London Zoo prints two prices for the same adult ticket and puts the dearer one at the gate. The cheapest way in is 27.70 pounds on an off peak weekday, and the dearest is 40 pounds on a peak day at the entrance. Between those two figures sits a twelve pound spread, and almost none of it is about what you see inside.
This page is that spread explained, then the part that changes this month: the zoo shortens its day on 24 October, and from then the last person in is admitted at three o’clock.
Parking costs 16 pounds, or 70 if you are not visiting the zoo
The zoo car park is on the Outer Circle at NW1 4SX, a short walk from the entrance. For zoo visitors it is £16 on term-time weekdays and £17.50 at weekends, bank holidays and school holidays, for a car or a motorbike.
Park there without visiting the zoo, or leave a car overnight, and it is £70. That is not a typo and it is not a fine: it is the published rate, and it exists because the car park sits in Regent’s Park where people would otherwise use it as cheap central parking.
ZSL Gold Members and Fellows park free on term-time weekdays after 10am, and pay £15.75 at weekends. Patrons park free at all times. The free weekday parking is suspended across the school holidays, and the zoo publishes the exact excluded dates: 18 July to 2 September 2026, 17 October to 1 November 2026, 19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, 13 to 21 February 2027, 26 March to 11 April 2027, 3 May 2027, and 29 May to 5 June 2027.
The car park opens at 10am and closes at 8.30pm, when it is locked until the next day. There is no advance booking and no reservation: it is first come, first served, and the zoo says availability cannot be guaranteed. Capacity is reduced from 26 September to 31 October, so at half term it is worth having a second plan.
The cheaper option, and the free one
Pay and display in Regent’s Park and on the Outer Circle runs 9am to 6.30pm daily, at £2.80 an hour Monday to Saturday with a four hour maximum, and £2 an hour on Sundays and public holidays with no maximum. For a three hour visit on a Sunday that is £6 against £17.50 in the car park.
National Blue Badge holders and motorcyclists park free on pay and display for up to four hours, Monday to Saturday. There is a disabled parking bay directly in front of the zoo entrance.
One thing to check before driving: the car park is inside the ULEZ, though outside the congestion charge zone.
How much London Zoo costs
Everything below is from the zoo’s own ticket page. Prices come in two columns, and the difference between them is a donation, which is voluntary and is 10 per cent.
Adult (16 to 64), booked online before 10am on the day. Off peak weekday is 30.50 with the donation and 27.70 without. Standard is 35.00 and 31.80. Standard weekend is 37.00 and 33.60. Peak is 38.00 and 34.50.
At the gate, or online from 10am on the day, every adult price is higher: two pounds with the donation, and 1.80 without it. Off peak 32.50, standard 37.00, standard weekend 39.00, peak 40.00, all with the donation, and 29.50, 33.60, 35.40 and 36.30 without it.
Child (3 to 15) runs from 21.35 off peak to 26.60 at peak when booked online, and 22.75 to 28.00 at the gate. Concession, which covers over 65s, students with ID and disabled adults, is 28.50 off peak to 36.00 at peak online. Under threes and ZSL members are free. A disabled visitor’s carer is allocated a free ticket on request at entry.
The sum that matters: the default price on screen includes the donation, so the figure you are shown is not the lowest figure available. On a peak day the cheapest adult booking is 34.50 and the gate price with donation is 40. That is 5.50 pounds between the cheapest way to book and the default price at the gate.
Opening hours, and the change on 24 October
The zoo’s hours are seasonal. From 3 September to 23 October it opens at 10am, admits until 4pm, and closes at 5pm. From 24 October 2026 to 12 February 2027 it opens at 10am, admits until 3pm, and closes at 4pm. Last entry is one hour before closing in both seasons.
That is a winter day of six hours, and the last hour belongs to people already inside. The zoo adds that some exhibits can close up to 30 minutes before the gates, so the practical window for the whole site is shorter again. Arrive by noon in winter and you can see it unhurried. Arrive at two and you are choosing.
One detail worth knowing: paid tickets grant entry at any time after the time shown on the ticket, so the time is a start and not a slot. A ticket for ten does not expire at eleven.
Getting there from the nearest stations
The address is the Outer Circle, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY. The zoo’s own journey page gives four walks.
