ZooTampa At Lowry Park
ZooTampa At Lowry Park
4.5
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Experience wildlife like nowhere else! See Florida manatees receiving lifesaving care. Get up-close to a rescued Florida panther. Take a stroll down a shaded boardwalk – where you’ll find native birds, otters, alligators, bears, skunks, and other Florida wildlife – to the thrilling family water adventure Roaring Springs! Then see rare and exciting wildlife from Asia, Africa, and Australia. And so much more!
Duration: More than 3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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$49.95
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See what travelers are saying
- Karen BHudson, Florida2 contributionsZoo LoveMy husband and I are annual pass holders. By having an annual pass it makes this zoo very affordable. Every time we visit we see new things depending on time of day and time of year. We find it fascinating to see their different behaviors at different times and different seasons. Our absolute favorite animals in the park are the Siamang monkeys. We have been fortunate enough to be there on days when they are showing off their athletic abilities swinging and singing, they are LOUD! The manatees are a very close second as they are near and dear to our hearts. I love that they have a manatee hospital to help recover sick and injured manatees and they do so with such enthusiasm. You get a lot out of talking to the staff that works with the animals. They love to answer our questions and we've learned so much. We have been to much larger zoos but we find that we enjoy this so much more. We can actually make it through the park in one day and see everything and they have so many new experiences every time we visit. Christmas time is probably most beautiful time to visit the zoo. We find it great to visit on cooler days and early in the day when the animals are more active. We love watching secrets of the zoo Tampa and we're actually learning many of the animals names and how they are trained so the veterinarians can properly care for them. There's not one single animal or reptile in that park that we don't enjoy seeing.Visited October 2023Traveled as a coupleWritten October 8, 2023
- Jeannine GIndianapolis, Indiana5 contributionsTreasure in TampaWhat a treasure! My 4 year old granddaughter loved seeing the animals (that all looked very well cared for)! The zoo has a great layout. We watched several episodes of Secrets of the Zoo before our visit and were pleasantly surprised that some of the animals featured on the show were in their habitats!Visited October 2023Traveled with familyWritten October 21, 2023
- AK MamaFairbanks, Alaska50 contributionsGreat zoo!There are volunteers throughout the zoo and John was at the upper manatee area on the day we were there. He was wonderful!!! Make sure to take the time for the Safari tour even though there may be a wait for it. Caroline was an awesome tour guide! We were able to see a month old baby rhino that wasn’t on exhibit yet. So tiny!!! The apes were active and entertaining. The app could use a little improvement, but has some good features so make sure you download it while planning your visit. City Pass is the way to go for admission if you’re visiting several places for several days. Make sure you book experiences in advance because they will sell out.Visited November 2023Traveled with familyWritten November 11, 2023
- LUCIA JArcadia, Florida4 contributionsOverall Good experience but with incidentWe went to the Christmas Wild in the Lights Dec 2 I took my 2 grandchildren. Park was beautiful lights everywhere. We saw many animals. They had several characters on stilts talking to the children. They were amazing . especially the princesses. We saw a fun song show and played a game of selecting crocodiles swimming in water and the number on their belly determined the prize. The young lady running this was fantastic and made it so much fun for the kids. The only problem we experienced was an small ice cream dots booth with stuffed animal's and toys and treats. My granddaughter selected a small ice cream treat marked on the freezer cooler as 7 dollars. I gave the young man a 20 and he gave back a ten dollar bill and two pennies . I told him my change was wrong , He said the ice cream was $8.99. I showed him where the freezer it came from said $7.00. He was very rude and I did get agitated. He asked me if I wanted to speak to managements and I said yes. He then told me to not let her eat the ice cream that she had taken the lid off of. Management was not able to come over and I walked away frustrated with this young mans rudeness. As I walked around corner to leave two managements were sitting at a table talking Had their walkie talkies . Disappointing they could not get up and walk a few steps to help solve a problem. Over all everyone their was fantastic but this incident and the way it was handled will make me think twice about going back again and taking my grandchildrenVisited December 2023Traveled with familyWritten December 29, 2023
- Lorrie PKennewick, Washington139 contributionsGreat zoo experienceIt was a bit chilly going in January but we were still able to see most of the animals. It seemed the tortoises were the most reclusive and were hiding under the hay. The manatees were awesome and the primates were very active. We spent 4 hours and enjoyed it very much.Visited January 2024Traveled with familyWritten January 4, 2024
