See our city decked out in all its best bling this winter
Every weekend between now and Christmas, and daily from Friday December 19 to Wednesday December 24, the magical town of Elfville is the highlight of your family day out at the zoo.
Children can take a guided tour around Elfville and join the elves in craft activities and festive singing and dancing, before meeting Santa himself. There will also be a daily Reindeer Royalty talk from the reindeer keeper, and a chance to watch Dancer and Prancer enjoy their dinner.
Advance booking to meet Santa in Elfville is advisable. Tickets cost £10 per child, or £8 for ZSL child members and under-threes. Accompanying adults go free (with a general admission ticket to the zoo). Find out more and book your tickets online now at zsl.org/meetsanta.
Penguins are big news this winter – Monty, the CGI penguin from the John Lewis Christmas advert, has captured the public’s imagination.
But at Penguin Beach, you can go one better and meet a whole colony of real Humboldt penguins like Monty, and get up close to the super-cute chicks at bookable Meet the Penguins sessions. Look out for one chap in particularly handsome plumage, bounding across the rocks like he owns the place – that’s the much-loved Ricky the Rockhopper. He may not have his own advert, but we think Ricky’s a star this Christmas.
At Meet the Penguins sessions you can go behind the scenes at Penguin Beach and get up close with these creatures from the Antarctic, while ZSL’s expert zookeepers are on hand to answer questions. These sessions make the perfect Christmas gift for any animal lover, and tickets are bookable at zsl.org/experiences (£45 per person Monday to Friday, £60 per person Saturday and Sunday; children must be at least eight years old). Groups are limited to a maximum of six people, so advance booking is essential.
Meet Santa and Meet the Penguins are just two of the special experiences you can enjoy on a trip to the zoo. In the Tiger Territory you can see the two Sumatran tigers and their three gorgeous cubs, born this year. And make sure you don’t miss Gorilla Kingdom, a patch of the African rainforest right here in our city that’s home to these majestic primates.
Admission to the Zoo is not included in the ticket price for the Meet the Penguins and Meet Santa experiences – a valid zoo entry ticket per person must be purchased as well: £22 adults, £19.50 concessions, £16.50 children, under-threes free. These prices include donation to ZSL. Online family offers are also available.For further terms and conditions please visit zsl.org/experiences.
