These are the 10 best zoos in the UK based on ticket prices, reviews and value for money

Best zoos in the UK: Child smiling while feeding animals at a zoo.

The best zoos in the UK have been based on numerous factors including ticket prices, number of species on display, and value for money. 

School holidays can be an expensive endeavour, especially with the latest survey anticipating that parents will spend more than £3,000 in 2024 to keep their kids entertained when school's out. 

Of course, if you're struggling for things to do with kids during the upcoming summer holidays, having a handful of free and easy activities always comes in handy. But once you've exhausted all your local parks and visited as many free museums as possible, that's where zoos can help to keep little animal lovers entertained. 

Zoos help children bring to life the animals they might have only read about or seen in movies. They help them learn about these loveable creatures from a safe distance or in a hands-on experience. And generally speaking, there's usually some kind of ride, park or play area that can help wear them out too. Phew!

But with so many zoos across the UK — it's believed there are 350 and counting — how do you know which is the best and most value for money? Thankfully, Outdoor Games has released its UK Zoo Index, which ranks the zoos on several key features to determine which takes the top spot. So, to find out what the research says and which zoo tickets you should get your paws on, keep scrolling...

Best zoos in the UK

• Cotswold Wildlife Park, Oxfordshire, is the best zoo in the UK, with an average 4.5 out of five star rating on Trip Advisor, more than 250 species on display and a child ticket price of £13.50. Children under two go free. 
• Paignton Zoo, Devon, took the second spot with the same Trip Advisor rating, more than 250 species on display, and child tickets available for £17.15. Children under 3 go free.
• Chester Zoo, comes in at number three with more than 500 species on display, but with the highest ticket price out of the top ten zoos at £24.
• Belfast Zoo might be sixth on the list overall, but it takes the top spot when it comes to the cheapest child tickets at just £7. If you have a little one under 4, they'll go free.

To determine the list, various factors were taken into consideration, including the price of admission, whether you have to pay for car parking or not, it's popularity (based on an increase in the number of Google searches over the last 12 months), how many stars it gets on Trip Advisor, as well as how many species each zoo has on display. All of these points were assessed to give a new overall score out of ten for each zoo. According to that overall score, the top 10 best zoos in the UK are:

1. Cotswold Wildlife Park, Oxfordshire
2. Paignton Zoo, Devon
3. Chester Zoo, Cheshire
4. Bristol Zoo
5. Marwell Zoo, Winchester
6. Belfast Zoo
7. Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire
8. Blackpool Zoo
9. Dublin Zoo
10. Colchester Zoo

Which UK zoo is best value for money?

Of the top 10 zoos, Bristol Zoo offers the best value for money, with 419 species on display and a child's entry costing £16.36, which works out at just over 3p per species.

When it comes to working out which zoo is the best value for money, you need to factor in more than the price of admission - it's what that admission buys you that determines its value. For example, Chester Zoo might be third on the list overall, and have the highest child admission prices on the list, but with 500 species on display it offers better value for money than the zoo in second place, Paignton Zoo, which, while cheaper when it comes to admission, only has 250 species on display. Similarly, Belfast Zoo might have the cheapest entry price for a child, but with only 120 species, it's not quite the best value for money.

Which UK zoos have the cheapest entry fees for children?

Belfast Zoo offers the cheapest tickets for kids by quite a degree, at a bargain £7, but unless you live in Northern Ireland, any saving might be undone by higher travel costs. The second cheapest zoo, according to the research, is Wildheart Animal Sanctuary on the Isle of Wight at £12, but you'd need to factor in ferry costs to get there which might make it significantly more expensive than a zoo closer to home.

According to the index, the top 10 cheapest zoos in the UK are:

1. Belfast Zoo - £7
2. Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, Isle of Wight - £12
3. Cotswold Wildlife Park, Oxfordshire - £12.50
4. Marwell Zoo, Winchester - £13.94
5. Bristol Zoo - £16.36
6. Dublin Zoo - £13
7. Edinburgh Zoo - £17
8. Highland Wildlife Park, Kingussie, Scotland - £16.85
9. Blackpool Zoo - £15.99
10. Chessington World of Adventures Zoo, Greater London - £29

If you find your day out ruined by the weather, it's worth checking whether there is a rainy day guarantee in place that could give you a free second chance. It's also worth knowing why a free day out might not be all that it seems, and this mum's hack to save money on snacks when you're out with the kids.