When you are heading off on a family holiday it can be tricky finding places that everyone will love to visit. Some of the more adult attractions can be boring or even unsuitable for children, and yet focusing on the kids' attractions all the time can be dull for the adults.
Luckily San Diego has a lot to offer for the whole family – not least the San Diego Zoo. This is located in Balboa Park so it is easy to find while you are holidaying in San Diego itself. And there is plenty to see here too, as you will soon find out.
The zoo is also correctly referred to as a sanctuary for various animals. This makes it an educational trip for the whole family in more ways than one. If the children have never seen a giant panda for real before, they will when they visit this zoo. There aren't many zoos globally that can lay claim to this particular resident, but the San Diego Zoo has a whole family of them you can meet.
The best way to begin any visit to the zoo is to look at the map of the zoo itself. This will give you an idea of how big it is, and you will see that wearing comfortable shoes is a must, because you are likely to be doing a lot of walking. Various parts of the zoo are labelled in different ways according to which animals you will find there. For example the Polar Rim is home to the polar bears among other species. You will also find the elephants roaming around in the Elephant Odyssey section.
Some areas of the zoo are considerably bigger than others. For example when you visit the Lost Forest section you can see plenty of different animals that would all inhabit forests in real life. These include birds of prey, tigers and even gorillas. As you can see there is plenty to take in while you are in the zoo, and you certainly need a whole day to see it all.
The Urban Jungle is a particular favourite among visitors as it shows us how our own world comes into contact with some of the animals that live closest to us. This is a good area to show the kids as it helps educate them about how we live in today's society with animals nearby.
When you visit San Diego you will find lots of San Diego hotels available to stay in. Transport is good so you will easily be able to locate the zoo for your exciting day out, no matter where in the city you might be staying. The zoo opens at 9am every day and stays open until at least 5pm although in the summer you can stay until 9pm. This makes it a terrific value day out.