- JoanMGRockville, Maryland34 contributionsIt's All Happening at the Zoo!We had an awesome visit. While a goal was to see the rare Shoebill Storks, I had many favorite experiences: seeing the large family of Orangutans interacting including the mother and baby descending from a rope and then baby nursing was a highlight. The underwater manatee exhibit was terrific; we spent a long time watching them munch on their lettuce - so fun to be able to see their faces clearly :) The penguin encounter was cute. Keepers were friendly and informative.Visited March 2024Traveled with familyWritten March 20, 2024
- Beth P4 contributionsWedding VenueIf you are looking for a unique Wedding Venue, this is the place! Our Family just hosted our son's Wedding this past weekend and our Wedding Coordinator Shelly was Fantastic! After the outdoor intimate wedding, the guests were able to feed the giraffes, and have 2 other animal encounters during the cocktail hour. The reception was fun, the food was fabulous, Denise and her team were on point! I simply can't say enough about this venue and staff! What a night for our family and friends!Visited April 2024Traveled with familyWritten April 23, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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4.5
4,114 reviews
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2,260
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Ellyn S
Westerly, RI22 contributions
Jan 2020
I thought the price of this zoo for the day was high at $40 a person. I understand we are in the area of high priced attractions but this is more than twice the price of the zoo in our state. It is a decent sized zoo. It was a cool day and there were not a lot of people at the zoo. A lot of areas weren't open for snacks or food. We found a place to get a burger in the children's zoo area and it was $10 a burger or $7 for a hot dog. Once again, a bit pricey. The upside is once you purchase the ticket you can come back all year as many times as you want. Great if you live local but not if you are visiting from another state. There are some great exhibits. The manatees were wonderful and I expect some of the high cost is going to help care for animals that the zoo is rehabilitating. The best part of our day was watching the rhinos. Two of them had stand off going on, staring each other down and literally drawing a line in the sand. When the baby rhino was attacked by one of the larger rhinos all hell broke loose and there was lots of running around, chasing. one ran into the fence ( it's very strong) and you could really see the power of these animals. Seeing this was worth the entrance fee. I also saw some animals I had never seen before, and that was enjoyable. The Florida panther, the African painted dog, okapi are all animals I had never seen before.
Written January 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Charlestontourist58
Yardville, NJ303 contributions
Jan 2020
We visited Zoo Tampa on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. Our first issue is that we parked in the handicap lot and ushered by 89 year old mother to the entrance gate to find out we had to walk way down the front entrance area, around the flower box dividers and back up the sloop to the admission box. There was a fence right there with a gate that I was about to open for mom to slide through so she would not have to make the hike. A staff member stopped us and told us we had to do the walk. Got my knickers in a bunch right off the bat. Look you, you will open this gate and let her through or I'll call management. We went through. Oh yeah, there was NO ONE in line! Paid the very steep price and went in to rent a wheelchair. Ouch. This posed problems all day long as the paths have large cracks in them or repaired areas or water drainage dips that the wheelchair front wheels would get caught in. Three times mom almost ended up face first on the ground. Stroller wheels handled the pit falls better. A VERY steep sloop going into and out of Africa. Almost lost mom on the momentum from the pitch of the slope. Next we noticed that all the little kiosks and most food stands were closed. Then we ran into two places we could not go through due to repairs and one place ( ZooVenture) that was closed even though they handed us a schedule for the day and the shows were supposed to be there. Kids rides and petting zoo rotated being open so if you were not there at the right time no rides for the kids. The petting zoo has 3 goats to pet. The lady in the Lorikeets feeding was overly obnoxious considering we had 4 adults for 2 kids and NO ONE else was in the area. AND the finial kickers is the opinion machine at the exit deleted all my sons information he entered. Guess they only take good stuff.
Ok, good stuff. Our 6 & 2.5 year olds had a great time. We too enjoyed our day and appreciate all they do here for the animal conservation etc. But we just felt the price should be discounted in off season when the shops are closed, exhibits are closed for repair and don't hand out the days schedule until you make closure correction. The staff were all very nice and everything was clean. git hand wash stations after animal touching areas. Just wished things did not appear so...closed as we walked around.
Ok, good stuff. Our 6 & 2.5 year olds had a great time. We too enjoyed our day and appreciate all they do here for the animal conservation etc. But we just felt the price should be discounted in off season when the shops are closed, exhibits are closed for repair and don't hand out the days schedule until you make closure correction. The staff were all very nice and everything was clean. git hand wash stations after animal touching areas. Just wished things did not appear so...closed as we walked around.
Written February 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
C. Frederick
7 contributions
Feb 2020
We have been watching the television series “The Zoo” and “Secrets of the Zoo” so when we planned a vacation to Florida we wanted to see the Tampa Zoo for ourselves. We were impressed by how clean the grounds were kept – people were always making sure any little bits of trash were picked up quickly. The animals seemed well cared for and content, and any interactions I saw with zoo staff reinforced the attachments between the staff and their charges. We were a bit disappointed that the Florida exhibits were mostly closed, but our timing was just unfortunate. Our only complaint was that when we did our giraffe meet and greet, we were sent up with a family of five, including three children (so seven people in total) and most of the focus was on the children’s experience. We could have been sent up with one other couple right behind us, making a group of four, and would have preferred that smaller group interaction, since we paid the same price as everyone else and wanted the same quality of interaction. As well, the first two or three groups to interact were given lots of time but later groups (including ours) were being somewhat rushed, some activities eliminated and sessions shortened, which was disappointing after seeing the experiences of the groups in front of us. Perhaps fewer people should be booked for each session…
Written March 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
loves2travelandmore
Forest, Virginia554 contributions
Feb 2020
The Tampa Zoo was enjoyed by young and old. It does require a lot of walking. Parking lots were full around 11 a.m. on a pleasant President's day so we had to wait for someone to depart, but once inside the zoo, it was easy to see the animals. Buying a Tampa City Pass online allows entry to the Florida Aquarium at Tampa Bay, The Zoo at Lowry Park, Busch Gardens, and a couple of other venues at a discount.
Written February 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Siobhand
London215 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
Had an enjoyable day here, although very overpriced.
The giraffe feeding experience was good but very brief literally 5 mins per person but then again it's not very expensive.
The aminals themselves seem well looked after, although some look quite sad and there didn't seem a lot of enrichment in the enclosures.
A lot of the zoo was closed, such as the water ride but we still managed a good few hours of walking around.
We stopped at macaws landing for something to eat, absolutely disgusting. Greasy food that tasted anything but freshly cooked and was very expensive.
The giraffe feeding experience was good but very brief literally 5 mins per person but then again it's not very expensive.
The aminals themselves seem well looked after, although some look quite sad and there didn't seem a lot of enrichment in the enclosures.
A lot of the zoo was closed, such as the water ride but we still managed a good few hours of walking around.
We stopped at macaws landing for something to eat, absolutely disgusting. Greasy food that tasted anything but freshly cooked and was very expensive.
Written January 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cheryl Bers
2 contributions
Jul 2020
At the $39.95 price of admission, per individual, I would think more actual animals could be acquired. Allow an open "avoid the line" concept to purchase online tickets for the day of (I was on the website at 12:19 only to learn the cutoff was 12:00 to purchase a $3.00 savings.
Lower the admission price since a lot of exhibits were closed due to COVID; however, didn't understand why these exhibits were closed anyway; mask wearing and being outdoors; I did not bring any children, but $27.00 for a child to enter is also ridiculous.
There was only 1 bear, 2 tigers (they say the 2nd one was inside); no lions, 2 elephants, 1 giraffe, no apes nor chimps, only small hardly visible monkeys, 1 panther, 2 alligators (in FLORIDA? should have been crawling with them!)
I will note on the positive, the aquarium was explicit-it was indoor and NOT closed so why were other indoor or walk-thru areas? There was a marine biologist student available to answer questions about the medical holding tanks, which are remarkable for the care of marine animals that become injured.
The grounds themselves all natural habitats for the animals, if there were some to put in them..but very impressive with the boardwalks, rock formations and waterfalls throughout the park.
