National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra

Canberra Zoo , must visit in Canberra, top things to do in Canberra. If you love animals or have young children, this is definitely a must-see and do in Canberra. We’ve been to many zoos around like Taronga Zoo, Sydney Zoo, and two Melbourne Zoos, this Zoo is one of the best! #zoo #canberra #visitcanberra

The National Zoo and Aquarium is a privately owned 19-hectare zoo and aquarium in the Australian capital city of Canberra. It opens from 9.30 am to 5 pm daily except on Christmas Day. This is the only combined zoo and aquarium in Australia. The price is very reasonable considering that you can visit both the zoo and aquarium in one day. It’s faster and cheaper to buy tickets online. The zoo is only about 8km or 10 minutes drive from Canberra Center. There are plenty of parking and several entrances into the zoo, making it easily accessible.

It took us about 5 to 6 hours to visit all the animals there and also spent a good amount of time in the amazing animal-themed playground. A good time to visit the zoo is early in the morning as you will have more time to spend there and we observe that animals are out more actively in the morning, eating lunch. After lunch, they seem to be resting and hiding more.

There are many different animals compared to Taronga Zoo and other zoos we’ve visited. The animals actually move around and look happy.

The zoo is beautifully designed with stroller-friendly pathways and is very clean.

You can get up close to so many animals and there is a great variety here too. Numbered signs help you see everything, you can just simply follow the numbers on the map and won’t miss out on any animals.

There are many big cats and you can get to see the animal up close.

The animal-themed playground is the best. It has many animal statues. Our kids had so much fun.

All keeper talks have been canceled. We would love to have the keeper talk back.

The aquarium is a bit small, but they have a range of fishes, a little touch pool, and sharks. Kids like it.
There are plenty of grassy areas to sit down or have a picnic along with shaded areas. There are BBQ areas where you can bring your picnic food.

There are two shops where you can purchase food, one near one of the entrances and the Rhino Bistro with hot food near the playground at the end.

The Zoo also offers onsite accommodations with uShaka Lodge, Giraffe Treehouses, and Jungle Bungalows with unique wildlife experiences. The room rate includes your overnight accommodation, all food and dinner beverages, and exclusive tours. We haven’t tried it though.

Overall, an absolutely wonderful experience for us, we highly recommend this for your Canberra trip.