Top American Zoos – San Diego Zoo
Another titan in American zoological entertainment, the San Diego Zoo is up there with the Columbus Zoo in terms of prestige and public consciousness. In fact, there are those who would claim it’s the very best in the world.
Cutting out a hundred-acre swath of “America’s Finest City”, the San Diego Zoo is normal in a lot of ways. Animals, open-air habitats, keeper chats, it’s nothing new, yet at the same time, this place is somehow more than the sum of its parts. Unique to the zoo, for example, is the plethora of ways in which to see the park. While walking from exhibit to exhibit may still be the only choice for purists, those who have trouble walking long distances or the schedulely-challenged can take a guided tour bus, ride a mini-railroad, or even fly over the entire park in the exciting Skyfari® aerial tram.
If you’ve got the money to spend, you can even reserve a V.I.P. tour featuring a 2.5-hour behind-the-scenes peak throughout the park.
Of course, great animals also have something to do with the park’s popularity. The San Diego Zoo is best known for its Giant Panda exhibit, one of only four U.S. zoos to feature the highly-endangered creatures and also one of the few worldwide to successfully breed them. Among the 4,000 animals and 800+ species, you’ll also find an incredible variety of monkeys, apes, big cats, reptiles and birds.
If there’s a downside to the San Diego Zoo, it’s the price. At $35 for a one-day, regular adult admission, the cost is a reasonable turn off to many unprepared visitors. Zoo Web site.
I recommend saving where you can by avoiding the admission booth altogether. The Holiday Inn San Diego by the Bay, always one of my favorite San Diego hotels, is currently offering a Zoo Package featuring accommodations and two adult tickets. That’s a $70 savings right there, and they’ve got a free shuttle to the zoo to boot!
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Linda Said,
January 18, 2009 @ 9:33 pm
I love to take my kids to the San Diego Zoo as one of the main events when we visit San Diego. You’d think that Sea World would make the top of the San Diego list, but I guess glitter isn’t everything. The Holiday Inn San Diego Hotel on the bay is great for our family because of the San Diego downtown area location and the fact that it is always consistent with great service. My kids love the “kids eat free” program that Holiday Inn has always had, so this let’s us all have something to look forward to.
Jane Says Said,
July 14, 2009 @ 10:19 pm
Oh, I haven’t been to that zoo in such a long time! Your post brought back so many memories, its definitely time to travel back that way and introduce my own children to that wonderland!
Thanks for the memories!
kate Said,
September 18, 2009 @ 9:44 pm
As someone who has recently visited this zoo, I have to say that I think it is a little bit overrated. It was cool to see the pandas and the gorillas since the Phoenix zoo has neither but overall, it was just another zoo.