Camden Town on the Northern line is the nearest, 16 minutes and 0.8 of a mile, but the zoo itself warns that it becomes extremely busy at weekends. Chalk Farm, also Northern line, is 18 minutes and 0.9 of a mile and goes through the residential streets of Primrose Hill, which is the better walk.
Baker Street is 21 minutes and 1.1 miles on foot across Regent’s Park, or 14 minutes on the 274 bus northbound, which runs every 12 minutes. Regent’s Park station on the Bakerloo is 24 minutes and 1.2 miles, signposted the whole way and entirely inside the park.
There is also a boat. The Regent’s Canal waterbus from Little Venice passes through the zoo’s grounds and stops at Camden Market, a 15 minute walk away, though it does not stop at the zoo itself.
If you are making a day of it, Camden Market and the restaurants around it are the obvious pairing, and the rest of Camden is a short walk back.
What to know before you queue
Expect a bag check. The zoo screens at the entrance as part of its security measures, with bag checks and person screening, and recommends leaving large bags at home.
Eating inside. The Barista Bar next to The Terrace Restaurant serves coffee and hot drinks from 10am until the zoo closes. The Terrace itself is open from 11.30am to 2.30pm for eating in or taking away, so lunch is the one meal the day is built around.
Rain. It is an outdoor site, and our rainy day list covers what to put either side of it if the forecast turns.
Is it worth the money?
At 27.70 off peak the zoo is a fair price for a half day, and one of the few London attractions whose cheapest ticket requires nothing but choosing a quiet weekday. At 40 pounds at the gate on a peak day it is the same visit for about 44 per cent more.
If you are adding it to a wider trip, compare it against whether a London Pass pays before you buy separately, and note that the free museums do the dry, indoor version of an afternoon for nothing.
London Zoo
- Address
- Outer Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY
- Nearest
- Camden Town, 16 minutes on foot. Chalk Farm, 18. Baker Street, 21, or 14 on the 274 bus. Regent's Park, 24
- Hours
- 3 September to 23 October 2026, 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm. 24 October 2026 to 12 February 2027, 10am to 4pm, last entry 3pm. Some exhibits close up to 30 minutes before the gates
- Booking
- Online before 10am on the day is the cheapest, and every adult price is higher at the gate or online after 10am, by two pounds with the donation
- Price
- Adult 27.70 to 40 pounds depending on the day and when you book. Child 3 to 15 from 21.35 off peak. Concession from 28.50. Under threes and ZSL members free. Prices include a voluntary 10 per cent donation unless stated
- Standing
- Run by the conservation charity ZSL
How to get in
Bag checks and person screening at the entrance. Paid tickets are valid at any time after the time printed on them, so the time is a start and not a slot.
Universal Credit tickets, and the proof they check at the gate
London Zoo runs a reduced-price scheme, and it has the strictest conditions of any in London. Worth reading in full before you book, because several of them are checked at the admissions gate rather than at booking.
Who qualifies: Universal Credit, Pension Credit, New Style Employment and Support Allowance, or New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance. Note “New Style” on both ESA and JSA.
Up to six people per household, all living at the same address. Under-3s go free, do not need a ticket, but must be accompanied by an adult with a booked ticket.
The rule that wastes trips:
“Only full price tickets are available to buy at the gate, so please do not travel to the zoo without a ticket even if you are eligible for reduced price entry.”
Online, in advance, or not at all. And anyone else coming with you must also be booked online in advance.
What to bring, and the one-month rule
The proof requirement is specific, and there is a time limit on it that nobody expects.
“You will need to bring proof of eligibility with you and show this when you present your ticket(s) to our friendly staff at the admissions gate. This can either be by logging into your Universal Credit portal or by bringing your proof of benefit letter (one proof per household). To be eligible you must have received a qualifying benefit payment within the last month and you may also be asked to show photographic ID.”
Three things follow. A payment must have landed within the last month. One proof covers the household, not one each. And logging into the portal on your phone at the gate counts, which saves you if you have no letter.
The zoo is blunt about the consequence: “we won’t be able to accept reduced price tickets unless you are also able to show one of the above documents.”
Why the date you want may show nothing
Not a closed scheme, a capped one.
