Recommended by THE WIKI MAMA with children ages 9 and 7 on Tue Dec 13 2022

ZSL SLEEPOVER! If you saw my stories over the weekend you’ll have seen that Jacob, Tilda and I had the most amazing night on Friday, sleeping over next to the Lion enclosure in London Zoo!!!! Yes you heard right. We SLEPT THERE! We joined a small group of other families and each slept in one of the Zoo’s Lodges. Ours was called ‘Comet’ and was just so lovely and cosy, nestled into the corner of the Lodge area which was beautifully twinkly and all set up for Christmas! As was the rest of the Zoo. We even had a surprise visit from a very special guest indeed who came to find out what the kids might like for Christmas and delivered a little souvenir. The experience overall was magical. After checking into your Lodge at 4pm, you begin the first part of the nighttime tour. Our first stop was to meet the Indian lion and lioness. Although they were fast asleep behind the glass it was amazing to be only inches away from these incredible animals. We also visited the Porcupine, Komodo dragon, bush babies and lemur! And our guides were just amazing, huge shout out to Lucy the Zoologist who was a walking encyclopaedia and left us all very well informed! Did you know that female Komodo dragons don’t even need to meet another male to lay eggs and have babies of her own!! And little known fact, they also are known to eat their young!! Half way through we were fed a much needed meal, I went for Coq au Vin which was very good! The kids had sausages and nuggets with wedges and were very happy. Part two of the tour took our little group to see the Bugs and down to the elephant bunker and everyone returned home just before 9:45. Unfortunately my two were not coping so well with the temperature dropping to 0 degrees plus end of week tiredness so we had to retire earlier. The Lodges are small but cosy and totally big enough given you are only sleeping in it. I had a pull out sofa bed to myself - lovely, and the kids each had a single bed. Each Lodge has its own bathroom with shower (although I could not get a happy balance between freezing/ boiling water 😬). It was also well stocked with tea, coffee and milk (and kettle). Once we’d got the heater going we had a lovely warm nights sleep. The next morning we were up and out by 7:50 to head for breakfast but before I tell you about the second days tour I have to impress on you how AMAZING it was to be woken by the sounds of the Zoo from the Lodge. You could hear the Lions stirring, the gibbons (a father and son duo) calling to each other, and as the flamingo and pelicans were right behind us, we could hear them going about their daily rituals of washing, eating and communicating. It was honestly magical. Breakfast is a hot or cold buffet and was perfect for filling you up for another full day at the zoo. The tour itself ended at 10am when the general public start filing back in, but in that time we met the Galapagos tortoises, Coates, Camels, Alpaca and Llama, Jimmy the Gibbon, the penguins and most wonderfully the Tiger mama and her two 6 month old cubs!!! 😍😍😍😍 It was actually a dream come true to have the entire zoo to yourself for the whole night. To hear the sounds so clearly, and go behind the scenes, and see animal life in a totally new way. And it really does bring to life the concept of a “night at the museum”! It’s something we will never forget. And at £435 for a Lodge for 4 (children must be over 5yrs) it’s not hugely different to what you’d pay in a London hotel, however your dinner and breakfast are included, plus a full days access to the zoo on the second day. The experience is completely enriching and a once in a lifetime memory. Our tips for those planning to go are: - Feed everyone up before the tour starts, and/ or take snacks, as dinner is 7pm which was late for my hangry 9yr old. - Wear a LOT of layers in the winter and very good footwear in zero degrees. - Take a battery pack for your phone as you’ll take a lot of pictures - Be ok with missing parts of it if your kids need a break. The whole thing is magical whichever part you do - We felt the experience was best suited to children 8 upwards given the late dinner and finish An unforgettable experience, thank you to @zsllondonzoo for inviting us xxxx

Recommended by Stacie with children ages 7 and 5 on Sun Nov 27 2022

We loved our trip to London Zoo to experience the Magic of Christmas. The lights and decorations really do make the zoo feel extra magical (especially in the afternoon as it got a bit darker) and makes a great backdrop for photos! We particularly enjoyed the Polar Post Room - this was free and a really lovely set-up with letters to fill in and a cheery elf on hand to help. Outside by the gift shop you can take part in activities including Marshmallow or S’mores toasting - while this was fun, it wasn’t cheap (£3.50 per skewer of 2 marshmallows) and the open fires definitely felt a bit tricky to manage for littler ones. On a practical note, there are lots of spots for food and drink throughout the zoo though for better value I’ll be more organised and take food with us next time. I’ve been to London Zoo lots over the years but never at Christmas and this felt like a really special, festive day out that the kids will be talking about for ages. There’s so much to do, and so many brilliant interactive enclosures, we didn’t quite manage to see it all so are keen to go back! We at lunch at the zoo

Recommended by Jo with children ages 2 and 1 on Tue Nov 17 2020

ZSL London Zoo is a great day out, big enough for there to be plenty to see, but small enough to comfortably do in the day. Its nicely laid out with plenty of viewing for all of the animals, the penguins are a particular favourite as the pool is raised at one end so you can view them through the glass. Currently there is some refurbishment going on but it doesn't impinge on your viewing, although it does mean some routes are currently closed so you do have to double back on yourselves a little bit. There is a really good restaurant although it is a little pricey but the food is good unless you want to be particularly healthy, and there are plenty of other kiosks dotted around the zoo. A great day out but a little pricey unless you have membership. See the full blog here

Recommended by Samantha on Wed May 31 2017

So lovely! Loved seeing all the animals! Loads of places to sit and have a picnic!