Naples Zoo

This was my second trip to the Naples Zoo. This trip I took more time to read the signs along the paths with good educational information, and making it to all the zookeepers presentations was also very much worth it. What impressed me the most is how the animals are not there to entertain us with tricks but how they are trained to work with the zookeepers. I’ve been to much larger zoo’s but have never seen a zoo where all the animals are so well adjusted, happy and obviously much better off being in the zoo. We spent 3-​hours and never rushed through any of the exhibits. 1 ½ to 2 hrs might be enough time for most people. We will be back again soon. Loved it!

I love coming to the zoo. Always learn something new every time :) My family love coming every first Saturday of each month, because its free for all residents :) yay!!! Got to see Unos show. He’s adorbs!

Great zoo! Wide variety of animals, zookeepers and other employees are knowledge. Seemed as though they are trained to come up to customers and provide information on any of the animals, which was great!
Additionally, there are quite a few interactive exhibits. You can feed the giraffes, see alligators be fed, take a ferry ride, and more!
Only downside is that the zoo is pretty small — we made it around the loop in an hour — and its $ 20 to get in. I’d push for lowering the price 20% or so, and make up the revenue by implementing better lunch options. The food court wasn’t great, and entrees were by no means great. I’d also look to sell ice cream along the paths, as many people don’t want to stop for ice cream with kids in a food court line. However, if there’s a stand/​cart with little to no wait, it’d be an easy sell.
Overall, I had a great time, and would define today recommend for an afternoon activity. Especially if you have kids!

Its run well, the staff is great, but the animal variety is lacking. I wish they had more. 4 stars.

It’s really a neat place. I lived in a short driving distance from Lincoln, Milwaukee and Brookfield zoos. Went to Omaha zoo a few times, so you might say I’m a bit zoo spoiled, but, honestly I enjoy this one every time we go there. I don’t know what it is, because it is so tiny. I guess it’s the nature itself… My son loves feeding ibises. He’s happy there, which makes me happy… Just a nice place.
Or it might be because as a Collier county resident we get to go for free once a month.
If you decide to go, go as early as you can and not on first Saturday of the month (unless you are a Collier resident). It gets too crowded there.

This small but engaging zoo just north of downtown Naples makes for a terrific daytrip from anywhere in SW Florida, and provides a fun change of pace for families on a beach vacation. The highlight for our kids was the boat ride through ‘Monkey Lagoon’, which was worth the 45-​minute wait in the hot Florida sun. Many of the exhibits give visitors a chance to interact with the animals, from hand-​feeding a giraffe to riding a camel. The only real downside was the lack of quality food options — so pack a lunch if you can.

I can’t say enough what a great time I had at this zoo! I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was very clean, easy to navigate and how close the animals were! They were very active and was probably the best time I’ve had at a zoo! It’s not huge but it’s a great 3 – 4 hours of your day… it’s a little pricey at $ 19.95 but we had $ 4 off coupons so that helped Staff was friendly as well… def recommend if your in Naples

LOVE LOVE LOVE the ZOoOo. Ive been meaning to go to the zoo since I arrived at Naples. I met a person at the car rental shop that worked there and heard you could feed the giraffes by hand.(Hearts in eyes).
Cost of Zoo was $ 20 – 1.50 from the naples attractions map, worth every penny. a near mile area with over 30 different species of animals that will put a smile on your face. My favorite part was of course, feeding the Giraffes! For $ 5 they give you romaine lettuce to stick out and one of 5 giraffes will come and scoop it out your hand with their extremely long tongue. You could also ride a camel in couples ($ 5). It makes a great zoo for families to visit and teach their kiddies, and of course the love birds just dating. the Macaws great you in the open entrance, gorgeous birds. They have Zebras, Lions, Cheetahs, Alligators, Tigers, Monkeys and many many more. What I found fun was the monkey island boat. The tour guide was super informative and funny.
Highly recommend everyone to come visit and support the local zoo. The animals are calm and have spacious zones.

Very easy to get around, solid selection of food, family orientated. Loved the lion and giraffe shows. The ferry ride to see the monkeys was cool too.

Very up close and personal. Don’t miss the lion or alligator feeding. Way cool. We are about to take a boat ride to the monkey islands-​so excited.

I had some time to kill before my flight out of Fort Myers so I came to the Naples Zoo to fill the time. I arrived just before three o“clock and was told that admission was now half off so I paid only $ 10.
This is a fairly small zoo but well kept and has lots of opportunities to interact with the zookeepers and staff. A lot of the animals were sleeping so I didn’t see much action. I did really enjoy the giraffes which you have an opportunity to pay $ 5 to feed.
You can take a boat around a small lake to see the different ‘islands’ with monkeys. I didn’t have time for this but would have liked to done it.
I spent some time talking to the staff photographer who was very friendly and knowledgeable. I stopped at the end of my tour for the little show they do but after 10 minutes decided it wasn’t my cup of tea and was really geared towards children.
Very nice community zoo.

