Bratislava ZOO is one of the largest ZOOs in Slovakia. If you have some spare time, want to spend a relaxed day somewhere nice or just love animals, then this place might be worth a visit. Have a picnic with your kids or friends there, feed the animals during given times, get lost in the DinoPark among the extinct animals or just escape from the city noise for a few hours.
LOCATION
The ZOO is located a few minutes drive from the center, in Mlynská Dolina. The easiest and quickest way is to take the bus 30 (towards Lamač) or 37 (towards Zahorská Bystrica) from the stop Most SNP (under the UFO Bridge). In first case, you will need to get off on the fourth stop, in second case the second stop is your final destination.
When getting off the bus, walk through the pedestrian line to the other side of the highway and turn right.
You will see the sign to ZOO soon and all you need to do is just follow it – it will lead you to the main entrance and the cash desk.
WHAT TO SEE IN THE ZOO?
First of all, get a free map of the ZOO after you enter. You might just get lost or miss some animals without it. Even though there are signs everywhere, the ZOO is much larger than it appears and there are many paths to walk along.
The first thing that you will see is a small home of some monkeys, piranhas and birds. You will need to take the left sidewalk on this crossroad:
The monkeys and the two-toed sloth are very funny to watch.
After you finish with this first part, get back on the main trail. Meet the cute goats,
have a look at the huge brown bear,
blink on the crazy or bored monkeys :)
The ZOO currently feeds nearly 150 species of animals and almost 700 individuals. Mr. pelican for example can be found near this lake, resting with his peers – geese and turtles.
One of the good things about the ZOO is that the names of all the animals on the boards are all written in English, too, so the tourists can understand.
To some animals you can get quite close. This hippo bathing in a pool for example is very cute to watch.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
There are some large modern enclosures as well as some older small ones. The area these giraffes and zebras have is quite large and these animals are also some of the most beautiful creatures of the ZOO in our opinion.
Flamingos and swans can be found here, too.
A desert-looking area belongs to the camels that live in the ZOO. This is indeed a nice scene.
In case you come here in a hot weather, you might find some animals sleeping most of the day. Like this big, lazy-looking pig or the European bisons.
Some animals are on the other hand vivid, eating, drinking, playing with their mates or trying to hide from the attention.
A PAVILLION OF APES
A big pavilion of apes was built a few years ago in the ZOO and has become one of its key attractions.
The enclosure serves for chimpanzees and orangutans and on Saturdays and Sundays, when the so-called „weekend feedings with comments“ are held. You can even feed them with the food prepared by animals´ keepers, watch them closely and learn something new. These commentator feedings are done with more animals (for details check the ZOO’s website – link on the bottom of this page).
Our ZOO offers a great opportunity to spend a beautiful day among rare animals. One of the examples is this white rhinoceros which usually lives in the savannas of South Africa. To see him, you will need to take quite a long walk up a small hill,
passing some more horses and does.
Big cats such as lions, white tigers and jaguars are definitely worth of watching, too.
DINOPARK
One of the main highlights of this ZOO is the DinoPark with its replicas of dinosaurs.
This is something mostly for the fans of extinct animals – the models are life-size!
They are both static and moving and guess what! They even make sounds (controlled by a computer) so you really feel like millions of years back. The kids seem to have great fun there.
What kind of a DinoPark would it really be without a DinoShop, DinoGril, DinoCafe or DinoIce-Cream? :) These all can be found in this area. The DinoAquarium features a short 3D panoramic film about the history of some predators and is free of charge (entrance within the main ticket).
There are playgrounds for children. If you get hungry from the walks, you can chill out at one of the many kiosks for snacks and drinks. We however recommend to pack some food and have a picnic there. It is a much nicer experience plus those kiosks do not have wide selection of food.
What we liked to see here are the signs with info „did you know..?“ related to the environment. They are in Slovak only unfortunately. Last but not least – if you liked your visit, stop by at the ZOO shop for some souvenirs and make your travel memorial! :)
Author: Maria Kecsoova
OPEN HOURS: Check the official site
TICKETS: 5,50 € per person during summer season and 4,00 € during winter season (joint ticket for ZOO & DinoPark) – more info here
ADDRESS: Mlynská Dolina 1
CONNECT: Website, DinoPark
MAP LOCATION:
