Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo is located in Upton just outside Chester and is home to over 21,000 animals set in 125 acres of gardens.  Whether you are young or old you are sure to have a great day out exploring this fantastic attraction.  Over 1.9 million people visit here every year.  The zoo has a variety of tours available to keep your little monkeys happy.  Forbes described the Zoo as one of the best fifteen in the World and in 2017 it was named the best Zoo in the UK and Third in the World by TripAdvisor.  Chester Zoo is operated by the North of England Zoological Society, a registered charity set-up in 1934.

The zoo has numerous cafes and restaurants scattered about to keep you fuelled up the day.  On site there is a monorail to get around on and explore the islands located at the zoo.

Hotels Near Chester Zoo

Use the interactive map below for have a look at out guide for hotels near Chester Zoo.

Tours & Activities Near Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo Islands

Explore the environments of six South East Asian Islands on your wildlife expedition.  Discover the island habitats of Panay, Papua, Bali, Sumatra, Sumba and Sulawesi and find some of the world’s most magnificent wildlife.  You’ll feel like a group of intrepid explorers learning real life conservation skills.  Watch out for tigers as you make your way through the bamboo forest, observe the macaques on Sulawesi and take the Lazy River Boat Trip from Sumba.

Madagascar

We’re bringing the incredible island of Madagascar to you!  Join us as we celebrate this amazing habitat, the wildlife found there and just what makes this part of the world so unique!

Learn more about the unique species only found in Madagascar, including our ring-tailed lemurs and the islands top predator, the fossa.

Monorail

No visit to Chester Zoo is complete without a ride on the Zoofari Monorail.  The carriages take wheelchairs too (although not electric scooters), and give you a wonderful view of the animals, habitats and gardens to help guide you around.  Each ticket takes you from one station to the next. (No round trips, sorry.) But you can always get off and just get another ticket to go again.

You can go from the Tsavo station to Jubilee Square station – taking in the black rhinos, Tsavo bird aviary, roan antelope, Grevy’s zebras, capybaras, tapirs, bats bridge, and the lions.  Or go from Jubilee Square station past the binturong, Fun Ark, Europe on the Edge Aviary, the giant otters, penguins, flamingos, lemurs, onagers, camels, greater one-horned rhino, Philippine spotted deer, and Asian elephants, and then back to Tsavo station (phew!).

Monorail Tickets

• Adults £2.25
• Children (aged 3-17) £1.75
• Infants aged 2 & under are FREE

Lazy River Boat Trip

After exploring the Islands on foot, you also have the option to discover the Islands on the lazy river boat trip.

Look out for signs to the Lazy River Boat Trip on Sumba island and make your way past the bird market towards the jetty. Here you’ll hop onto one of the 14 Lazy River boats – all individually themed around a different South East Asian island.

As you meander down the river, listen out for the many different sounds; it’s important to stay focused as you sail past tribal lands and danger signs…

• Passengers must be able to walk unaided (babies and children may not be carried). 
• Children under 1.2 metres tall must be accompanied at a ratio of 1 adult to 2 children.
• Wheelchair adaptable boats are available with one space for a manual wheelchair each. Unfortunately we are unable to allow access to visitors with electric wheelchairs.

Chester Zoo Opening Times

May
9th May 2023 – 26th May 2023
Monday – Sunday 10:00am-17:00pm
May Half Term
27th May 2023 – 4th June 2023
Monday – Sunday 10:00am-18:00pm
June/July
5th June 2023 – 22nd July 2023
Monday – Sunday 10:00am – 17:00pm
July
28th July 2023 – 29th July 2023
Friday – Saturday 10:00am – 17:00pm
July/August
30th July 2023- 3rd September 2023
Monday – Sunday 10:00am – 18:00pm
September/October
4th September 2023- 29th October 2023
Monday – Sunday 10:00am – 16:30pm

Last admission is 30 minutes before closing time.
Closed Christmas Day & Boxing Day. Open Christmas Eve 10am – 3pm.

