Zoo de Lagos — Attraction in Lagos

This zoo is BONKERS!

Reviews for this zoo are pretty polarized, and I can see why. My review will try and address a number of the common complaints in other reviews and hopefully help you decide if this is a place for you — and help set expectations.

If you’re used to big city zoos (like me), this one might surprise you. It’s not like major zoos in North America or the UK. There are no barriers of glass or moats separating you from many enclosures; just a mesh cage or a low wall. Your behaviour is not policed in the same way it would be in a more litigious country, where personal injury lawsuits run rampant. You are expected to govern yourself with decorum and common sense. That means not petting the easily reachable crocodiles, otters, or meerkats; not sticking your fingers in the cage of the parrots with 400psi bite forces.

What all this means is you get a much more intimate/unfiltered experience with the animals. You are closer to them if they decide they are comfortable being closer to you. You might see something you've never experienced — ever look up to see a baby flying fox nursing from its mother, directly above your head? No barrier between you and it? I have now! But the cost of this intimacy is one universal truth: Animals poop — a lot. Unsurprisingly, some reviews mention the smell because of this. Is there a smell? Yes. It smells like bird poo, near the places with a lot of bird poo. Is it bad? No, not in May at least.

Some reviews say it’s “too small” or “not worth the price.” I’d call it small-medium. Some people said they sped through in 20 minutes. I spent 2+ hours there (and could have stayed longer if not for my exhausted 7-year-old), but I love observing animals. If you just glance at an animal and move on, sure, it may feel small. Is it all birds? There are a lot of birds (13 species of hornbills!) — but also some very cool mammals (no spoilers). If you’re into birds, you’ll love it. If you are only visiting with expectations of lions, elephants, and giraffes, then this definitely isn’t the place for you. If you go in with “small zoo” expectations you’re likely to be impressed. Is it worth the price? Value is so subjective — I paid €19/adult and €14/child, and for me it was very worth it.

Another common thread was the perceived welfare of the animals. While not an expert, I do have an extensive background in animal welfare. I would say the welfare of the animals was decent and their enclosures were mostly in line with those of other small facilities. I did see some stereotypical behaviours in a few animals but that is not surprising, particularly with birds. As mentioned in some other reviews there were some crowding issues that need addressing with the turtle pool. I did see some rotting food in a couple enclosures, such as the Porcupines. Is there room for improvement with the enclosures? Absolutely! There's always room to improve cleanliness, space, and enrichment. I would love to see the zoo invest further in those areas. Ultimately, I had no serious concerns and would say the animals are well cared for.

Facilities and maintenance: yes, some spots could use a refresh, but I didn’t think it felt run down.

Things I can’t speak to: Rude staff? No interactions Food? Didn’t eat there. Mud? Not in May Guinea pig crowding? Missed them

Verdict: If you love animals and appreciate a close-up experience, it's absolutely worth a visit. It starts slow, but some moments will genuinely surprise you — in the best...

Fantastic day out for the family!

The Zoo de Lagos was well worth the visit and considering we usually holiday in Lagos and surrounding areas we will certainly be back. We found the zoo was clean, the staff were very friendly and the animals looked to be well looked after.

The enclosures were large enough not like some zoos and the appearance was more like a natural habitat which is nice to see.

There were plenty of options for food and snacks around the park, reasonable prices although the smaller snacks were a little on the expensive side but not too bad. I have some pictures of their menus in my images as of July 25. We found plenty of options for toilets and any we used were spotless so fair play.

They have a vast variety of animals notably birds! There are so many and plenty you don’t generally see. There are also gumball type machines with animal feed (€1) so you can feed some of the animals (not all of them so keep an eye for the signs).

We finished up with a visit to their beach where you can supposedly swim alongside the penguins. They have a split penguin pool and swimming pool with viewing windows. The kids did have a swim but the penguins were a no show later on, probably a bit hot for them. Didn’t bother the kids they had a blast. There are also large changing rooms at the beach with lockers (€1 a use).

As for transportation they have a large carpark if you drive and the No.6 bus from Lagos with take you up in 25-30min (it’s a nice scenic drive into the hills) for €1.60 a ticket. We took the bus and it was great, drops you right outside! When leaving you have to walk about 120m back down the road (to your right) to the bus stop as the bus does not pick up directly outside.

All in all a fantastic day and highly...

This zoo is perfect for families with small children. The paths are shaded and close to the animals. Lots of small animals, beautiful exotic birds and farm animals. We missed the bigger attractions, apes, crocodiles etc, because the 16 month old needed to get home but we saw plenty of attractions and he had a blast.

We arrived for opening at 10am and waited 10 minutes or so to get in. Maybe 10 families had arrived for opening. Pre-booking tickets doesn't fast track the process (but you do get a 2euro discount).

It was a Wednesday in July but the numbers in the morning were very manageable eventhough everyone goes in the same direction

We left at 12 and it was starting to get much busier. We passed a camp group and some tour buses arriving at that time. We were relieved to be going because the paths are quite narrow and it could be claustrophobic with too many people. Lots of low hanging branches.

In that time, we got a little over half way around including a pit stop at the cafe for toasties (not great) and coffee (good) as well as spending extra time in the farm animals area so the little guy could climb on a tractor and ride the big fake cow.

We will probably go back at the same time and go straight up the middle and take the second half of the zoo so we can see the bigger animals. We stopped at the pygmy hippos, which are adorable.

It's a cramped zoo for lots of people and I do worry about the animals being in small enclosures but the zoo itself is well maintained, the animals look healthy and the track record of conservation projects supported by the zoo seems good. Its hard to know.

It was a lovely family day out...