Not a good value for the $40.00 admission, wish I could say so.
Lower the admission price since a lot of exhibits were closed due to COVID; however, didn't understand why these exhibits were closed anyway; mask wearing and being outdoors; I did not bring any children, but $27.00 for a child to enter is also ridiculous.
There was only 1 bear, 2 tigers (they say the 2nd one was inside); no lions, 2 elephants, 1 giraffe, no apes nor chimps, only small hardly visible monkeys, 1 panther, 2 alligators (in FLORIDA? should have been crawling with them!)
I will note on the positive, the aquarium was explicit-it was indoor and NOT closed so why were other indoor or walk-thru areas? There was a marine biologist student available to answer questions about the medical holding tanks, which are remarkable for the care of marine animals that become injured.
The grounds themselves all natural habitats for the animals, if there were some to put in them..but very impressive with the boardwalks, rock formations and waterfalls throughout the park.
Not a good value for the $40.00 admission, wish I could say so.
Written July 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello,
We apologize for your unsatisfactory experience at ZooTampa and appreciate your honest comments. We have fortunately been able to open up all of our habitats that had unfortunately been closed to COVID 19 and are operating at 100%.
Some of our animals would be naturally solitary in the wild, with the exception of mating seasons, such as our bears, tigers and Florida panthers so we are unable to have them out on the main habitat at the same time. We also let the animals have the choice of going to their outside habitat or not. We do have 7 elephants, 3 giraffes and 5 alligators but they may have not been visible at the time.
We thank you very much for the kind comments about our biology interns and our manatee critical care center. As well as our horticulture design. We will be sure to pass on these on to the team!
Written August 17, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
johnsnova73
Myrtle Beach, SC9 contributions
Jul 2019
Graet place to visit. I see a lot of people on here crying about the price, just remember it is used for taking care of all of the animals there as well as the cost of everything that goes along with taking care of all of the animals that they have. Maybe some of you, before complaining about the price you should find out if the Zoos in your state is payed for by the people visiting there or being paid for by your state government. Or subsadized by the government. This zoo is bought and paid for by itself, and there are an awful lot of cost with taking care of animals. If you people that did not like the price you could have left and not stayed. Nobody made you stay. It really makes me mad when someone complains about something that is doing all of the good that they are doing for their animals. These people love what they are doing and you can see that they all love their animals. Keep up the great work that you are doing for these animals.
Written January 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kendyb06
Norwalk, OH61 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
Too start this zoo is on the pricy side. We have a membership to a zoo near us and with our pass was able to pay half price at the Tampa zoo. There is no way we would have done this zoo at full price. With that said, it is a nice zoo. Clean, easy to get around and a bunch of animals.
I didn’t feel as if the zoo met to its price compared to the zoos we go to near our home. There isn’t much closeness to the animals. Many of the exhibits were being worked on or didn’t have the animals out. Nothing fancy or very memorable.
My kids did have fun and we did spend almost a entire there.
Just, also, beware of parking. There are no designated parking spots. We saw numerous people giving up on trying to find a spot and just making up their own parking. Be prepared to walk.
I didn’t feel as if the zoo met to its price compared to the zoos we go to near our home. There isn’t much closeness to the animals. Many of the exhibits were being worked on or didn’t have the animals out. Nothing fancy or very memorable.
My kids did have fun and we did spend almost a entire there.
Just, also, beware of parking. There are no designated parking spots. We saw numerous people giving up on trying to find a spot and just making up their own parking. Be prepared to walk.
Written January 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ms5
Atlanta, GA97 contributions
Feb 2020
This was our first visit to the Lowry Park Zoo. We've watched it featured on Nat Geo channel these past few months and as we were going to be in the area for a few days, I decided to take my 2 tweens. I was surprised by the cost of the tickets $39 each for adults and $29 for kids and although they have a special "pay for the day & get the rest of the year free" - it was pricey! Even without the special - it's the same price anyway. Although I chose the special, we live too far away to make it worth that price but I can see it being great for those who are closer We live in ATL and the Atlanta Zoo is only $28 adults and for $20 kids. Given that the Atlanta Zoo seems to have a bigger variety of animals, I was surprised by this. That's why I didn't give it a 5.
