Excellent Views and Plenty of Fun: Taronga Zoo Sydney

If you find yourself in Sydney, Australia and are looking to connect with nature and your family, consider checking out the Taronga Zoo.

Official website: https://www.taronga.org.au/sydney-zoo

Taronga Zoo has always held a special place in our hearts. Back when Jenn lived here for 3 months, one of the first things I did was come here for a behind-the-scenes tour. Ever since we’ve had kids, I’ve been wanting to bring them here as I knew they would similarly enjoy it and they absolutely did.

For our visit as a family, we purchased a family ticket, which included entry for 2 adults and 2 children for $144 AUD (~$102 USD). It’s about 10% cheaper if you purchase your tickets online directly through Taronga Zoo than buying them on arrival in person. Averaging about $25 USD per person to visit this zoo was not a bad deal at all in my books.

Arriving to Taronga Zoo

Part of the enjoyment of going to Taronga Zoo is the journey to the zoo. Sure, you could take a car to get there. But if you’re staying in Sydney, the better option is actually to take a ferry. Sydney has a system of public ferries that you can take to many destinations across and around the harbor. To get to Taronga Zoo, head over to Circular Quay, where you’ll find ferries departing to many locations. Check the board to find out which one heads over to the zoo.

From there, just purchase your tickets (or tap your credit card) and you’re off to the zoo.

Not only do you get to go to the zoo, but you’ll get a nice view of the city from the water, which is an extra bonus.

Each ferry route heads in a different direction, but this one to the zoo gives you a great view of both the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You can’t get that view when on land.

Once you disembark, you have two options: take the bus to the main entrance (for a nominal fee) or walk to the lower entrance (free).

We chose the walk to the lower entrance. One thing to keep in mind is that Taronga Zoo is built into a cliff, so starting at the lower entrance means you’ll need to head up the cliff as you explore, then back down to exit. If you take the bus up, you just have to head mostly downhill the whole time. The small fee for the bus might be worth it for some for that reason.

The ferries arrive and depart every 20-30 minutes. You might want to weigh that in when you depart so you don’t waste time just waiting for the ferry to arrive.

Map of the zoo

In the map below, you’ll see the ferry dock at the top of the map with the main entrance at the bottom. We ended up staying here about half a day (4 hours), which included time to eat.

taronga_zoo_map Download

The animals at Taronga Zoo

Every zoo needs an assortment of animals, right? What makes zoos different for us is being able to see plenty of local animals, especially if there are nature talks to learn more about them. Taronga meets that goal, with plenty of local animals too see. You might even find some just walking around.

Alex battling a snake — *While this snake isn’t real, there are plenty of birds and spiders loose in the zoo.*

What animals can you find in Taronga that call Australia home? How about this quokka?

Or take a look at the emu, which could walk right up to you in parts of the zoo. It does bite, so mind your hands.

You’ll also find plenty of red kangaroos, which like to lounge around.

And, of course, there are the Tasmanian Devils, which naturally call Tasmania home. (Tasmania is that triangular island off the southeastern coast of the main island of Australia.)

He might look small, but his bite can easily crush your bones. It’s always interesting to me how Australia has a bunch of animals that could kill you. Even the kangaroo could disembowel you with its kick, though that’s extremely rare.

No visit to Australia is complete without seeing the koalas in the trees. Rules on what you can do with koalas vary by state. In New South Wales (where Sydney is), you’re not allowed to touch them at all. There are lots of people wanting to take pictures next to them, so you can pay extra to do so if there are timeslots available. If you’re looking to touch or hold a koala, you’re going to need to go to another state like Queensland (e.g. Cairns or Brisbane) or South Australia (e.g. Adelaide). Thus, save your money if you plan to visit other cities.

While koalas look cuddly and fuzzy, they do have sharp claws and their diet is extremely poisonous.

One of the animals our kids wanted to see was the dingo. They’re related to dogs and wolves, but these are mostly silent. Dingoes don’t bark like you might otherwise expect a dog to. And, yes, they can eat your baby but these living at the zoo won’t get the chance to.

You can also head to a dim indoor area to see a bunch of bilbies running around. Australian animals have cute names, don’t they?

If you’d prefer to see stereotypical zoo animals, they have them here too. This includes the big cats like the lions…

…and tigers…

…or the giraffes. No one said the list had to all be big cats.

If you want to see an animal not native to Australia, try the capybaras. Capybaras are native to South America, but the world’s largest rodent is cute enough to be welcomed here. You could even enroll for a meet and greet with the capybara.

