Reviews of Taronga Western Plains Zoo (Zoo)

myBall

Beautiful zoo, well worth the drive. If you are driving definitely stay a night or two. Make sure you don't go on a hot today, we went when it was 31 degrees and that was just bearable. Fairly quiet on weekdays.

Emz Scrivo

Absolutely amazing zoo. The animals have so much room to move and are far from human interactions. You can also hire or bring your own bike to ride around the zoo and make a day or two of the zoo. Alternatively, you can also drive a car around the zoo and stop at different sites. There’s also a place to have lunch midway through the course. You can see the whole zoo in a day.

Craig Saphin

Great place next time I would drive not walk very hot day

Aiden Moore

Great place for family with kids. Very educational place where you can spent more then 1 day. Tickets are valid for 2 executive days. Whether you walk, drive or ride around the Zoo's five kilometre circuit on hired bikes or carts, there's so much to see and do. The Zoo is home to hundreds of rare and endangered animals. We have walked around 8 kilometers and did take us about 2.5 hours. Only think we didn't like it was very week capuchino.

Tony Zhu

We had a new nice experience, I don't recommend taking kids under 4 which we had a 2, 3y/o and 4 month old, it was too exhausting for the kids getting in and out of the hired cart, we ended up just driving around and having fun in the cart as the kids just didn't wanna do any more getting in and out of their seats. But was a great experience. We will be back in a few years !

Nina Mo

A great zoo. Haven’t been in a few decades since being a kid and it’s better than what I remember. Visited early around 10am, very busy and very hot. The animals were understandably trying to keep cool by hiding/sleeping/being inactive. A couple of things to keep in mind The buggy hire is a novel idea, but if during summer keep the car and have air con breaks ???? The safari experience sounds great, but waiting in 38c direct sun for a few hours put us of (Taronga - put up some shade cloth at least)

Red Back

Look overall a great place to take your family, most budgets are catered for, you can walk it, drive your own car, bike it or hire a golf buggy to get around. There isn't a massive range of animals but enough to keep everyone having fun for 4 or so hours. Have been 3 times with the kids over the years and each time has been memorable.

Afshin Forghani

Have to buy tickets on line buggies a good hire. Great set-up for all animals some where a bit hard to find all in all a great day

Tayla Roy-Paul

Great place to bring your kids. You can seethe most beautiful animals, and there are Rhinos which are amazing how they protect them. …

Nancy Jhang

The Taronga Zoo is a great day out. You can walk, ride a bike, hire a golf cart or drive your own car through taking your time. The map is easy to follow and there is plenty of parking area's at different locations within the zoo.

Madan Mani Adhikary

A great zoo to visit but they need to get there lions to work together at the moment they're separated or a new male lion

Amanda Newton

Amazing zoo! My husband and I had a great time visiting and seeing all animals in a safari-like environment.

M Reza Amiri

A well designed zoo where the animals have more space to roam compared to the city zoos. Everything is nicely spaced out which means you're not tripping over each other. The zoo layout is great. 2 day pass is a mega bonus! Room for improvement - zoo keepers should be equipped with portable microphones and speakers. It's almost impossible to hear anything they gave to say in an open area where visitors are required to socially distance. Water refill stations were not easy to find. It would be great if there were more filling stations near the car parks of each exhibit

Faiz Mohammed

We went for 2 days and viewed most of the animals they had there ... the safari bus tour was good ... the giraffes were right up next to the bus

Matty Blair

Great zoo. Not to hard to walk around. Lots of rest areas. Crazy busy if you wanted food.

Natalie Hitoun

We came here on a rainy day, what a pity. We couldn't see all the animals. Souvenir shop here is great, animal toys price is reasonable. We enjoyed 10% discount by returning zoo map at counter.

David Shirley

Riding the bike in the zoo is so nice ???? Not saw the all animals some of they didn’t show up

Prasanth Vadada

It's the longest walk we ever done during this Christmas holiday. Although we visited taronga sydney 2 years ago, western plains is still different. We got there a bit late (10am) as all the ebike are sold out (rent) so we decided to walk …

Wilfred

Now this is how a zoo should be. Very well done. We have young kids and so instead of trying to do it all in one day we got the annual pass and did two half days.

