Twycross Zoo Reviews 

Had a lovely day there. Animals seemed happy and well cared for. Staff were knowledgeable, polite and helpful. Not everything was open and it closes at 3:00pm but that's to be expected on a weekday at this time of year

Thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Twycross Zoo. Although it is a smaller Zoo than London or Chester it has a wonderful atmosphere, friendly staff and plenty of beautiful and well cared for animals.
I must also mention staff member Finn, who talked passionately and knowledgeably about many of the animals and helped to enrich our visit immensely.
We were there from opening until closing and still did not manage to see all that the Zoo had to offer.

I am so sad to give Twycross a 1 star as well last went there 20 years ago and I’m sure it was better then.
Entrance cafe was fine (Costa) but the actual zoo was depressing. Many spaces were either empty or inaccessible due to puddling water on the footpaths (it hasn’t rained for a few days). Others had 1 or 2 sad looking animals just sitting or fidgeting. Some looked scabby and old. The worst were the old tortoises. One looked like it had its plates fixed with badly inserted mortar.
A lot of monkey enclosures were now covered in glass which was full of condensation and pictures and writing so you couldn’t see in if you wanted to.
The atmosphere was not fun at all and the signage was poor. Looking on the reviews, it appears we missed owls and a couple of other things.
Information was also very limited around the animal enclosures and it just felt unloved. Tickets are expensive at nearly £25 but include an option to return any times in a year, but I don’t actually want to use that option so I’m very disappointed in Twycross

I hate having to give anywhere a 1 star review, but this has to be the worst zoo we’ve ever been to.

We first visited about 5 years ago and thought it was ok - but it’s somehow gone even further downhill. The animals looked depressed or angry, the enclosures are prone to flooding, and they let you pay £2.00 a pot for nectar for the lorikeets and they’re too terrified to even come to you.

The infrastructure around the park is horrendous, with most paths still just gravel tracks prone to flooding. There were several animals we couldn’t even see due to the pathway being so flooded.

It took us a total of 2 hours to see and do everything we were able to. We should have known having the first thing we walked in on was the mud covered entrance to the food hall that there was more to come.

We just felt an extreme lack of hygiene everywhere and didn’t bother to stop for food.

I just wouldn’t bother. Their conservation efforts appear incredibly poor and those poor animals just look like they’re trapped till the day it closes. I’ll stick to Chester Zoo in the future.

Went today absolutely shocking. Would not recommend or be returning on free visit. Hardly any animals at all. And few we did see looked depressed and lonely. £7.05 for bottle pop and coffee day light robbery. Changed so much since we last went. Will not be returning!!!

Gosh feel awful for the 1 star but the snow leopard, normal leopard and tiger looked completely alone and depressed
Snow leopard looked the worst just walking back and forth with not much privacy and was surprised it didn't have black out his side to prevent 100s of people from the cafe staring at him. Some inclosures under construction but nothing happening. My daughter enjoyed what we did see and the food halls area are a lot better than last time we came. We have free pass to go back but I'm not even sure we will, felt cruel to especially the big cats. We had been to Yorkshire wildlife and we felt they all seemed happy and had groups of them rather than being alone. Maybe they should gift the cats to other zoos and become like a farm type place instead. Not sure they have the funds to keep up with the rivals. Maybe start a go fund me ?? I don't know just something to sort it
Really sad but unfortunately true 😪

A depressing experience seeing many solitary animals and enclosures so tatty.

Most of the enclosures were a reasonable size and well suited to the animals in them but I felt that the inside part of the rhino enclosure needed to be bigger and have more inside to entertain the rhinos as they'd seemed very sad inside. More maps of the zoo are needed so people can get their bearings and see where to visit next. Staff were friendly and the animals all seemed happy enough bar the rhinos. Would be nice to see more other species as it seemed very primate based there.

Visited the zoo today 24 November 2023 and very disappointed with not being able to see animals you can’t see them due to windows dirty or having a film over them. The chimpanzee house was the best as you could see them because of cleaner windows also it is obvious some windows had been blocked off, today was quiet but in busy times you would have struggled to get anywhere near. We went into one of the cafe’s there and thought it wasn’t cleaned as it should be I.e the floor and tables, although one of the staff was very friendly in there. I remember Twycross from years ago with my children 1980-90’s and it was a much better experience. I didn’t feel a family friendly and animal focused atmosphere that I want to introduce my grandchildren and great grandchildren to. I was very disappointed as I always remember Twycross as a great Zoo.

Great place. Kids loved it. Staff very helpful.The zoo is very focussed on animal welfare, so you can't always see all of the animals, which is exactly how it should be.

They are running a Halloween trail, which we finished before anyone else and even though it wasn't open yet, a lovely employee Laura opened the prize area for us.
The staff are informative, polite and kind.
Thank you for a lovely experience

Supposed to be a zoo but hardly saw any animals.. no rhino no tiger ..giraffes locked up .. then after the cost to get in it took us only an hour to walk round and see the empty enclosures very disappointing .then they wanted £6 for a timed slot 45 mins on the soft play .. ridiculous.. I have an annual pass ...1st visit won't be back..

