Planning a European Zoo Trip

[MonkeyBat]

Hello everyone, my family is going to Europe this summer and I want to get ahead in terms of preparation. I am going to be in Berlin, Prague, and Vienna (although I don't plan on visiting the Vienna Zoo), and plan to visit Berlin (not Tierpark), Prague, and Plzen zoos. Here are some questions I have...

1.) I know some species that I am going to be looking out for in these zoos. What species would you say I absolutely have to see? Where can I find them? Do you have any tips on how to see them?

2.) I am still a beginning photographer, and if at all possible, I want to know if anyone has any tips for photographing in nocturnal houses? Probably a stupid question, but I don't know what I'm doing.

3.) Overall, if anyone has any tips for scams to watch out for or ways to save money while in these three cities, that would be helpful

4.) The Prague and Berlin Zoos are very large in particular, and Plzen is quite large too. What exhibits are a must and what can I skip?

I appreciate any and all tips, thank you!

 

[amur leopard]

Hello everyone, my family is going to Europe this summer and I want to get ahead in terms of preparation. I am going to be in Berlin, Prague, and Vienna (although I don't plan on visiting the Vienna Zoo), and plan to visit Berlin (not Tierpark), Prague, and Plzen zoos. Here are some questions I have...

1.) I know some species that I am going to be looking out for in these zoos. What species would you say I absolutely have to see? Where can I find them? Do you have any tips on how to see them?

2.) I am still a beginning photographer, and if at all possible, I want to know if anyone has any tips for photographing in nocturnal houses? Probably a stupid question, but I don't know what I'm doing.

3.) Overall, if anyone has any tips for scams to watch out for or ways to save money while in these three cities, that would be helpful

4.) The Prague and Berlin Zoos are very large in particular, and Plzen is quite large too. What exhibits are a must and what can I skip?

I appreciate any and all tips, thank you!

Interesting choices, obviously all excellent zoos there. The only question mark for me is how long will you be in Vienna for? Given the zoo's proximity to one of the city's more important attractions, I think you might regret not at least dipping your head in and having a look around at least the older parts of the zoo.

Zoo but not Tierpark is an interesting pick - personally I preferred the Tierpark - better exhibitry, better species list (especially mammal-wise) and a very pleasant atmosphere walking around. Many would disagree, so if you don't have time to see both, Zoo is by no means a bad choice - it remains among Europe's best.

As for your questions:

1. Zoo Berlin collection highlights - has all six flamingo species, several really nice species in the nocturnal house (Goodman's mouse lemur, quoll, coruro, springhares, Ansell's mole rat etc), Southern tigrina, the last Bearded pig in Europe, Central American margay, Gerenuk, Tuatara, Gharial, some pretty rare amphibs if that floor of the Aquarium opens in time and obviously a pretty large fish collection. The good thing is that all of these are pretty easy to locate, with most being either in the Aquarium, Bird House, Fasanerie or visible on the map.

Prague - never been to Prague or Plzen but know their species lists pretty well so - Brown hyenas, a bunch of nice ibis species, some really nice parrot species (Lear's macaw, fig parrots etc.), recently Brazilian mergansers, a number of rare rodents, Javan leopard, greater galagos, ratels, a number of cool primates... A very incomplete list but I'd imagine a significant proportion of the (sub)species on show will be lifers.

Plzen - everything. Listing anything out would be useless. Maybe the Spider-tailed horned viper.

2. Maximise ISO without compromising noise, maximise aperture, and try and keep your shutter speed as high as possible within those parameters. Basically a fine balance between getting enough light and being able to get photos that won't be blurry if the animal is moving at all quickly.

3. Prague I know has quite a reputation for scams in the old city, but I'd imagine no big city is entirely void of scams either. I've heard that only using bank ATMs is a good start to not getting scammed.

4. Berlin, prioritise the Aquarium, then the Bird House, Antelope house, Fasanerie and Carnivore House. These parts are all excellent exhibit-wise and likely full of new species for you.
Prague and Plzen I'd have to let someone with better knowledge answer.

Hope that helps - and I'd really consider visiting Schoenbrunn anyways .

 

[MonkeyBat]

Interesting choices, obviously all excellent zoos there. The only question mark for me is how long will you be in Vienna for? Given the zoo's proximity to one of the city's more important attractions, I think you might regret not at least dipping your head in and having a look around at least the older parts of the zoo.

