The World Famous San Diego Zoo is located in Balboa Park, right near downtown San Diego. There are over than 800 species of animals living there, more than you can see in a day. If you only have a few hours at the zoo you can still see quite a lot. Here are my top picks for the best and most dependable things to see.
Starting out with the bus tour is a pretty good idea. You get to go through the whole park in a double decker bus on a guided tour. This gives you a lay of the land as well as a glimpse at many animals. An alternative to the bus is the Skyfari. These aerial tram cars take you high over the zoo from one end to the other. There is no guided tour, and you will not get close enough to really see any animals, but you do get quite an overview. The Skyfari probably is not a good choice if you are afraid of heights.
Very near the entrance to the zoo are the orangutans. I have never been to visit this exhibit when the orangutans were not awake and doing something interesting. They defiantly seem to enjoy interacting with visitors through the glass.
Next, get down to see the Pandas. You really should not go to the San Diego Zoo and miss the Pandas, it would be wrong. The good news is that you can always see the pandas and they are always cute. Often they are just sitting and eating bamboo, but they are still so darn cute. Better still, the panda exhibit does let you get pretty close to the pandas. There is usually a staff member at the exhibit to answer questions, tell you interesting things about the pandas, and keep the line moving along. So yes, there will probably be a line to see the pandas. The line does move right along. You will see pandas. They will be cute. No, you are not allowed to touch or squeeze the pandas.
After seeing the pandas, head up to the new Elephant Odyssey exhibit. This impressive exhibit opened in 2009, and is a nice big space mimicking the open African plain. There are several elephants living there, who will probably be standing right out in the open. The elephants mostly stand and eat, but are still quite majestic. Also in the Elephant Odyssey exhibit are lions, California condors, and many other animals. It is a pretty great exhibit. There is even a nice place to eat lunch right in the middle of Elephant Odyssey.
After that you should check out your favorite animals. I like to see the hippos, but they are usually just sleeping. You can go the the zoo a few times and never see the hippos active, but I always enjoy seeing them. Same goes for the koalas, who I have rarely seen move much at all, but are still such fascinating little animals.
It is also a good idea to check the list of special events that comes with your map to the zoo. The stage shows are all well done. I always love any enrichment events that are done with the animals in their exhibits. The animals usually enjoy these, and so are at their most awake and active.
