I do love a zoo, I just can’t help myself. With activities and events planned for an entire week in Rotterdam, we found ourselves with one day free. Unsure what to do with ourselves, we looked through potential activities to try in Rotterdam and instantly stopped when we saw they had a huge zoo.
Huge is an understatement actually. It was ridiculous how big it was. We thought we had reached the end after an hour, thinking it hadn’t quite burned the time we had expected. Yet four hours on and we were desperately trying to find the exit, lost in a confusing world of animals and twisty paths.
Each section is split out based on the continent, which is an interesting way to build atmosphere and make you feel like you are travelling the world.

Probably my favourite section has to be the red panda’s, something I haven’t seen before. They are one of the biggest draws to the zoo, with the image painted across the brochures as you come in. They have two red panda’s in the zoo, which were sleeping in the trees above when we arrived.
Another amazing moment was when two polar bears (another animal I don’t think I’ve ever seen before) begun play fighting, while we managed to find a gap in a bush so we had a perfect view. They are such majestic creatures, but I wouldn’t fancy bumping into one in the wild.
The video mainly shows the aquarium, as this is the first thing you see when you arrive, so I got a bit trigger happy with the camera. I’m always amazed when you see a tank filled with rays, sharks, sea turtles and all different types of fish, wondering why they’re not eating each other. It’s hard to know where to look, with sharks above, sting rays elegantly gliding past you and a sea turtle always being a top attraction.

I won’t lie, seeing a sting ray is maybe quite low on my list, having been stung by one back 6 years ago, however that’s a story for another day (in fact, it reminds me I still haven’t written a blog post on that experience).
I’d definitely recommend packing some food before heading to Rotterdam zoo, as the food and drink inside is pretty expensive and didn’t seem that great for the price. I guess it’s what you expect in an attraction park such as this, offering the basics at silly prices.
We arrived midweek before the school holidays and it was still pretty busy with children running around everywhere, so I would definitely recommend avoiding the even crazier weekend crowds. Get there early as by midday you are battling for an area to stand. Honestly though, it wasn’t all that bad due to the sheer size of the zoo, meaning you tend to have plenty of space, but nearer the main attractions you can find yourself bumping elbows with others.

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