Zoo but not Tierpark is an interesting pick - personally I preferred the Tierpark - better exhibitry, better species list (especially mammal-wise) and a very pleasant atmosphere walking around. Many would disagree, so if you don't have time to see both, Zoo is by no means a bad choice - it remains among Europe's best.

As for your questions:

1. Zoo Berlin collection highlights - has all six flamingo species, several really nice species in the nocturnal house (Goodman's mouse lemur, quoll, coruro, springhares, Ansell's mole rat etc), Southern tigrina, the last Bearded pig in Europe, Central American margay, Gerenuk, Tuatara, Gharial, some pretty rare amphibs if that floor of the Aquarium opens in time and obviously a pretty large fish collection. The good thing is that all of these are pretty easy to locate, with most being either in the Aquarium, Bird House, Fasanerie or visible on the map.

Prague - never been to Prague or Plzen but know their species lists pretty well so - Brown hyenas, a bunch of nice ibis species, some really nice parrot species (Lear's macaw, fig parrots etc.), recently Brazilian mergansers, a number of rare rodents, Javan leopard, greater galagos, ratels, a number of cool primates... A very incomplete list but I'd imagine a significant proportion of the (sub)species on show will be lifers.

Plzen - everything. Listing anything out would be useless. Maybe the Spider-tailed horned viper.

2. Maximise ISO without compromising noise, maximise aperture, and try and keep your shutter speed as high as possible within those parameters. Basically a fine balance between getting enough light and being able to get photos that won't be blurry if the animal is moving at all quickly.

3. Prague I know has quite a reputation for scams in the old city, but I'd imagine no big city is entirely void of scams either. I've heard that only using bank ATMs is a good start to not getting scammed.

4. Berlin, prioritise the Aquarium, then the Bird House, Antelope house, Fasanerie and Carnivore House. These parts are all excellent exhibit-wise and likely full of new species for you.
Prague and Plzen I'd have to let someone with better knowledge answer.

Hope that helps - and I'd really consider visiting Schoenbrunn anyways .

I really appreciate your in-depth answers! Thank you so much for your help. I think I chose the Berlin Zoo more because of the rare species collection, but if Berlin Tierpark has rare species I'm more interested in, I may switch over to check it out. I just remembered your guide to rarities, list, so I'll be sure to check it out to make a better decision.
As for not visiting Vienna, I would love to but don't want to overwhelm my family by visiting too many zoos obviously, three is a lot for a single trip.

 

[amur leopard]

I really appreciate your in-depth answers! Thank you so much for your help. I think I chose the Berlin Zoo more because of the rare species collection, but if Berlin Tierpark has rare species I'm more interested in, I may switch over to check it out. I just remembered your guide to rarities, list, so I'll be sure to check it out to make a better decision.
As for not visiting Vienna, I would love to but don't want to overwhelm my family by visiting too many zoos obviously, three is a lot for a single trip.

You're right, always a hard balance to strike, but I think if you can only see three, those are right - Tierpark Berlin has a massive ungulate collection (particularly cervids), a substantial primate collection (as well as laughingthrushes, pheasants and more) plus better exhibitry than the zoo in my opinion - the new Himalayan area and the renovated Alfred-Brehm Haus are both excellent. As you're visiting with family though, the zoo is probably the safer pick as it will likely be more interesting to them. Having said all this, many would put the zoo above the tierpark, and I can certainly see why! They're both great in their respective ways.

 

[Tim May]

preparation. I am going to be in Berlin, Prague, and Vienna (although I don't plan on visiting the Vienna Zoo), and plan to visit Berlin (not Tierpark), Prague, and Plzen....

Berlin, Prague and Plzen are all excellent zoos and not to be missed.

I appreciate that, when on a family holiday, you cannot spend all the time visiting zoos. Nevertheless Vienna is one of the world's great zoos; it is one of my personal favourites. It seems wrong for a zoo enthusiast to go on holiday to Vienna and not go to the zoo. You really should try to squeeze in a visit there especially if you're interested in zoo history and zoo architecture.

If you can only visit one zoo in Berlin, then I think you've made the right decision by choosing Berlin Zoo over Berlin Tierpark. But both are excellent so you should really try to visit both and, if ungulates are a special interest of yours, then maybe you should consider choosing the Tierpark instead.

 

[PossumRoach]

1.) I know some species that I am going to be looking out for in these zoos. What species would you say I absolutely have to see? Where can I find them? Do you have any tips on how to see them?