How can you describe this zoo? A small local zoo with the big city attitude! Jungle Larry and Safari Jane made this their winter home and I am glad they did. The city of Naples is lucky to have had such great snowbirds. I like the feeding sessions that introduces the caretaker and a lesson on the animals in front of you. The giraffe feeding was just the best. Beautiful area. The banyan trees are beautiful. I had as much fun looking at all the plants as I did the animals.

Decided that despite sick toddler we’d go and check the zoo out on a not too warm or cold kind of day.
Huge plus is that they not only offer military discount but also a $ 2 discount to spouse or other family members (up to 6 people) which meant that my entire family paid $ 2 less/​person. Nice!
We came when there was about 15 minutes left until the Florida panther feeding so headed up that way instantly (not without checking out the tigers!) Sadly there was too much people at the exhibit for us to even see the panther so we decided to stroll around and not bother the feeding sessions anywhere.
It’s a zoo so doesn’t have much to say about that. The animals were all out which was a pleasant surprise. My daughter happily walked despite being sick and loved seeing the animals. Got a little disappointed that the monkeys could only be seen from the boat ride, one that we did not have time to wait for (by we, read toddler)
But overall it’s a nice zoo. Picnic friendly (LOVE that) and saw at least one playground. It’s a perfect place to take your kids when visiting Naples.

We went to visit friends for a week in Naples. This zoo popped up on groupon so we decided to check it out. We are so glad we did. It is on the small side, but it has a few unique attractions that make it worthwhile.
First, the zoo used to be a botanical garden, so the flora and fauna is a standout. There are many exotic specimen trees from around the world. There is a large picnic grove — so pack a lunch.
This zoo features some locals like a Florida panther and alligators, as well as some different animals including the unique honey badger. Only four zoos in the US have them! Another unique feature is the included boat ride on the small man made lake that allows you to see their monkeys on a few small islands. We also got very close to the tigers so that was really neat.
You also can feed giraffes here for $ 5. This seems to be a new trend at zoos and is always a treat. There also are a few playground areas for the kids.
In all I wouldn’t call it a «must see» but if you enjoy zoos or have younger children I would definitely recommend it.

We recently took a short, weekend trip to Florida for a family party. To kill some time before the festivities began, we found ourselves at the Naples Zoo.
This is a great little zoo! It’s small, but EXTREMELY clean. All of the animals were very active when we were there. I loved watching the tortoise eating his giant salad!
For being a small zoo, it still contains all of the most popular animals one would want to see. In the giraffe exhibit, you can take the opportunity to hand feed some lettuce to a giraffe for $ 5. There’s also a boat ride you can take to the islands in the lake to see all of the monkeys/​primates (we opted against the boat ride this time).
We went to the zoo on a Saturday morning. We were a little worried it would be packed, but it was actually not too crowded at all. There was an event going on for the local Alzheimer’s organization, so there were a lot of older people there, but if that even wasn’t going on, I imagine the zoo would be quite empty.
This was a nice way to spend a couple of hours on a nice Saturday morning. If you’re in Naples, definitely check out the zoo.

So eine schöné Zoo habe ich nirgendwo gesehen!
Schöné Pflanzen, super Shows freundliche zuvorkommende Menschen!
Es ist klein aber dafür so schön Tiere so nah zu erleben.
Ein Besuch ist es wert!

The Naples zoo is on the small side as far as other zoos I’ve been to. There is still lots to see and do though. My favorite attraction was the boat ride around the various animal exhibits. I got a very amusing shot of the orangutans on one of my visits. I’ll post it in the photos.
I would definitely recommend checking it out as a day trip. :-)

This zoo is rather small but definitely cares about conservation. They have several shows where you get to see the animals up close and personal. The main show is where we started near the front entrance. They brought out a sloth, owls, serbils, snakes and even a hedge hog.
It’s a leisurely stroll through botanical gardens and admission includes a boat ride to primate island. Each island houses different species and the monkeys have ropes to swing on.
It may be small but they do have quite a few species including Siberian tigers, zebras, bears, giraffes, Panther, lions, etc.
There is a play area for small two legged human creatures as well.
Took us about 2 hours to see most of it including a few shows. We got to see them feeding the giraffes and for a $ 5 fee, you can feed them to.
If I could talk to the animals, I wonder if they would say they enjoyed us gawking at them.