Chester Zoo Tickets & Prices 2023

Adults – From £25.45 Groups
Family Ticket – (2 adults, 2 children) – From £95.43
Carer for disabled guest – Free
Child (3-17 yrs) – From £19.09 Groups
Infant (2 and under) – Free
Students & 65+ – From £23.63 Groups

Chester Zoo Book Tickets

Get the best price when you buy your ticket online and beat the queues with fast track admission. Chester Zoo have flexible pricing for families too! Discounted rates for group and school visits. For accurate prices go to www.chesterzoo.org

Can you refund Chester Zoo tickets? 

Chester Zoo admission tickets can be used once and are valid for 12 months.  Admission tickets are non-refundable and cannot be used to receive a discounted rate on their memberships or in conjunction with any promotional offer

Chester Zoo Annual Membership Prices

Join Chester Zoo by becoming a yearly member (annual pass) and you’ll get a whole year of FREE unlimited entry plus lots of other great benefits.  Memberships can be bought for yourself or for someone else as a gift.

Prices

Membership Packages Include:

• Unlimited FREE entry for 12 months (during normal opening hours)
• Beat the queues with fast track entry
• 10% members’ discount in the shops and cafes
• Free entry to other zoos and attractions (terms apply)
• Quarterly members’ magazine Z
• Two members’ days where you can bring up to 12 guests each for half price
• Access to Junior members’ events and days out (age restrictions and additional charges)
• Chester Zoo car sticker
• Invitations to special members’ talks

Food & Restaurants

Kiosks – There is lots of kiosks around the Zoo serving drinks & snacks while you are on the move.

Jaguar Coffee House – Situated next to the Jaguar house, the coffee shop serves lots of different treats and hot drinks with lots of outside seating.

Junes Food Court – Named after June Mottershead, the founder’s daughter.  You will find lots of different choices to suit everyone here as well as family meal deals.  There is freshly baked pizzas, fish & chips, burgers, a healthy deli and even a ice cream parlour.  There is lots of seating (plenty of high chairs) and there is a playground just outside.

Manado Street Kitchen – After experiencing the wonderful sights of the Islands head to Manado street kitchen for some tasty street food and other authentic South East Asian inspired food.

Bembe Kitchen – Located at the main entrance it’s perfectly located for when you arrive or when it’s almost time to go home. Call in at the Bembe Coffee Shop and enjoy the special blend of ethical coffee here. The best bit is that the entrance to the Coffee Shop is in the Diamond Jubilee Quarter so you don’t have to have a ticket to visit the zoo to go there. You can pop in whenever you like and see the elephants and rhinos through the window.  In the Bembe Kitchen they serve homemade hot food from the counter or you can pick up a sandwich, snack or drink. You can even treat yourself with a selection of deliciously tempting cakes.  Bembe Snacks is just opposite the monorail station and here you’ll find freshly made donuts, ice creams and drinks. Don’t miss the fizzy slush too!

The Oakfield – George Mottershead had a vision of creating a zoo without bars, a haven for exotic animals to be cared for.  He moved his family to Oakfield House and they started to build their zoo.  A real family affair, ‘The Oakfield’ became the family home, a tea room, an aquarium and now a contemporary British pub that celebrates the rich heritage of Chester Zoo.  Today The Oakfield has been lovingly restored creating a relaxed space that will be the perfect setting to enjoy the best food and drink on offer.  Around the pub you’ll see precious family photographs and early zoo memories.

Still hungry then look at our guide to Restaurants In Chester.

Chester Zoo Animals

Download a Map of Chester Zoo and discover what wonderful wildlife is to be discovered

There is over 27000 animals at the zoo from 500 different species, including some of the most exotic and endangered in the world.  These include Asian elephants, orangutans, sloths, penguins, giraffes, tigers, gorillas, jaguars, rhinos, red pandas, bears, monkeys, lions, hippos, lemurs, otters and zebras.

