How to Save Money on a Trip to the Zoo
When you have a crew the size of ours a trip to the zoo can cost a pretty penny. In-fact the cost can keep you from going as often as you would like. We have to be careful when taking a trip to the zoo or the cost can get out of hand quickly. With the right planning, we can get through at entire day at the zoo for very little. You can save money on trips to the zoo with a bit of planning.
Save money on trips to the zoo
tickets to the zoo add up fast. For our family, it means that a single day at the zoo can run around $100 just to get in. For some families that cost is even higher. With only two trips to the zoo we can cover the cost of a full year membership. They offer smaller cheaper memberships as well so before you go to the zoo check prices. You may discover that a membership will give you so much more fun for the same price or even less.
Save money while at the zoo
Pack a lunch or two. Planning ahead to feed the family for a low cost goes a long way. Zoo food is so expensive that it quickly adds up. Packing a few sandwiches, snacks, and even a 2nd meal will help you save money on trips to the zoo. All that walking makes you hungry. We stopped to feed the kids 3 times in our last six-hour trip. At $8 a meal per person, we would have spent a literal fortune at the zoo.
Pack drinks. Yes, drinks are heavy. Yes, it means you may be dragging a wagon around. It is worth it. Our local zoo charges $4 for a Gatorade. Not even the big ones either. All that walking you get thirsty. Don’t be caught off-guard and spending a fortune on simple drinks you can pack. Save the bottle and refill at a fountain or toss in the nearest recycling bin to lighten your load.
Bring a refillable water bottle and some water flavoring. This is my favorite way to bring our own drinks wherever we go. The cost is low and we can carry several flavor options. This saves us a lot of money and reduces the amount I have to drag around all day. We refill our bottles at the fountains and refill stations around the zoo for free. Add a squirt of water flavoring and off we go back on our adventure.
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Now that it’s getting cooler and crowds have thinned out some we are planning a trip to the zoo. These tips are a great way to save money and some you might not think of before getting there.
Whenever we go to the zoo we always have snacks and a lunch packed. I’m very grateful that our zoo allows us to bring stuff in. It is a huge money saver.
These are great tips. We miss the St. Louis Zoo because admission is free. The zoo in our town, Chattanooga, is not free and the extra costs add up quick.
I love these tips! We used to have a zoo membership and it saved us so much money. Not to mention, we took many more trips to the zoo when we did have the membership. Admission was already paid for, so it was something we could do throughout the year if we didn’t have anything else to do.
These are awesome tips. You are right that it can be expensive to even get into the zoo these days.
I am all about packing lunches and drinks when it comes to trips at parks and zoos. I agree, even admission tickets are pricey, but you pointed some good tricks to make sure you save some money!
I love that you bring your own drinks! At upwards to $5 per drink at parks, this is a great tip!!
These are definitely some good zoo strategies. We definitely have to remember to pack our own lunches.
We love to go to the Zoo. It is always such a fun day with the kids. These are great ways to save money. I will have to pack our own lunches next time we go.
Water flavoring!!!!!!! Haha I totally dnot know why I haven’t thought of that before. Your brilliant! I wanted to get a year pass soon.
This is perfect timing to find this post. We are planning a trip to the Zoo this weekend. I will have to try these great tips.
These are all great tips! We always say getting drinks on “the outside”is such a waste of money when a water bottle is all you need! And yes to packing lunch!
We are lucky to live close to the Zoo. It has been a favorite of ours to go and see all the animals. I always pack a lunch and lots of drinks.
These are all really great tips! We always have water bottles and snacks when we go to the zoo.
Love your tips! We always bring water, but never thought about bringing flavoring too
We always pack lunch too! We try to only buy popcorn and fish food when we cross the bridge lol!
Visiting the zoo can be so expensive! We try to always pack a lunch when we do outings like this. I like the idea of bringing a refillable water bottle! My boys would want to bring ways to flavor the water, so that’s a great tip!
It is so true going to the zoo, or anywhere with the family when you have multiple kids gets really expensive just with admission costs. But bringing your own food and drinks is definitely a great way to save a lot of money.
Our Zoo is so expensive and everything cost as much as in any large amusement park. We very rarely go there!
I love going to the zoo but it does get expensive. Buying a membership is definitely the way to go.
The prices of food and drink at the zoo can get quite costly. Packing a picnic and bringing your own water bottle to refill is smart.
these are awesome tips. thanks so much for sharing.