After years of living down here in Cornwall, we finally made it to Newquay Zoo this weekend.
It was my smallest ones birthday coming up and he so desperately wanted to see a capybara!
We set off from St Ives at 10am and drove up the A30 to Newquay. The zoo is well sign posted and easy to drive to. It took us about 40 mins including a Granny pick-up in Hayle.
We parked in the local council car park by the Tennis tent. It was free to park when we went, but does start charging from the 1st April. It would have cost us over £6 to park there if it was next month!
We walked over to the zoo through the park and on the way we found a lovely Truro Rocks painted stone (which we have re-hidden!).
For those of you who are expecting a huge, full on zoo, you may be disappointed. Newquay Zoo is SMALL and more of a small wildlife park, than a full on exotic animal one like London or Chester Zoo. What they do have though is lovely, and absolutely perfect for small children.
You can walk around the whole zoo in about 30 minutes, but we liked this as it meant we could go back to see favourite animals again.
We arrived in time for the monkey feeding at 11am. This was really fun to watch and the talk was very informative (although my kids couldn’t stop giggling about pink and red bottoms all day!). These monkeys were black crested macaques from Sulawese.
There were several other enclosures with Capauchin and Squirrel monkeys too.
After monkey feeding time, we walked around the park following the map. We saw lemurs (much bigger than I thought), lots of birds including some beautiful peacocks who strutt around the park freely. We walked past deer and some Agouti (like big tail-less rats) and onto the African Savannah. It was raining when we got here but we saw lots of zebra noses peeking out of the sheds. I’m sure if they were in the main field they would have looked amazing.
There were lots of Wildebeast roaming about on the field.
We carried on round through the woodland walk and down to the Dragon Maze and otter pond. The otters were due to be fed and kept on dashing up to us looking for food.
Some of my favourite animals were the capybara (like a giant guineapig!), the lizards and snakes and the sloth.
We were lucky enough to catch the sloth at feeding time indoors. We stood pretty much beneath him whilst he was fed lettuce. We were almost close enough to get dribbled on!
We watched the penguins being fed and saw the very cute red pandas. We are quite spoilt when it comes to penguins and red pandas as we see them LOTS at Paradise Park in Hayle.
Some Information About Newquay Zoo
Nestled within 13 acres of lush sub-tropical gardens just a short stroll from Newquay town centre, Newquay Zoo offers a delightful and educational day out for all ages.
Home to over 130 species, the zoo features a variety of themed exhibits that showcase wildlife from around the globe.
Highlights include the African Savannah, where zebras, wildebeest, and nyala roam, and the Tropical House, which houses sloths, snakes, and pygmy marmosets.
You can also enjoy the playful antics of Humboldt penguins and ring-tailed lemurs, as well as the rare and endangered brown hyenas, recently introduced to the zoo for the first time.
Beyond its captivating animal exhibits, Newquay Zoo is deeply committed to conservation efforts. As part of the Wild Planet Trust, the zoo supports numerous breeding programs for endangered species and participates in global conservation initiatives.
Some Of The Animals...
- Zebra
- Wildebeest
- Lynx
- Warty Pigs (so cute!)
- Sloth
- Monkeys (lots of different types)
- Loads of birds including roaming peacocks
- Penguins
- Red Pandas
- Capybara (like a massive guinea pig!)
- Snakes, lizards & frogs
- Meerkats
- Deer & more!
- Lots of feeding times and talks
- Cafes
- Picnic areas
- Toilets
- Parking is nearby in the local council car park which you do have to pay for at certain times of the year (free until Easter)
Not Dog Friendly
You can’t take your dog to Newquay Zoo unless it is an assitance dog.
Food & Drink
We ate at the Lemur Cafe. It was lovely – great coffee, nice and clean, plenty of tables and good, quick service. We had 3 coffees, 2 childrens packed lunches, 2 sandwiches and 2 chips. It came to just under £30. It is fine to take a picnic into the zoo. There are lots of benches and places to sit and eat.
The zoo (apart from the woodland walk which can easily by by-passed) is nice and flat. Good for wheelchairs and buggies.
For more information on book and prices visit the Newquay Zoo website >>
