Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Home to more than 11,000 animals representing nearly 600 species from around the globe, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium leads and inspires by connecting people and wildlife. The Zoo complex is a recreational and education destination that includes the 22-acre Zoombezi Bay water park and 18-hole Safari Golf Course. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium also operates the Wilds, a 10,000-acre conservation center and safari park located in southeastern Ohio. The Zoo is a regional attraction with global impact; annually contributing $4 million of privately raised funds to support conservation projects worldwide. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Columbus Zoo has earned Charity Navigator’s prestigious 4-star rating.
Duration: More than 3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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  • Wayne B
    Lexington, Kentucky616 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Another good visit to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
    We went to the zoo on my 10 year old daughter's fall break from school. We have been several times in the past. This time we did the cheetah behind the scenes experience which was really cool. A new thing we discovered this time is that the aquarium is really two buildings. The one we have always missed in the past is behind the 4D theater, and in my opinion, is better than the building we had toured in the past.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 10 October 2023
  • Jodi C
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great one day get away!
    What an amazing day at the zoo! It was a pleasant trip as there weren't too many people out. The staff at the animal exhibits were friendly and knowledgeable. We were able to enjoy the dinosaur boat ride, the carousel and the other attractions.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 18 October 2023
  • K Fam
    Lombard, Illinois1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Absolutely loved!
    We were in town for a youth sports tournament, but have had Columbus Zoo on our bucket list since our son was born (2012). We added a day onto to our trip just to go to the zoo! We were not disappointed at all. The staff was so kind and so knowledgeable. They were also decorating for Christmas and playing Christmas music, so it was just a little extra magical. We loved every second! Would love to come back in the summer!
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 13 November 2023
  • Smckslimmy
    Columbus, Ohio420 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun all year round
    We love this zoo! If you’ve never been then you need to go at least twice. There is so much to see and do. They allow you to bring your beverages and snacks. They serve alcohol for 21+. Some of the areas are being remodeled but it doesn’t take away from the experience. We love Africa bc of the cheetah run! Parking is $10 but free for members.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 30 November 2023
  • Chad S
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A great family spot.
    I took the family on a road trip to the Columbus Zoo. It was our first time there. We did the VIP tour which takes you behind the scenes with a few different animals. Stephanie, our Tour guide was amazing. She has worked there for quite a while, and knew the names of most of the animals that we saw (even ones she’s not responsible for). She went out of her way to make my kids feel special and have a good time, as did every employee encountered. It is very apparent that these people love what they do and take care of these special animals the best they can. This place is awesome. I would highly recommend.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 26 March 2024
  • Curious51292061783
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The best ever! Totally recommend!
    I loved the Columbus Zoo! I went with my friends, mom, and siblings! I LOVE petting the stingrays! As a 12 year old who’s not usually interested in things, this was the best! I go a lot, but every time is better, and I learn something new! It’s always so exciting to see new animals when they come in, or to just see the same animals in new habitats! I like the rides in the summer, even if the bands are a bit pricy, but the rides aren’t the point of this lengthy article (lol I’m sorry) The point of this article, is that visiting the Columbus Zoo with family or friends, is certainly a fun experience for all! The prices aren’t the best, but if you get a $300 (lol) season pass, you can go anytime! Basically for free! But when you check in, just to let you know, you have to show an ID! Of course I don’t have to show and ID since I’m not even a teenager yet, but just warning the adults!
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 28 March 2024
  • snsTravels
    Taneytown, Maryland16 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great experience, but bummed about some closed exhibits
    We went there shortly after they opened and saw that a lot of the animals were active! We also had some great conversations and learned a lot from the various docents stationed at some of the exhibits. The zoo is huge, and our kids were not fans of all the walking towards the end (we averaged about 13,000 steps before we went home because they were done). It was fun getting to see some of the kangaroos in the walkabout exhibit! I also loved that they had koalas and manatees. We were bummed that some exhibits were closed when we visited, such as the giraffes and cheetah run.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 31 March 2024
  • THERESA C
    Columbus, Ohio4 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great experience. Will return.
    Last minute decision to view Eclipse from Zoo. My thinking was, plenty of parking, plenty of restrooms, plenty to see and do over a 6 hour period. It did not disappoint. I haven’t been here since I was a kid—I’ll be 65 soon. Cages are long gone. So many neat and interactive experiences. Staff and docents were very helpful. So glad I had my viewing experience here.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 8 April 2024
  • Hannah B
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Unextinct Night 21+
    We went to the 21+ Unextinct exhibition on 4/12/24 and it was amazing! I hope they do more events like this in the future! The picture opportunities are never ending, the lines were short and we got to experience more then we than thought! The zoo crew were amazing at helping you know what was going on where so you wouldn’t miss a thing. The light shows were amazing, the good and drink choices were excellent and there was much to do. While the zoo is fun for the whole family this was an experience that I hope we get to do again.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 13 April 2024
  • Michelle C
    1 contribution
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Disappointed
    We have been going to the zoo for 20 years now and been members for almost that long also. We love this zoo and everything about it. But I was very disappointed at the price hike on the food. $13 for a pretzel???!!!! That is absurd! I am very disappointed in my zoo today.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 14 April 2024
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles2,930 reviews
Excellent
2,080
Very good
592
Average
154
Poor
59
Terrible
45

