A Zoo on an Extraordinary Scale

The San Diego Zoo covers 100 acres—around 40 hectares—and is home to more than 12,000 animals representing over 680 species and subspecies. It is also an accredited botanical garden and arboretum, with more than 700,000 individual plants, so the landscaping is not just decoration—it helps recreate the ecosystems each animal would naturally inhabit.

The Zoo is divided into distinct areas such as the Lost Forest, Africa Rocks, Elephant Odyssey, Asian Passage, the Australian Outback and Northern Frontier, with everything from enormous open-air habitats to immersive walk-through aviaries. There are plenty of places to stop for food, coffee, snacks or a cold drink along the way; and if you buy one of the reusable souvenir cups and plan to return—or you have a two-day ticket—hold onto it and check the current refill options.

Beyond being an incredible day out, the Zoo is part of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, an international nonprofit working in conservation science, wildlife health, endangered-species recovery and breeding programs around the world. In other words, your admission does more than get you through the gates—it also helps support the protection of wildlife far beyond San Diego.

My top tip: The Importance of Making A Plan

I'm usually a really spontaneous person, and love traveling or visiting destinations without a set plan, but when it comes to visiting the zoo, especially with my wife and children, it’s important to have a general idea of how you want to approach your day.

The first and perhaps most important thing to know about the San Diego Zoo, is that it’s build around a system of canyons, much like a large bowl, the edges of the zoo are flat, but as you continue deeper into the park, you end up walking down hill. While there are options for a guided bus tour, as well as the skyfari aerial tram, when exploring the Zoo on foot, what does down must eventually come back up. Which means you’re going to have to walk up some hills.

There are a few routes which are more gradual, and less steep, which I outline in my San Diego Zoo Travel Guide video. The worst climb, in my opinion, is coming back up towards the entrance from the “Asia Passage” section by the Panda exhibit. You’ll walk along a steep incline, past Grizzly Bears and other species of Ursus, but it’s best avoided if mobility is limited or you’re not a big walker. The easiest climb back towards the entrance is by taking the elevator up from the Panda exhibit to the “Bashor Bridge” at the Treetop Bistro restaurant, then you can follow the Monkey Trails back up towards the exit and flat ground.

While ambitious travelers may aspire to see the whole Zoo in a day, I doubt it’s really feasible, unless your a runner training for a marathon, for the rest of us planning a route between a few key exhibits is the best plan.