Nibesh Aryal

Our new favourite place. We loved our time here. We drove our own car through and stopped to see almost every animal. And animals are plentiful, in wonderful enclosures and obviously have great affection for their keepers from what we saw. The keepers are very knowledgeable and friendly. Don't be afraid to ask questions or thank them for the great job they are doing! It's hard to pick a favourite because we love all animals but the rhinos were just beautiful. I hope the world can save them because they are truly majestic creatures. Facilities on-site are plentiful and excellent. There are water bottle filling stations and toilets everywhere. The kiosk had some nice food and a decent selection of drinks. One thing I was very impressed with was the recycle bins they had available. Coming from Queensland, these are unfortunately few and far between. There are also camping and other overnight options available in and around the zoo. We stayed at the Rhino Lodge, just outside it. Glamping in a beautiful safari tent was the perfect place to come home and rest after a day at the zoo. All in all, 10/10. We will be back!

Victoria Anderson

Super great zoo. A lot more open than those found in Sydney. Also, a vast number of animals too. Great experience. I would advise that you allow for minimum 4-5 hours to see everything and have time to enjoy. Also, restaurant is at the entrance/exit so just plan around this.????

Mahesh Bogadi

A wonderful experience for the family. We spent a couple of days making our way around the zoo. We hired a cart one day (a fun thing to do) and drove our car on the other days. Plenty of areas to sit, relax and have a picnic. Animals have lots of room, it's a well designed zoo with plenty of trees and grass). Lots of animals (unfortunately we didn't get to see the elusive lion, despite going 6 times over three days). The playground was also a feature our kids loved.

Shaun Shrimpton

The zoo was amazing.. The animals were all there and the staff over at the zoo were amazing. Feel free to hire a cart or get a bike ( I recommend getting the bike since you can go more places then the cart which your only limited to the road). If you want to bring your car go ahead just be aware for both the cart and the car the road is 1 way and there is parking next to each exhibit so you are able to park your car and go down and walk. Overall would 100% go back again!

siddarth pradhan

We can walk, cycle or drive a car inside the zoo. Can opt for a buggy in advance. Good place for kids to enjoy.

Estela Q. Golledge

Best zoo ever. Animals all awake and lively. Highly Recommend this as a family experience. Take your own bikes or hire one of the safari carts.

Rod Wigg

Beautiful surroundings would've still like to have seen lions and cheetas as noticed was only one.Otherwise a great day and love that you have options of seeing animals.

林阿當

I spent two wonderful days here. First one cycling which was fun although the weather was hot and the animals were hiding the shade. Second day was overcast which meant the animals were out wandering, fantastic sightings of the cheetahs. We especially loved the savannah safari tour which was a good mix of information and humour and we had a rare sighting of giraffes ‘necking’.

DON RAKESH

So good.

Carl Crowther

Recommended Lot of options to go round the zoo. Hire bicycle, electric kart, Take ur own bicycle, car.

Jason Nielsen

A must go! Although not as many types of animals as I expected, many of them are quite lively and seem happy to enjoy their lives there! Especially you could see the wild side of animals if you are lucky to be around at the feeding time! I would definitely get a annual ticket if i lived in Dubbo! The cafe is great, see monkeys playing right in front of you!

V K

Amazing zoo with incredible animals. It is so lovely to see all the animals with such large spaces and also feel so close to them. There is plenty to see and learn for all ages, and you certainly won't be bored! Bikes are a great way to get around, but walking is also viable if you're up for a leg workout. The food options are limited, so would recommend bringing a picnic or snacks with you. We also did the hippo encounter which was excellent and well worth the extra money.

Hamish Williams

Great zoo and great place to stay

Carolynne Harvey

Best zoo in the country, #gottaloveDubbo Huge area and you can drive , walk, cycle, golf buggy

Mayaz

The best zoo experience ever. This is exactly how all zoos should be with big open exhibits which allows the animals to wonder around unrestricted.

Mahen De Silva

We have been there during Easter long weekend. Even there were too many people the zoo can host heaps of people. Electric car is not worth it. On the negative side - things are not organised well. Long lines for the Safari, 2 hours of waiting in the line under the sun ???? with no shed. And finally when got there they said it's all over and they are closed. Shame. Can't they say in advance? Or run an extra bus? I recon they should allow local businesses with food truck to operate in the park. Cafes were overcrowded, no fun when you are waiting for hours to get a drink. Animals are mostly hiding. They are motivated early in the morning to to stuff, after 9.30am mostly hiding

Rachael Elizabeth

One of a kind! Up close and personal with African Wildlife. Love it

Mi Zhou (Jinx)

Wasn't what I expected - more safari park than zoo. Walked the circuit on day one and hired a golf buggy on day two. Nice big enclosures for the animals, which made it difficult to find some of them! Was great to watch the elephants larking around in the pool with each other! Thoroughly recommended.

Blue Wren

Great place to visit for people of all ages. A self paced drive through provides plenty of opportunities to park & get out to view the animals & take photos. There are clean amenities throughout the park. And the "Watering hole" cafe offers tasty & affordable food. If you want to bring your own picnic lunch, there are a couple of picnic areas to stop & enjoy. Highly recommend a visit to this zoo.

Ben X

Got a golf buggy, great way to get around. Less useful if you've a child still needing a car seat (under 3) as you have to get them in and out so there's no real advantage to driving your own car. For bigger groups like ours it was great to have us all together though. Amazing animals and a good way to spend a couple of days. Will be back.

Jared Dawson

On a hot day it might be tiring for young kids. Excellent place to enjoy the wild.

Peta R

Bring some binoculars and a hat. We had so much fun. We pre-booked the Savannah Bus Tour - definitely recommend!

kozet krm

The zoo can drive-in, so nice ???????? we had a lot of fun.

Liam Smit

Excellent. Walk, drive or ride. The staff are enthusiastic, accommodating and well trained. Take the two day option. There is a lot to see. Book in an experience.

Anson Sequeira

This is an amazing zoo where the animals are amazing and look heaps happier I suggest going on the little safari truck tour.

Sean Lancaster

Was disappointed to stand in queue for 30 minutes for an electric cart only to be told they were all booked out. Wish someone had informed the queue. Otherwise a wonderful day. Chose to walk zoo and feel like we experienced more by not driving. Safari bus is a must, and very affordable.

Boru

Excellent staff and animal varities well worth the visit - loved my time there with the animals and my camera

Alisha E

One of the best zoos i have ever been to. Great atmosphere and seeing the animals in the bigger environment makes it feel more natural.

sana n

An amazing journey into the world of wild animals from around the world at this expansive, modern zoo. Zoo is 5km from start to finish and we chose to walk on the first day and hired a bike on the second. All tickets allow for 2 consecutive days entry at the moment. I'd strongly recommend the safari tour as well as it allows you to get up close and personal with African animals in an open plain environment with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide

Cathy Young

Extra large exhibits and plentiful animals!! Great drive-in zoo for all families! …

Samantha Biagio

My Kids loved it

Nick Narain

Big and nice zoo ..we hired the golf cart to go around and it took us around 3 hours to complete the entire zoo. There is also a safari within the girrafes and zebra enclosure ($10 per person) and it was the highlight of the zoo ..overall a nice place to spend the entire day in Dubbo with the kids..

Divya P

Good experience. The first day we only went through the park in our car, very disappointed, waste our 5hour drive from Sydney, Taronga Zoo in Sydney would be a better choice. However, the second day after a whole night storm, we chose to …

Susan Woolley

It's a great day for everyone I just wish everyone would wear there mask to keep everyone safe

Wilma Simpson

Went to Dubbo zoo 2 times in June 2021. The first time was in the afternoon which we were less than satisfied with because the animals were all waiting for their food and were waiting at the door of their cage. On the second day, we went in the morning and it was much better. The animals were active and in some cases playing with each other in their enclosures. The gift shop is super expensive as expected. If you are desperate for something to do in Dubbo then think about going to the zoo. Personally I wouldn’t go back.

