San Diego Zoo/San Diego Zoo Safari Park Tips to see whole parks

Hey everyone, my family and I are going to be at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park later this summer and I’m looking for tips and advice on routes to take to see the entire zoo. Could anyone (preferably someone who knows the ins-and-outs of both parks) help me?

 

I wrote some tips in this thread that might help. The safari park is easy to do in one day without doing any additional safari tours. The zoo, on the other hand, takes a lot longer to see and I would recommend you get there as early as possible or take two days if you’re able to. Let me know if you have any other questions and I hope you enjoy your visit. @betsy and @Julio C Castro (our other SD regulars) may also have some tips for you

It seems like a ton of zoochatters are visiting SD this year and next year!

 

As for the zoo....I have found it hard to see everything without back tracking some. The zoo is incredible, but as for designing a walking route, I have not been able to discern a route that does not require back tracking. I second the recommendation for 2 days there if you can, one day is really rushed and you will not see all the animals you desire to.

 

Thank you both so much. If I don’t do the trams, could I still get a good view of all of the rare Asian and African hoofstock, or not? @IndianRhino

 

I'll offer a friendly dissent with the two prior posters (though I understand where they're coming from!) and suggest that splitting the zoo over two days is probably *not* worth the cost of an additional day's ticket (2 days at zoo + 1 day at safari park = ~$190 for one person). I could have finished the zoo in one day had I spent less time birding in the walk-through aviaries and hunting for a particular few rarities, and you'll have the additional advantage of the zoo's summer hours (9 AM to 9 PM, although it will start getting dark near the end there). I'm guessing your family might be the biggest variable here; I'm not sure what their fitness or interest level is, but in my experience trying to finish any large zoo with people who aren't zoo nerds is a heavy lift!

My best advice would be to temper your expectations and prioritize what you want to see the most, in case you can't finish. The zoo has areas that most of us would consider more "skippable", but it's mostly up to your own interests and preferences. If I had to suggest areas to prioritize, I'd say:

- Lost Forest/Monkey Trails and Africa Rocks, regardless of your particular interests;
- If you're into birds, do all of the walk-through aviaries in those two areas (but try not to spend too long in them!); the long string of aviaries near the gorillas, where the Bird-of-Paradises are; and the new hummingbird aviary next to Wildlife Explorers Basecamp;
- If you care at all about herps, do the Reptile House and Walk (especially the outdoor portions);
- If you like invertebrates, the new Spineless Marvels building is fantastic;
- If you like koalas, you can easily see several of them in Outback

Northern Frontier, Elephant Odyssey, Urban Jungle, Asian Trek, the new Wildlife Explorers Basecamp, and all of the other miscellaneous areas are mostly good but I'd say represent more stereotypical zoo areas that you could see elsewhere. They're worth doing if it's convenient, but even if you miss some or all of them you won't be missing the biggest highlights of the zoo IMO.

As far as efficient routes go, I agree with @SwampDonkey: I don't think there's a way to do it without backtracking. Additionally many of the paths/loops are noticeably steep, mostly sloping downhill from the entrance. I'd say avoid walking up (towards entrance) Center Street at least, and do Africa Rocks heading down (away from entrance). Accessing Lost Forest is also easier from the top or bottom; accessing from the side may require tall flights of stairs.

Not really. Also, the tram that is included in your general admission ticket only shows the African hoofstock; the Asian hoofstock requires an additional tram fee that will roughly double the cost of your visit.

 

Does either park have wombats anymore?

 

The zoo has an exhibit, but I've never seen it active. You'll have much better luck in Los Angeles.

 

@Animallover360 Agree completely with Coelecanth18 - it probably takes two days to see everything, but is it worth it? On my last visit, I decided to spend a long time in Africa Rocks - which is really unlike anything you'll find anywhere else - and the aviaries and it was wonderful. I saw as much as I could the rest of the day but didn't stress about it.

Figure out before you go what's really important to you and enjoy it.

 

I’m pretty sure we are doing the zoo for 2 days and Safari park for one

 

I’m really excited to see Africa Rocks

 

Unfortunately, per my visit a few weeks ago the wombats at Los Angeles are off-exhibit currently. Unsure how long that will be the case, but I think it has been for all or most of the pandemic so far.

@Animallover360 nice to hear you might be getting 3 days then it's definitely the ideal option, I just wanted to offer some additional information on the costs since it was a factor for me. For those who want to do that, it's great.

