Khao Kheow Zoo in Pattaya – Safari in the Country’s Heart.

Have you ever heard of the concept of a petting zoo? We’re sure you have. Now forget everything you’ve ever known about this kind of entertainment, because we present to your attention Khao Kheow Zoo, which will overturn all ideas about the world of hands-on animal encounters.

General Information about Khao Kheow Zoo

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Attraction Information

Address: 125 Moo 3, Pak Tho, Chonburi 20110, Thailand

Working Hours: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Ticket Price: Adults: ฿200, Children: ฿100

Photo Allowed? Yes

Historical Info: Established in 1982, Khao Kheow Zoo is one of Thailand's largest zoos, housing a diverse range of animals and promoting conservation efforts.

Guide / Excursion Info: Guided tours available upon request

Recommended Visit Time: Morning or late afternoon

Accessibility: Yes

Parking Availability: Yes

Public Transport Options: Accessible via Songthaew or taxi from Chonburi city

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Reviews

Karsten Frohwein - Rate: 4

It is an amazing place like a walk in a Thai national park. So green, butterfly's and everything. And somewhere in between you can find some animals. Still some cages are just empty and run down. Like 20% of the park is just left to rot away. I don't understand that concept. Besides that all animals seem well kept and fine. They just chill in the heat. The Hippos are super impressive. And i love the bird dome. That was really amazing. And the free flight area. I say its a worthy place to go.

T K - Rate: 5

Fun day at a open zoo where you can be so close to the animals! Visited with my partner on Monday afternoon, luckily it was a pleasant cloudy day. If it was sunny and super hot, we would have got tired so soon by the heat. It was so great ! I felt like I was actually having a safari experience. Our total stay was around 3 hours. We took rather longer time to stop by most of the animals in different zones. Around 500 baht for the entrance for 2 ppl (booking was not necessary) Around 600 baht for renting a golf cart for 2.5hours.(please refer to the photo for prices in details.) Here are things we enjoyed and appreciated, * A variety of animals to see and learn about. There are description boards for each animal, written in both Thai and English. * large open space that animals didn't seem suffocated. * being able to have a very close look at the animals, I didn't know how massive hippos actually are ! * renting a golf cart and moving from one area to another was also a lot of fun. (Please beware that most of their roads are one-way.) *There are shops throughout to eat and buy some water. Here are things that I think we, visitors, should be aware of. * LITTERING or not even leaving your rubbish on the benches or hiding them behind the trees or anywhere. Monkeys will get to your unattended rubbish and do the litter on your behalf, eventually animals could eat plastics without knowing. There are many many rubbish bins throughout the zoo so please be patient with holding your rubbish a little longer, you'll find a bin soon enough. * It is an outside activity with lots of walk potentially. Please have lots of water with you at all times. Thank you for reading to the end 🙂 Hope you find this helpful. Highly recommended !

Michael C - Rate: 5

A pretty big open zoo with a lot of different kinds of animals. Of course the main attraction for me was Moo Deng. The line to see him was quite long, but it did move by pretty quickly. Do recommend grabbing a map since I was lost at times. You can also rent a golf cart for 500 baht or take the local transport around the zoo.

Jean - Rate: 5

The zoo is not far from Bangkok. Comfortable travelling and a lot of interesting activities to do are good condition visiting for tourists who come from another province. Additionally, Chonburi has countless attractive places to visit, namely beautiful beach, shopping mall, various style of cafe in a few name. However, some costs of visiting are pricey.

PD UC - Rate: 5

There are many animals to see, so it’s best to arrive early if you want to explore all areas. You can rent a golf cart for 500-700 THB, but be prepared for a wait, especially on crowded days like weekends. Also, plan ahead to account for traffic and finding parking. Lots of visitors come, especially to see the popular animal, Moodeng. You can make advanced ticket purchase through their line official account.

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Pattaya’s Khao Keo or Kao Keo (Kao Keo (Kheo) Zoo Pattaya) is the embodiment of all childhood fantasies on a territory of more than 800 hectares. The zoo is located in Pattaya, or to be more precise, 45 km from it, in the direction of Bangkok. It hosts a huge number of wild and not-so-wild animals that live in their natural habitats.

Don’t worry: all predatory animals, as well as those capable of harming humans in any way, are kept at a safe distance from people, and even the smallest child will be safe (this does not cancel out the need to watch your child in the park).

Khao Kheow is the largest zoo in Thailand, where you are allowed not only to feed the animals, but also to pet them and even hold them in your arms. The zoo itself is divided into special thematic zones, including:

• savanna zone;
• antelope park;
• butterfly valley;
• bird world;
• cat grounds;
• monkey island.