Rides and activities for younger children

Backyard to Bush

The Taronga Zoo isn’t all about viewing zoo animals in cages. Those with younger children might want to check out the Backyard to Bush section with a Kids Trail behind it.

This area of the zoo will take you around to see spiders, bunnies, farm animals, wombats, and echidnas.

The first stop is all filled with bugs and spiders, which might bring out the fear in some. Some spiders shown here also roam the zoo freely, so personally it’s more comforting to look at them here than it is outside.

Around the corner from the bugs are some bunnies and guinea pigs. Despite their name, guinea pigs don’t come from New Guinea. They actually don’t exist in the wild anymore, but their closest relatives live in South America. At least these cute guys are easier to look at than the spiders are.

Near the farm are some alpacas. Llamas and alpacas are similar and related, though alpacas tend to be smaller and have a better coat to turn into wool.

Also here are some goats because goats are cool.

When the kids need a break from all the animals, there’s a decent playground here. Our kids probably could have stayed half an hour if we let them. Parents might want to note that there is some running water here by the rocks, so don’t leave your kids unattended or they might come back soaked.

One thing our kids liked to do was race each other up the rope ladders. Until Alex bumped his head on the bar, that is.

Wrapping up this area of the park is a look at the echidna, another native creature to Australia. This one wanted to wander off and not come close to the camera. And while I wanted to get a picture of the wombat, it didn’t turn out well at all.

Taronga Wildlife Express

If you’re fine spending a little bit more on a train ride around the area, you could grab a ticket to get on the Taronga Wildlife Express. This train generally operates between 10:30AM and 3:30PM, with a couple of brief pauses in between. The cost is $5 AUD per person aged 4 and up.

If you’re looking for a more engaging way to go between the Backyard to Bush and the main entrance than either walking or taking the bus outside the zoo between the main and lower entrances, this is a decent option.

Other areas for kids to unwind

In the center of the park in the area marked “Forest Adventure” (at 8I on the map). This area has some slides and netting where kids can run around and have fun. It’s also right next to the capybaras, which can be a fun place to hang out while you wait for the kids to be done.

For the adventurous, there’s also a “Wild Ropes” course near the main entrance and the tree kangaroos (at 7K on the map). You are harnessed to the course to prevent you from falling off. Still, we saw some people overhead who seemed pretty scared to walk around. But doing this activity will cost you on top of the price of admission: from $48 AUD per adult, from $36 AUD per child aged 8-15, and $27 AUD per child aged 3-7.

Dining options

The Taronga Zoo only has three dining facilities on site. They are:

Forage & Graze Cafe (near the main entrance)
Saltwater Bistro (at 5E on the map)
Taronga Food Market (at 12G on the map)

Of these options, we only were able to check out the Taronga Food Market for lunch.

Taronga Food Market

The Taronga Food Market has cafeteria-style dining. It’s conveniently located in the center of the zoo. That can make it popular (and thus crowded), but there are also plenty of seats inside.

All of the hot food is arranged in the heated display cases shown below.

They also have alcoholic beverages if you want them.

Overall, the food was fine. Thankfully, the crispy items stayed crispy, which was a plus. Alex didn’t like the burger as he was used to American-styled burgers, but the kids both enjoyed the hot dogs. As long as you’re not looking for gourmet food, you’ll be fine here.

You can spend the night at the zoo too

Want something a little bit different? There are two options for you to extend your stay in a unique way. The Taronga Zoo has two different overnight options for you to choose from:

Roar and Snore, which starts at 5:30PM the night before and gives you access to night tours of the zoo and behind-the-scenes access. Stays include dinner, a breakfast buffet, drinks, and included entry into the zoo the next day. Guests must be at least 5 years old.
Wildlife Retreat, which offers more traditional hotel rooms but Australian animals might hop past your room. Rooms overlook a natural habitat that can include kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, and native birds. Stays include a breakfast buffet, entry into the zoo. Unfortunately, rooms only fit a max of 3 people and cannot fit 4 even if one is an infant.

We didn’t get a chance to stay here on this trip, but perhaps we’ll get a chance to the next time we’re in town and want to visit the zoo.

Take a moment to soak in the view of Sydney

All throughout the zoo, you can get a great view of Sydney. Since the zoo sits on a cliff, you’ll be able to see the city in the distance. For us, this just adds up in making the Taronga Zoo feel a little more different from the average zoo.

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