I didn't go there with much expectations. It's still a Polish zoo. But the Oliwa zoo was a positive surprise. Many animals, mostly visible and outside. Only lions had a day off. Toilets around every corner and I mean not only bushes, but like real water closets. Generally a wide and nice collection of animals. To see the dinos you have to climb up the hill. I don't know why. The kids loved it, I hated it. But because they can't legally vote yet, then it's a win for hate. Parking is not the cheapest - 30 zloty for a day. That's like 2 four-packs of Polish beer. And the parking machines operating only in Polish. Like I were in Poland... If you are in the 21 century and pay with card, then don't waste time standing in the ticket line. They have ticket machines there too. Shocking...

The zoo is a big detour from the city center, therefore be mindful of the time to transit there. The zoo itself is very big, but there are. So. Many. Hills. The animal collection is also varied. Some of the enclosures could use a bit of love, specially the water elements. Some of the animals are very human friendly (like the giraffes and camels), so be mindful not to feed them. The zoo plan is, according to us, too complex and requires too much backtracking to create an easy, streamlined experience while minimizing seeing things multiple times.

Splendid zoo in the middle of a Kashubian forest provides a perfectly secluded setting for a wide range of animals. Viewing areas are great for visitors and animals looked happy and well cared for. So refreshing that a zoo does not charge the earth for the visit, around £6 for what can easily be a full day's visit is amazing. There are restaurants on site and while we visited in the off season there is clearly further activities on during summer months. Be prepared to research the travel there as the bus is not straight forward (seems to only connect with the town of Oliwa, and thereafter we struggled a little on the tram (look out for small ticket machines and make sure you validate when you get on the tram (small punch hole machine by the doors). We got a taxi from Gdansk centre and it was about 60 zloty, which is certainly a lot easier!