Taronga Zoo Entry & Return Ferry - Sydney Harbour

Badge of Excellence

Sydney, Australia

High interest

Booked 5+ times today.

4 to 8 hours (approx.)
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.5

· Michael_R ·

Mar 2026

Had a great day out. The Zoo is beautiful and lovely to walk around. Lots of volunteers around to help and a good map. Take the bus up after you got off the ferry as it’s steep and a much easier walk down. The ferry was very easy to find and gave a nice view of the harbour on the way. A veery enjoyable day.

· Glenda_T ·

Mar 2026

Awesome experience! Kangas, Koalas and spectacular views of Sydney Harbour, bridge and Opera House were outstanding!

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Overview

Sydney's busy roads can make sightseeing tricky. Skip city traffic and combine a ferry ride with admission to Taronga Zoo. Depart from Circular Quay and sail across Sydney Harbour, taking in panoramic views of the skyline along the way. At the zoo, spot koalas and kangaroos, along with wildlife from around the world. Your package includes round-trip ferry transfers, so getting back to the city center couldn't be easier.

Ferry transfers save you plenty of vacation time
Enjoy free time to explore independently
Prebooking ensures your spot at the popular zoo
Benefit from crowd-free views of Sydney's skyline

What's Included

Round-trip by Sydney Harbour cruise to Taronga Zoo
Taronga Zoo Entry

Hotel pickup and drop off
Food and drinks

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Circular Quay Wharf 6
Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Please check in for your return ferry and Zoo Entry tickets from the ticket office located at the wharf at least 15 minutes prior to departure. The first cruise departure from Circular Quay Wharf 6 is approximately 9:00am.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Arranged start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

01/04/2026 - 31/03/2027
Monday - Sunday : 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Itinerary

Make your own way to the boat dock at Circular Quay to board the spacious vessel that takes you out on the waters of Sydney Harbour. Soak up views of the waterfront, skyline, and famous landmarks including Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, and Fort Denison as your boat cruises across the scenic harbor to the north shore, where you disembark for the zoo.

Once inside the zoo, enjoy the many exhibits at your own pace. More than 2,900 animals live here in 10 themed areas—including Wild Australia, Wild Asia, and the Great Southern Oceans. The enclosures mimic the natural habitat of each creature. Check the daily schedule for keeper talks, which focus on animals such as Tasmanian devils, little penguins, giraffes, lemurs, and koalas. You may want to watch the seals in action at Seal Theatre or catch the free-flight bird show, where birds of prey demonstrate their hunting skills.

When you have finished your zoo visit, simply return to the dock to catch the cruise back to Circular Quay.

Taronga Zoo

5 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Sydney Harbour (Pass By)

Circular Quay (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Special timetables operate on public holidays and special event dates

Timetables are subject to change without notice
Taronga Zoo is open from 9:30am to 4:30pm daily
To ensure you have enough time to visit the many exhibits in Taronga Zoo, it is recommended that you board the first departing ferry of the day.
Travel must begin with Captain Cook Cruises ferry from Circular Quay Wharf No.6
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 150 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Virendra_J

The ferry ride and zoo experience were phenomenal. I’d recommend it to anyone visiting Sydney. We got to see the harbour bridge and opera house which were breathtaking! The zoo was such a great place. Definitely the best zoo I’ve been to.

Reviews

4.5

based on 811 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

The Taronga Zoo is...

Connie_S, May 2026

The Taronga Zoo is amazing and definitely a must do. The views on the ferry going over let you take pictures of The Sydney Opera House and the bridge.

Wonderful day out

Jo_M, May 2026

Wonderful day out - so many amazing experiences. Upside - seeing the gorillas - downside, lots of steep inclines although lifts and escalators in some parts. It took the full day to see everything and the free flight show was fantastic.

Really enjoyed

Kenneth_C, May 2026

The zoo and the animals are well maintained. A lot of walking up and down slopes, but not too bad. Really enjoyed the experience.

It was super easy to get...

Deborah_K, May 2026

It was super easy to get to the zoo this way, with plenty of return trip options so you can customize your time at the zoo.

Really Enjoyable

Marvin_C, Apr 2026

Come earlier as it can get busy near lunch time. The bird show was nice, site near top row to get the best views

Enjoyable day out, glad we visited. 😃

LINDEN_S, Apr 2026

Handy bus to take you to the top of the hill, so that you walk down through the zoo back to the ferry. Managed to see lots of animals even those that were asleep in the open. Seeing the Rhino, koalas(asleep) otters, penguins etc.... Food court was like a zoo inside with limited stock for the amount of people, probably use for snacks only. Take a pack.lunch. Overall very enjoyable experience and the smaller Cook ferry was very pleasant plenty of room.

Okay!!! But….

