Reviews of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (Zoo)

Brittany Stallcup

Price for adult entry

Genevieve Hankins

No wait

Aaron Richards

Visited on

Bethany Clary

Wait time

Theresa Norris

Reservation recommended

Todd-Stephanie Evans

Yes

Charlie McGraw

Reservation recommended

Savannah Slays

Finally got to see Fiona ! We got here about 230pm and was not crowded but when we left it was crowded! Festival of lights were up. So cool to see all the lights. Alot of the animals were not available to see. Everything else seemed to be up and running. Will go back next year. Get there early thou. Parking can be a premium.

Sydney D

Weekend

Shannon Baldwin

We had a lot of fun with our son. We took the short train ride. Cramped, but we had a nice time on it. Quite a few different animals to view. The kangaroo walk was very cool. However, the zoo, even though really nice, needs a lot more signage. Not near enough to show where things are located.

Christopher Walker

Had a good time with the family. The lights were amazing. Would've loved seeing more animals but understand the weather is rough on some of the animals.

Heather H

Visited on

Joseph Sanchez

Price for adult entry

Ali Gish

Yes

Rhonda Birk

Visited on

Mary Kay Cobb

$16–20

Catherine Kalberg

No wait

M Sumner

Weekend

Erik Nothanks

Yes

Dominique Papa

Reservation recommended

Dan Pfirman

Wait time

I am Steve

An amazing and unique zoo to visit. Quite a few exhibits here are beautiful and let you see and interact with the animals in new ways. Check out the train, Gibbon Islands, and of course Fiona!

Mike Oliveri

Visited on

jamey ragle

Yes

Samantha Eitniear

Visited on

Aneesha Watve

Reservation recommended

Vicki Bitter

$16–20

Brian Correll

Festival of lights is always a fantastic experience. Million of professionally set up lights throughout the entire park. It is a magical winter wonderland. There are characters to interact with along your walk which is great for children. Hot chocolate, funnel cakes, beer, and more available.

Ali Bakir

No wait

Jill Alfrey

Visited on

Rosi Lovell

No wait

sandeep y

$21–30

scott

Our favorite zoo. The train is fun and inexpensive, the enclosures for all animals makes you feel so close to them. There is so much cool landscaping and paths. The cheetah encounter is amazing. They have gorillas, hippos and manatees, things I rarely see at other zoos. Amazing zoo!

Kody R

No wait

Marcie Lively

$21–30

Lauren W

Wait time

Andrew Jones

$31+

Krista Storms

Weekday

Dusty Sands

This is one of the famous zoo in Cincinnati. Compared to other zoos I have visited this one is little small but they have all the things to see and enjoy. This zoo is center of city and they have multiple parking lots. I have visited the zoo mainly during holidays to see the holiday lights. They have done beautiful decoration of light throughout the zoo. When it’s dusk you will see all trees and walkways with lights, feels like in dreamland. During the lights season also zoo will be open 10 am to 9 PM so you can see all the animals during the day no lights in the evening. If you are planning to see the lights don’t miss the train ride in the night it’s wonderful as train passes through the zoo. Train will be very rush, big queue so plan accordingly. It’s must if you are visiting for holiday lights. ????????

Rayshun R

No wait

Justin S

I've been to this zoo quite a few times since I was a child. I absolutely love it even compared to other Zoo's around the country. Extremely easy to navigate. Seems like there is always a project going on around the park to improve the experience. They have recently added a clip-n-climb to add to the experience. The train will take you around the park to give you a good ideal of how massive the park is. There is also a Merry-Go-Round the kids seem to enjoy. Plenty of pit stops for food, drinks and snacks. The animals areas are all close together so there isn't any wasted time trying to figure out where to go next. Ample of parking ensures that you won't spend half the day tying to find a way to get in. This is definitely a must see for any Cincinnati native or anyone visiting the area.

Dave Cameron

Overall it's a nice zoo, but some of the exhibits are placing too much stress on the animals and need to be rebuilt. If it's your first time, this is a great place to bring the kids for learning and enjoyment. Parking isn't too bad and the bathrooms are clean. The place can get crowded occassionally, but still a great place to visit.

Michael Noerr

This is a very nice zoo. Loved it. Would love to visit again with a little more time and during warmer weather...maybe spring time. A few of the animals were off habitat because of colder weather.