According to visitors (based on numerous reviews), the savanna zone, monkey island, and cat grounds are of the greatest interest. No wonder: these spots concentrate the most fascinating and even rare animals for the average person.

About 8 thousand animals of various species live in the park, including:

• tigers;
• lions;
• leopards;
• lynxes;
• hyenas;
• bears;
• hippos;
• crocodiles;
• giraffes;
• antelopes;
• buffaloes;
• elephants;
• monkeys;
• mongooses;
• flamingos;
• ostriches;
• kangaroos;
• snakes.

Among the serious exotic species here, you can encounter and take photos or record videos with such representatives of the animal world as:

• pygmy hippo;
• white tiger;
• tapir;
• binturong (a cross between a cat and a bear, as it seemed to us).

A Walk through Khao Kheow Zoo Pattaya

If you’ve come to Khao Kheow Zoo Pattaya on your own, we recommend not being stingy with 300 baht (in addition to the entrance ticket) and renting a golf cart, because it’s unlikely you’ll manage to see all this grandeur on foot. The zoo has many uphill paths, and you will simply get tired.

Also, it wouldn’t hurt to buy animal feed, which is offered at the entrance (price is only 100 baht), and the emotions you get from feeding are priceless.

The package offered at the entrance includes a fruit-and-vegetable mix of bananas, beans, corn, etc.

A word of caution: do not show this mix to the monkeys that can be found all around the park. Why? Officially, the local monkeys are located on monkey island and cannot roam the park. Those humanoid creatures strolling among the animals are wild, unrelated to Kao Keo.

If you wish, of course, you can feed them, but be careful: if they see the bag, you can kiss it goodbye. They’ll surround you and won’t calm down until they yank out every last crumb, those cheeky creatures.

Now it’s time to walk around the park.

Deer in Khao Kheow Zoo

If you book an excursion, your route will look something like how we describe it. In case of a self-guided tour, the order of zone visits may vary.

So, first in line are deer roaming the park, next to people. And this is one of those cases where you can easily pet these noble creatures. In fact, this is what Pattaya’s Khao Kheow Zoo is famous for. Just don’t harm or scare the deer — after all, they are among the most timid representatives of the animal world.

Deer bask in the sun and lazily lie on the grass. They really love carrots. So if you’re fond of deer, you can buy fresh carrots at the market before your trip, peel them, and become a deer’s best friend.

One drawback is that the deer enclosure neighbors biting ants, which won’t let you stand still for long and spur you to move on.

Khao Kheow Zoo – Monkeys

Next up are the local monkeys, separated from tourists by a water ditch. This is done to prevent incidents, because among primates there are some rather large individuals, and who knows what they might have in mind.

Monkeys don’t always respond to visitors; sometimes you have to get their attention. For example, you could throw a banana and get it back, a kind of game of tossing food around.

Unfortunately, you can’t touch them, as it might be dangerous.

Khao Kheow Zoo – Porcupines

Small but quite proud, porcupines carry quills on their backs and shoot them at the slightest threat. Here they are calmer and even allow you to touch them. We, however, did not dare.

They eagerly take food, and children love them.

The Horned Enclosure at Khao Kheow Pattaya

Now these goats, shaking their beards, truly adore beans. They don’t roam the park, but are separated from the other animals by a small fence. Just enough so you can’t jump over it, but can lean your head over to get a portion of delicious treats.

Hippos at Khao Kheow

Describing the feeding of hippos is a separate topic, because it’s impossible to convey this through text — you have to see it.
The hippos are located some distance away from people, under a small bridge where the feeding takes place. It looks roughly like this: a tourist tosses a piece of food to the giant, and after swallowing it, the hippo opens its mouth so wide that it seems like it really might swallow the sun.

Binturongs – A Khao Kheow Surprise

Behind a small stone fence hide binturongs. You’re unlikely to see this animal in European zoos, where we’re used to more traditional species, but in Pattaya — here you go. Binturongs look like a bear that was crossed with a wild cat. And this homely appearance really melts the hearts of many women. Even though it looks like a cross between a bear and a cat, it happily gobbles up bananas.

It happens like this: the binturong climbs onto an improvised stump next to the fence and begins to stretch out for a treat, carefully taking the banana with its lips. Despite its plain looks, it’s actually a quite cute and polite animal. For an extra fee, you can even hold it in your arms.

