5 tips to make the most of your visit to Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Make the most of your trip to Dubbo Western Plains Zoo with these great travel tips. 

Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo has been creating memories for its visitors for the last 40 years.

Biking from Giraffes to Bongos, hearing Lions grunt to each other during a night at the zoo and helping with wildlife conservation efforts are just a few of the experiences you can have at this iconic Australian destination.

Here are 5 tips to make the most of your visit to Western Plains Zoo:

Plan Your Trip To Dubbo Zoo

Zoo Entry

For most people getting to Dubbo involves a road trip. Make sure you time your trip right so that you are at the zoo for opening time. Not only are most of the animals more active during the earlier part of the day this way you can also follow the animal talks throughout your visit.

Dubbo Zoo Entry Fee

Buy Taronga zoo tickets online before your visit and save money.  You will save 10% off full-priced tickets and Family Group Tickets can Save 20% off full-priced adult & children ticket rates.

You can purchase online Dubbo zoo tickets here.

Your ticket allows two-day entry into the zoo which is great value. We recommend making full use of those two days to see everything.

Food At Taronga Zoo, Dubbo

You can also plan ahead with food. Dubbo zoo has picnic areas and free barbecues to take advantage of so pack a cooler bag full of yummy lunch and treats.

How To Get Around Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Can you drive around Dubbo zoo?

Taronga Western Plains Zoo is a huge 300 hectares and the zoo loop is around 6km long. Most of the area is flat and exhibits are close to parking areas or a very short stroll.

There are a number of ways you can choose to take your adventure around the zoo. You can take your own car or even walk but by far the most fun is if you bike or hire one of the zoo’s electric safari carts.

Dubbo Zoo Bike Hire 

You can bring your own bikes along but bikes are also available for full day hire.

Prices are great value and you can also hire a child seat or mini trailer for your little ones to enjoy the ride.

Safari Cart  electric zoo tips

We choose to take a safari cart around the zoo and had lots of fun.

The carts are open air so you get to experience the zoo up close and personal.

They are super easy to park up with easy hop on and off for checking out each animal exhibit. 

Hire is for three hours blocks.

A good thing to note is that if your little one needs car restraints to make sure you bring yours along as this will not be available from the hire centre.

The hire centre is not far from the Savannah Visitor centre, just on the other side of the car park. We advise you get there early if you want to hire one of the great safari carts.

For up to date Hire prices click here.

Talk to the experts

One of our fave parts of our zoo experience at Dubbo was the amazing animal talks.

The keepers have so much passion and knowledge about their animals. They are great with children too and happy to answer questions.

We learned so much from the talks including quirky facts, such as did you know the White Rhino was actually called the Wide Rhino by locals ( because of their wide grazing mouths ) but it got mistranslated to white. They are in fact grey…just like the Black Rhino!

The keepers also had so much information on the zoo’s successful breeding programs and conservation efforts.

There are also tours available such as the Savannah Safari where you take a safari trip amongst some of the African wildlife and the Wild Rhino Tour which takes you behind the scenes to discover all three Rhino species that are at the zoo.

Some of these tours require pre-booking so make sure you plan ahead if you want to take part.

Help make a difference

Just a visit to the zoo helps with costs towards the care of the animals and breeding programs but by spending further such as ice cream at the Kiosk, a gift from the store or lunch at the Bakhita’s Café you are helping with the zoos conservation efforts.

You can also get involved directly through donations, adopting an animal and other great programs.

Dubbo Zoo Overnight Stay

Did you know you can spend a night at Taronga Zoo?

Hearing Lion’s grunt in the night and watching giraffes from your private balcony are all part of the magic when you spend a night at Dubbo zoo safari.

You also get exclusive behind the scenes tours and delicious Savannah inspired food.

There are a variety of choices with Western Plains Zoo accommodation from camping at Billabong Camp to staying at one of Australia’s most unique accommodation destinations, Zoofari Lodge.

Travel With Meraki – Why not make the journey to Dubbo part of the adventure? There are many places to stop on the road trip to the zoo from quirky attractions in historical towns to wine tasting and beautiful walks.