This was a nice zoo! We came here last year while visiting for a wedding and it was a nice way to spend a spring morning. Parking was a challenge, but it was a weekend, so we expected that. The zoo has lots of nice exhibits and the animals appeared well-cared for throughout. We particularly enjoyed seeing the red pandas and elephants as they are two of our favorite animals. There was lots of shaded areas around the exhibits, which was a nice touch since it can get so hot in south Texas. If you're a member of your local zoo (Nashville for us), you may be able to get discounted tickets for the Houston Zoo. Ours were half off!

Used the city pass. Free parking. Beautiful park that the zoo is situated in. Other reviews said it was hard to find parking, I did not find this at all. There is plenty of parking. Great grounds of the zoo, beautiful animals. It was a little bit confusing as to the layout, but managed to see everything. Must go of visiting Houston.

We were visiting from NZ, and my 11 year old was so excited to see the reptiles. She was at the Reptile house at 9:30am on the dot, for the doors to open. Fantastic range of reptiles and snakes, and we were lucky to see them more active so early. We caught Eddie the zoo keeper on his shift, and we were so pleased. He took so much time to answer all my kids curious questions, and shared so many facts and stories about working there. Was a highlight for us. The rest of the zoo was fantastic, such a great range of animals and spaces. The Galapagos area especially with the tanks and aquarium set ups. Beautiful places to just sit and stare! Highly recommend, plan for the full day.

We haven't been to a zoo for years. We were in Houston for a couple of days and spent over 4 hours at the zoo. Buying tickets on line was easy. Paper maps at the gate was helpful. Impressed with the size of the zoo. A large herd of elephants. Giraffes that you could buy food to feed. Such h a wide variety of animals. The zoo was very clean. Lots of picnic spots to enjoy your own food or purchase.

The Houston zoo was a great place to visit with the kids. We were able to use our reciprocity discount on buying tickets. Tickets needed to be purchased in advance and was very easy to buy on the website. Keep in mind the price of the zoo tickets changes depending on the time that you go so peak times are higher priced so if you are not set on getting to the zoo right as it opens, you may want to plan your trip a little later in the day to save money. We ended up buying the dinosaur exhibit pass, which included unlimited carousel rides. This past cost $10 and was well worth it since carousel rides were five dollars each ride. My kids rode the carousel at least three times so we definitely got our moneys worth. My only complaint is that when my kids were on the carousel, I went in line because I knew they were going to go again and the staff told me I had to wait for my kids to get off to get in line. I had the tickets in my phone and I was waiting for them to get off by the front entrance, and was still told that I needed to get all the way out of the line even though I was not blocking anybody and it was not busy. I just thought that they could have said all of this in a gentler way since we were visiting and we didn’t know. As we were leaving, which was around 2 PM the parking lot was definitely full and there were several people waiting for spots to open up.

We had a very good time here. So many different animals and even water creatures too. We thought the zoo was very good value since it is GIGANTIC and organized nice. I would say they need to improve their concessions and Food a bit, my pretzel seemed old and the Pepsi wasn't even cold. I found better snacks inside the Herman Park than the zoo which shouldn't be case for such a crowded and well visited city zoo. I would come back again on future trips, my 14-year daughter thought it was the BEST zoo she has ever visited and I agree

Went today. Took almost 1 hour to find a parking spot!! Entered zoo at 12:30 & left around4:15. Lots of free water bottle refill stations & clean bathrooms. You can bring food & drink in (bag not checked) & you should as there are lots of picnic areas & food on site is crazy expensive! $16 for sandwich or burger or premade small salad. $ 8 for a large slice of pizza or small cup of granola/trail mix. The zoo was good, but be sure to arrive early for free parking (there is a lot for $30 a bit of a walk)-i would not recommend. Also, look at their $ surge tix..looked the day before & 2 at noon were way more expensive than the day OF Also, the petting zoo was awesome! & they have hand washing stations outside

Excellent zoo! The usual animals, like elephants and giraffes, are nicely displayed. There's lovely, shaded walking paths. Takes at least 2 hours to walk around. In addition to the typical animals, there's an aquarium in the Galaogos Islands exhibit! Don't miss it! Only criticism is parking lots are enormous. It would be helpful to have numbered signs or signs with different animals posted to help find your car after your zoo visit.

It had been a few years since I last visited the Houston Zoo. Most zoos seem to decline over the years. This one had definitely improved. It is well laid out and clean. Due to the thunderstorm, most of the animals were not available for viewing. The staff did a great job of explaining that there was an incoming storm so I may wish to come back later to use the ticket as there was no reentry once you enter and then leave.

You can get very close to many of the animals, unlike other zoos where they are far away. There is a beautiful baby Masai giraffe born around June 10, 2024 who comes out to frolic with the others. Like many zoos, for some strange reason, the map is not accurate so look for the arrows at intersections. We saw Ankole Cattle (with the huge horns), Asian elephants with some babies who like to jump in the pond and stick their head thru the wire fence to use their trunk to gather grass for snack, bald eagles, Capybara with little ones, Eastern Crested Guineafowl, Zebras, Okapi (with striped legs like zebra), Roseate Spoonbill, Rhinoceros, and many others. You must make a timed reservation on-line to get into this zoo, with varying prices