Edinburgh Zoo

We visited Edinburgh Zoo for my daughters third birthday as she is animal crazy. We decided to travel to the Zoo via train, the journey from Newcastle takes just over an hour and the tickets were really cheap at around £15 each return. When we arrived in Edinburgh we hopped on a bus outside of Waverly train station that dropped us right outside the Zoo five minutes later.

We had pre-booked  tickets online (£53.50 for a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children, under 3's go free) so when we arrived at the entrance I just showed the reservation details on my mobile and we were given a map and confirmation details of are booking to see the panda's. 

As soon as we exited the entrance we walked through the pelican enclosure and then went to see the meerkats, which were a huge hit with my two toddlers. Walking around we were impressed with how clean and tidy the zoo was and all the enclosures looked well maintained and close to the animals natural habitats, with great indoor and outdoor viewing points. When walking around we did notice that a lot of the enclosures seemed to be empty though which was a shame.

We visited the monkey walkway and the Budongo Trail which was the most amazing indoor Chimpanzee enclosure, it was huge and I was amazed at how many chimps there were. It was amazing watching them climbing and eating so close up, we viewed them indoors through huge glass windows although they did have an outdoor enclosure too.

We then headed to see the Koala bears although all three of them were asleep in their trees when we visited. It was still amazing to see a Koala bear up close. 

We headed up a very steep hill to see the Tiger who was indoors, but we did catch a glimpse of him through the bars of his enclosure. We did see the lion though who was lying down in his enclosure near the glass viewing platform. 

As we had visited on a term day weekday all of the little kiosks and some of the food outlets were shut, luckily we brought a picnic along with us. We also stopped off at the penguin cafe for coffee and cakes which were a tad on the expensive side, but what you would expect from a tourist attraction. 

Having a toddler who has just mastered potty training and a little one still in nappies we were pleased that there was lots of very clean toilets and baby changing facility's dotted around the zoo.

The children both fell in love with the penguins, the enclosure was huge with indoor, outdoor and underwater viewing points. Lots of the penguins were sitting in nests with baby chicks or eggs when we visited. We were lucky enough to catch the penguins at feeding time too. 

The monkey house was also a massive hit with Sophia as she adored seeing the monkeys climbing about and eating, the look of sheer joy on her face was priceless as she ran around trying to see them all.

As the giant panda's are the only panda's in the UK you have to pre-book your slot to visit them when you book your zoo tickets, so the enclosure does not get too busy. We had booked to see the pandas at 2pm and we were really looking forward to seeing them.

The female panda was nowhere to be seen, I think she was inside. The male panda was outdoors though right in front of the huge glass window to his outdoor enclosure in full view. It was amazing seeing a panda so close up and he was so happy just lying eating bamboo, so content. There was a keeper giving a talk about him and answering questions.

As soon as we left the pandas enclosure we were back at penguin rock just in time for the penguin parade, which happens each day at 2.15pm. The penguin parade only happens if the penguins want to come out, luckily they did the day that we visited. All the visitors had to form a barrier around the walkway and then some of  the penguins came out the enclosure and walked around the paths right in front of us. It was the highlight of the children's day.

On the way out of the zoo we visited the gift shop and we let each of the children choose a soft toy each to take home. I think the soft toys were about £15 each. 

We had a really lovely family day out at the zoo and my one year old, three year old and 13 year old all really enjoyed it. It was a lovely zoo to visit and so easy to get to from Edinburgh city centre. 

One thing worth noting though is that the Zoo is very hilly and while my three year old walked most of the time she did end up having to have a carry every now and then as she was so tired. It is very accessible though with a buggy. Also as we visited on a weekday during term time there seemed to be so many big school groups. 

We also made a little video of are day out if you would like to watch it below.

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