Andrew Beaty

Reservation recommended

Sherrie P

went to PNC Festival Of Lights for the first time. Very Nice and festive. Little Pricey.

Rebecca “TACTICALMERMAID” Branham

First thing this zoo is extremely hilly. Warning to anyone with mobility issues. A regular wheel chair will have a very hard time getting around here. I'm glad I rented mine on line before we got here otherwise it's first come first serve. The exhibits are very cool you tend to get great views of the animals. This is if people will let you get up there. The wife and I neither one can walk right now. We where in electric scooters because of that and people where very rude and several times had to send my 4 boys up to see the animals sense we couldn't get anywhere near them. The zoo itself and the zoo staff we dealt with where all fantastic. The problem was other guests. Other guest where cutting off and cutting in front of people with strollers and in chairs. Seen several others with strollers getting mad as well because those who could walk or didn't have strollers were being rude, cutting us all off and giving everyone dirty looks if they where not walking with just then and their kids. I highly recommend checking this zoo out. Again everyone and everything associated with the zoo was great. The problem was other people. We walked in the gate a few minutes past 10. Buy a little after 1 we had seen almost everything we could. The only complaint we had involving the zoo itself some of the areas could be marked better. The pour signage in areas we did miss a few things. The reptile house is very small and again having anything with wheels little People gave you nasty looks for being in their with them.

Matt. Wymer

Wait time

Jim McTague

$21–30

Manuel Garcia

Weekend

Michael Hagy

Visited on

Michelle Wermuth

Wait time

Ian McMaster

Yes

Meghan Baird

Wait time

Ed Lyons

Weekday

Heather Field Ruggiero

No wait

The Punisher

$16–20

Margie Rigney

I've been been going to this zoo for 40 years and every visit was fun and always something new.

Liz (MissLiz)

Yes

Ryan Williams

Very large zoo, lot of side trails & loops. Great variety of animals, enjoyed seeing some not normally seen at zoos. Manatee Springs & Night Hunters were really interesting as was cat canyon. We missed seeing polar bears, a few exhibits the animals were not on exhibit.

Joei Hoskins

$11–15

Ikram Yahiani

Visited on

Bill Sharpless

$21–30

Jerry Green

Reservation recommended

Mike S

We visited from Toledo on Monday. The zoo provided a reciprocal zoo membership discount for our tickets. That was nice! We really enjoyed our time here. Majority of the animals were on display. I especially loved the insect exhibit and the night hunters exhibit. To see a real Bearcat was awesome! Zoo was clean. Staff was friendly. Security was very attentive when my son was stung by a bee. Lots of variety at this zoo. Would love to return!! Of course we loved Fiona the hippo, and made sure to grab a stuffed hippo at the Zoo Shop

Darrell Reece

Price for adult entry

Jon Fertig

Reservation recommended

Iwantmybear Suit

Very nice zoo. It's very large and I do feel like they could do a better job guiding visitors (more signs and maybe an interactive map/GPS option on the website). It can get very confusing walking around. Other large parks seem yo do a better job of this. Same kind of issue with NYE count down for kids. No one knew where to go and no one was offering any guidance. It's awesome to have such a nice zoo locally for sure. But they could definitely improve the visitor experience by offering better tools and more guidance.

Kate Howard

Yes

demoondo

Take your kids... I've been to a lot of zoo's in my life, and of course they are almost all kid friendly. The difference here is that this zoo really focuses on the kids. This is really a learning zoo. There are staff at almost every habitat, engaging with children, teaching them about the different animals, and in some cases, providing hands-on experiences. This a great place to get involved.

Jeremy Poore

Yes

John Smith

Visited on

Alisha Schlueter

The animals seemed happy, sometimes the plants and scenery where so beautiful I didn't even think I was in the zoo anymore. People were friendly, service was great, best zoo I've been to hands down, and great beautiful building and habitats made it feel like your right next to animals. can even go in with kangaroos if you stay on path and don't touch. Had blue penguins and animals I have never seen or heard of. WOW. And I can walk there!