Chester Zoo Experiences

A fantastic opportunity to get closer to the animals and go behind the scenes with the keepers.

Red Panda Encounter

Join us for an amazing opportunity to meet one of the cutest animals in the zoo in an experience you’ll never forget.

Step inside the red panda habitat and get up close to this unique and endangered species. Red pandas are cautious by nature and this encounter offers you the chance to meet and feed this enigmatic species in their own environment.

After an introductory briefing you will have a very special opportunity to meet and feed our beautiful red panda. You will also have the chance to ask one of our keepers any questions you may have and learn all about this fascinating and lovable species.

By buying this gift, for yourself or for someone else, not only will it be an experience to remember but you will also be contributing to our conservation work both here and around the world helping to save animals from extinction.

Encounter lasts approx 30 minutes and includes the following:

• Free admission into the zoo for the participant
• Complimentary drink
• The chance to meet and feed our red panda from an exclusive feeding station
• The opportunity to learn about these beautiful animals and ask our keepers any questions you may have
• Small gift and experience certificate

The Encounter is available for adults and children over the age of 8 years old. Children between the ages of 8-15 years old must be accompanied into Chester Zoo by a spectating parent or guardian paying normal zoo admission (1 adult per 1 child). The spectating parent or guardian will not enter the animal habitat.

There will be a maximum of two people taking part at any one time.  Prices from £75.00 per person.

Elephant Encounter

Our elephant herd at Chester Zoo are really special to us and to our visitors. Now we’ve created a brand new encounter that will get you closer than ever and give our elephants an experience that they love too.

You’ll have seen our elephants frolicking around in their pool. They love nothing more than freshening up and splashing around in water on a warm summer’s day.

And now we’re giving you the chance to meet our expert elephant keepers and get an exclusive, up close and personal encounter with our elephants – with the help of a water hose!

By buying this gift, for yourself or for someone else, not only will it be an experience to remember but you will also be contributing to our conservation work both here and around the world helping, to save animals from extinction.

Encounter lasts approx 30 minutes and includes the following:

• Free admission into the zoo for the participant
• Complimentary drink
• The chance to hose down the elephants from an exclusive washing station
• The opportunity to learn about these beautiful creatures and ask our keepers any questions you may have
• Small gift and experience certificate

For health and safety reasons this encounter is only available to over 18s. Only 1 person per encounter (guests are allowed to stand in a viewing area nearby to see the encounter as it happens).

Please be aware that we operate a no contact policy with our elephants so there will be no opportunity to touch the elephants during the encounter.  Prices from £110.00 per person.

Giraffe Encounter

Our Giraffe Encounter offers you the chance to get up close and personal with the tallest land animals, making your day at the zoo truly memorable!

After an introductory briefing you will then have the very special opportunity to meet and feed our Rothschild Giraffes at head height from our new viewing platform.

You will also get chance to ask one of our keepers any questions you may have.

By buying this gift, for yourself or for someone else, not only will it be an experience to remember but you will also be contributing to our conservation work both here and around the world helping, to save animals from extinction.

Encounter lasts approx 30 minutes and includes the following:

• Free admission into the zoo for the participant
• Complimentary drink
• The chance to meet and feed our Giraffes at head height
• The opportunity to learn about these beautiful animals and ask our keepers any questions you may have
• Small gift and experience certificate

The Encounter is available for adults and children over the age of 11 years old, however children between the ages of 11 to 15 years old must be accompanied by a spectating parent or guardian paying normal zoo admission (1 adult per 1 child). The spectating parent or guardian will not enter the animal habitat.

There will be a maximum of three people taking part at any one time.  Prices from £99.00 per person.

Rhino Encounter

Our Rhino Encounter offers you the chance to get up close and personal with our magnificent greater one-horned rhinos, making your day at the zoo one you’ll never forget!