Andy Roberts

Brilliant experience. Make sure you block out a whole day even if you choose the driving option as it takes quite a while to get around. Great place, informative tours, wonderful animals with huge open enclosures, no tiny boxes with rusty bars. 10/10 experience!

Mrfishy9

An amazing zoo. A large collection of animals with staff that are passionate for the care and conservation of them. All the animals have huge enclosures with plenty of room to run. We had fun trying to be the first in our group to spot the animal if it was hiding.

Danielle Lovett

Such a big zoo with so little animals When you do see them they are far away. The animals especially the elephants look so sad and lonely. The best part is that you can drive in the zoo Sure a big disappointment

Anthony Rice

Dubbo Zoo provided my boyfriend and I with a lovely experience. We enjoyed seeing the animals in an open space. Tickets to be bought online prior (10% discount). We visited on a pretty hot day, so we were grateful that 80-90% of the animals were out and about for viewing. Multiple options for animal viewing, we took the zoo circuit using our car - hopped in and hopped out. Electrical buggies weren’t available as we arrived a little later than 11am. Spare between 5-7 hours to make the most of your day!!!!

Donna Lodge

Park was empty and most animals were visible. Some barely. Hardly any staff around. That's covid for you.

Jason Yang

Great fun in a golf cart, go at your own pace, did the zoo in 3 hours.

Kitty Cosplay

Great zoo in Dubbo. Loved the big cages and roaming areas for the animals. Staying over in the Billabong camp is an absolute must. The guides were very knowledgeable and hospitable. Loved it!

Eric Lieu

Great place. Cycling it with 4yo on rear seat was easy. Siamang were the highlight for us.. so entertaining. Loved seeing the young animals being looked after by their mob.

Ian Phillips

The Western Plains Zoo was amazing. We cycled, which was the best way to see everything. It took us about 3.5 hours to leisurely bike our way through the full zoo. If you buy tickets online, you get a discount and can go straight to the bike/buggy hire, or drive straight to the entrance. The early morning was great, as the animals were all active before it got too hot. The cage was great too, and there are picnic spots throughout. Well worth a visit!

Charlie Lewis

Good fun for kids. To get around the zoo and you can walk, ride bikes, hire an electric cart or drive your car through. Hire a cart or bicycle for a good fun experience. Make sure you book the cart online. We hired an electric cart for the day which was good fun. When you buy your tickets online make sure you tick the box if you plan to visit zoo for two days at no extra cost. We covered the zoo in 3 hours. Try to visit early morning. They have a Water play area for kids. There are clean amenities throughout the park. the "Watering hole" cafe offers tasty & affordable food (though during my visit had to wait for 30 mins to get food). If you want to bring your own food there are a couple of picnic areas to stop & enjoy. Animals have big enclosures they have plenty of land to roam. Highly recommend going in the morning around 9-12am as after midday animals can be seen sitting in the shade are are nor much active.

Daria Ward

Had a great day here. First time visiting. Loved the enclosures, very realistic and plenty of room for the animals to roam.

Rose Dillon

Awesome experience... Nice habitat for animals... Plenty of parking... Cafe area to have snack... Helpful understanding staff...

Shireen Shoaib

Great zoo but I personally prefer Taronga in the city. The fact you can drive round your car is fantastic but think they should have more guides at each stop to give you an insight into each animal in the area. For the safari it costs $10 extra but you can’t book it in advance. So we got told to go there at 10 am when it starts. We were there at 9:40, but due to the queues we were told we won’t get on it till 12:30. So they asked if we wanted to wait. Crazy we told them no and did our own thing. Should be able to book it for a time slot when you purchase your tickets online. Crazy it’s not managed properly.

Stuart Coulthard

Great place to visit. Find out energetic times for animals to improve your experience. Animals have a good size enclosure compared to most zoos. Food at the eateries is reasonably priced. The kids play areas look great. Very informative. Plus they’re doing a great job for wildlife conservation and awareness.