Sharon Hand

No wait

bigman419

Wait time

A.O. Go Vols

Not sure

Katrina Lucy Wolf

Festival of Lights was amazing this year as always! Prices in the gift shop are outrageous. Higher than ever... Same with concession. Be ready to shell out $7+ for a cup of funnel cake fries! (Which were epically good btw). Employees are mostly masked. Not many masks on guests at all... ????

Karl Merkner

Spent the whole day at the Zoo for HallZooWeen. It was busy but our group had a great time. Got to watch the elephants smash pumpkins. Most of the animals were very active. Wonderful experience! Lots of animals to see and enjoy. Cheetah Encounter, Hippo & Elephants we're my favorites.

Matt Donovan

Reservation recommended

Robert Baker

Reservation recommended

Brandy Pruitt

OMG we were super excited ???? to visit the zoo. The lights are beautiful at night even though we didn't see no animals it was nice to see the Christmas lights. Thank you

Brittney Baldon

No wait

Lara Durham

Weekend

Mallanagouda Patil

Visited on

Lauren Busby

Weekday

Jennifer Flynn

Reservation recommended

Craig Lapierre

This is a great zoo- unexpectedly so. Wasn’t aware it was where the Harambe incident took place. Zoo was clean but went right in the morning and there weren’t a lot of animals out. But, lots of animals in this zoo- known for this Hippo exhibit. The giraffe exhibit was the BEST- you could feed them but even without paying to do that, you got to see them really up close. Overall, great experience, just wish the animals were more active.

Racquel Williams

Visited on

Jessie Peters

No wait

Lori Petersen

Weekday

Shane Woods

Public holiday

Krista Chapman

Visited on

Crystal Young

Weekday

Kevin McFadden

Weekend

Brandi Henderson

Yes

Beez Kneez

Wait time

janice sparto

Weekday

Nicole Wittkopp

Yes

Renee Reeves

Weekday

Mary Crank

$16–20

Cade Nicholson

Yes

Good Vibes

Came here to meet Fiona for the first time! So cute, all the animals look so happy! It's also decorated so cute. All the lights are up now so it really is a magical little experience. I went as a date and we had a really good time. This is also a zoo that is a good example of a decent zoo walk. The trails are easy to follow and there's not a ton of uphill. Gorgeous. The food is good and there are kids meals & it really is an experience you have to have. ????

Robert Hand

Visited on

Fernando Nava

Visited on

Kris Lightwood

Price for adult entry

Elizabeth Bell

Reservation recommended

Lauren LaPinta

Wait time

RUMIT KUMAR

Price for adult entry

Jill Ricker

No wait

Samantha Bessemer

$11–15

Jarrod Chambers

What a beautiful zoo. Hadn't been in here years. This place is such a beautiful place to walk around. The landscaping was really lovely. The animals had really nice spaces. The staff were friendly and helpful. And Fiona was even more majestic in person. Can't wait to come again.

Kimberly Walters

The zoo is beautiful! The animals we saw seemed happy, running and playing around their enclosures! I came from Virginia just to meet the hippo bloat and they did not disappoint.

iAm RR Spike

Price for adult entry

Jenny H.

No wait

Kunal Phapunkar

Visited on

Gail Carroll

Up to 10 min

Claire C

The breakfast with the hippos and African penguins was fabulous. The staff was very knowledgeable. The breakfast was delicious. The reason for one star is the number 1 zoo in the USA was not willing to try to provide a ASL interpreter for the breakfast with the animals. They never responded back to our request. Smaller venues and zoos that we visited during our vacation in Cincinnati this year were willing to accommodate our request. The fact that no one ever responded or made an effort is shameful. This breakfast is expensive and they should have tried to get one. Music Hall went out of their way to accommodate us for a $15 tour.

Connor Lindberg

Wait time

Joseph Uncapher

Wait time

Mourad Girgis

Visited on

Nancy Dombek

Visited on

Jeremy Doughman

Yes

Wayne Lewis

Reservation recommended

Pamela B

Reservation recommended

Timothy Bernier

Visited on

Christopher Chilton

So fun! It's like you are walking through a forest, which changes region depending on which exhibits are near by. This also means that many paths were covered and shaded due to the trees and plants! While many animals were in their huts due to the heat we still saw many awesome animals! Fiona and her mother were definitely a highlight! We did not eat here, I'm sure prices for food and such are high, as typical. Overall, a great experience and educational if you take the moments to learn! Definitely recommend!