After an introductory briefing with a zoo keeper you will then have the very special opportunity to meet and feed a magnificent greater one-horned rhino from our exclusive feeding station.

You will also get chance to ask one of our keepers any questions you may have.

By buying this gift, for yourself or for someone else, not only will it be an experience to remember but you will also be contributing to our conservation work both here and around the world helping, to save animals from extinction.

Encounter lasts approx 30 minutes and includes the following:

• Free admission into the zoo for the participant
• Complimentary drink
• The chance to meet and feed one of our greater one-horned rhinoceros from an exclusive feeding station
• The opportunity to learn about these beautiful animals and ask our keepers any questions you may have
• Small gift and experience certificate

The Encounter is available for those aged 18 and over only.

There will be a maximum of two people taking part at any one time.  Prices from £99.00 per person.

Aardvark Encounter

Our Aardvark Encounter offers you the chance go behind the scenes and join the aardvarks in their enclosure with the keeper.

After an introductory briefing you will have the very special opportunity to go inside the home of these unusual animals and, with the keeper’s guidance, feel the roughness of their skin and enjoy taking fantastic photos.

You will also get the chance to ask one of our keepers any questions you may have about these amazing animals.

By buying this gift, for yourself or for someone else, not only will it be an experience to remember but you will also be contributing to our conservation work both here and around the world helping, to save animals from extinction.

Encounter lasts approx 30 minutes and includes the following:

• Free admission into the zoo for the participant
• Complimentary drink
• The chance to meet our aardvarks in their home
• The opportunity to learn about these beautiful animals and ask our keepers any questions you may have
• Small gift and experience certificate

The Encounter is available for adults and children over the age of 8 years old, however children between the ages of 8 to 15 years old must be accompanied by a spectating parent or guardian paying normal zoo admission (1 adult per 1 child). The spectating parent or guardian will not enter the animal habitat.

There will be a maximum of two people taking part at any one time.

Just so you know... the shutter sounds/clicking noises from DSLR type cameras agitates the aardvarks, and so for this reason we only allow ‘silent’ cameras and camera phones on this encounter.  Prices from £69.00 per person.

Penguin Encounter

Our Penguin Encounter offers you the chance to get up close and personal with our colony of Humboldt penguins, making your day at the zoo even more memorable!

After an introductory briefing you will then have the very special experience of meeting and feeding our penguins in the penguin habitat

You will also get chance to ask one of our keepers any questions you may have.

By buying this gift, for yourself or for someone else, not only will it be an experience to remember but you will also be contributing to our conservation work both here and around the world helping, to save animals from extinction.

Encounter lasts approx 30 minutes and includes the following:

• Free admission into the zoo for the participant
• Complimentary drink
• The chance to meet and feed our colony of penguins
• The opportunity to learn about these beautiful animals and ask one of our keepers any questions you may have
• Small gift and experience certificate

The Encounter is available for adults and children over the age of 5 years old, however children between the ages of 5 to 15 years old must be accompanied by a spectating parent or guardian paying normal zoo admission (1 adult per 1 child). The spectating parent or guardian will not enter the animal habitat.

There may be 1 other participant taking part in the same Encounter.  Prices from £89.00 per person.

Meerkat Encounter

Our Meerkat Encounter offers you the chance to get up close to these highly sociable and fascinating creatures, making your day at the zoo truly memorable!

After an introductory briefing you will then have the amazing experience of feeding our Meerkats from a keeper feeding station, as well as the opportunity to ask one of our keepers any questions you may have.

By buying this gift, for yourself or for someone else, not only will it be an experience to remember but you will also be contributing to our conservation work both here and around the world helping, to save animals from extinction.

Encounter lasts approx 30 minutes and includes the following:

• Free admission into the zoo for the participant
• Complimentary drink
• The chance to feed our Meerkats (from a keeper feeding station)
• The opportunity to learn about these beautiful animals and ask our keepers any questions you may have
• Small gift and experience certificate

The encounter is available for adults and children over the age of 7 years old; however children between the ages of 7 to 15 years old must be accompanied by a spectating parent or guardian paying normal zoo admission (1 adult per 1 child). The spectating parent or guardian will not enter the animal habitat.