Diablo0319
Canton, OH137 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
If you are concerned about COVID-19 and believe in social distancing, DO NOT visit the Columbus Zoo!! Quoted from the Zoos website: “all zoo visits will require a dated, timed ticket to help ensure that social distancing and other precautions are followed appropriately”. That’s where the precautions and social distancing ends! There was NONE at the Zoo. We got there at Noon two hours after it opened. Parking lot was filled. There were four very long lines of elbow to elbow people waiting to get in. No one was 6 feet apart. "Dated, timed tickets" means nothing! Hoards of people inside. No one way direction. People cutting through crowds, people crossing over each other. Half the visitors did not wear masks, and no staff enforcing it. Lines of people waiting to enter inside exhibits with no staff monitoring capacity. So over-crowded in every way. Very stressful and disappointing. Just a heads up before you travel there since the website is misleading and tickets are non-refundable once you get there.
Written 14 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

plevin2017
Lebanon, OH467 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Couples
I have a simple grading scale 5 is perfection maybe 1 out of the 20 make the grade. A 4 is given for everything being above average. Maybe 3 out of 20 make it. For ca 3 everything is average. Maybe 14 out of 20 make the grade. For a 2 or q it is below average or worse. 2 out of 20 might end up there.

The there is also you can not be higher. Than the lowest. Score.

The zoo is broken down into multiple areas:s: Africa, Asia, North America, Australia , the oceans. A great variety.

There is a lot of well cared for animals. Some look lonely but you find they are solitary in the wild.

They had Anametronic Dinos. To add to the fun they also have the six flags rides.

All rank a 4 or a 5.

So why a 2? Arriving q5 minutes after the zoo opened it took a hour and fifteen minutes to get our tickets and get into the zoo. Our ticket person was handicapped. I could not understand her and it took a good three minutes for here to get the credit card in the reader. So ticketing was a two.

The zoo is quite large and there is a shuttle that goes to only two locations.

A lot of the captive food prices are outrageous $4 for a 20 Oz bottle.

The bathrooms were disgusting. Feses on the seats. No number to call to report that.

It was awesome to see the baby elephant and mom out for the first time. It would have been nice for the workers to stop talking to each other and answer questions so a 2.

Since you can not be above your lowest score. The zoo is a 2
Written 9 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