Absolutely uncontactable. I tried nine times phoning this morning. My daughter had a birthday gift for access to the zoo. I took a day off to take her. All I wanted was to ask if I could pay at the gate for my own ticket. In the end I left a message asking for someone to call me back. No one called, and what’s more when I phoned again a message said my phone had been blocked. My daughter emailed them last night asking the same question, 20hours later no response. I am absolutely disgusted with this organisation

I spent 90mins, using three separate email addresses, one for each adult to make the necessary bookings, why on earth can’t it just take one email per booking. I can’t believe the website for Twycross zoo is so inadequate and clunky. Kicked me out several times once I had inputted all our info & photos. It’s the worst website I’ve used needs looking at. All I wanted was a day ticket not a year’s ticket, surely you should be able to just pay on the day, like other zoos.
We went straight to Gruffalo land the grandchildren enjoyed it but hardly any of exhibitions were working very disappointed.
Absolutely disappointed by the lack of animals in the zoo. Lots of monkeys but also lots of empty enclosures. there’s no way we will be back it’s just not worth the journey. All in all, very disappointing

As a wedding anniversary surprise for my wife on Tuesday 12/09/2023 I went online on Friday 08/2023 to book two tickets - for that seems to be the only way to buy tickets to enter Twycross Zoo.
I spent several hours, using three separate email addresses, to make the necessary bookings. However, none were accepted by Twycross Zoo. In turn I rang the zoo, on 01827 880250, for some assistance, but no-one on line 6 (AOB) answered my call. All I could do was leave a message. No one rang back.
On Saturday 09/09/23, I had to make my wife aware of my planned surprise as I had to use her email address. Sadly, Twycross Zoo would not accept our booking.
I made another phone call, on 01827 880250, and left another message. No one rang back.
On Sunday 10/09/23 - surely the zoo would be open to receive calls - I made five separate phone calls to 01827 880 250 - and left five separate phone messages seeking assistance on lines 3,4,5 & 6. No one rang back.
On Monday 11/09/23 I attempted one more time to book the tickets online, from my work email address, but "yes" you've guessed it by now, no tickets booked!
However, made three further phone calls and left three separate phone messages informing Twycross of my frustrations in trying to book two online tickets for the following day. By now you can probably guess - no one rang back!
My only presumption was that Twycross Zoo was closed.
Has Twycross Zoo Closed?
It must have closed for ever as no return phone calls were made.

Hardly any animals!! Absolute rubbish! The kids were actually bored looking at empty enclosures all the way around! Definitely won’t be rushing back as I can see grass in my back garden!!

Firstly, the booking system, what a mess! Reserved (or so I thought) an 11am time slot, went through the tedious process of trying to pay for the tickets only to be kicked out several times. In the end had to pay for tickets without a slot and log back into the portal once I had received the tickets to find the earliest slot available was 1pm.

Upon arrival we headed for the blue badge parking, none available so directed to the "coach" parking. Couldn't park there, so was directed to a grass verge (not great for someone with mobility issues).

When going through the entrance we were forced around a small corridor between the shop and the soft play, to be greeted with lines of people.

Eventually we get to the ticket booth, and after some fuss around a carer ticket we got in (you can't book carer ticket online, so we were directed to the booth).

Once inside the zoo things didn't get any better. too many people. You could barely get through certain areas, for example the bottleneck by the Giraffes. I feel staff should be around trying to direct the crowds a bit and be of help when busy. Especially with people using doors clearly marked as "exit" to enter an area.

We left after 90 minutes as found the whole experience unbearable.

I think if the zoo are going to insist on booking an arrival time they should control the numbers they allow in at a given time as the whole zoo felt over capacity and at times a little unsafe (particularly around the Giraffe and Rhinos).

Couldn't comment on the condition of the animals that is mentioned in previous reviews as we didn't see any (apart from a head of a Giraffe).

We used to go every year and loved it. Haven't been for a few years, won't be going again either. Hardly any animals, small enclosures and very stressed animals that WERE there. Expensive food and drinks. Loads of empty cages. Definitely not worth the money.

Website issue took me round in circles, never confirming payment had been taken and I ended up with the same three bookings meaning i overpaid by £90. After a week of trying to contact them by phone (never answered), no reply on email I chased again and have been told my 'request is denied' with zero explanation as to why. In absolute shock that a family attraction would treat its customers in this way and now withholding a £90 refund.

What an amazing day we had. We arrived just as the zoo opened and didn't get home till 6pm.so much to do and see. The wet and wild area was loved by the kids and so many animals too see. Yes there were a few empty enclosures but there were so many other animals to see it didn't really matter. The kids absolutely loved going here and will definitely be going back in the future. We took a picnic and sat at the picnic area by the wet and wild area. We finished the day in the soft play area which the kids also loved. My highlight was the butterfly enclosure. So many beautiful butterflies to look out for. All in all this was an amazing day out for both adults and children and I would highly recommend a visit. Welll done Twycross!!