Possible Sydney Trip - Advice Wanted!

Hi all,

At some point in the next few months, I've been looking at the idea of heading to Sydney for a purely zoological trip. Taronga Zoo is #1 on my places to visit (JR in particular is a reasonable driving factor), along with a few days out at Dubbo for TWPZ, and a visit to Featherdale. To help me get the most out of the trip, I'm seeking some advice and opinions, aiming to see as many new species and excellent exhibits as possible.

Some of the other facilities I was tossing up included the Australian Reptile Centre, Sydney Zoo, or SEALIFE Sydney, all with some ups and downs (in my opinion) as to visiting them. The Australian Reptile Centre has a few new species for me, Sydney Zoo does not but the reptile/nocturnal house looks phenomenal, as well seeing some bull elephants, and SEALIFE Sydney would not be super appealing to me if it were not for them being one of the extremely few global holders of Dugong.

Which facilities do you think (especially of those last three) would be best to visit both from a new species and general enjoyment standpoint? Are there any often overlooked areas/species to make sure I see at Taronga, Featherdale, or Dubbo? Any other general advice or tips?

I understand as well this is quite vague and open, so please do feel free to ask any questions, and thank you in advance for any thoughts

That Aussie Guy said:

Hi all,

At some point in the next few months, I've been looking at the idea of heading to Sydney for a purely zoological trip. Taronga Zoo is #1 on my places to visit (JR in particular is a reasonable driving factor), along with a few days out at Dubbo for TWPZ, and a visit to Featherdale. To help me get the most out of the trip, I'm seeking some advice and opinions, aiming to see as many new species and excellent exhibits as possible.

Some of the other facilities I was tossing up included the Australian Reptile Centre, Sydney Zoo, or SEALIFE Sydney, all with some ups and downs (in my opinion) as to visiting them. The Australian Reptile Centre has a few new species for me, Sydney Zoo does not but the reptile/nocturnal house looks phenomenal, as well seeing some bull elephants, and SEALIFE Sydney would not be super appealing to me if it were not for them being one of the extremely few global holders of Dugong.

Which facilities do you think (especially of those last three) would be best to visit both from a new species and general enjoyment standpoint? Are there any often overlooked areas/species to make sure I see at Taronga, Featherdale, or Dubbo? Any other general advice or tips?

I understand as well this is quite vague and open, so please do feel free to ask any questions, and thank you in advance for any thoughts

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Sounds like a good trip. Few people who visit Sydney have the opportunity/make the time to tie in a trip to Dubbo, so I’m excited you’ll have the chance to. Not only will you get to see their multigenerational lion pride; but all going well, the elephant calf should reliably be on display every day by then.

I visited Sydney myself last November and visited the following facilities:

Sydney Aquarium
Taronga Zoo (x2)
Sydney Zoo

I visited Sydney Aquarium as I had a few hours spare on that day and it was something that could be easily seen in 2-3 hours. My other main reason for visiting was to see the Dugong. It was otherwise a pretty average aquarium, especially compared to the ones at Melbourne, Perth and Cairns. I’d recommend it if you had a half day left over; or if you wanted to tie it in with other things nearby.

Sydney Zoo is at most a morning/afternoon out (a regular visitor would probably do it all in two hours). I allocated a full day to visiting as getting there from the CBD turned out to be quite a saga. It was decent zoo, but if I returned to Sydney, I would only visit again if I had several days there.

Taronga Zoo is a full day out in my opinion and the zoo/facility I’d prioritise above all others. I actually visited twice, which was a great opportunity to see things I missed (e.g. animals that weren’t active first time around). My main recommendation (other than making sure you see JR) would be to attend the bird show and the pinniped show. Both are a good chance to see an array of species up close, some of which aren’t otherwise on exhibit. The bird show remains the best I’ve seen at any zoo/wildlife facility. Other than that, my advice is (as the same for any zoo) to prioritise viewing species you want to see. That way, if you don’t see them within the first hour of opening, you have the rest of the day to keep trying. Other highlights were the chimpanzee exhibit, the Sumatran tiger complex and the pinniped pools.

Sydney Aquarium is a decent facility, but besides the Dugong they don't have too much specifically of interest. I don't know if they still have Speartooth Shark or not or if it's been sent back to Melbourne (maybe @Yoshistar888 could give more info?), which is the only one of it's species currently in captivity as far as I know. Unfortunately the Broad-gilled Hagfish are apparently gone. Still worth a quick visit for the Dugong, if nothing else.

DaLilFishie said:

Sydney Aquarium is a decent facility, but besides the Dugong they don't have too much specifically of interest. I don't know if they still have Speartooth Shark or not or if it's been sent back to Melbourne (maybe @Yoshistar888 could give more info?), which is the only one of it's species currently in captivity as far as I know. Unfortunately the Broad-gilled Hagfish are apparently gone. Still worth a quick visit for the Dugong, if nothing else.

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Melbourne didn’t have it when I enquired in October 2025.

Zoofan15 said:

I visited Sydney Aquarium as I had a few hours spare on that day and it was something that could be easily seen in 2-3 hours. My other main reason for visiting was to see the Dugong. It was otherwise a pretty average aquarium, especially compared to the ones at Melbourne, Perth and Cairns. I’d recommend it if you had a half day left over; or if you wanted to tie it in with other things nearby.

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Fair enough - I might do just that and keep it in the back of my mind if I end up with any extra time between other zoos.

Zoofan15 said:

Taronga Zoo is a full day out in my opinion and the zoo/facility I’d prioritise above all others. I actually visited twice, which was a great opportunity to see things I missed (e.g. animals that weren’t active first time around). My main recommendation (other than making sure you see JR) would be to attend the bird show and the pinniped show. Both are a good chance to see an array of species up close, some of which aren’t otherwise on exhibit. The bird show remains the best I’ve seen at any zoo/wildlife facility. Other than that, my advice is (as the same for any zoo) to prioritise viewing species you want to see. That way, if you don’t see them within the first hour of opening, you have the rest of the day to keep trying. Other highlights were the chimpanzee exhibit, the Sumatran tiger complex and the pinniped pools.

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Thank you for the recommendations, and I'll certainly be doing my best to see JR at some point during the day. Is there a particular time he's most likely to be out, or would it be best to just pop in frequently throughout the day if out of luck?

That Aussie Guy said:

Thank you for the recommendations, and I'll certainly be doing my best to see JR at some point during the day. Is there a particular time he's most likely to be out, or would it be best to just pop in frequently throughout the day if out of luck?

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I saw him just before 1pm on one of my visits last year; but if this is your one chance to see him, I’d head there promptly after opening and return every hour or two until you see him. Don’t leave it to chance and visit towards the end of the day.