COVID-19 FAQs

We encourage general visitors to purchase day passes online in advance to save time when you arrive. You can also buy tickets onsite when you visit. 

Online day passes are valid for up to three months from the date of purchase - in case you need to reschedule your visit. 

Book your tickets here.

 

Yes you can buy tickets onsite. We do encourage general visitors to purchase day passes online in advance to save time when you arrive.

Online day passes are valid for up to three months from the date of purchase - in case you need to reschedule your visit. 

Book your tickets here.

Members no longer need to book in advance to visit the zoo.

As part of our previous COVID-19 response everyone needed to book their zoo visits in advance, we're happy to announce from Monday the 14th of March members no longer need to make a session booking.

Vaccine passes and face masks are no longer mandatory, but we do recommend visitors continue to wear masks indoors and outside.

Find out more about our COVID-19 response here.

Our sponsors, corporate members and VIP holders no longer need to book in advance to visit the zoo.

As part of our previous COVID-19 response everyone needed to book their zoo visits in advance, we're happy to announce from Monday the 14th of March our sponsors, corporate members and VIP holders will no longer need to make a session booking.

Vaccine passes and face masks are no longer mandatory, but we do recommend visitors continue to wear masks indoors and outside.

Find out more about our  COVID-19 response here.  

The Auckland Zoo benefit pass may only be used pending availability, and may become unavailable based on new regulations, find out if it is available on the council benefits page.

You will need to present your staff ID order upon arrival to enter the zoo. 

Vaccine passes and face masks are no longer mandatory, but we do recommend visitors continue to wear masks indoors and outside.

We want to give a little back to some of our communities, whose wellbeing we feel will benefit from a visit to Auckland Zoo in this reopening phase. Called ‘community tickets’ these are free and must be applied for, with priority given to certain types of audiences.

Eligibility: Priority will be given to the following audiences:

• Households on low income/unemployed
• People with additional needs and/or disabilities
• Frontline essential workers – such as healthcare workers and essential services such as supermarket, foodbank staff, and bus drivers, etc.

This means anyone can apply, but please be aware if you do not fall into one of our priority audiences, you are less likely to be successful in your application.

You can look here for more details.

All tickets (including gift vouchers) purchased prior to this lockdown will remain valid for their standard six-month period – so you won’t miss out!

Yes, we will refund any valid tickets or vouchers that cannot be used because the holder did not have a verified My Vaccine Pass. Current members who do not have a My Vaccine Pass can either request that their membership is put on hold until My Vaccine Passes are no longer required, or a refund. The Zoo will refund each full month remaining on a current membership (minimum one month).

Vaccine passes and face masks are no longer mandatory, but we do recommend visitors continue to wear masks indoors and outside.

Yes, you can use your gift voucher to visit the zoo. You can redeem digital vouchers online or simply bring your digital or physical voucher with you when you visit.

New birthday party bookings will be opening again from May 21, 2022.

Please email experiences@aucklandzoo.co.nz

We do not offer refunds on tickets if it is raining, you change your mind, or can no longer make your visit.  Admission tickets are non-transferable, non-exchangeable, non-refundable and void if altered. They are not valid for special events that require a separate admission charge. All persons entering the zoo must have a valid entrance ticket which must be retained during your visit. 

For our full list of entry terms and conditions, including ticket purchase terms, please visit this page.

Unfortunately we will not be holding Zoo Lates this summer as we work under RED of the COVID-19 Protection Framework. We still need to limit numbers of members and general zoo visitors – and stagger arrival times to avoid crowds, which make it harder to physically distance.

Vaccine passes and face masks are no longer mandatory, but we do recommend visitors continue to wear masks indoors and outside.

We’re now taking group bookings at the Orange setting.

Please email us at reservations@aucklandzoo.co.nz

Vaccine passes and face masks are no longer mandatory, but we do recommend visitors continue to wear masks indoors and outside.

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited's vaccination policy aligns with Auckland Council’s policy for its public venues and facilities. For more information regarding Auckland Councils policy, please click here.