Brandee Youngclaus

$21–30

Chris Telling

Yes

Sophia S. Photography

Reservation recommended

Andrea G

Price for adult entry

Jared Bowers

Weekend

Sierra Vaughn

No wait

Mary

This review is mainly focused on coming during December for the lights. Went about 3pm to see some of the animals before it got dark and then stayed for the lights. Very pretty zoo especially when the lights were on. Very impressed with all the different tunnels. Not a lot of animals out even during the day and it goes without saying none at night. A lot of exhibits closed and a lot of animals not present due to cold weather. If you are coming to the zoo after September I would suggest just coming during December for the lights. This review is really based on this time period.

Drew Zimpelman (Brutus)

Price for adult entry

Michael

Wait time

Christian Pechuekonis

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is an absolute jewel of Ohio. Combining the two destinations is smart and they pull it off well. The zoo is top notch, offering a great collection of animals. Some of the specific areas are small and limited, like the reptile house, but they are still well done and offer fun exhibits that look great. In all the open spaces and nooks and crannies that separate the animal exhibits are the botanical exhibits. They are not particularly exotic or substantial, but are gorgeous and greatly enhance the experience for lovers of both animals and plants. Think of it as less of a botanical garden and more like an exquisitely landscaped zoo. We've been twice (traveling from St Louis) and will definitely return.

Kristi Lewis

Visited on

Karyn Cochran

Reservation recommended

Nathan Pinkney

Wait time

Matt F

This place was absolutely beautiful, it was a very good night, the weather was perfect to walk through the zoo and admire all the beautiful lights and listen to all the Christmas songs being played,while enjoying a warm cup of hot chocolate. The crow was very light but seem to get more crowed in the later hours. The staff did a great job putting up all of the light. Definitely a great place to see.

Jeff Jones

Oh what a wonderful zoo. We have been waiting so long to make this trip. Definitely worth our travels. So nice. Clean and happy!! Stayed for the Christmas lights and they were amazing!!! A definite must see!!

carrier6363

They've changed a lot, added new exhibits and are renovating some of the older habitats. We did miss getting to see the bears, and would've liked to see a memorial for the polar bear I've seen every time I've been there since I was a kid. My family loves the zoo, we go at least once a year and have been going there for nearly 40 years. Keep up the amazing work.

Brian Hall

THE BEST Zoo I've been to in my entire life!! Beautiful grounds. This is the first time I visited a zoo and saw every single animal that I wanted to see. Gorillas and the amazing red pandas were some of the highlights that made this experience so amazing. They have an area where you can walk through and kangaroos hop right next to you as you navigate through the path. A true Safari like experience! This experience was so good that we stayed from open till close even visiting the gorillas multiple times!!

Dominic Thacker

Up to 10 min

PJ Riggs

Reservation recommended

Julie Dayhuff

As always the zoo never disappoints me! The festival of lights is gorgeous and very well done. The staff are wonderful with both guests and animals. The animals are very well taken care of and loved.

Trent Freed

Price for adult entry

Kristen Matthys

We had a great time at the Zoo; we spend almost all day there since is so much to do and see. The botanical gardens are spread out through the zoo, and we love that. If you are like me, and the main reason you want to visit the zoo is to see Fiona up close, I recommend that you go in the afternoon to see her swimming and playing around. But if you like to see the kangaroos, the zookeeper mentioned that they are more active in the morning, they have food courts through the zoo and bathrooms, so there is always a place to eat no matter where you are. We bought the tickets online, and it was straightforward; inside the zoo, we pay to feed the giraffe, which is $4 for two pieces of lettuce, you have to line up pay, wash your hands, and they hang you a bit of lettuce at the time (right now you have to wear a face mask for the feeding) that was a very fantastic experience. The zoo was very clean, and the staff was friendly and helpful. There is a lot of things to do and see. The animals look well-taking care of. My only concern was some animals, like the fox, look to be a bit stressed walking back and forth; it seems like he was in a small space for him. But overall, this zoo is one of my favorites. We had a great experience and definitely will go back went is Cincinnati! Also, the parking was easy to get in and out, and it was free.