Tigers, lions, and bears, oh my! These are just some of the animals on display at this local zoo. The Naples Zoo was opened in September 1969 in Naples, Florida. Originally, they were the gardens of the botanist Dr. Henry Nehrling. The gardens were neglected but then reopened by the Tetzlaffs, with the addition of animals. Mr. Tetzlaff (also known as Jungle Larry) had a bump with the entertainment world, when serving as a stunstman for Johnny Weissmuller in the Tarzan films. Quite the character!
The Naples Zoo contains many of the animals that you would expect to find in any zoo, with the exception of the very rare and beautiful Florida panther. I was fortunate enough to get there within a few days of the panther’s debut. Naples Zoo created a permanent home for a young Florida panther named Uno, who is about 2 years old, and cannot be returned to the wild after it was blinded by a shotgun blast. He will never regain his sight again. He was also wounded in his hindquarters. Uno is missing an eye, but the exhibition of Uno focuses on expanding public awareness of Florida panthers. Apart from the panther, leopards, lions, tigers, and cheetahs are some of the other big cats you will encounter, but like the panther, these are either glassed in or fenced in. This bothered me, as in my local Zoo Miami, the animals are in an unfenced, uncaged habitat that allows them to roam more freely, and the fencing also makes it hard to take pictures.
The zoo was somewhat small, not nearly as large as Zoo Miami, in comparison. Other exhibits at the zoo included Alligator Bay, which contains alligators and herons, African Oasis, which contains gazelles and tortoises, Fosas of Madagascar, which contains fossas, and the Black Bear Hammock containing bears. Hyenas, coyotes, and wallabies, in addition to macaws, can also be found in the zoo. If you like primates, you’re in luck, as they have an entirely separate island that houses only primates, on Lake Victoria. They have a free ferry that will cruise you along to see the monkeys either climbing trees, ropes, or eating. The Primate Expedition Cruise, as it is known, comes about every half hour. The ride is short yet informative. What I liked was the fact that our admission funds the care of the flora and fauna not just within the zoo, but also around the world. The thing is, after seeing Zoo Miami, this place pales by comparison, but I’d rate it a solid 3.5 stars. Go, if only to see the golden Florida panther, which considering their low numbers, may be the only Florida panther you ever see in your life.

I’d be lying if I said when we were done looking around, I didn’t think to myself ‘That’s all you get to see for a $ 16 entrance fee?’ That’s not the zoo’s fault, though. It was mine for not looking more into it before I came. I don’t live in the area, and the only other zoo I’ve been to for that price is much, much bigger.
That being said, they make the entrance fee worthwhile. There are a few feedings you can watch (I totally recommend watching the tiger feeding), and a boat ride to see the monkeys on their island. The habitats are nicer than the ones I’ve seen at bigger zoos; large and well-​maintained. The animals all seemed happy/​content, and the facilities were very clean. Although not very large, the variety of animals is also pretty great. I definitely recommend a trip if you’re in the area!

Hands down this is one of the best zoo’s I have been to! We went on a bright and sunny Saturday around 1:00 pm.
Prices are fair and reasonable for the animals they have and the shows/​talks they offer. Once you pay you receive a map of the zoo with a bunch of information. Make sure you reference the map, or you may miss a few animals.
We were lucky to see the tiger handler session, it was very interesting to hear about the tigers and see them eat. I got some amazing pictures of the tigers and learned so much, you can really tell that these handlers love their jobs. They actually feed the animals during these sessions so you get right up close and personal with the animals.
We walked over to the Giraffe area and watched people feed them and got some great pictures. A lovely girl who worked at the zoo gave us some great information about the giraffes, it was like our own private tour! Did you know… all of the giraffes at the zoo are males? This is to insure that they do not «neck» each other and fight. Their tongues are blue to prevent sunburn, they only sleep about one hour a day and a sleepy giraffe can sleep up to three hours a day. There is only two giraffes that actually will eat the lettuce from people, the others are too shy. They are the only animal that can kick out to the front, side and back. Giraffes are also so strong that they can decapitate a lion in one single kick! Handlers are NEVER allowed to go near the giraffes because of this and are always separated by a gate for protection. SO COOL!
We tried to get on the monkey boat tour but the line was super long. Next time we will get in line earlier to see the monkeys. This tour is included in your ticket purchase and everyone looked like they were having a great time.
I still cannot believe how many animals were at this zoo. I saw a honey badger for the first time in person as well as an ant eater. The leopards, lions, zebra, bears were all so cool (I can’t stop saying cool!).
We did not eat here, food looked limited and the lines were long. There are several vending machines around the property to buy soda and water from, so bring your $ 1 bills. I keep seeing reviews that people stated the tickets were too expensive, I do not agree. I think that based on the quality of animals and shows you can see, the ticket is worth it! I would of paid $ 40 a person with the experience we had.