While visiting Guadalajara for a friend's wedding, I had a free morning and afternoon so I decided to check out the local zoo. I am so glad I did and would highly recommend doing the same to anyone with a free day! Though navigating the trip to the zoo was a bit chaotic (thankfully I had a very nice Uber driver who helped), the visit was fantastic. The zoo was quite expansive with lots of different exhibits available and many different animal exhibits to enjoy. The staff were kind and courteous and very helpful, despite my limited Spanish vocabulary. A couple of things I would note for first time visitors: 1) there is a lot of incline/decline walking and many flights of stairs and/or ramps, so plan accordingly. It's a workout. 2) I highly recommend buying food and bringing it in. Aside from the walking tacos (which are amazing), the food is limited and not very appetizing. Luckily, there are some amazing local food vendors (tents) right outside the main entrance you can choose from before going in. 3) make sure you don't go on a day when it's too hot. Most of the exhibits have a ton of open and uncovered space so the animals are less likely to be out if it's really hot. The areas with shade are closed in and you may not see the animals at all. 4) whatever you do, make sure you take advantage of the giraffe encounter! For roughly $2.50 USD I was able to feed and pet a giraffe! It was the coolest. The staff are really nice and you can tell they love the experience and the animals. It was without question one of the big highlights of my entire trip. 5) you can do the aquarium and zoo in one day, but you will probably need a full day. So plan accordingly.