Sarasota Jungle Gardens — Attraction in Sarasota

With added experiences, such as holding a baby alligator, it cost over $100 for two adults and one child. This included small bags of food for the petting zoo, flamingos, and alligators.

TIPS: if you pay extra for encounters, MAKE SURE you receive your ticket(s)! There are small kiosks throughout where you can purchase feed for the animals. WEAR SUNSCREEN! Parking is at the entrance and is free. There are animals that wander freely around the park.

This particular day was incredibly hot and humid. We arrived around 11:30am and did the petting zoo first. The walk there was shaded by dense tropical foliage which was beautiful and nice that we weren't in direct sunlight but there was almost no breeze because of the dense foliage.

We attended the 12pm bird show located under a covered pavilion. I did very much appreciate how the staff member explained that these are animals and if they don't want to perform then they won't, and he didn't force them. Midway through the show he stopped and turned on the fans because he realized they weren't on and noticed the audience was dying in the heat with no breeze.

Minor gripe and one that I truly understand but it was very difficult to hear the birds speaking, even into the microphone. He did tell us they liked to eat the mic (and one even attempted to) so like I said, a minor gripe.

We next moved onto the ticketed alligator holding encounter where it seemed nearly everyone else in the park had also paid for the encounter and the line was quite long. Thankfully there was shade and the line moved quickly. The staff member wasn't necessarily rushing us but I think we felt rushed due to the number of people in line. We were able to take several photos though and the attending staff member was very patient explaining how to properly hold it for the animal's safety and comfort.

We then moved on to feeding the flamingos. This was definitely the highlight of the trip. There was very little shade and the small area of shade there was was packed with people. Despite that, we were still able to feed two flamingos for the better part of 15-20 minutes before the food ran out. After the food ran out, one flamingo did "bite" my daughter's arm. These are animals and anything with a mouth can bite, so respect them and use caution.

At this point, we decided the heat was unbearable and went to seek air conditioned refuge in the Cafe. Staff were very nice, food was exactly what you'd expect. However, indoor seating is very limited so we had to find seating outside under the covered patio. Once again, no breeze. There were fans but they were not turned on. It was miserable.

After lunch we went into the "reptile house" which is NOT air conditioned (for obvious reasons), but there was at least a fan to circulate some air. Many of the enclosures were very poorly lit, making it difficult to tell if it was empty or not, and many actually were empty. Most enclosures had the species listed but not all, especially the large one at the end that houses multiple species.

From there we moved on to feeding the baby alligators. This enclosure was PACKED with babies and visitors were literally dumping their bags of alligator food into the enclosure, so there was tons of food already floating around and they weren't really interested in more.

We stopped by a few more exhibits before throwing in the towel because the heat & humidity was just too much to bear. We spent about 3-3.5 hours there. Overall, I feel like the admission price is a little high for what you're getting, especially when all of the other encounters are extra and it adds up quickly.

Suggestions... have cooling areas for visitors or at least turn on the fans that...

This was my fourth time back as I tried to visit every time I came back to Sarasota. This place is one of my favorite spots to visit.

I had a lot of fun and enjoyed myself taking photos and seeing everything.

There were a lot of renovations going on, and there were no butterflies, and that did disappoint me since I love butterflies.

My favorite moments were the shows and learning about everything ( I attended all three) and had the best seat in the house.

I enjoyed the flamingos and spent the most time with them. It's absolutely my favorite part of the whole park.

I even had some good laughs because a couple of kids got bit, and they well deserved it since there are signs plastered everywhere that says don't pet the flamingos and kids were always trying to do it.

Another downside of my visit was seeing non-stop kids terrorizing the animals, birds, and reptiles. Even the employees saw it and told them to stop, and they kept doing it. In my opinion, these kids and whoever their guaridans are need to be kicked out and never welcome back into the park.

During my visit, there was not one but two field trips, which made it very hard to enjoy the surroundings around me, and I can't imagine how the animals feel. Poor babies with all that screaming, screeching, and pounding on the glass, which also states to not do but it happens A LOT!

Feeding the alligators was fun but different from the last time I was there. Holding a baby alligator was a lot of fun, I fell in love.

I loved the bird experience but wish I could've gotten the bird that I wanted, I would've waited longer since I know the birds are in rotation.

The petting zoo was fun, but the employee that was sitting at the petting zoo acted like she wanted to be anywhere else but there, which made my experience not so fun as she didn't even want to answer our questions and rolled her eyes more than once.

I do recommend getting there when they open and explore the park before it gets busy, especially if there's field trips coming and if you have sensitive hearing like me, bring ear plugs or music. It sucks that we have to do that and not hear the beautiful nature and animals around us, but sadly, we must.

The flamingo cafe was under renovation, so I was starving all day as it said on the site we couldn't bring food inside, and I didn't want to go back out to my car and eat so I didn't pack a lunch. It showed no one listened as I saw many people with packed lunches inside.

If I ever get to take another trip back to Sarasota, I'll definitely be back and make sure to prepare...

Sarasota Jungle Gardens is one of Florida's classic attractions from the pre-Disney theme park era. Situated just off of Tamiami Trail (US41) between Bradenton and Sarasota, the gardens are a convenient trip for anyone visiting the beautiful Suncoast beaches to make.

The gardens are a combination botanical garden and mini zoo featuring mainly alligators and beautiful birds, although there are a few mammals to enjoy like lemurs. The park itself is mostly shady, though I imagine it could be quite hot during Florida's sweltering summers. I'd recommend visiting between October and early May, but if you do go in the summer, there is an air conditioned café that will help to cool you off.

Speaking of the café, I did not find any menus online. However, it offers a small selection of things like pizza and cheeseburgers. The prices seemed reasonable, to me, at $15 for a whole pizza or $5 (as I recall) per slice. You could easily head here in the morning and take a break for lunch noting there is indoor seating as well as many shaded picnic tables available.

Strolling through the park and seeing the various animal exhibits will take you around 1 to 2 hours for adults. If you're with younger children, I'd budget a little extra time. They will love feeding flamingos or seeing the goats, pigs, and other critters at the petting zoo area.

You could extend your stay by purchasing one of the many animal encounter upgrades that let you get a picture with a parrot on your shoulder, for example. The gardens also feature several animal shows at various times during the day, albeit these were out of the time frame we visited, so I did not get to see one.

The staff all seemed very friendly and helpful. Note that some of the pathways were closed as of October 2022, presumably due to impacts from Hurricane Ian. Nevertheless, I still had a great experience. I'd recommend wearing shoes if visiting, as some of the paths are brick and prone to water covering over them.

In sum, Sarasota Jungle Gardens is a gem from Florida's past. Instead of a hustle-bustle crowded theme park, it is a relaxing oasis that will allow you and your family some quiet time. I highly recommend visiting. I had a wonderful afternoon and am glad this historic attraction is still...