 for a family to get in for the day. But well worth it if you only go once a year! However, we find the annual pass to be great value for money.
For 2 adults under 65 it costs £95 for the year. A child ticket is only £30 and a student pass is £40. So as a student I only need to go 4 times in a year to make my money back,and as I have already said we go much more than that!

It's a very large zoo, much bigger than Colwyn Bay Zoo which is its closest competitor.

All the enclosures seem to be a good size and all the animals seem entertained, which is very reassuring. They have a WONDERFUL monkey house and large enclosures for their Chimps and Orangutans, with indoor and outdoor space.

They also have a huge Jaguar house, sponsored by the car complany of the same name.

The elephant enclosure is the best I've seen in any zoo, with a waterfall and pool for them to play in and plenty of space for roaming around.

The bat house is also fantastic, and exciting for younger children.

Aside from the great collection of animals, reptiles and birds they have a huge adventure playground, a boat ride and a cable car train to take you around the zoo. There are quite a few gift shops dotted about the place.

My main criticism is probably the food available at the zoo. There are a few cafes and one main restaurant. But they are all very overpriced and serve pretty unhealthy food - generally just chips and burgers. The more healthy food seems to cost twice as much as the unhealthy and doesn't generally taste very good. But they do provide plenty of picnicing spaces, including some indoors, so there's no reason to let this put you off. And it can be nice to get some hot chips to eat with your home made butties.

Over summer the zoo gets VERY busy and if at all possible I would recommend going on a week day, early as you can. It can be a bit stressful fighting your way to a point where you can see the animals, especially if you have small children with you. But earlier on the animals are often more active and you'll get a great view!

Summary: get an anual ticket if you'll use it, or make it a summer treat