Rachael Williams

Very disappointing that there was no signage that the bbq's were currently closed, on website or at the gates. We'd arranged a bbq for 15 people!!The cafes closed too early, 2.30pm for hot food, even though there were maybe a 1000+ people there . There was a lot of walking with no exhibits in between. There should be footpaths for walkers/prams, shouldn't have to share the narrow roads with cars and carts. Not enough carts for hire. We have visited Canberra Zoo on numerous occasions, and Mogo Zoo, both were more interesting and enjoyable for the kids. They did love the hippo and elephants that aren't at the other 2. The animals and their enclosures were well looked after and maintained.The staff were all pleasant, even though they were extremely busy.

Graeme Johnston

No where near enough buggies. They need to provide different sizes to accommodate couples and families. It was ok, but not compelling me to return as they could do so much more. The limited food locations, small animal enclosures... They could make it so much better with larger and combined enclosures. More like a safari.

Steve W

Nice neat and well maintained zoo with plenty of natural beauty around added to it are the eco friendly bikes that you can drive throughout the zoo to watch the animals in their natural habitat

Terry Weekes

Amazing experience with a good nights sleep amongst the animals. The whole experience was planned with feeding the animals ( carrots for the giraffes) by hand and up close experience with plenty of exotic species. Food was good, staff great, overall a really enjoyable experience. The tents were very comfortable with wonderful views of the savanna and the animals while we had drinks on our balcony

Dustin Meth

Zoofari was amazing. Animals right at your doorstep. Cant believe I waited so long to go. Drove there in an electric car as well. No problems too!

Kevin Meade

Great day, hired bikes which were good fun and functioned well. We'll layed out plenty to see, picnic spots and being on the bikes made it easy to ride around the 6km circuit to see all the animals.

Mat Coch

Good place but could be much better with a few improvements. The place is massive, with plenty of rooms for animals, which is amazing. The variety of animals, and replicating their natural habitats are great. However, I still think more animals could be added to the zoo. The staff were friendly and helpful. They value the comfort and happiness of their visitors. In general, I think the place is so good. A few improvements to make it better: - There could be more trees along the way that people can use their shades while walking or biking in the zoo. - More stations for food and drink are required. There was only one which was too overcrowded. Maybe the crowd is seasonal, if so, temporary stations or even food trucks could help. We were burning under the sun and there was no place to buy water, and when we found, we had to stand in the queue for almost half an hour. All in all, we loved the place.

Hank Jones

The layout of the zoo is great and majority of the animals are in easy view. It's 5kms around the zoo and you can walk, ride bikes, hire an electric cart or drive your car through. We hired bikes but seriously, save your money. It can be stressful dodging cars and 100s of people. A separate track for bikes and walkers would be ideal. Take a pack lunch an snacks as it was a 45min wait just for hot chips. I would suggest arriving around 10am to avoid the early morning influx. Good luck, enjoy the animals and take lots of deep breaths.

Will McPhie

So good!!! You'd definitely benefit of going over 2 days but you can also see it in one day. Well worth the trip!

Maggie Liu

Fabulous place a must do! Try one of the "experiences ".

Dan Paul

Amazing experience. The animals were a sight to witness and were lively. We hired a cart to drive around the zoo. Great place to visit with kids or not. Value for money entry ticket is valid for 2 days.

Brian Thorne

My family and I stayed in the Savannah Cabins which are very well equipped, clean and comfortable. The zoo is amazing with wide open enclosures.The facilities could be better not enough toilets around the zoo. With young kids we chose to drive around but there are options to hire bikes or electric carts. We had a fantastic experience highly recommended.

N Auld

Fantastic Zoo experience! Very kid friendly, and excellent viewing of all animals. Two days needed, safari was great! Staff very friendly, could not fault anything. Thankyou for a lovely time. See you all again soon! ????????????????????????????????????

