Zoo Crawls?
- Thread starter Brum
- Start date
I'm in the same camp as @Ned I like to take my time at a zoo, especially a new one. I made Shaldon a one-zoo day (With a walk into Shaldon village for leisurely lunch)! I can't remember ever doing multiple zoos in one day. I'd much rather take my time, absorb the atmosphere of a place, have a cuppa, sit and watch the animals.
Maybe I'm different to those who like to tick off new zoos? As much as I enjoy visiting a new place (and in the case of Howletts, the relief of surviving the walk there!), I really do enjoy revisiting one or two familiar zoos and getting to know them inside out. I've been visiting London regularly for many years, but I still love nothing more than sitting quietly in the giraffe house. Visiting multiple zoos in a day wouldn't allow me the chance to find these quiet places, I'd be anxiously watching the clock all day, and for me, a zoo visit is a time to leave anxiety behind for a while, not give it more fuel!
Maybe I'm different to those who like to tick off new zoos? As much as I enjoy visiting a new place (and in the case of Howletts, the relief of surviving the walk there!), I really do enjoy revisiting one or two familiar zoos and getting to know them inside out. I've been visiting London regularly for many years, but I still love nothing more than sitting quietly in the giraffe house. Visiting multiple zoos in a day wouldn't allow me the chance to find these quiet places, I'd be anxiously watching the clock all day, and for me, a zoo visit is a time to leave anxiety behind for a while, not give it more fuel!
Singapore, River safari and Night safari
This, of course, being the luxury that comes of living close to the collections in question - you can more easily justify not combining easily-combined collections
It certainly helps to be within striking distance of several zoos.
For me a visit to a zoo can be very contemplative and even meditative at times. Obviously not at when the zoo's busy but now we've reached the quieter season I can just become totally absorbed in a zoo.
I've done two in a day a few times (for the smaller collections) but I prefer to take my time at one zoo, make multiple returns to enclosures to make sure I see all the animals. Some animals are active early morning or late afternoon so having a half day means you miss them. I'd rather relax than worry about getting to the next zoo by a certain time, hoping the traffics on your side etc.
Has anyone done two or more zoos in two or more countries on the same day, I wonder? Should be perfectly possible in Europe.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Same , I know that visiting two zoos in the same day would ultimately massively detract from the experience for me.
I like to spend quite a while observing species I haven't seen before and their behaviour. This wouldn't be possible if I was constantly looking at my watch, pressed for time and had some itinerary that required me to rush off somewhere else. Also I really don't feel as if I would be able to fully appreciate what I was seeing under such a scenario.
Museums , historical sites and art galleries on the other hand I could quite easily (and have done multiple times) rush around and devour two or three in a single day and not feel any sensory overload at the end of the day.
Pretty sure snowleopard did in the summer, quite possibly three countries in one day.
The only trio of zoos I've ever done in one day was in France: Zoo du Bois d'Attilly, Parc des Félins, and Terre des Singes. The latter is really only a 45-minute affair (unless you like spending hours between barbary macaques in a near-wild setting), and the first one is a mediocre zoo and takes at most 2,5 hours. Parc des Félins of course is fantastic, but I'm not a particular cat enthusiast and only spent 3 hours there.
I've done some zoo "crawls," but always with really tiny zoos or zoos I've visited very often. Most substantial zoos are just one-zoo days for me.
Once I had a trip of 2 days in Germany in which I visited 7 zoos, which is still my record. It worked because we basically drove in a circle from home to Oberhausen and back to home. All facilities are small (either in area or number of species on species on show) and the last one of the day had generous opening hours. I do remember that I wasn't sure whether we would make it to Brüggen the last day, but it worked out fine. It was quite an interesting experience, as I specifically choose 7 completely different zoos.
Another time I visited Krefeld thinking it was the only zoo I would visit that day. We took our time, went around the collection twice and had lunch in the restaurant. Around 3 pm we were finished and got ready to drive home, when I remembered we would drive past Weeze, which has a teeny tiny zoo, so it became a two-zoo day.
Once I had a trip of 2 days in Germany in which I visited 7 zoos, which is still my record. It worked because we basically drove in a circle from home to Oberhausen and back to home. All facilities are small (either in area or number of species on species on show) and the last one of the day had generous opening hours. I do remember that I wasn't sure whether we would make it to Brüggen the last day, but it worked out fine. It was quite an interesting experience, as I specifically choose 7 completely different zoos.
Another time I visited Krefeld thinking it was the only zoo I would visit that day. We took our time, went around the collection twice and had lunch in the restaurant. Around 3 pm we were finished and got ready to drive home, when I remembered we would drive past Weeze, which has a teeny tiny zoo, so it became a two-zoo day.
Interesting thread! I'll list my "zoo crawls" here as well.