vox69nn
Medina, OH2,256 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2020
This zoo has a great layout with several themed sectors which radiate out from the small central lake (just inside the entrance gates). Thanks to COVID there is timed entry and no sense of overcrowding . Few visitors were wearing masks when out in the open areas but nearly all followed instructions to don masks when in enclosed areas. Social distancing guidelines were obeyed for the most part. It seemed like a great many exhibits were closed but I am not sure if this was seasonal or due to COVID. The habitats for the various animals displayed were beautifully planned and seemed very authentic. I think there is more emphasis on getting the habitats right then crowding them with too many animals. The overall atmosphere is very peaceful. Many of the food stands, kiddy rides, and "wampum shops" were closed which was a good thing - their closure and the restricted entry probably contributed a lot to the overall placidity. I can imagine the zoo being quite different if all the shops were open and the normal flow of visitors was allowed. I thought the prices for food were outlandish. We had not planned to eat there anyway but did succumb to buying a couple of standard sized pretzels which were nearly $5 apiece.
Written 10 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MCo
Huntington, WV111 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021
I was sincerely disappointed and frustrated by the amount of people the zoo allowed in today. For the first part of the day reservations are required due to Covid safety. I assumed that meant they were making a good effort to minimize the amount of people so their guests could socially distance, however when we went at 2:00, the time when you do not need to make a reservation, it was a free for all. If we hadn’t already paid nearly 60.00 with parking to enter we would have left.
Bottlenecks throughout the zoo made social distancing impossible. Anything indoors was not at all limited, resulting in overcrowding. There was zero policing of their mask policy as we saw countless people without masks or not wearing them properly. People did not follow the rules, and security wasn’t in sight. We ended up leaving after just a couple hours.
It was the first day of spring, so we understood why it may have been busy, we even understood that many areas were without animals, or the areas where there were animals looked somewhat shabby. What we couldn’t understand or forgive was not having a limit on the amount of guests.
Written 20 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JETSETG
Dallas, TX127 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
We were traveling for spring break and decided to go to the Columbus Zoo. It was 1/2 price winter pricing that I had assumed was because of the colder weather and fewer people going during a regular week. I was wrong, the 1/2 price was because half of the zoo features were closed! Shuttle? Closed. Animal rides? Closed. Playground 1? Closed. Playground 2? Closed. The list went on and on, and it because a very disappointing experience. I thought the price point was to get more people in the doors on a cold workday, but apparently it's because it was because it was only a partial attraction. Just be advised!
Written 28 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

M S
166 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2020
We are zoo members and visit frequently even though we live a few hours away. We missed the zoo during the COVID shutdown and were so happy to be able to visit again.

As always, the zoo makes for an excellent day. It's certainly less convenient to make a reservation and have an assigned time to show up, but it really did seem to help minimize the gate crowds and the crowds throughout.

We have also visited another zoo after COVID, and Columbus does a far better job of managing the crowds and maintaining a great atmosphere. We were so happy to see that the reptile house, aquarium and manatees were open, and we were also able to feed the giraffes. We didn't expect any of that. The only time it seemed too crowded was in the manatee building. People were generally respectful of social distancing, and a fair number wore masks. The staff were plentiful and friendly and were monitoring crowds and spacing.

We look forward to a more normal zoo experience in the future, but we were happy to be able to see and do most things given current circumstances. Kudos to the zoo for working hard to make the most of this situation.
Written 26 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Robinsilva54
Parkersburg, WV38 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020 • Family
Our family of 5 had a very nice visit. It cost us $100 just to get in but then they charge you for everything else (train ride, boat ride, ride on a camel, 3 D show, feed the camels etc.)
I certainly couldn’t afford to take them there again. There are plenty of other zoos that you can take your family to that they don’t charge a good amount to get in and make you pay for everything else that you should be able to do for free. Highway robbery
Written 21 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mary s
2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021
We went to the Columbus zoo with an excitement of Jack Hannah’s advertisement of how nice the zoo was. Well it was like a normal day very crowded. People not wearing mask and only one food area opened but the lines were horrible and there was no social distancing. I don’t feel that this zoo was worth the money we paid. Went in thinking it was going to be awesome but some animal enclosures were way to small like the cheetahs barely room to run. I know we will not go back to this zoo. We live 3 1/2 hours from there and not knowing that concession stands were not open even for water that’s a shame and for Jack Hannah representing this zoo he should be ashamed of himself. I love zoo’s and I like watching Jack but he needs to do a lot of improvements.
Written 8 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dustin D
10 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021 • Family
If you are in the Columbus area I highly recommend you visit the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. I consider it to be the best zoo in the US. You will do alot of walking and it will take all day to cover the entire zoo. The animals were very active and the exhibits were large and impressive. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. Going to this zoo was the main purpose of this trip and I drove 5 hrs just to experience it myself. IT WAS WELL WORTH IT!!
Written 25 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

OhLoveNYC
OH53 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020 • Friends
Awesome Zoo! Clean, well designed, lots of restrooms, tons of animals (19 gorillas!). Limited, timed entry tickets due to Covid made for a perfect visit - NO crowds! Adventure Cove water tunnel was great. Got to see watch the sea lions having fun. For lunch, recommend the enclosed food court in the Congo where you could buy hot dog or chicken tender(tasty!) meals or Donatos pizzas. Feeding the sting rays ($3 for a cup of 2 minnows ) or petting them (free) is a must do! Can't wait to go back!
Written 25 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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