Vaccine passes and face masks are no longer mandatory, but we do recommend visitors continue to wear masks indoors and outside.

We will have Auckland Zoo QR codes available to scan in at the entrance and around the Zoo, but they are no longer required.

Due to physical distancing challenges, we will not be running keeper talks until further notice. However, we will continue to share keeper videos on social media so you can keep up to date on our animals.

All cafés are now open (some are weather dependent so please check our pages here to find out more). Te Puna café will also be open for people to dine in, and there are no limits to the number of people inside - visitors can purchase kai and drinks from the café’s servery and sit at socially distanced tables. The Old Elephant House is open on weekends and public holidays and the Lookout is open on public holidays and school holidays.

Yes you can bring, and use, your own reusable coffe cup. If you forget to bring yours, our coffee cups and lids are fully compostable in our Zoo food waste bins on site.

We’re now accepting cash payment at the Zoo, including cafés.

Some areas where it’s not possible to physically distance, are closed.

KidZone remains closed, but the big slides are open.

At the Orange setting, the Zoo shop is fully open to visitors and non-visitors, but we do recommend that you wear your mask inside the store (as per the government guidelines for retail).

You can also shop our online store. Our click and collect service is still up and running. If you can't find the product that you're after please email us at  shop@aucklandzoo.co.nz and our friendly staff will be happy to assist.

Vaccine passes and face masks are no longer mandatory, but we do recommend visitors continue to wear masks indoors and outside.

Yes, you can purchase reusable masks. We will have adults and kids sizes available.

There are now a rising number of zoo cases of animals overseas contracting COVID-19, and in some instances, this has resulted in the death of these animals from the virus. While a vaccine has been developed for animals, it is not yet available in New Zealand.

The Zoo welcomes Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s (TAU) policy requiring everyone visiting its venues, including Auckland Zoo (part of TAU), to have a ‘My Vaccine Pass’ – as it does offer an added level of protection, over and above what our veterinary and animal care staff are already doing to protect the health of the Zoo’s animals.

In addition to the same high level of care, hygiene and biosecurity protocols implemented for all the Zoo’s animal species, since 2020, we’ve implemented extra precautionary biosecurity protocols to further protect primates and carnivores - the more at-risk of COVID-19 species. This involves our specialist staff caring for these species wearing PPE - face masks, and gloves – at all times they are in close proximity to these animals, when undertaking animal food preparation, and when cleaning their indoor and outdoor habitats.

 The Zoo’s specialist veterinary staff stay up to date with the latest COVID-19 research and information on COVID-19 in different species, which continues to evolve, and is actively shared between zoos globally. It’s possible vaccines may become a reality for some animals in the future, pending further risk assessment and the availability of licensed animal vaccines. Should such a vaccine become available, the Zoo would adopt it on a case-by-case basis and according to a risk assessment at the time.

The risk of animals passing COVID-19 to people is considered very low. Our Zoo animals may be at some risk of contracting COVID from people. To minimise this, a key precautionary measure remains the wearing of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) at all times by those Zoo staff working in close proximity to these animals, undertaking animal food preparation and when cleaning their indoor and outdoor habitats. Our staff are also double vaccinated against COVID-19.

As of 3 December, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited implemented its Vaccination Policy which means that all staff, volunteers, contractors, partners, clients, suppliers and visitors who enter our spaces must be fully vaccinated. Staff who have yet to complete the vaccinations will be unable to work onsite until they are fully vaccinated.

Vaccine passes and face masks are no longer mandatory, but we do recommend visitors continue to wear masks indoors and outside.

We have many Zoo measures and all the Government and Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 protocols in place to keep our staff and volunteers safe and minimise their risk to each other. This includes minimising staff to staff contact with physical distancing, stepping up hygiene measures within all working environments across the Zoo. In addition, we continue to have Zoo staff that are not directly involved in caring for our animals or involved in the essential running of our Zoo, working from home. In addition, as per the Tātaki Auckland Unlimited vaccination policy, all staff and volunteers at the Zoo must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.