Emirates Park Zoo And Resort offers a unique wildlife getaway in Abu Dhabi!
How To Book
We’d recommend emailing Emirates Park Zoo And Resort directly to book via reservation@emiratespark.ae.
A staff member will then come back to you with all of the different accommodation options, prices and online payment link once you have selected which accommodation type and dates.
Alternatively, you can call Emirates Park Zoo And Resort directly on +971 (0) 2 506 9000.
Keep in mind that the accommodation options connected to the giraffe enclosure is more expensive, as those rooms look out directly onto the Giraffe enclosure, have been nicely renovated and offer larger room types.
Their resort accommodation closer to the Elephant enclosure is where the outdoor swimming pool is located and offers older, smaller and more affordable accommodation choices.
It’s also good to note that resort guests can enjoy complimentary wi-fi, free entry to the zoo using paper armbands (with access via a separate entrance for resort guests) and discounted animal experiences during their stay.
When To Go
Whilst the typically hotter months in the UAE; namely July and August may not be the most enjoyable months to visit the zoo part of this experience, there are air-conditioned areas (enclosures, children's indoor play areas and restaurants/cafes) open within the Zoo’s grounds all-year round.
Emirates Park Zoo And Resort also has 2 swimming pools exclusively for in-house resort guests to use, so this is a great place to unwind during your stay.
This is the children's swimming pool:
There is also an outdoor children's playground near this swimming pool too.
Below is the adult's swimming pool, which is around the corner from the children's play area and swimming pool. It's good to know that here are pool lounges in front of both swimming pools.
How To Get There
Emirates Park Zoo And Resort is located in Al Bahyah in Abu Dhabi (close to Deerfields Mall) and there is a separate side entrance for resort guests.
Below is the main entrance to the zoo. If you are staying at this resort though, head to this entrance and before you go inside, keep walking right until you reach the resort's side entrance.
The exact location on Google Maps can be found here.
There is also outdoor parking available on-site outside the resort’s entrance or main zoo entrance.
Tips For Your Visit
Emirates Park Zoo And Resort is open weekdays 9am – 8pm and weekends 9am – 9pm.
Should you be arriving earlier at Emirates Park Zoo And Resort earlier than their 3pm check-in time, you can leave your luggage with their staff and relax in their indoor seating area opposite their check-in desks once the zoo opens at 9am.
Whilst check-out is at 12pm noon, you can leave your luggage with their staff and continue to enjoy your zoo experience until closing that day.
This is the separate zoo entry for resort guests, which is manned by a security guard.
There are lots of extra fun activities that you can pay extra for whilst visiting Emirates Park Zoo And Resort, such as:
Hippo Feeding:
We didn’t come across this experience, so it may not have been available during our stay.
Sea Lions Show:
This show was a lot of fun, interactive and great for children of all ages to watch and feel part of the show. Thomas loved copying what the instructors and sea lions were doing!
Bird Show:
The Bird Show is held in the same area as the Sea Lions Show (with one show usually straight after the other).
Like the Sea Lions Show, this is great for children of all ages to watch!
Ziplining & Climbing:
Thomas didn't do either the ziplining or climbing, as he preferred to see the animals, but lots of other children at the zoo enjoyed this area.
Giraffe Feeding:
This is one of the most popular animal experience at Emirates Park Zoo And Resort.
You’ll need to buy a bunch of specific plants/grass outside the giraffe enclosure, which usually costs AED10 per bunch.
Most of the time the giraffes are waiting at the windows of the café attached to the Giraffe enclosure, so this is one of the best feeding areas.
Elephant Feeding:
We paid extra to not only feed 2 elephants fruit and vegetables privately, but we also paid a further amount of AED262.50 each to have ‘Dinner With The Elephants.’ Note that children under 2 years old are free for this activity.
The food provided for dinner was more than we could eat, so the quantity was quite a lot and we didn’t go away hungry. We thought their food was also really tasty.
Below is some of the entrees we enjoyed for dinner.
We received entree platters to share, 1 salad each , 1 main dish each, 1 dessert each, still or sparkling water and fresh juices.
Emirates Park Zoo And Resort emailed us closer to our stay at their resort and gave us a menu to choose from. You can also let them know at this point of time of any dietary requirements you have before your dinner experience.
Koi Fish Feeding:
This is an indoor air-conditioned experience and whilst we didn’t feed any Koi Fish, you can feed them for a nominal amount (which is one of the cheapest additional experiences at this zoo and which you pay for once you’re inside the Koi Fish building.
Ostrich Feeding:
This was one of the highlights of our Son Thomas’ animal experiences. He loved holding the grain to watch the ostrich’s peck at their food so quickly!
Duck Feeding:
Another one of our Son’s favourite animal experiences, but we didn’t see any staff members at this area. They had left food in the duck area, so Thomas watched them eat and occasionally chased them around!
Crocodile Feeding:
We didn’t come across this experience during our stay, so best to enquire about this animal experience with the resort directly.
Baby Goat Feeding:
We didn’t see any staff members at the baby goat feeding area during our stay, but we did purchase a bunch of plants/grass (AED 10 per bunch) for the adult goats/sheep etc to eat and Thomas loved feeding these animals.
Thomas spent the longest time feeding the goats and sheep, so these were some of his favourite animals to feed.
Camel, Horse or Pony Rides:
We didn’t sign up for any of these rides, as we didn’t come across these experiences during our visit to this zoo.
Good to know: You can book into any of their animal feeding or VIP animal experiences during your stay, but it will depend upon availability.
It’s a good idea to either contact Emirates Park Zoo And Resort before your stay or when you check-into their resort, as the availability of these experiences, prices and show times might change.
African Drummer Show:
We saw this enjoyable show twice during our stay (once as a free experience inside the entry of Emirates Park Zoo and the other time as part of our Elephant Feeding experience, which we paid extra for.
Magic Show:
We didn’t personally see this show during our stay at Emirates Park Zoo And Resort, but we're pretty sure that this would be a lot of fun to watch.
What To Expect
There are several restaurants/cafes located within Emirates Park Zoo And Resort.
Our favourite one was The Hide Restaurant, as it was indoor and air-conditioned, had really nice décor and offered delicious food and drinks, so we ate their several times during our stay (this is also the restaurant that serves resort guests daily breakfast).
We found the food in this restaurant not to be as expensive as some of the other hotel breakfasts in Abu Dhabi, so that was a great surprise!
There is also a small outdoor playground outside this restaurant.
Animal wise, Emirates Park Zoo And Resort has a lot of different animals to see.
For a full list of the animals you’ll get a chance to see, click here.
There are 4 unique VIP experiences at Emirates Park Zoo And Resort and the full list can be found here.
We thoroughly enjoyed having Dinner With The Elephants, although Breakfast With Giraffes seemed the most popular VIP experience with other guests whilst we were staying at this resort.
There is also a spa located inside their resort area, so if you want to know their spa treatments before your stay, best to contact them on +971 2 501 0000 or via info@emiratespark.ae.
The Verdict
Children will absolutely love this unique wildlife getaway, so it's a great experience to add to your family's UAE bucket list.
Thomas could have honestly fed the animals 24/7 during our stay and taken lots more photos with all of the animal statues around the zoo, so he really enjoyed how interactive this getaway was. So much so, that he really wants to go back to Emirates Park And Zoo again soon!
Sounds like fun? Don’t just take our word for it, experience it for yourself.
Be inspired to start or add to your very own bucket lists.
You can also click here for more unique bucket list ideas in the UAE!
Above prices & information correct as of October 2023.
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