In addition to what @amur leopard listed Prague has shoebill, cape fur seal, a good collection of Felines, Chinese giant salamanders (the exhibit is great), New Guinea ground cuscus, and cuban hutia, would be great to see.

2.) I am still a beginning photographer, and if at all possible, I want to know if anyone has any tips for photographing in nocturnal houses? Probably a stupid question, but I don't know what I'm doing.

I don’t know about photography but I believe most of the nocturnal areas in Prague and Plzen have lights on in the first hour after opening.

4.) The Prague and Berlin Zoos are very large in particular, and Plzen is quite large too. What exhibits are a must and what can I skip?

I think AL gave good suggestions for Berlin. Here’s what I would suggest for Prague and Plzen:

Prague: Africa Up Close (I admit that I am a bit biased here), Indonesian Jungle, Giant Salamander House, Parrot House/Rakos House, Sichuan House, and Darwin Crater. The feline and reptile house, while looking outdated for the felines, is an interesting building with an interesting combination of feline enclosures alongside with many herp enclosures. I cannot say much about the Dja Reserve since I sadly didn’t see it.

Plzen: the memorable places for me was the World of African Mammals, The Underground World, Amazonia, and the Rhinoceros and Giraffe barns. Most if the birds kept in Plzen are scattered across the zoo in Gazebo like enclosures so keep an eye out on them as well.

Now skipping is a tough one. When I went to all three on my own I tried checking all the spots of all three zoos except for Plzen’s brown bear and wolf enclosures which I don’t feel as bad as most if my other misses. But I just can’t tell you what is the most okay part to skip because all three zoos have something to see by the corner of your eye.

I am (over)confident, however, that the small Czech reptiles area in the middle of Prague zoo is probably not worth visiting since it is the most out of the way set of enclosures which, depending on which side of the path you take, requires you to either take a hike or walk down a slope.

Here are some other tips:

-I hope you love hiking because both Prague and Plzen zoo are located on a slope. Traveling with family might make it tougher to revisit sections that you might want to give a second chance to see their species. Carry a water bottle with you.
-Prague and Plzen zoo have relatively cheap entries however you will have to pay for the maps as well.
-I assume you already knew this but the Aquarium of Berlin Zoo is considered a separate facility. You can buy combined zoo aquarium tickets. Some people (including myself) are able to visit both in a day while I heard from some others that the zoo and aquarium require separate days to visit (which is also what I had done)
-Have a safe trip and just zoo it

Also for Vienna, even if you can’t visit Schönbrünn, have you considered Haus des Meeres which might take less time than visiting the Zoo?

Well, that’s all I can provide. If I remember something I might add it later on this thread.

 

[MonkeyBat]

Thank you both @PossumRoach and @Tim May for your excellent advice. Perhaps I should look into at least trying to squeeze in Vienna, but that may be pushing it for both my family and our budget, and I'd probably have to drop another zoo. That may just be a discussion I have but I'll do more research.

 

[lintworm]

Thank you both @PossumRoach and @Tim May for your excellent advice. Perhaps I should look into at least trying to squeeze in Vienna, but that may be pushing it for both my family and our budget, and I'd probably have to drop another zoo. That may just be a discussion I have but I'll do more research.

Though I would prioritize Vienna and Tierpark Berlin over Plzen any day of the week, if rare species are the main criterium, I understand your choice.

Fitting in Tiergarten Schoenbrunn should be doable. The trick is let your family spend at least half a day at Schoenbrunn Palace, which given it is the most popular tourist attraction of Austria, is quite likely. The zoo is located in the palace gardens and if you have 5 hours you could see all the highlights, if not the whole zoo, so just let them drop you at the entrance.

 

[Jana]

If you travel with family and limited in the number of zoos I would suggest to chose Vienna zoo over Plzen. Vienna is much more pleasant experience for people who are not zoo nerds (and it still has many really nice species for us nerds - you will love this place I guarantee it)

The best way to not miss target species is to print out zoo maps before your trip and paint signs over places where they are housed. You can ask here in forums in case you can´t locate them or what is best time to see them during the day. Both Berlin and Vienna have clear layout and you probably wont miss any species on show. Prague and Plzen have more convoluted path system, hilly terrain and few exhibits that are easy to miss, it´s better to plan your route beforehand.

