Virginia Zoological Park

Address:	3500 Granby St, Norfolk, VA 23504, USA
Phone:	+1 757-441-2374
Site:	virginiazoo.org
Rating:	4.3
Working:	10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 8

Colton Domes

Ill start by saying that this is a smaller zoo so you shouldnt expect the same type of experience you would at a state or large city zoo. With that said however this is actually a pretty great place to take the family or even just going strolling with friends or a significant other. There is actually quite a few animals here for it being a smaller zoo and for the most part all the exhibits are viewing accessible, with the exception of the lion and tiger exhibits, sometimes it can be fairly hard to spot them with limited viewing areas into the enclosures and the design and setup of landscape. I really enjoy the red pandas at this zoo, they never fail to entertain and always give me a laugh and leave me with a smile! They have a great elephant and giraffe enclosure as well, and even offer the ability for guests to interact and feed them. Other highlights include the buffalo, petting zoo, giant tortoises, and the orangutans! The monkeys have a great exhibition area in there enclosure so if you catch them on an active day it can be pretty entertaining! The prices have recently gone up, only by a couple dollars, but I would suggest to get maximum enjoyment for your buck you go during the spring/early summer or late fall. During the mid to late summer and early fall it gets very hot and humid here so a lot of the animals tend to remain indoors or in secluded shaded areas in their enclosures where its hard to see them. In the end this is a nice little zoo for the Hampton Roads area and even if it only once its well worth it to give it a look especially if you have kids or are just an animal lover like myself!

Sio T

The Zoo is one the best Zoos in Virginia. It is not as big as the National Zoo, but it has a great selection of creatures; animals, birds, and reptiles. Sad thing is - when we visited this Zoo a couple of years ago, the highlight was the huge elephants, sadly they are not there anymore. They were removed from the zoo. Now their enclosure is now home to white Rhinoceros. The nocturnal area is still under renovation and will open soon. It was good to say a baby Giraffe. Good thing about this place is that it has its own restaurants and ice-cream stand. There are also Soda machines in various places; convenient for visitors. The train ride is perhaps the highlight of the visit. The train will take you almost on a 360 ride and then return to the station near the entrance. Ask the receptionist for information about the train. If you plan to visit this Zoo, make sure you do it early when animals are up and about. The worst time to visit is between 12-3 pm. Especially in the summer, by this time of the day, the animals are looking for a cool spot to hide. Plan a whole day here because it is huge. You might not be able to see everything in one day. To exit and return, go to the front gate and put stamp on your arm. Show the front people on you way back and theyll let you in. If you plan to bring kids, pack their swimsuit. The fountain area is a good place to play for the little ones!

Samantha Davis

Ive been to quite a few zoos and this one in particular is very nice. The grounds are always well kept and free of trash. They have a good selection of animals and the majority of them always look like they are well taken care of. There is plenty of parking. Regardless of where you park, it usually isnt that far of a walk which is nice. They do have a train for kids, which is a nice touch. The food selection available is fairly skimpy, and this is a popular zoo so I would recommend going on a weekday if you want less of a crowd. Students of ODU get in free, so bring your student ID if you have one. They are constantly doing renovations, which could either be looked at as an annoyance or a good thing. Personally, I dont mind it, because they keep adding really great exhibits and more animals!

Jolanda Dowell

I have been to many zoos and many times the zoo is underfunded or small or dirty or just plain not quite laid out right. The Virginia Zoo is well funded, really small, clean, and laid out nicely. The animals look well fed and happy, which isnt the case of every zoo. The zoo is pretty small and you can view everything within about 1.5 - 2 hrs. The zoo staff seems to always be walking around cleaning up so the zoo was really clean from what I saw. There were even a few zoo staff walking around talking to everyone about the individual animals and what the animals do behind the scenes at the zoo. My wife and I really enjoyed the few hours we spent checking out all the exhibits. I highly recommend checking out this zoo. Be sure to bring your AAA card for a small discount on admission.

Souwld Liketoknow

I only gave it 1 star bcuz there was no way to post a review without doing so!! I will start with the good....very clean zoo & a decent amount of exhibits BUT we hardly saw any animals. Maybe out of the entire zoo & the entire 3+ hours we were there we only saw animals in about 4 maybe 5 exhibits!!! Now I understand that the zoo employees "can not control whether the animals make an appearance or not" BUT on hot days like the day we were there Im pretty sure they know better & mayb should charge half price for entry because the chances of seeing the animals are very slim. Because I live in the area I will give it another try when the weather starts to cool down & I pray it is a better experience!!

Jimmy Peterson

Wow, it has been a very long time since Ive been here, and I was really excited because it was just such a beautiful day! Got to spend time with my family and breathe the fresh air that we have, lol. They have a trail that leads you to all the animals, from monkeys to birds, from ostriches to giraffes, from elephants to lions, etc. They have an area for restrooms and a cafeteria for food and beverages. (Vending machine is overpriced). Stopped by the gift shop before leaving, they have plenty of souvenirs, they also serve Dipping Dots inside too. The Virginia Zoo was fun, its a great place to have family bonding. I recommend atleast everyone to attend this place aleast once.

Nicole S

I was up here visiting Richmond with my husband for the day. And i didnt feel this zoo was all that great. It was big and spaced out but we felt they had to may habitats on top of each other. They all looked liked they needed remodeled they were very run down. The water didnt look clean for the animals to play in let alone drink. For exhibits like the lions or tigers if they werent in a certain spot there was no way to get close enough to see them. And there was only one lion and one tiger. They had a lot of random animals together that didnt make sense. We thought it was cool that you could feed most of the animals. But we wouldnt go again unless they gave the whole thing a makeover.

Tim Koller

I have been to this park numerous times over the past 15 years. In 2003 the running joke was thay this was the best place in Tidewater to see a dead animal. The zoo since then made a lot of effort to shake this reputation. Two years ago the park was beautiful, new exhibits, animals and the works. Today we visited to find more than half the animals were gone, there were no park staff anywhere to be seen, the animals were typing to eat the trees out of the paddocks, and the exhibits were overgrown and unkempt. The poor red river warthogs who require water regulalry, were rolling in dust. It was aweful. Very poor work Virginia Zoo, the FDA should revoke your permits. Fix this now!