Banham Zoo Avis 

​We drove 75 miles today for a day out for our eldest girl and our disabled daughter, but the entire experience was an absolute joke. Both of my girls were absolutely gutted. When we arrived at the kiosk to scan the tickets we had purchased online, we were bluntly told they had "already been used" with zero explanation.
​What makes it worse is that the staff demanded to see proof of Universal Credit and my disabled daughter's letters, yet they couldn't give a toss about actually helping us resolve the ticket issue. They were incredibly unhelpful and didn't care about us as customers at all.
​Once inside, we quickly found out the zoo is completely unfit for wheelchairs and not disabled-friendly in the slightest. We were forced to navigate narrow dirt tracks and a stupid wooden boardwalk that was so incredibly rough it nearly bounced my child right out of her wheelchair.
​To top it all off, there were absolutely no animals to be seen. No big cats, nothing. A completely diabolical, deeply disappointing experience and a massive waste of a long journey. Avoid at all costs, especially if you need accessible facilities.

We came to banham zoo 21st July
We was all looking forward to it as banham zoo use to be a brilliant day out...
All I can say it was very disappointing half of the animals have gone and alot of empty enclosures you could not see half of the animals we did not see the tiger at all despite going back to the tiger enclosure throughout the day could not see the leopards either. They have got rid of sea lions camels donkeys pigs. The best thing we saw was the snow leopard and the howling monkeys. Very disappointing we went to Africa alive today and that was so much better and I use to prefer banham to africa alive not anymore. Banham has changed so much and not for the better.

I found the zoo had hardly any of the animals advertised and their was far to many empty displays and the tropical house was a joke we managed to see everything in 2hrs and the gift shop was 90% of over priced stuffed toys it’s nowhere near as good as it was in 2002 when I last visited I was so disappointed and not worth the £100 I spent on family tickets. I wish I’d read the reviews before coming. Hopefully someone will see this and will lower their expectations when visiting.

When we arrived the young man at the counter was very helpful with sorting the booked tickets. He then carefully explained how to use the mobility scooters which two of our party needed and again were pre-booked. There was so many animals to see all types of monkeys, birds, sloths, snakes, penguins, giraffes, leopards, cheetahs and many more. There are drink and snack kiosks a restaurant as well. It is a fantastic day out worth every penny.

My review is not about the animals or there upkeep, its ashame the animals don't talk, I just feel as others do on talking to them its filthy the Restaurant disgusting, on now having grandchildren thought we would give it a visit, Never again, Two pensioners two grandchildren £64 ouch, so much was closed its look so run down compared to Kessingland which is just down the road from us 100% Cleaner, Think it could do with more thought for the paying visitors, Hired a mobility scooter as disabled, on the website £10 half a £20 full day arrived 11am left 3pm as I explained to the Lady (after biting my head off saying its £20, then she found it and still charged the £20 ???. Next Zoo visit Colchester

Definitely Won't Be Going Back, Wasent Worth The Money. All Enclosures Need A Good Revamp And Tidy Up. Couldn't See Half The Animals. Main Food All Was Shut. Only Food Bit What Was Open You Needed A Good Bank Balance. £8.50 For A Toasted Sandwich. All I Can Say If Your Thinking Of A Family Day Out Over The Summer Then Dont Bother. You Would Be Better Of At Jimmy's Farm Or Any Other.

We travelled from Peterborough to come here, was very disappointed as there were little to see and not much to do. Definitely not worth the £100 we paid for a family of 4. Won’t be coming back and will be making sure I tell my friends and family not too either, other zoos like twycross is so much better and better value for money. No parks here for children either which lets it down.

This zoo is slowly going downhill. Less animals and more empty cages every time we go.
Visited Easter Sunday and we were all disappointed.
Paid an extra £3.25 to do the easter trail. What a waste of money. A few questions and a pencil and 2 stickers. Total rip off.
Many things look old and outdated. Not many animals and expensive to get in .
We will not be going again.

I visited Banham Zoo on Saturday the 27th of September, very disappointing,lots of empty cages. I felt sorry for the wolf the enclosure is dark and gloomy, we saw one girrafe, one kangaroo they looked lonely, the doors and gates in my opinion locked too early, the children couldn't see the penguins properly, the flamingos didn't have a pool of water, to paddle in, no sea lions, the enclosure for the big cats are not spacious enough the glass viewing to see the penguins was very cloudy we came away very disappointed. I don't feel like I want to go back again.

