Do you want to include wildlife in your trip and visit to Saudi Arabia? Well, Riyadh Zoo is considered one of the amazing activities in Riyadh season.
You know what is the amazing part? It is FREE. Yes, you have access to Riyadh Zoo for free. You only need to book your free ticket via the official website of Riyadh season to organize the capacity. In this way, you can avoid any crowds that may affect your mood and trip.
In this post, the Saudi Gioder will cover the following aspects of their visiting experience to Riyadh Zoo during Riyadh season 2023-2024:
What is Riyadh Zoo?
The Riyadh Zoo is like a big animal park that opened in 1987. They just made it even cooler! There are over 1300 animals of 190 different kinds, all living in 6 special areas. Each area has fun things to do, like seeing monkeys play or maybe even (pretend to) pull rope with a white lion! You’ll have a blast seeing all the amazing animals!
Advantages of visiting Riyadh Zoo
- It is Free during the Riyadh Season. On regular days, it costs only about 10 SAR (about $2.6).
- Good activity for kids and families.
- Learn about animals related to Saudi culture and the Middle East.
- Experienced feeding animals such as elephants, monkeys, liones, and more.
- Educational for kids and adults. One amazing way to educate people about animals, they show educational signs in front of each cage. It includes information about the common name of the animal, scientific species name, geographical distribution, and more.
Where Riyadh Zoo is located?
Riyadh Zoo is located in: Mosab Ibn Umair St, Al Malaz, Riyadh 12832, Saudi Arabia
There are plenty of free parking on the street around the zoo. You can park around the neighbour as well. Moreover, there are parking spaces at the side of Riyadh Zoo. It is recommended to get there earlier to find your space before the afternoon.
What are the office hours of Riyadh Zoo?
Riyadh Zoo is open from 10 AM to 5 PM. However, Entry is not permitted after 3 PM. The time needed to go over everywhere in the zoo is approximately 3 – 4 hours (including waiting for the shows). The best months to visit Riyadh Zoo are between November and March when the weather is winter and nice.
How to book a free ticket to Riyadh Zoo?
- First, if you have not come to Saudi Arabia yet, make sure to book your Saudi Vistors Visa to be eligible to enter the country. We provided an ultimate guide to obtaining your Saudi Visa in this link.
- Get your Zoo Ticket from (https://webook.com).
What zones and animals are in Riyadh Zoo?
Every year, the government of Saudi Arabia develops the zoo by opening new zoons and including more animals and activities as a part of Riyadh Season. In the 2023-2024 Riyadh season, The improvement included different activities and animals including:
- Farm Experience: it includes an adventure at the farm, where you can meet and interact with friendly animals!
- Lion Experience: it allows getting inches from majestic lions in our half-car safari!
- House Of Pongos where you can enjoy learning and different experiences at the Bongo House!
- The Owl House: It includes an adventure you will never forget with your child as you walk in a dark room between owls!
- Elephant Feeding Experience: All kids love elephants. Make your kids embrace the elephant encounter: trunk-friendly awaits at our feeding platform!
- Kangaroo Feeding: where you can feed kangaroos yourself and experience a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
- Feeding Giraffe: where you can Interact with the giraffe and feed it yourself and your kids.
- Feeding Monkeys: It is an experience of feeding monkeys and interacting with them up close!
- Feeding The Tigers: It is an amazing chance for you to feed the tigers yourself and see their expressions as they devour the meal!
- Red Panda Experience: Don’t miss your chance to see the first red panda in the Middle East before it’s too late! Come and experience the beauty of this rare and endangered animal for yourself.
- The Garden: Enjoy relaxing in the park area overlooking the calm waters. It is one of the most relaxed areas if you like water and walking around it.
- A lot of local animals and wildlife once such as polar bears and more.
- Also, they have different shows every hour where you can see magic shows for free in the stage area. Ask for the time of the show and their schedule.
Note: for animal feeding activities, you need to buy the food internally at small prices of 25 SAR (approximately $6).
Services available in the Zoo
One important concern when you visit any event is the services such as the restroom. It is more significant if you have kids. Well let me tell you the good news, there are so many clean restrooms in Riyadh Zoo. They clean it frequently as you can see in the images below. They have air conditioning inside the toilets.
Also, Riyadh Zoo has an ATM. If you need to get some cash with you. You can use it as well such as giving your kids some to buy donuts.
One of the amazing surprising services is the small hospital they have. Well, we are not talking about any hospital. It is an emergency branch of one of the best hospitals in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Sulaiman AL-Habib Hospital. That provides a more safe place to visit in case of emergencies.
Restaurants and coffee shops in the Zoo
As we mentioned earlier, the price of food and coffee is reasonable and cheap. They are almost as outside. Riyadh Zoo offers plenty of options for food and coffee shops starting from fast food, coffee, donuts, sandwiches, ice cream, and shawarma. Many international brands are available there such as Dunkin’, Charleys Cheesesteaks, Baskin Robbins ice cream, and Häagen-Dazs® Ice Cream. Additionally, there are some local brands such as Classic Shawarma.
Important tips when visiting Riyadh Zoo:
- You are now allowed to bring water or food from outside. However, if you have a baby or small kids, they may allow for one bottle of water only.
- Prohibiting water and food does not mean it is expensive inside Riyadh Zoo. Believe us, we were shocked at how the prices of food and drinks are as they are outside (cheap). So, do not worry about it.
- Usually, the Riyadh Zoo is open during the Riyadh season. It means the weather should be winter and nice in Riyadh. If so, it will not bother you to have a small jacket for your kids.
- Even if you do not like animals but your kids do, there are plenty of nice areas where you can sit and relax while they go around for fun.
- Once you enter Riyadh Zoo, they will provide you with a map of the zoo. It is very helpful to help you cover all animals and activities easily and fast. If you did not get one, ask workers at the gate for one.
- If you do not like crowds, avoid going to the Riyadh Zoo during the weekend. Instead, you can go during the week. It is less crowded.
- Check out the weather before you go since it may be raining in Riyadh. In case of heavy raining or weather conditions, Riyadh Zoo will be closed and canceled on that day. Check out the social media accounts of the Riyadh Zoo and Riyadh season for any updates.
In conclusion, the Saudi Guider Team is trying to give you the best experience to visit Riyadh Zoo. We understand you may have more questions about the zoo. If you have any questions or comments, please write them below. We will do our best to answer and reply to each.