 

The last time I was there I only had one day, so I had to kind of rush through it all. The previous time (quite a while back) I had two days and went "through" most of it the first day, taking the second to re-visit habitats that the animals were missed the first day, and to spend more time in the exhibits that were really interesting to me.

 

DO NOT skip the tram tour to see the Africa area. It is the only way that you will get a good look at large parts of the park unless you sign up for one of their up-charge tours. The best look that you will get of the Asian field exhibit is from the tiger complex unless you sign up for a back-stage tour. Bring your binoculars.

Make sure to see the California condor-bighorn sheep complex, the Australian complex (now with platypus), the tiger complex, and the African elephant herd. That all involves a long but pleasant hike.

If you are doing general admission at the Safari Park and skipping any of the extra charge tours, you should be able to see the park in a day.

 

Seeing as SDZ has been covered a bit, I’ll speak on SDZ Safari Park as it’s probably the less visited park between Zoochatters and guests alike. Do your best to arrive early, the Safari Park is in a valley so it tends to get much hotter closer to noon. You can easily do the Safari Park in a couple loops but as a recommendation for a first timer, I would do my best to do one of the extra paid tours like Caravan Safari that takes you into the larger field exhibits. As for the best time to do said tour, I’ve had better luck after 2 PM due to fewer people on the tour.

Areas you should hit up first before the crowds swell up:
-Tiger Trail: highly photogenic area for their Sumatran Tigers, you have more chances of seeing them active very early in the morning and can see more of them due to multiple habitats.
-Walkabout Australia: they allow guests to do the walkway area where kangaroos and wallabies as well as many waterfowl can roam about. Also don’t forget to see the platypus, the morning is ideal due to less people there.
-Elephant Valley: split into two habitats, it has a few different vantage points but they more ideal one is the one on the far right where you can see the herd up on the hill and less obstructed by barriers.
-Gorilla Forest: a fan favorite area for guests due to gorillas being very popular and it’s a place I often see guests linger a bit longer than at most areas.

There are more areas than mentioned but I feel you can do at your leisure as I always manage to see it all during my visits. African Woods is a fantastic yet highly underrated area most guests either ignore or forget about. It’s home to various hoofstock and bird species, I take a break from the crowds here since I also can take my time photographing the animals with minimal interruptions. Condor Ridge is another area I take my time at but filled with beauties like the California Condor, Burrowing Owls, Ocellated Turkeys, Thick Billed Parrots. Hidden Jungle is a greenhouse habitat filled with birds species from around the world. It will get quite steamy in there around noon, perhaps visit in the later hours if not a big priority for you. And lastly, the Wings of the World aviary close to the entrance is a neat aviary you can see Northern Bald Ibis, Pink Pigeons, Congo Peafowl, and more which I always save for the end of the day.

I haven’t visited close to month but recently the Safari Park lost their lions and are hoping to get more lions soon to bring back to Lion Camp. And I know it’s been said many times over on Zoochat and I do stand by it that Lion Camp is perhaps one of the finest lion habitats you can see in the states, being both a fan favorite and zoo nerds delight to see a well made habitat.

 

I’m officially going to San Diego is a few days and I have some last minute questions about the zoos and sea world before I go. If someone could answer these, I’d really appreciate it:
-Is it possible to do the whole zoo in one day?
-What time do they usually start putting the animals away as they’re open until 9 P.M?
-Are the Hamadryas baboons and Geladas in two separate enclosures or do they swap them out throughout the day?
-Do you need a reservation for the trams around the Asian savanna and African savanna?
-I heard this rumor and I’m not sure if it’s true: is there usually hours upon hours lines to see the penguins at Sea World?
-Where can I see the pilot whales at sea world?
(I know it’s a lot of questions, but I would really appreciate if someone could answer some of them. Thank you!)

 

I can answer the questions regarding the zoo/Safari park:

• With the summer hours, you can do the whole zoo but be aware of the backtracking as the layout of the zoo is confusing and overwhelming for newcomers
• Depends on the animals, some of the big cats and bears so get called in within an hour of closing. I saw this last month during my late visit there.
• The gelada and hamadryas baboons are in separate yards.
• While you don’t need a reservation for the Africa tram, you would need to get a reserved time for the cart Safari which will give you access to the Asian hoofstock. You can buy tickets at the park or online too!

 

Thank you! Just to be clear, there’s no tram for the Asian Savanna?

 

That’s correct! There used to be a monorail that would travel through there but hasn’t been in operation in years. Now the only way to access the Asian hoofstock is either the cart or deluxe caravan Safari

 

Oh. Well thank you for your help! I really appreciate it.

 

You’re most welcome!