Re scams - unfortunately, Prague is big on tourist scams. Taxis - they might try to overcharge you. Use Uber. Or at least negotiate the price before you sit down. The best and cheapest way around Prague is by using public transport only. Reliable, cheap, safe and with dense network. You can buy 1-day or 3-days coupons and after you mark them when you first use the transport, you have zero hassle. A single coupon is valid for all city public transport - subway (called "metro" here), tramways, busses, trains even boats.

The second scam is money exchange or ATMs. We use our own currency, however 99% places accept bank cards and at least 50% of places in tourist areas even accept euro banknotes. You don´t need any Czech koruna to spend few days here so dont bother (or exchange just very small amount, for the experience and souvenirs).

How to save money. Obviously, use public transport to get around in all cities. Don´t be afraid to drink tap water, it´s safe in all places you will travel to. Zoos (and other places) often give discount to students - take a ISIC card (or other document) with you to prove your status. Prague zoo lets people over 70 in for free. The cheapest street food in Germany is usually kebab (when you compare price with value). Restaurants inside Prague zoo are not overpriced, it´s not fine dining but I (a local) eat lunch there on most visits.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[cerperal]

4.) The Prague and Berlin Zoos are very large in particular, and Plzen is quite large too. What exhibits are a must and what can I skip?

Honestly, Berlin has never felt like a big zoo to me. But that may just be my point of comparison, growing up with Whipsnade. Compared to the Tierpark, there's much less walking between exhibits and you can easily do the entire thing in a day if you're selective with where you hang around longest. It really depends on your interests. For Berlin, you'll probably want to spend a decent amount of time in the cat house due to the rarities in the nocturnal section (including a short-beaked echidna). The bird house is also superb and houses quite a few rarities, including the world's most active kiwis. If you're pressed for time or energy, the other side of the canal can be skipped as it houses only common mammals like capybaras and kangaroos and a group of ostriches. It's also worth saying that the new rhino pagoda, though by no means filled with species, is a fantastic exhibit for the visitor, along with the hippo house and the antelope house (although the latter is packed with a great selection of species).

What I would say is another key difference between the Zoo and Tierpark is that the Tierpark requires much more walking. The reward is one of the greatest ungulate collections in the world and one of the nicest zoos to walk around full-stop. Of the two institutions, I personally prefer the Tierpark even in its current half-a-building-site state, mainly down to how green and quiet it often is. But Berlin Zoo is easily top 5 in Europe and has a proper ABC collection as well as its rarities, so personally I'd happily only do the Zoo (on my current trip I was originally planning to).

I visited Schönbrunn this past summer (and Haus Des Meeres for that matter) and I fully believe you cannot skip it, from a combination of the collection and the general beauty of the zoo. The collection itself has everything a zoo classically needs, with multiple interesting species thrown in and some truly superb habitat design. Haus Des Meeres doesn't take as long but is filled with everything an aquarium should have according to the general public and us zoo nerds. Personally I'd do the zoo and combine it with the palace grounds, either the same day or following ones as I did.

I guess in some ways you could think of it like this - Berlin Zoo and Schönbrunn are zoos everyone will thoroughly enjoy due to nicer architecture, more history and the full ABC collections, whereas the Tierpark everyone will still enjoy but the average zoo nerd would enjoy even more.

Regardless, your trip sounds brilliant - Berlin and Vienna are some of my favourite cities regardless of the zoos. Enjoy!

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Fitting in Tiergarten Schoenbrunn should be doable. The trick is let your family spend at least half a day at Schoenbrunn Palace, which given it is the most popular tourist attraction of Austria, is quite likely. The zoo is located in the palace gardens and if you have 5 hours you could see all the highlights, if not the whole zoo, so just let them drop you at the entrance.

Seconded that this would be the most sensible way to do Tiergarten Schoenbrunn if you think that your family wouldn't want to do yet another zoo over the course of the trip, @MonkeyBat

. If you're pressed for time or energy, the other side of the canal can be skipped as it houses only common mammals like capybaras and kangaroos and a group of ostriches.

I'm not sure how unusual Springbok would be for MonkeyBat, but it's definitely significantly more unusual than the other species you mention.

 

[cerperal]

I'm not sure how unusual Springbok would be for MonkeyBat, but it's definitely significantly more unusual than the other species you mention.

Completely forgot about them! I must have missed the sign for them yesterday (given they were evidently inside due to the cold).

I was fairly sure I saw them signed at the Tierpark as well, in the same enclosure as the Thomson's. But this is more than likely my memory playing up as I don't believe they've been moved.