The Cincinati Zoo and Botanical Gardens is known as one of the best Zoo’s in the country. It is located in the heart of the city. Access, parking and ticketing are easy accessible. Although general admission tickets are $28 at the counter, you can purchase tickets online directly for a nominal discount. The Zoo is vast and comprises of many animals, birds, insects that are both unique and common. Fiona the hippo is no longer a baby and is a star at the zoo. Where the Zoo gets high accolades is with several personal touch offerings ie; Giraffe feeding where zoo hosts can actually feed the giraffes by hand, a walk-in Kangaroo enclosure and a few other experiences not to be missed! The botanical horticulture and arborist garden displays are inter-dispersed all throughout the park. It’s easy to spend an entire day here and not see everything. There are plenty of refreshment stands and a cafe that offers a variety of food for the entire family. Your own food and beverages into the park is allowable.

We thought the Zoo was great! It is nicely laid out and offers beautiful botanicals and landscaping to view as you stroll to the different habitats. The paths are nicely meandering and fairly well marked. The animals were out and fairly active for a rainy, cloudy day. The hippos were exceptionally frisky and fun. Although some exhibits were closed or under renovation- there was plenty to see. You can tell the Zoo and animals are treasured by the staff. The habitats are refurbished, in the process or plans to update are in the works. Great stewardship! We spoke with several staff members and they were all knowledgable and happy to share info on the animals. We learned a lot about their blue penquins, hippos, leopards, elephants, the manatees on loan, and even millipedes! The Zoo offers a cute train ride, a fun carousel, and plenty of refreshment spots throughout the park. Lovely sculptures are interspersed throughout the grounds and there are plenty of great photo op spots. There are shows to enjoy as well, they begin in May. The Cincinnati Zoo was an immediate top of the list addition. Pricing was reasonable, an online map is available through a QR scan and map boards are placed at several locations. Be sure to leave at least three hours to truly enjoy all the Zoo has to offer.

This zoo was great. The free cheetah and bird shows made it seem like a better value. You need to make sure you are there at the right times for those, however. They have some animals one doesn't see at most zoos such as puffins, hippopotamuses, and manatees. Most of the pathways are wide with plenty of room, although the zoo was crowded in some areas. Parking is $10. You have to go up an escalator or elevator when you get there. There could be more signs directing where things are such as the train station. It was annoying that we had to get off of the carousel if there was an employee on a power trip that wouldn't let people with unlimited rides stay on. The carousel rides are quite short. It is silly to have to get off when there is a very small line to get on. If there is a large line, it makes sense to get off. If there is a small line, it does not make sense to get off.

1st there on 7/6/24. Parking was easy & I liked it covered to keep the sun off. Solar Panels on top - great thinking! Took a good solid 3 hours to see a lot without stopping for breaks. You need to plan 3-5 hours when going. Lots of shade and places to sit. Several mist fans were great to walk upon on. Easy paths to follows. I liked people going in one way & exiting another. Cool AC in enclosed exhibits was nice! Bring sunscreen & wear walking shoes! Some paths were inclined. Lots of restaurants & restrooms. Parking is 10 and 2 adults tickets came to about 75.00. I really liked it. Here are pics - hope this was helpful

We spent two days at the zoo and had a great time. The enclosures for the animals are among the best we've seen (and we've been to a lot of zoos around the world), and we had fantastic behind the scenes encounters. The selection of animals was good, and many of the enclosures are designed so that the animals' enrichment gets them into good viewing positions. It is a very walkable zoo, while still offering a lot of diversity of animals. Our behind the scenes encounters were all very different, from feeding African penguins from the public viewing area (because they are aggressive penguins and being closer would not have been safe) to being one on one with Galapagos tortoises (we were able to stroke their necks, feel their shells and legs, and feed them), to being in a closed space with four Little Blue penguins that walked all around us and tried to eat our shoelaces. The encounters were appropriate to the temperament of the animals and the number of people participating in the encounter. I would definitely recommend a trip to this zoo.

This is a nice zoo. Very clean. Exhibits are viewer friendly with a lot of visibility. The history of the zoo is quite interesting as well, especially regarding the gorilla enclosure. They have a lot of photos of past gorillas including Harambe. Overall it is one of the nicest zoos I’ve been to.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Even though the weather was still cool, there were plenty of animals out. There were a few exhibits closed for refurbishment and there's more construction going on, so I expect that the zoo will continue to improve. The hippos were, of course, the highlight.

We were in the USA from UK to visit USAF Museum in Dayton which was incredible. With a spare day we decide to visit Cincinnati Zoo which is reputably one of the best in the World. The Hippos were terrific particularly the young and views underwater. The Mantees likewise which I had never seen before. Gorillas were also pretty good. However overall I wasn’t bowled over, there are Zoos in UK equally good such as Colchester, Edinburgh and Whipsnade and I was probably more impressed with Munch, Basel, Antwerp and Berlin in Europe.

Not sure why - if there was any special event etc. - but there were tons of families with kids. Lots of animals that we don’t see other places like Bonobos and Sahara desert cat. Lots of nocturnal exhibits. A huge new elephant exhibit with bears coming in 2025. Also very few animals off exhibit. May not be as big as some zoos but what they have is excellent.

Overall it was an enjoyable zoo. We specifically went for Fiona and the Bloat :) Which we were able to see with a little waiting. We enjoyed seeing a lot of the animals even if it was mid day. The staff was friendly, the younger staff seemed a bit nervous but didn’t really well. We spent about 5 hours there. Downfall is always the other visitors and their entitlement/rudeness. But we didn’t let that spoil the day. Plan ahead as parking can be a bit of a tricky thing. They close lots and reopen them.