Plenty of animals to see. They looked healthy and well cared for. Enjoyed seeing the penguins being fed - the keeper fed them in a group before taking food to one that seemed to be seperate and hiding by a rock. The zoo is laid out well with spacious walkways between the different sections. Loved the wallaby area. Staff very helpful.

Most of the animals appeared well cared for and comfortable. However, l was not happy with the enclosures that housed the big cats.
All of them were far too small and cramped for the animals inside. The snow leopards,for instance roam over 100km in the wild. All the big cats exhibited bored behavior which is evidenced by their pacing back & forth. The worn pathways clearly show where they pace up & down continually. It was very upsetting to witness these magnificent animals in this situation.

Huge disappointment for a zoo. So many empty cages and a distinct lack of much to see. 3 Meer cats, 1 penguin, zero seals,. And were it not for a close up of their beautiful tiger it would have been a complete non-event. Sorry but a real disappointment.

Visited this zoo dozens of times with first our children and now grandchildren. I fear Banham Zoo is quietly going away! Every time we visit something else has disappeared. Many empty enclosures this weekend. The Bird fight displays always brilliant and the Barn animal educational show, both gone. Massive unused areas. Animals we did see were well looked after. Tropical House very poor now. Coffee, ice cream huts very expensive, really expensive. Only exit thru gift shop, also expensive to buy for children who always want a gift! Shame to see this Zoo disappearing but why?

I booked on line which proved very easy. Set off for my day. Parking, extensive both sun or shaded under trees. Quite well laid out and an easy walk round if you're fit. Wide choice of animals. Lovely giraffe house. Beautiful flamingos and different species from different continents. I have visited over several previous years and it's taken a definite down turn from a decade ago. But still good value. Owl housing small. Most other animals well housed. Magnificent tiger and fur seals. I had a baked potato lunch which I could not fault in any way. Have a day out here with confidence. The entire place was very clean and tidy. I see some poor reviews on TP. But I paid 20 pounds for a day out here and I saw many animals all in excellent condition. I had opertunities to video lots of things and send them to friends. I had many praises.

My first visit to this well laid-out zoo included an hour with deputy team leader, Sally, who gave me my wished-for experience in the giraffe enclosure, from sweeping up the droppings to feeding the two beautiful animals. Her knowledge and suggestions, above all her lively, engaging response to all my questions, made this a memorable experience.
Edward Broadbridge, Randers, Denmark

My daughter and granddaughter came to visit us from Australia so thought we would take them to Banham Zoo. Wish we hadn't, what a feeble excuse for a "zoo". Apart from a few goats, rats, donkeys and an owl ,oh and a couple of giraffes not much else. No lions or tigers as stated and way way too expensive to get in. Very disappointed and wouldn't recommend. See better wild life in my back garden...

Visited a year ago experience was amazing. This time no train running, waited for giraffe talk and vulture talk as advertised on board no one arrived. No feeding sea lions as last year and no bird flying display as last year. Penguin enclosure empty and food and ice cream outlets mostly closed so very disappointed visit this time.

Wonderful zoo. Beautiful large enclosures for the animals. Lovely landscaping. Good eating selection. Free road train. Lots of amazing animals. Value for money

Avoid at all cost rip off rude staff
Would give no star but no option
Zoo has gone down hill dramatically hardly any animals computer systems always down so you can’t book experiences this has happened for the second year in a row!!!!!! Coincidence I think NOT
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY go to Whipsnade zoo instead

Used to frequently visit the zoo when our older children were young. Visited this week and shocked to see the difference. Many of the animals were ‘somewhere’ and not seen. I overheard a lady coming out of the wallaby walk-around enclosure & ask one of the zoo staff if there were any animals in the zoo !! Those that we did see looked sad. The sloth was very active and we were told by a member of staff that this was unusual and suggested the sloth was distressed! The lovely big paddock where the Suffolk Punches used to be housed was neglected and housing a huge mound of dirt. There used to be a lot of information about conservation which eased my worries about zoo’s but this time nothing. The area where the Prairie Dogs used to be is neglected but apparently a wildlife area. Now these sweet little animals can only be viewed from a Perspex window - you can’t see much!
I could go on but essentially the zoo felt very neglected & we wouldn’t return. It’s nothing compared to what it was previously.