Chester zoo and amazing day out! (Chester Zoo)

Member Name: little-star

Product:	Chester Zoo
Date:	05/08/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: So much to see and do

Disadvantages: none

I am very much an animal lover and I've visited many zoo's over the years but Chester zoo was one zoo which I hadn't been to so when we went on holiday to Wales I knew we had to visit. It was about an hours drive away from where we were staying in Wales, there was plenty of sign posts to it so was quite easy to find.

We arrived at the zoo at 11am, I would suggest you arrive at the opening time (10am I think) as there is so much to see, the day simply isn't long enough even though it closed at 6pm. It was £16.50 for an adult ticket and about £12 for a child I think during the summer.

On arrival there were toilets at the entrance which is fantastic as usually you have to stand and queue for a ticket before searching all over for the toilet. Once paid they give you a map of the zoo and a sheet which has all the times for the different shows which are on. Sadly we didn't get to see any of the shows as we didn't have time but I would of loved to see them. The only show which I saw was the lion feeding one which was fantastic and would of been better if we didnt miss the start.

There are many different animals including elephants, girraffes, penguins, seals, zebras, lions, bears, monkeys and rhinos etc. There was also a butterfly world where you walk into a big room which is covered in plants and there are hundreds of butterflies flying around landing on you. There was a bat cave too, this was a really dark room so not suitable for young children, although my 5 year old sister enjoyed it. You can see and feel the bats flying all around you and is amazing if your not too frightened.

There was a mono-rail which could take you all around the zoo to make sure you don't miss any animals but we didn't go on this as we preferred to walk around so we could stop and look at any animals we wanted.

There were plenty of toilets dotted around but we found it difficult finding somewhere to eat. We stopped for a hotdog when we got there which were quite expensive at £3 each if youre taking a large family and there was limited seating. We also ate tea there later in a cafe which was actually cheaper, only £4 for burger and chips but the sandwiches were £3 each so if you only wanted a snack I would take your own sandwiches.

As the zoo is so large if you can't walk far I would use the monorail although doing this you wouldnt have a full day out. And if you take children who sometimes use a buggy I would take this or they'll be asking for a carry half the way round. It is a very long way to walk.

The zoo can be very busy and alot of people push past to see animals so if you can avoid going during holidays I would go while children are at school. There is a lovely little shop which isn't very expensive really I got 2 small elephant ornaments made from stone for only £2 each. They also sell bookmarks etc which say chester zoo on them. They have them penny machines around the zoo too where you put a penny in and it flattens it and prints whichever picture you want on it, this costs £1 and then you need a penny so make sure you take some shiny 1ps with you.

This was a fantastic day out with many different animals/shows to see and was well worth the money. Make sure you get there early to be able to see everything. I would love to go back to the zoo one day and hopefully I'd be able to see everything this time.

Summary: great full day out