WILD LIFE Sydney + SEA LIFE Sydney: These two are really practically made for visiting together - two fairly small collections that display a large range of Australian fauna, are located right next to each other, have late opening hours and if I recall correctly combination tickets to visit both. If I was more into zoos back then I'd probably have visited Taronga instead of these two, but it was definitely a fun day with two great, small parks.
Central Park Zoo + Prospect Park Zoo: Two first time visits to fairly small zoos that are very easily combined by public transport. On the same day I also birded in Central Park before, between and after these zoo visits, so it was definitely an easy combination!
Den Bla Planet + Copenhagen Zoo: Also two first time visits on the same day! @Penshet and I arrived in the airport and planned to visit Den Bla Planet on the first day and Copenhagen Zoo on the next day, but we found ourselves having enough time to do both in one day quite comfortably! We did miss a few species and a well-hidden night house in Copenhagen Zoo though, so we visited that again on the next day.
Usti Zoo + Decin Zoo: Very much an impromptu visit to Decin together with @KevinVar and @GerbenElzinga turned our Usti-day into a two-day-visit day. A fairly comfortable combination which left enough time to see everything at both collections well (though we did manage to miss the serow!). Of course, now that Decin has two species of bird-of-paradise and Usti lost its serow that probably makes Decin the more attractive zoo to prioritize!
Singapore River Safari + Singapore Night Safari: A perfect combination that allows you to fill in the morning however you want, casually arrive and have plenty of time to see both zoos completely. If in a rush I'd say the two are also perfectly combineable with Singapore Zoo!
Duisburg Zoo + Krefeld Zoo: Probably the most rushed multiple-zoo day on this list! Definitely a good day, but only really possible because I didn't have many targets at Duisburg (I had been before and just wanted to see the river dolphin and king colobuses again) so I was able to go through the entire zoo very quickly, which left enough time for seeing everything in Krefeld twice. This combination would be a lot less comfortable now that Krefeld's bird house is open again, however!
The above were probably the only occasions where I've combined two "major" zoos together. Below is a list of other days where I've visited a larger collection together with a very closely located, usually very small collection.
Antwerp Zoo + Aquatopia
Poznan Nowe Zoo + Poznan Stare Zoo
Prague Zoo + Prague Sea World
Prague Zoo + Prague Crocodile Zoo
Plzen Zoo + Plzen AkvaTera
S.E.A. Aquarium + Sentosa Butterfly Park
El Nispero Zoo + Butterfly Haven + Serpentario El Valle
WILD LIFE Sydney + SEA LIFE Sydney: These two are really practically made for visiting together - two fairly small collections that display a large range of Australian fauna, are located right next to each other, have late opening hours and if I recall correctly combination tickets to visit both. If I was more into zoos back then I'd probably have visited Taronga instead of these two, but it was definitely a fun day with two great, small parks.
Central Park Zoo + Prospect Park Zoo: Two first time visits to fairly small zoos that are very easily combined by public transport. On the same day I also birded in Central Park before, between and after these zoo visits, so it was definitely an easy combination!
Den Bla Planet + Copenhagen Zoo: Also two first time visits on the same day! @Penshet and I arrived in the airport and planned to visit Den Bla Planet on the first day and Copenhagen Zoo on the next day, but we found ourselves having enough time to do both in one day quite comfortably! We did miss a few species and a well-hidden night house in Copenhagen Zoo though, so we visited that again on the next day.
Usti Zoo + Decin Zoo: Very much an impromptu visit to Decin together with @KevinVar and @GerbenElzinga turned our Usti-day into a two-day-visit day. A fairly comfortable combination which left enough time to see everything at both collections well (though we did manage to miss the serow!). Of course, now that Decin has two species of bird-of-paradise and Usti lost its serow that probably makes Decin the more attractive zoo to prioritize!
Singapore River Safari + Singapore Night Safari: A perfect combination that allows you to fill in the morning however you want, casually arrive and have plenty of time to see both zoos completely. If in a rush I'd say the two are also perfectly combineable with Singapore Zoo!
Duisburg Zoo + Krefeld Zoo: Probably the most rushed multiple-zoo day on this list! Definitely a good day, but only really possible because I didn't have many targets at Duisburg (I had been before and just wanted to see the river dolphin and king colobuses again) so I was able to go through the entire zoo very quickly, which left enough time for seeing everything in Krefeld twice. This combination would be a lot less comfortable now that Krefeld's bird house is open again, however!
The above were probably the only occasions where I've combined two "major" zoos together. Below is a list of other days where I've visited a larger collection together with a very closely located, usually very small collection.
Antwerp Zoo + Aquatopia
Poznan Nowe Zoo + Poznan Stare Zoo
Prague Zoo + Prague Sea World
Prague Zoo + Prague Crocodile Zoo
Plzen Zoo + Plzen AkvaTera
S.E.A. Aquarium + Sentosa Butterfly Park
El Nispero Zoo + Butterfly Haven + Serpentario El Valle
Thinking about it, I actually technically have! Because of Antwerp Zoo's close proximity to the central station and because they open an hour earlier for subscription-holders, I've jumped in and out of the zoo to quickly visit some enclosures before catching trains to Rotterdam (Blijdorp) and Amsterdam (Artis) respectively on two days. I don't count these in the post above, though, as my Antwerp visits on those days were obviously not by any means complete.
