Paignton Zoo, Paignton

a fantastic family day out one of the best zooz i have been to and there is so much to look at and do. you can really close to the animals it is just brilliant here would highly recommend

This is a huge and wonderful zoo (hard to believe it originally expanded from one man’s private animal collection, opened to the public in 1923). Make sure you give yourself a few hours to get round everything!

A couple of highlights for me were:

Cossoway - An unusual looking bird, the written description for which indicated that It doesn't like humans (and who can blame it). In the wild it is known to attack them and It certainly gave me a look.

The Sumatran tiger was cool, as were the massive pair of lions who had been put together in the hope that they would breed (but looked too lazy to fool around).

There were a lot of other awesome animals. Too many to list to avoid boring folks!

The drawbacks were:
Gibbons make such cool noises (as I discovered at this zoo), but here they were cooped up in such a small area that they didn’t seem to behave the same...there was certainly less noise from them.

The ‘nature path’ was a real waste of time. I saw 1 squirrel.

But basically - well worth the visit!

You wander around for hours and hardly ever get a glimpse of an animal. Why? Because they've all running around free in acres of greeness and trees and jungles and whatnot. What about the good old days when they used to put furry things in cages and make 'em stand still so kids could make faces at them? That's what I call a zoo. Even better if you could bag a penguin and take it home for supper.

Wow, This is got to be one of the best Zoo's in the country, so much to do and so much fun for the children, we are annual members and now you can get into the living coast on the Paignton zoo membership so it makes it great value for money having an annual pass.
The only down side is the restaurant has a weird system for getting your food, one queues for the hot, such as roasts and meal of the day and another for the jacket pots and curries so if one of you queue;s and needs food from both sections it means one of the meals goes cold, but small issue on the scale of the fun at the zoo. Higly recommended

fantastic day out for the whole family-good value for money,you could easily spend a whole day here-beautiful surroundings -always new areas to discover-crocodile swamp most recently-love it!

Paignton Zoo is brilliant, we visited Paignton a few years ago at the end of the summer and found there wasnt that much to do during the dya, however the day we spent at the zoo was wonderful. Saw all sorts of animals and birds and its positioned so it isn’t too hard to get to from the nearby towns and in a space that is easy to wlak around in a day. Well worth the money and a day out.

Fantastic zoo. Put aside the best part of the day to explore this place. Unmissable!

The best zoo ive ever been to.so much to do and see.they are always adding new bits.recently the croc section.great picnic areas and free play areas for kids,indoor and out.Afull day out with lots of walking.restuarant and bar there but bit expensive so take your own picnic.

If your visiting this end of the country, would really suggest you set aside a day for a visit here - really is a great day out

They have a fantastic array of different animals… as you would expect from a zoo… i guess!! dohhh But the park is laid out very well and everything is signposted clearly - so easy to find everything

I cant wait for the better weather to come to pay a visit - Unfortunately they lost their giraffes in a fire a few years ago - but they have now replaced them - cant wait to see the new additions soon!

Be warned the zoo is very hilly & involves a lot of walking to get around and see everything. But equally there are lots of places to sit around for a rest or picnic

Paignton Zoo is a great place to visit especially for children. They have a really large amount of animals and more then one of every species so you wont have any disapointed faces as the tiger is hidden somewhere etc.
From the moment we get there my two are enthralled and are desperate to follow the signs to the next animal.
It gets very busy so expect to queue, but once you are inside you can just go at your own pace, there are several directions to go so it means you are not just following the crowd.
You are given a map on admittance to help you around the park, but every animal is so well signposted you could manage without.
There is a lovely large cafe, with plenty of seating though the food prices can be a little steep so you see lots of families with packed lunches on benches all around the park.
There is a train that takes you around the park too, which is always a hit with children. There is usually a queue but every train normally clears the queue so you are nearly always guaranteed a seat.
The admittance fees are what you would expect to pay, and as you know the money is going to help the upkeep of the park and the wellbeing of the animals you dont mind paying it.
One word of advice wear good walking shoes as you walk for literally miles, the park is spread over a very large piece of land and it is very hilly. But saying that you dont really notice all the walking until you start to get to the end and realise you are tired.
There are lots of interactive things for children to do at every animal enclosure, including useful facts about the animals and information about people who have sponsored the animals.
There are toilets and additional snack bars spread all over the site, as well as baby changing facilities too.
Overall a really fun day out.