Chari_L, Apr 2026

Nice visit Hard to navigate in the rain Don’t pay extra for the koala experience you think you will get to hold or touch them but you don’t. Our picture was beside a koala rest facing and that was that 🙄

Great Zoo. Be prepared for hills and extensive walking

William_B, Apr 2026

Ferry trip was seamless. Zoo was very interesting with wide variety of animals and great site though very hilly. You need to work from top to bottom to avoid strenuous hike uphill. You need 3-4 hours to do the full venue. Great scenic view of the city on return ferry trip. Good value.

Absolutely beautiful.

Robert_S, Apr 2026

This ranks as one of the finest Zoos I have visited. Certainly worth a few hours while in Sydney!!!!

Great experience

Doug_A, Apr 2026

Great zoo and excellent ferry ride from the port. Meeting point is easy to find and the ride to and from was easy.

Another wonderful Viator experience

Lois_S, Apr 2026

Buying the Viator ferry and zoo pass made our zoo trip seamlessly easy. We got in the ticket line at Captain Cooke cruises and just by scanning our UPC code they handed us 2 tickets for the two-way ferry trip and 2 tickets for the zoo admittance. Nobody saw or had access to our credit card while we were in line at the window, or at the zoo. Getting on the ferry and into the zoo was just as easy because we had our tickets. At the ferry dock near the zoo a free bus will come to take you to the front gate and outside the front gate it will come to take you back to the ferry dock when your time at the zoo is over. Just remember to keep the ferry tickets somewhere safe because you will need to show them to get back on the ferry. We count this as yet another wonderful Viator experience!

Great day at the zoo

Kathleen_C, Apr 2026

What a great day at the zoo! And I’m 61! Saw so many amazing animals and even bought the Koala experience for $15 which was worth every penny. Ferry was easy to find and took us past the opera house for a great photo opp. Don’t skip this great experience!.

Great time at the Zoo!

Laura_H, Apr 2026

This excursion was very simple to use and cost saving as well! The ferry ride was fun and the zoo was awesome! I would def book this again!

Great trip!

robert_c, Apr 2026

Well worth the money for a nice trip. The zoo was amazing and adding the boat trip made the access super easy.

Great Experience

Pat_N, Apr 2026

Effortless, smooth, & lots of fun. Couldn't have asked for better! It was as advertised ... straight forward & enjoyable.

Bust

Kris_L, Apr 2026

Zoo has small enclosure animals looked depressed. Australia zoo Brisbane has much better enclosures and conditions for the animals

Karongo zoo

David_B, Apr 2026

The zoo is very clean and good for kids. Plenty to see. You are able to view at your own pace and the ferry schedule was convenient.

Great post cruise excursion

Terry_G, Apr 2026

We had an extra day post cruise so we stored our luggage at our hotel until check in and booked the ferry/zoo excursion with Captain Cook cruise. Very nice Zoo, lots to see and do. Timely efficient service.

Only 1 animal

Lynn_S, Apr 2026

It may sound strange but I saw 1 seal, 1 penguin, 1 dingo, 1 fishing cat, and so on. Also I didn’t know it was extra for the bus, so, I hoofed it up hill to end on the bottom layer. The layers were confusing too. However, the highlight was the Captain Cook Cruise over and back.

Overpriced activity

Peminda_J, Mar 2026

The activity was overpriced as the normal zoo entry is $55 and the ferry rides had a cap of $10 being a Friday, so total of $65 per person. Inside the zoo the directions are very poor and we were struggling to find our way to different areas. Of course Viator is not responsible for this.

Tauranga zoo visit

Robert_R, Mar 2026

Great experience to see one of the largest and best zoos in the world. Many many animals of a great variety and different types from around the world..

Great day out.

Mary, Mar 2026

A great day out. The zoo has so much to see and do. The ferry across was really simple and added to the day, you can choose when you want to sail. I got the bus up to the top of the hill for the Zoo, and then worked my way down hill (definitely worth it). The views across to Sydney are awesome.

Wonderful experience

Marla_D, Mar 2026

Wonderful up close to most of the animals ¡!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spring Break Adventure

Bridgett_S, Mar 2026

Painless. Stress & worry free. I would recommend this app and would use it again. Best experience ever.

Was a fun experience. It...

ctopha2, Mar 2026

Was a fun experience. It was easy to check in and queue up for the zoo after being dropped off. I would recommend.

Large zoo, lots of each...

Kelly_B, Mar 2026

Large zoo, lots of each animal species. A lot of walking. Water taxi was nice and directions were clear.

Fab day at the Zoo

Tracey_A, Mar 2026

Was such a fab day at Taronga zoo - Easy to book - ferry simple and fast, Taronga is such a lovely place to visit

Dissapointed!

Howard_S, Mar 2026

Very few animals on display despite a beautiful sunny day that was not hot with a nice breeze. We spoke to a zoo employee who said he was embarassed by the condition. We have visited zoos all over the world and understand that all animals are not always on display; however this was our worst experience ever. Also the zoo had very poor signage to help find your way around.