Natalie Spinks

Drive you own car, it’s $70 to hire a golf buggy for 3 hrs. A good zoo, designed for travel on the road, not great if travelling on foot. In busy periods there can be long (45-60 min) wait times for food at the cafe halfway along.

Matthew Astill

Best sanctuary I’ve ever visited. The attention and care given to the animals is evident everywhere and the spaces for each enclosures are huge. Loved bike riding around - thanks for the experience.

Guy Foster

Great to see plains animals spread out in natural looking grass lands. The farm goats are very friendly and interactive (near lion's enclosures). Even though it was raining lightly, most of the animals were outside and did not seem bothered by it. Driving around in your own car was very convenient, as was staying in a Savannah Cabin.

Heather Sarau

Zoo was amazing and well maintained! All the staff were helpful and very friendly, most of all the animals were gorgeous

Dion Pretorius

Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo is one of the must-go places. Though limited types of animals, but the zoo tried to keep their wilderness so it's a big place to spend your whole day. It would be best if you plan for 2 days so you can see all animals in the zoo. You can drive your own can inside the zoo, as it is stretched to a big area. Night stay also available here if you want to experience a night with wild animals. I like the way the zoo has set up itself, comfortable for us as well as animals. Your kids would love the place.

hkumara

It’s much better in the morning. When animals have their breakfast, it’s much closer to us.

Stephen Lu

This place is amazing so big The buggy ride was awesome. Would have done a bike hire but it was 40 degrees. The animals are viewable and plenty of space. Noticed some awesome picnic areas you can just chill in

jilly beanz

Wow this place is amazing and so clean. We had a blast. All the conservation efforts and information is truly amazing. Keep up the good work. Oh and the staff were tops. Thank you for a memorable 2 days

Mark Boyd

It was amazing. We loved seeing all the African animals we do miss. Love that the enclosures are very big so enough room for the animals to move around in. I highly recommend it.

shrimpman77 shelfie

An amazing zoo with a wonderful concept and brilliant programs. The fact that they have buffer room as well for the animals is amazing in itself. Best of all the animals in themselves seemed quite content and happy!!

Jane D

It's amazing place to see all kind of animals , they keep animals in big areas which lovely , but it isn't for little kids under 6 years old

Ian Jones

The zoo is very big and you can drive your car throughout the zoo and can see animals from the car, please visit the zoo between 9am to 12 as the animals are very active at that time . there's a safari rise also, you can stay overnight in the zoo at lodge or you can stay in there camping site. You can hire bike, electric cars to roam inside the zoo. There are 2 cafes inside the zoo too.

Karin Kirchberger

A highlight of our recent holiday. We rode around the zoo on bikes and we all loved it. So much fun. You are so close to the animals and its so well set up. Highly recommend

Julie B

Great zoo with very friendly staff and some great animals to see. It's quite large so you can visit with your vehicle and drive around, which makes it easier to navigate.

Odette Marino

Love Taronga Western Plains Zoo ???? been there multiple times and it’s always amazing ???? the safari bus tour was great getting up close with the animals especially the giraffes ???? where very playful

Jenny Davidson

Dubbo Zoo is a great place not just for families and kids, but also adult couples too! It’s nice and open and you have the option to either drive around the park or walk (or do a bit of both). The enclosures are cleverly designed so that the fences are below the eye line making it appear that there are no fences at all. Park is well kept and staff are friendly. I think it is a must for anyone who lives in Sydney or is traveling through NSW - Go to Dubbo Zoo!

Oliver Wang

You can't go wrong at the zoo, wide open spaces beautiful animals. Well organised at entry to check in. Book ahead if you want a buggy or a bike or drive your own car. Slip, slop, slap, it gets hot. And don't forget the fly repellent. Enjoy your day.

Jake P

Great place to be with family. Family friendly environment. Best ting is that we can drive through every station. Kids enjoy every single animal. Few things management need to consider is open electric fence. Which seems to be scary. Water hole needs more improvement as rocks are paved on kids way. This can be safety issue for kids. This also need to be covered with UV protection shade. Overall this place is worth visiting. I also think this is one of the most beautiful zoo in Australia.