We got there before it opened (on President's Day forgetting that everyone was off from school that day) but we still enjoyed the zoo without a lot of crowds. We felt like it was hard at first to see both the Florida section and the Asia section without a clear flow to go by. I think we had to back track a bit to see things we missed. We did wait for the tram ride to see the backside of the Africa exhibit. But it was a very reasonable wait time and it moved quicker than I expected. I think it was worth the wait as we got to get closer to the white rhinos that way and the mom and baby were right up by the fence as we passed.
I think the kids and I all loved the Manatee exhibit the most. Lots of viewing windows and we got to see them eat although I think they probably do that all day long. They are such gentle creatures that it's calming to sit and just watch them float by. I also appreciated being able to view the Medical pools and see the great work that the zoo was doing to help save manatees.
We didn't eat much except we did get some ice cream at one of the stands. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't overpriced and that we got good portions. I personally thought the Luscious Llama flavor was pretty good. We didn't pay for any additional rides that were available since I couldn't justify paying for them on top of the tickets.
We definitely were glad that we visited. I couldn't imagine being there on a super hot day in the summer because even though there are definitely a good amount of areas with shade - they were usually because of trees with nests in them from the local birds. Which means you literally have to watch out for birds dropping a big surprise on you!
We got there before it opened (on President's Day forgetting that everyone was off from school that day) but we still enjoyed the zoo without a lot of crowds. We felt like it was hard at first to see both the Florida section and the Asia section without a clear flow to go by. I think we had to back track a bit to see things we missed. We did wait for the tram ride to see the backside of the Africa exhibit. But it was a very reasonable wait time and it moved quicker than I expected. I think it was worth the wait as we got to get closer to the white rhinos that way and the mom and baby were right up by the fence as we passed.
I think the kids and I all loved the Manatee exhibit the most. Lots of viewing windows and we got to see them eat although I think they probably do that all day long. They are such gentle creatures that it's calming to sit and just watch them float by. I also appreciated being able to view the Medical pools and see the great work that the zoo was doing to help save manatees.
We didn't eat much except we did get some ice cream at one of the stands. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't overpriced and that we got good portions. I personally thought the Luscious Llama flavor was pretty good. We didn't pay for any additional rides that were available since I couldn't justify paying for them on top of the tickets.
We definitely were glad that we visited. I couldn't imagine being there on a super hot day in the summer because even though there are definitely a good amount of areas with shade - they were usually because of trees with nests in them from the local birds. Which means you literally have to watch out for birds dropping a big surprise on you!
Written February 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michele K
Bridgewater, Canada155 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
We enjoyed our visit but it really wasn’t any better than other zoos we have visited. I really don’t understand the whole rides and animals thing but realize it must be to maximize profits. We went in the morning and headed right to the train for the safari which honestly was a disappointment after doing other safaris in the past. You really can’t see the animals because of all the cages, thought it would be more like our Disney safari experience and it is not. We enjoyed seeing the manatees which was our real reason for visiting and found a few of the employees to be helpful with information etc which is always nice. We were a little disappointed that we couldn’t feed the parrots(lorikeets) as feeding times were not listed anywhere or we would have arrived at the specified time anyways I am an adult so I dealt with my minor disappointment but it really should be advertised that you can only feed at certain times. We bought the Tampa city pass and used this to get in. We ended up only using 3 of the passes in our booklet so it wasn’t worth it for us. We find Florida attractions expensive but it does seem to be the norm these days. We wouldn’t return but I don’t regret visiting once.
Written January 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
When do the Koala encounter tickets go on sale?
Written August 11, 2024
Is the stingray encounter open yet? Is there a date for when Australia segment will open? Wondering what will be available on 12th Feb for a visit? Thanks
Written December 28, 2023
Twanesia T
Wilson, North Carolina
Can you reserve the Picnic tables outside the zoo at the park for gatherings?
Written November 7, 2022
I do believe they had them but not 100% I would call or look online for details
Written June 27, 2021
Is a discount in admission tickets at Tampa zoo if I buy online or in person
Written February 11, 2020
ZooTampa at Lowry Park
Tampa, Florida
Yes if you buy online there is a $3 discount, however you will have to purchase the tickets by midnight the day prior.
Written February 12, 2020
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