Travel advise - Mexican Zoos

[Yero]

Hello all,

I have posted some requests for travel advise here in the last years, and found your replies very useful. So I hope to get some useful tips here once more. As usual I am looking for opportunities to see rare species that are not represented in European collections, and/or interesting exhibits.

This year I have to travel to Cancun in August for my work; as always I am looking for opportunities to do some local sightseeing and visit interesting zoos in the area. All I can find near Cancun is Crococun Zoo. Is that worth a visit? Anything else in the area that is worth seeing?

I am thinking of travelling to Mexico City, because there are more zoos in that area (Chapultepec Zoo; San Juan de Aragon) and would definitely like to go and see Morelia Zoo, since they have a pair of bonobos (even though I know the enclosure is not very impressive). What would be good ways of travelling (low cost) in Mexico? Local flights? Busses? Any other recommendations?

Cheers!

 

[filipinos]

Well, i´m not from Mexico, but i can say that near cancun you have, besides the Crococun Zoo (not bad, but not great), you have Xcaret, that has many local species, like the Manatees and the Baird´s Tapir. There are also Xel-ha, but that is more for divers
If you wanna go to Mexico City, i would say that Chapultepec is a must see, specially because of the Pandas.

 

[carlos77]

Xcaret is the best animal collection near cancun, the price is also notable. In mexico city, chapultepec zoo is certainly worthwhile, it has many native mexican species as well as the pandas. It can be combined with a visit to the national museum of anthropology, which is a must see for all visitors. Do not go on a sunday to the zoo, because the crowds are remarkable.The new part of san juan de aragon zoo is good but the surroundings may be difficult if you are not used to latin american cities. I would not recomend traveling to Morelia right now, this part of the country may be unsafe for foreigners and the zoo is not among the best. I recently revisited Guadalajara zoo and i enjoyed it. Guadalajara is also a nice place to visit. The other big zoo is africam safari park in Puebla, which is also a nice city, but africam is a drive in park. Puebla is only about 3 hours from mexico City. The very best zoo for local mexican species is zoomat in tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. There are reasonable plane flights from cancun to mexico city and guadalajara. Ask about Interjet. If you travel by bus only take first class buses. Your safety is worth more than your money. Cancun, mexico city, puebla and guadalajara are still secure areas for foriegn travelers.

 

[Yero]

Thanks for the advise! Xcaret looks definitely worth a visit, and I'd never heard about it before, so am very happy with your tips!
Panda's don't do much for me, but still will try to fly to Mexico City to see Chapultepec and the museum for anthropology. Zoomat also looks nice from what I could find on the internet (which wasn't much), but I am afraid I won't make it, even though the local species there look very interesting. Also don't want to spend too much money, since I already did a zoo trip to the US this year, and may do a German/French one later this year (and would actually love to do a Czech Zoo Tour as well )