Muhanned Qasim

Weekday

Mr.H

Wait time

Marley McHugh

Reservation recommended

Denise Friedline

Yes

Patrick Cincinnati

Weekday

Bridgette Hayes

One of the best zoos I've ever been to. The festival of lights gets better and better every year. You can tell they truly care for the animals and I love that you can get a decent meal there too.

Rebecca Bowles

$21–30

Leona Foster

Wait time

Matthew Gooding

Yes

Dtw Jones

Reservation recommended

William

What an amazing zoo! There's a large variety of different animals and attractions to delight both adults and children. Lots of places to eat an even thoughtful resting spots have been added throughout the park to allow visitors to take a break where needed. This zoo is very expansive and the exhibits are beautiful and very well-thought-out for the animals there. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Highly recommend a visit here!

Regina Mayzum

Price for adult entry

Melissa Pongonis

Weekday

Luke White

Weekday

Ed Pacey

Spent the morning at the zoo with my daughter. We have the family pass and can enter the zoo at 9am which is a nice perk. We were able to see a lot of activity today. We missed Fiona, but most everything else was out. A good day!

Bronwen Griffith

No wait

Josh Lovett

10–30 min

Chris Stone

We went for the holidays lights, drove 4 hours. It was beautiful and they had a lot to offer. I just wish there were more cool looking setups rather than just lights in the trees. It's also a nightmare during the weekends between parking and the jam packed zoo so definitely try going during the week.

Darcy Bricker

No wait

Selina Ayers

Reservation recommended

Think. It.

Weekend

Deborah Bouchard

Wait time

Eric Hartnett

No wait

Hapi Kampr

Wait time

Glock27 C

Yes

Carla Johnson

Wait time

Ronnie Nunna

Price for adult entry

Samantha Brown

Wait time

Adam

We try to visit zoo's when we travel and knew I always wanted to visit Cincinnati Zoo due to it's history. I was very worried about the visit after reading reviews and people mentioning the hills people face while walking through the zoo but it was a nonevent since I took the advice of someone's review and turned right after entering the zoo. The zoo is very well done and animals are easy to see in most habitats. The food and drink prices are typical for a zoo but I rank this in my top 3 zoo's I've visited. If you're in the area do visit the zoo, you'll enjoy the animals and shaded paths.

Jennifer Chase

I've been to plenty of zoos and this is my favorite. Great variety of animals well spaced out. The animals seem well cared for. Plenty of space to move around, never seemed crowded even though the parking lot was full.

Megan Johnson

$16–20

Christine Futch

Wait time

Rick Paden

Yes

Rose Adkins

Price for adult entry

nikki wisor

Reservation recommended

Tom S

No wait

Raymond Merfeld

Yes

Michael Brocking

A beautiful zoo full of wonderful surprises around every corner. We found the animals in good shape, never saw a spec of trash anywhere on the grounds, met helpful zoo volunteers, and we're really impressed with the parking, since it was under cover, and made of solar panels. I highly recommend buying your tickets on line to make sure you can get in the day you want. Also, tickets are cheeper any other day than the weekends, shoot for Wednesday. They do have rentals for strollers, wheelchairs, and scooters, but once again, try to reserve on line when getting your tickets, there are a limited supply. Parking is $10.00, and we paid on the way out for this. If you plan zoo store shopping, do it on your way out. The zoo is trying not to use paper or plastics, so no bags to haul your items around in. The zoo is big enough that you should really plan on a full day to see everything. Right now the hours are only 10 to 5, so you don't have a lot of time to dally around. We came from out of state, and I wore at by 3 pm. So we missed some of the animals. But I plan on going back at some point, it's that nice of a place. There will be some expansion work going on untill 2025, but they hope to be done by then.

Brenda Schadle

Price for adult entry

Christy Moyers

Great place, one might feel a sense of compassion for the animals in captivity. However, the staff is very responsible and they take very good care of the animals and the visitors. It was a great experience to see the animals so closely and appreciate the diversity of the nature. I highly recommend visiting this place. They have a very friendly environment.

Megan Aldworth

Been before and it was awesome!!! This time I went to the zoo lights. It was a great time for the kids and the lights were better than the Columbus Zoo imo.

Tresa Ciganek

Price for adult entry

Kyle Baker

Our annual tradition - love the Festival of Lights.