San Diego Zoo

Why the San Diego Zoo is special
The San Diego Zoo in California is the darling of zookeepers around the world. It creatively showcases several thousand animals, many in open-air exhibits.

San Diego Zoo tips and insights
Most popular attraction
Pandas win that honor hands down. Other crowd favorites include polar bears, koala bears, tigers, lions and gorillas.

Doubledeck tour bus
First-timers should start their visit by taking the 40-minute tour on a doubledeck bus. It provides a good orientation prior to exploring the many exhibits. For the best vantage, sit in the open-air top deck.

Skyfari Aerial Tram
You may also want to take the Skyfari Aerial Tram for an bird's eye view. The cable cars shuttle between the main gate area up to the Polar Bear Plunge exhibit.

Foot-saving advice
The San Diego Zoo covers a large territory, with sloping paths. Be kind to your feet by wearing comfortable shoes. And, use the cable cars, up escalators, and hop-on-and-off busses to reach the high areas - then walk down.

Botanical garden
The San Diego Zoo is also a botanical garden, with thousands of plant species, including rare orchids.

Wild Animal Park
It also operates the safari-like Wild Animal Park, about an hour's drive north. Open-top vehicles take you through a fenced-in expanse populated with giraffes and other animals.

Landscape
The zoo has a hill/canyon/mesa landscape, a change of pace from the usual flat zoo topography.

Organization's mission
It includes nurturing endangered species and making the zoo-visiting experience both enlightening and pleasurable.

Visitor count
The San Diego Zoo is quite popular. This year several million visitors will pass through its gates.

Location in America