A guide to Sydney's
animal kingdom
One place to compare the city's zoos and wildlife parks, and plan the day around the animals you most want to meet.
Sydney is spoiled for wildlife — the hard part is choosing which park, on which day, for who you're bringing.
One region, a dozen ways
to meet the animals
Within a short ferry ride or an easy drive of the harbour you can stand beside a koala, watch elephants and tigers in world-class breeding programs, walk beneath sharks, or hand-feed a mob of kangaroos. The parks are scattered from the Mosman foreshore to Western Sydney, the south coast and the Hunter Valley — and each one does something different.
Sydney Zoo is a plain-English guide to all of them. For every park we cover what it actually is, the animals people come to see, how to get there, and the kind of day it suits — so you can match a visit to who you're travelling with and how far you want to go.
Four kinds of day out
Knowing which type you're after is usually the fastest way to pick. We sort Sydney's wildlife destinations into four broad groups.
Conservation zoos
The big players — Taronga and Sydney Zoo — with African and Asian species, elephants and tigers, in serious breeding programs.
Native sanctuaries
Hands-on parks built around koalas, kangaroos and wombats: Featherdale, Koala Park and Symbio, where you get close.
Aquarium & indoor
Darling Harbour's walk-through worlds — SEA LIFE's shark tunnels and WILD LIFE's rooftop koalas, easy in any weather.
Regional day trips
Relaxed country zoos worth the drive — the Hunter Valley, the Australian Reptile Park and the Central Coast bushland.
Ready to pick a park?
Everything here is aimed at the practical questions. Browse the full guide, or write to us if you can't find the answer you need.
Browse the zoos