admission prices

bongorob

bongorob

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Today I spoke to a family friend who last week wanted to visit Chester Zoo. The party would have comprised of 3 adults and 4 children. The cost of admission came to £76.25.

They went shopping at Cheshire Oaks instead, probably spending far more money in the process, but the point of this post is the perception that zoos are expensive.

Other local attractions close to Stoke would have cost this party as follows.

Alton Towers £185.00

Drayton Manor Park £171.00

Blue Planet Aquarium £83.50
 
Goodness ! All I can say is look on ebay first and get some cheap vouchers!

We became friends of ZSL as we are off to London zoo next weekend and we got refunded our entrance to Whipsnade and we only have to go once more in a year to be in profit!

And the entrance is without all the extras like drinks, food and giftshop! I know zoos struggle with running costs but with everyone credit crunching its a worrying time for them!
 
These prices were all posted as pay on the day because that was what my friend's were going to do at Chester Zoo. As Karen says, there are a lot of bargains around.
 
Rob, it works out at about £11 per person though (from the party of 7 people) which by current rates is very good value.

A football match is about £30 per person and theme parks are usually 2 or 3 times the price of zoos in the UK. Hix has uploaded a photo of Taronga Zoo's price scheme and it is $41 for one adult to enter!

I think the reasonably low entry cost of zoos is one reason why the attendance is seemingly booming in these difficult times
 
I think a day out at the zoo is still very good value, it is exactly that, a day out, you can go round several times (depending on the size of the zoo, or if in some cases a safari park) and the animals will be doing something different, or the 'empty' enclosure you passed 2 hours agao is now a hub of activity etc.

a 'flight' on the London Eye is £17 and is done in 45 mins, a trip to the cinema with all the gubbins would cost the same.

As has already been stated, get vouchers, take a picnic, book in advance, most large zoo's have budgeted for this kind of thing.

I do feel however more zoo's need to explain where the money goes, wages, feed bills etc etc and justify the entance fee in some cases
 
CZJimmy said:
Rob, it works out at about £11 per person though (from the party of 7 people) which by current rates is very good value.

A football match is about £30 per person and theme parks are usually 2 or 3 times the price of zoos in the UK. Hix has uploaded a photo of Taronga Zoo's price scheme and it is $41 for one adult to enter!

I think the reasonably low entry cost of zoos is one reason why the attendance is seemingly booming in these difficult times
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A zoo is a super bargain for a family.. There is not much out there any cheaper for the value. I went to london last weekend to the natural history mueseum. It was free except the £19 parking for 5 hours. By the time the souviners & dinner was covered it would be definately have been a lot cheaper at the zoo.
 
I meant to say that the public think zoos are expensive but they way I wrote it it does not seem clear. I agree with everyone that thet do offer great value for a full day out.

For these people to visit Monkey Forest at Trentham the cost would be £37.50, just to look at one species.
 
When i went to monkey world last week i think it was about £40 for a family of four, I must say that i have always thought Chester was a little overpriced. Im suprised at the cost of the aquarium too, that seems very high.
 
If you visit zoos even 3 or 4 times a year it's usually best value to buy an annual pass. These often have some sort of in-zoo discount attached (eg. in the gift shop, or at certain cafes etc).

Better still, a lot of them give you free entry into other zoos.

We have 3 gold cards (2 adults and a child) for Colchester zoo which cost us a total of £90-something (last years prices) last June.

But since then we've been to Colchester about 10 times - which would have cost an average of £37 each visit (depending on the season), or £370. We've also been to Chester totally free, which would have cost another £45 or so. I expect we might visit Colchester perhaps 3 or 4times more before the tickets expire ........ altogether £550 or so, for £90-ish.

The card also gets us free entry to Belfast, Bristol, Chester, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Marwell, Dublin, Living Coasts, Paignton, Rotterdam, Twycross and Topeka Zoo, USA. Obviously, a lot of those are out of the question distance wise but we may yet squeeze in another visit to Chester, and Twycross is a likely possibility as well.

Even at gate prices I also feel zoos are very good value compared to a lot of so-called attractions as there's always something different to see.
 
GillP said:
If you visit zoos even 3 or 4 times a year it's usually best value to buy an annual pass. These often have some sort of in-zoo discount attached (eg. in the gift shop, or at certain cafes etc).

Better still, a lot of them give you free entry into other zoos.
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I totally agree. My husband and I bought an annual joint adult membership from Paignton Zoo for £70 in January. This gives us free entry to Paignton, Newquay, Marwell, Colchester, Edinburgh, Chester, Twycross, Bristol, Dublin, Belfast and Fota, as well as one free entry to Woburn.

So far this year, we have been to Marwell 6 times (our local zoo), Woburn once, Colchester twice, Bristol once and Paignton once. When we will be on holiday in Cheshire in September, we will be visiting Chester and Twycross. So, we have more than got our money's worth out of the annual passes. For me, this is certainly the way to go :)
 
adopt a primate at monkey world £30 adults £ 20 children and oap,s and its unlimited free entry for a year we are 5 hours drive away so if we do visit we go for a few days and might visit the park 2/3 times per visit so we more than get our moneys worth and a nice break into the bargain :)
 
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