I was supposed to attempt the Shepreth/Linton/Hamerton run once but I ended up dropping Shepreth in the end with the thinking that I would probably be able to see Rhesus Macaques somewhere else (which I eventually did two years later) and I needed some extra sleep. Still, I found Linton and Hamerton to be perfectly doable in a day. During my last trip to the UK I also did Cedars Nature Center and Hamerton in a day quite comfortably, although one would definitely need a car for that!
See, but there's no reason people who do visit multiple zoos in a day can't do this. I think it all depends on how fast of a walker someone is and whether or not they got lucky with seeing everything they want to see. I've personally never sacrificed the experience of a new zoo I was looking forward to in favor of rushing off to the next target, I simply manage to find myself content a bit earlier than others sometimes. Of course, there will always be benefits to taking it slower, as you might spot some hidden gems no one knew about.
Pretty sure @Giant Eland will have as part of his genuinely insane combinations last fall
I seem to recall him visiting Tierpark Berlin (as a revisit I think) and then heading off to a different zoo in a different country later that same day.I also remember he managed to do five Czech Republic collections in a day starting at Ostrava and ending with Prague.
~Thylo
2 or 3 zoos a day I've done already on a number of occasions but this summer I did together with @snowleopard 6 on one day and it could had been 7 but this last one was closed on this day so at the end it was " only " 6.
We started at Beekse Bergen, then went to Oliemeulen, then went to Natuureducatie-centrum en Kinderboerderij 't Valleike which was closed, then went to Breda to visit Reptilian-house De Aarde and Vogelopvang Breda, then took a short look at Eekhoorn Experience and ended the day at De Bosruiter.
If we had been a little faster ( ) we even had the oppertunity to visit the Bird-rehab at Zundert which was only about 7 kilometers from De Bosruiter.
Althrough it was really a bussy day, we saw everything and even had time to speak with eachother !
We started at Beekse Bergen, then went to Oliemeulen, then went to Natuureducatie-centrum en Kinderboerderij 't Valleike which was closed, then went to Breda to visit Reptilian-house De Aarde and Vogelopvang Breda, then took a short look at Eekhoorn Experience and ended the day at De Bosruiter.
If we had been a little faster (
) we even had the oppertunity to visit the Bird-rehab at Zundert which was only about 7 kilometers from De Bosruiter.Althrough it was really a bussy day, we saw everything and even had time to speak with eachother
!
BeakerUK
Well-Known Member
I sometimes do a two-day trip to the area to visit Linton and Shepreth on the first day, then Hamerton on the second. Despite not having any wishes to relocate to an entirely different part of the country, I do wish I lived close enough to Hamerton to visit more often. (And it would be nice to be able to pop into Linton more, too!)
I've done: Wildwood Zoo + Wisconsin Rapids Municipal Zoo + Stevens Point Herptological Society (and Stevens Point Museum of Natural History as well).
Lincoln Park Zoo + Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
SEA LIFE Minnesota + Como Park Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo + Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
SEA LIFE Minnesota + Como Park Zoo
I haven't done more than two zoos in a day, I think it's harder to do multiple zoos in a day in North America considering the greater distances between collections. Anyways here are some of mine:
Shedd Aquarium + Lincoln Park Zoo
Pittsburgh Zoo + National Aviary
Ripley's Aquarium of Canada + High Park Zoo
Wild Life Sydney + SEA LIFE Sydney
Shedd Aquarium + Lincoln Park Zoo
Pittsburgh Zoo + National Aviary
Ripley's Aquarium of Canada + High Park Zoo
Wild Life Sydney + SEA LIFE Sydney
I agree with that thought. I think I've only done two zoos in a day once, most facilities in California are too far apart for easy transferring. Generally 2-3 hours apart by car, double it if trying to use public transit. Sacramento Zoo and Folsom I've done in a day, they're both small and only 40 minutes apart by car. I'd imagine you could do SF Zoo and Aquarium of the Bay in the same day if you planned accordingly.
But do they really count? If he is zipping in and out specifically for a handful of mammals and ignoring everything else at the zoos, that's kind of like going to a multiplex and swapping back and forth between cinemas so that you can say you watched five movies in half an hour.Pretty sure @Giant Eland will have as part of his genuinely insane combinations last fall
I also remember he managed to do five Czech Republic collections in a day starting at Ostrava and ending with Prague.
Have to agree with you Chlidonias. IMO only walk in and them leave again doesn't count as being a zoo-visit ! Seeing at least a major part of the zoo is required to call a zoo-visit a real zoo-visit !