There will be a maximum of four people taking part at any one time.  Prices from £69.00 per person.

Fruit Bat Encounter

After an introductory briefing you will then have the very special opportunity to feed our bats in Fruit Bat Forest.

You will also get the chance to ask one of our Keepers any questions you may have.

By buying this gift, for yourself or for someone else, not only will it be an experience to remember but you will also be contributing to our conservation work both here and around the world helping, to save animals from extinction.

Encounter lasts approx 30 minutes and includes the following:

• Free admission into the zoo for the participant
• Complimentary drink
• The chance to feed our Fruit Bats
• The opportunity to learn about these inquisitive animals and ask our Keepers any questions you may have
• Small gift and experience certificate

The Encounter is available for adults and children over the age of 10 years old. Children between the ages of 10-15 years old must be accompanied into Chester Zoo by a spectating parent or guardian paying normal zoo admission (1 adult per 1 child). The spectating parent or guardian will not enter the animal habitat.

There will be a maximum of three people taking part at any one time.  Prices from £59.00 per person.

Chester Zoo Adopt An Animal

Adoptions are the perfect gift for animal lovers and prices start from just £45.00.  There are 4 different packages including gold, silver, bronze and junior.  Not only will you be helping fund the conservation work in the UK and all around the world, you will receive an exclusive adoption pack and your name will be displayed on a ‘Thank You’ plaque near the habitat of your chosen animal.  For more information please visit https://www.chesterzoo.org/online-shop/adopt-an-animal/

Chester Zoo Keeper For A Day

Ever fancied mucking in (or mucking out) with a real-life zoo keeping team? Well now’s your chance!

Chester Zoo are one of the only zoos in the UK that offers a one-to-one personal keeper day working with the animal section of your choice.

You can choose from a range of animals to look after, including some of the world’s most endangered species.

Working alongside the expert keepers, you’ll learn a huge amount about your chosen animal, and about life at the zoo. As well as having a brilliant time!

Starting at 8am and finishing at 5pm, you’ll get involved in every part of the Keeper’s day, from preparing food to feeding and cleaning out. Plus whatever surprises may come along.

We hold our Keeper Days on Wednesdays and bookings and payments are taken over the phone.

Tea breaks and lunch are all included, plus you’ll get a signed certificate in a presentation pack and a gift to remember your special day.

All the money we raise through this scheme goes to support our wide range of conservation work at the zoo and around the world. Right now the Zoo have projects running in over 100 countries. So your day as a keeper will be making a difference to worldwide conservation too!  Prices from £250-£280 per person, full day experience, 8am-5pm.  Over 18s only.

Chester Zoo Gift Shop

There is lots of souvenirs, books and toys to buy in the shop at the zoo entrance, so you can carry on playing and learning at home. All purchases made in the shops help fund the Zoo’s vital conservation work.

There is also loads of wild and inspirational gifts and products that you won’t find in the shops, so catch them while you can.

Situated at the main entrance, the main Gift Shop is a treasure trove of all things wildlife.  The range of toys, books, souvenirs and handicrafts are specially sourced and are often handmade from the UK and around the world.

Directions

By Car

When approaching Chester keep an out for the brown signs.  Once you get onto the A41, from whichever direction, simply stay on that road until you reach a roundabout with a large wooden ark on it. From there follow the signs into the zoo.  The postcode for sat nav is CH2 1EU.

By Bus

From Chester take the number 1 service from Chester bus exchange.

Accessibility

https://www.accessable.co.uk/venues/chester-zoo

Chester Zoo Address

Address : Chester Zoo, Upton by Chester, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 1EU
Phone Number : 01244 380 280

Frequently Asked Questions

Map

Open In Google Maps