A brilliant way to spend a day, Paignton Zoo will appeal to everyone although it can be a little hilly in places so maybe not all areas of the zoo are suitable for everybody. Plenty to see and do, a lovely, if a little expensive, gift shop at the end and the keepers are always willing to stop and chat. The part where you can play with the goats is very appealing although watch out as they will jump up and will try to eat eat handbags, shoes and anything dangly they take a fancy to! The parrot show is a definite must, if a little scary at times!

This zoo is one of the nicest zoos I’ve been to in the world. Everytime I’ve been there its been clean and the staff have been wonderful. Its a worth while day out if you are visiting Devon as there is a wide variety of animals that you can see and its generally a nice place to go. A lot of money has been spend on the zoo in recent years on conservation projects and improving the life for the animals by rebuilding enclosers, creating more stimulating things for the animals to do and to give them variety. You are free to walk around the zoo at your own leisure and there are a number of picnic tables within the zoo so you can take your own lunch/snacks instead of buying the food which is available. There is a large giftshop that you can buy all sorts of things from to take home with you as a memento.

If you are visiting South Devon then Paignton Zoo is a great day out. You may have seen it on the BBC, they made a series about the zoo.

The zoo has a good bus connection to Paignton and if you arrive by car there is excellent car parking with an overflow car park for the busiest days.

The zoo has excellent facilities with a restaurant, education centre and play facilities for children.

The zoo has apes, elephants, camels, lions and many many more animals. The zoo is on a large site and there is alot to do in one day. You can get a cheap ticket to return for a second day or if you want to visit more often you can get an annual membership.

Paignton “zoological gardens” is a lovely place, with many different animals to visit. They have spent a lot of time creating suitable environments for the animals, and there is a lot of information to take in. I think it is suitable for all ages - we took our 2 year old girl for her birthday! I would definitely recommend a visit, although it’s a little hilly in places so not great taking a buggy everywhere.

They have toilets around the site, and baby change facilities too. There is a large restaurant, with outside seating for warmer days, plus they have a bar.

all day entertainment, lots of enclosures, friendly peacocks walking around, lots of things to do for kids, good, although a bit pricey, restaurant. new enclosure include Giraffes and crocodiles. Lots of space to have a picnic. Gets very busy in the summer, so be sure to get there early enough to find a parking space and have time to see everything! Next to morrisons, which has a cafe - much cheaper option than eating in the Zoo restaurant.

Paignton Zoo is a fantastic day out for all the family. The animal enclosures are wonderful as the animals welfare has obviously been taken into account. The Zoo sprawls over a large area so even when its busy it doesn’t seem too crowded. There are plenty of places to stop and eat a picnic or buy food. There is a soft play area near the rinho enclosure which offers adults a well deserved break where they can have a coffee. The zoo is a great day out and well worth the entrance fee.

paignton zoo is a fantastic day out for all the family. the new crocodile swamp is brilliant. a years membership is great value and my daughter loves it there. well worth a visit.

Paigton Zoo is a great day out for all the family.
There has been extensive and continual refurbishment over the last couple of decades and the depressing cages / concrete of older zoos are more or less eradicated here.

There are plenty more interactive exhibitions than the old “look through the bars” approach to zoos.
The real important element of Paignton Zoo is the involvement in vital breeding, conservation and education projects around the world.

Paignton Zoo near Torquay is a great day out for the whole family (it is a zoo after all!). As the zoo covers quite a large area, most enclosures are impressively large and animals seem to be well looked after. In addition, efforts have been made to provide as natural a habitat as possible, which is great for the animals but may mean that visitors only see glimpses of e.g. the orang-utans on their little island. It can get very busy on weekends, so make sure you arrive early to ensure you get a good parking spot. Prices are normal for a zoo, and proceeds go towards the welfare of the resident animals as well as conservation projects locally and abroad. Highly recommended.

Very large zoo, with good conservation credentials. A huge amount to see and do, suitable for all ages - be prepared to spend all day (and most of it on your feet). Big car park, and bus stops outside. Paignton Zoo is internationally renowned for it’s conservation work with endangered species.

Recommended for a day out, but it can get busy in the middle of summer.