Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park

Both Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park are well known attractions but here I will share a few tips we have discovered over the years.

The zoo is an expensive day out so if you live in Dublin then the annual zoo pass is well worth the money! When we lived in Dublin we had it one year and it was great to be able to go to the zoo any time we liked and not have to queue to get in. Plus, it also gives you a discount to the Wild Lights (which has become a popular, annual winter event) and you get a free entry into Fota Wildlife Park in Cork too.

If you decide not to invest in the pass but are planning a trip to Dublin Zoo make sure to book online. This will save you time when you arrive as you go straight to the pre-booked tickets gate, bypassing the long queue of people waiting to buy tickets at the ticket desks.

Also, if you shop at Tesco and have a Clubcard make sure to use your Boost tokens! Dublin Zoo is one of the attractions you can use your Tesco vouchers for and now that we live in Wicklow we use our vouchers each summer for a free trip to the zoo which is great!

Be sure to check the times of the keepers talks before you head to the zoo and plan your trip around the ones you want to see – the sea lions are very popular so get to their pool early so you get a good view!

We have only been to Fota once but it was a great day out. We used our Dublin Zoo annual pass for free entry and had a very enjoyable time. The two tips I picked up that day are that there are free buggies available which you can borrow if needs be and there is also a land train which has a few stops and is a very handy way of getting around the park as it is large and little legs get tired!