“We allocate tickets flexibly based on how many overall visitors we expect.” If your date is unavailable, the advice is simply to try another.
And a queue warning from the zoo itself: “The Universal Credit tickets offer has proved very popular, so please be prepared to queue to enter the Zoo, especially at peak times like weekends and during school holidays. To minimise waiting time we recommend arriving later in the day, or choosing to visit at off-peak times.”
Arriving later in the day is their own recommendation, which is the opposite of the usual advice for a zoo.
Three things that save money once you are inside
You can bring your own food and drink. The zoo says so directly: “if you are on a budget you are welcome to bring your own food and drink.” The only restriction is that food is for humans, not the animals, because every species is on a controlled diet.
Souvenirs start at £1 in the shops.
There is no VAT on admission, because ZSL is a conservation charity, which it notes sets it apart from commercial attractions.
One practical point: the site is cashless, so bring a card or a contactless phone.
Our guide to London days out on Universal Credit sets this against Kew at £1, Greenwich at £3 and the Transport Museum at £5 a year.
Where to go next
The best parks in London covers Regent’s Park itself, which the zoo sits inside, and the weekend list places it alongside what else is open.
The best views in London is the alternative if the day turns out to be about height rather than animals, and central London in Zone 1 covers what sits inside the same ring.
Questions we get asked
How much are London Zoo tickets?
Booked online before 10am on the day, an adult ticket is 30.50 pounds off peak on a weekday, 35 standard, 37 standard weekend and 38 at peak, each with a voluntary 10 per cent donation, which is 27.70, 31.80, 33.60 and 34.50 without it. At the gate or online from 10am every adult price is higher, so peak is 40 with the donation. Children aged 3 to 15 run from 21.35 to 26.60 online, and under threes are free.
What time does London Zoo open and close?
From 3 September to 23 October 2026 it opens at 10am, admits until 4pm and closes at 5pm. From 24 October 2026 to 12 February 2027 it opens at 10am, admits until 3pm and closes at 4pm. Last entry is one hour before closing, and some exhibits can close up to 30 minutes earlier.
Is it cheaper to buy London Zoo tickets online?
Yes. Tickets booked online before 10am on the day are cheaper for an adult than the gate price in every tier, by two pounds with the donation and 1.80 without it. The donation is voluntary, and declining it takes a further 2.80 to 3.50 pounds off depending on the day.
What is the nearest tube station to London Zoo?
Camden Town on the Northern line, 16 minutes on foot, though the zoo warns it is extremely busy at weekends. Chalk Farm on the same line is 18 minutes and goes through Primrose Hill. Baker Street is 21 minutes on foot or 14 on the 274 bus, and Regent's Park on the Bakerloo is 24 minutes.
Do you need to book London Zoo tickets in advance?
You can buy at the gate, but booking online before 10am on the day is the cheapest option and the zoo describes online advance as its best value. Members, patrons and fellows do not need to pre-book. A paid ticket is valid at any time after the time printed on it.
Is London Zoo open in winter?
Yes. The winter season runs from 24 October 2026 to 12 February 2027, 10am to 4pm, with last entry at 3pm.
How much is parking at London Zoo?
£16 on term-time weekdays and £17.50 at weekends, bank holidays and school holidays, for a car or motorbike. Parking there without visiting the zoo, or overnight, costs £70.
Is there free parking at London Zoo?
Only for ZSL Patrons at all times, and for Gold Members and Fellows on term-time weekdays after 10am. That free weekday parking is suspended during school holidays, with the excluded dates published by the zoo.
Can you book London Zoo parking in advance?
No. It is first come, first served with no advance booking or reservations, and the zoo says availability cannot be guaranteed. The car park opens at 10am and closes at 8.30pm.
Is there cheaper parking near London Zoo?
Yes. Pay and display in Regent's Park and on the Outer Circle costs £2.80 an hour Monday to Saturday with a four hour maximum, and £2 an hour on Sundays and public holidays with no maximum, running 9am to 6.30pm.
Is London Zoo in the congestion charge zone?
No, but the car park is inside the ULEZ, so check whether your vehicle incurs a ULEZ charge before driving.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 179 in the guide.
Last checked 3 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
