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Ongoing updates and improvements

FAQs

To secure choice of date and great savings, visitors are strongly advised too book admission tickets online.

Online prices are not available at the tills.

Please see our full list of prices here. 

Paignton Zoo is located on the A3022 Totnes Road, 1 mile from Paignton town centre. Once in Paignton follow the brown tourist signs marked with an elephant and ‘Zoological Gardens’.

The zoo is situated next to Morrisons supermarket. The postcode is TQ4 7EU. Find find directions to the zoo here.

Routes 22 and Stagecoach Gold buses all stop by or near the zoo. For more information please visit stagecoachbus.com.

The zoo has free parking for 1,110 cars on site and some further parking in our overflow car park a short walk away. This is available on a first come, first served basis. 

We cannot guarantee parking for every visitor. We recommend using public transport where possible.

There are designated disabled bays located on the first level of the main car park and visitors can be dropped outside and collected from the turning circle at the main zoo entrance.

SWEPL cannot guarantee the security of your vehicle or its contents. SWEPL, and it’s contractors do not accept liability for any damage or loss of vehicles or their contents.

Yes, we are pleased to offer visitors the free use of a manual wheelchair. A returnable deposit of £20.00 is required.

Alternatively, we have a limited number of electric scooters which can be hired for £20.00 plus a returnable deposit of £20.00. Please telephone the zoo Reception on 01803 697500 in advance of your visit to ensure that scooter is available. We do recommend booking your scooter at least a week in advance during busy periods to avoid disappointment.

We also have double strollers to hire for £12 and single strollers for £8.

For more information about wheelchair and scooter hire, please see our Accessibility webpage.

We are now able to take bookings for groups – please contact us on 01803 697500 to enquire further and make a booking.

Unfortunately we do not currently allow free entry for Blue Peter badge holders.

We regret that guest’s dogs or pets are not permitted in the zoo, except for registered assistance dogs.

Here at the zoo we welcome assistance dogs and want to make your visit to us as enjoyable as possible. To enable this to happen, we have put together a  policy to ensure the safety of yourself, your dog, our animals and members of the public during your visit. Full information about this policy can be viewed on our Accessibility webpage.

Please do not leave dogs unattended in your vehicles, especially on hot days.

Bicycles, scooters and skateboards are not allowed within the zoo.

However there is a bike rack at the main entrance that is free to use – please ask staff where to store bikes safely.

We are starting to take on events for 2023, for enquiries please contact: [email protected]

Yes, we accept all major debit and credit cards other than American Express. There is no charge for their use.

Yes, we have several baby changing facilities located throughout the zoo. Our largest baby changing facility is located in our Island Restaurant – the majority of our disabled toilets also have baby changing facilities.

To ensure the enjoyment of our diverse range of guests visiting the zoo every year, we have taken a balanced approach with our smoking policy which considers the welfare, needs and preferences of both our guests and animals in the zoo.

Smoking is not permitted in outdoor queuing areas, food & drink outlets or picnic areas. We also ask for smokers to be considerate of other guests and to follow smoking restrictions shown on signs throughout the zoo. Our smoking policy also extends to include vaping and e-cigarettes.

Whilst we hope that you are able to spot as many different animals as possible during your visit, we cannot guarantee that you will see all of the animals that we are home to at the zoo on a particular day. This often depends on the nature of the animal – if you do not spot an animal when you visit their exhibit, please allow time to re-visit that animal exhibit later in the day.

If an animal is off show for unforeseen circumstances, bad weather or essential maintenance work, this will be listed on our Updates page with the latest information.

We are very grateful for the support of our amazing volunteers.

For information about volunteering here at Paignton Zoo, please see our Volunteering page.

To give our animals the most natural life possible, and for their welfare, we do not handle the majority of our animals.

Animal experiences are also available for several species at the zoo, including the giraffes, rhinos and giant tortoises.