Giraffes at Khao Kheow

The habitat of these long-necked denizens of the African savanna is also separated from the main area by a small fence that, in essence, serves only a nominal function. The thing is, giraffes are fairly intelligent animals, and even such a fence stops them and prevents them from leaving the area.






These graceful giants walk around with ostriches and antelopes and are not at all afraid of visitors. Unlike ostriches, which might grab your finger in a feeding frenzy, giraffes use their blue tongues, so watch your face — you don’t want to end up kissing a giant.

Khao Kheow’s Wild Cats – Lions

Strange as it may seem, you can feed predators at Khao Kheow Zoo — not by hand, of course, but using a stick. And they do not eat vegetables, but pieces of meat that you pass to them through the cage on a stick. A zoo employee supervises the feeding so that no incidents occur. The cost of feeding is 20 baht per feeding.

By the way, you can feed tigers in a similar way.

Zoo Rhinos

In general, almost all interaction with the animals comes down to feeding them, because you may not be able to pet some of them, given their formidable appearance. Now we’re talking about rhinos. But forget all your associations with these animals. In Kao Keo, they are quite friendly and sociable.

Khao Kheow Predators

You can also feed such predators as bears and hyenas at the zoo, although it’s not always possible to get their attention — after all, it’s hot, and hyenas are not exactly daytime creatures. But you probably won’t be able to pet these animals, as it could be unsafe.

Tapir

If you drive deeper into the park, you can see the tapir, though there’s one caveat: Will the tapir want to interact with you? It’s a rather wayward animal that doesn’t recognize any authority, not even that of tour guides. But if you’re lucky, you’ll be thrilled.
The tapir is separated from tourists by a fence.

Camel

The fence around the camel enclosure is only nominally a fence. In fact, it’s a low barrier that the animal could jump over if it really wanted to. Judging by the fact that the barrier isn’t raised, it must not have wanted to yet.

Feeding the camel is standard and no different from feeding other herbivores. You can take a few photos.

Kangaroos

If you ever dreamed of seeing Australian kangaroos, they’re in Khao Kheow, too. As headstrong as the tapir, they like corn, but if they’re full, they might not be interested.

You can’t say that they do acrobatic tricks, jump around, or have fun. But it’s worth watching them, and if you’re lucky, maybe even petting them.

Elephants

There is a special enclosure for these trunked giants, and you can also ride them around the park.

The enclosure houses several individuals who don’t mind having a snack of the treats offered by visitors. They eat everything, even coconuts.

Show

An important part of the excursion is the wild-animal show, which lasts about 30 minutes.

The most spectacular part of the show is lions hunting wild boars (in essence, feeding, which is as close as possible to natural conditions).
In addition to that, there is a special program with tricks and performances.

There’s no need to worry about safety, as a special net is lowered during performances involving predators.

And a standard service of such programs is taking photos with animals. For instance, you have to pay 130 baht for a photo with an orangutan or a parrot. In our view, it’s better to take free photos with more exotic animals.

How to Get to Khao Kheow Zoo in Pattaya

So, Khao Kheow Zoo in Pattaya — how to get there independently? Getting here by public transportation is problematic, because there is no direct connection. There are several options:

1. Take a songthaew to the city of Si Racha
   (by the way, there is also the Siracha Tiger Zoo here, where you can interact with a tiger cub or tigress almost in person, but naturally under the close supervision of zookeepers), then take a taxi. The cost of a songthaew is 20 baht + about 200–300 baht for a taxi, depending on your negotiation skills.
2. Rented transportation, which you will have to drive along Sukhumvit Road north toward the city of Si Racha, and then continue to the sign where you turn right. It’s about 25 minutes from the turn.
3. Zoo transfer (you can check the transfer schedule on the zoo’s official website).
4. Tours (the simplest option, because not only will they take you to the zoo, but they will drive you around it as part of a tour group).

Operating Hours and Price

Khao Kheow Zoo is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. However, you can order the “Night Life in the Jungle” tour, which runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. On that tour, you’ll see how animals behave at night.

Ticket prices: 400 baht per adult. If you come in a group of five people or more, the ticket is 300 baht per person.

Golf cart rental: a four-seater costs 600 baht for 2 hours and 200 baht for every subsequent hour. A six-seater costs 700 baht for two hours and 300 baht for every subsequent hour. If you arrive as a group, this option is most economical, as you can split the cost.

The zoo’s address is on the map.

There are a few rules in the park, and violation entails a 2,000-baht fine: namely, smoking and drinking alcohol. This is to avoid harming the animals.

In addition, you are not allowed to come here with your own pets, so if you really want to show your dog the zoo, this isn’t the time.

So, you must definitely visit Khao Kheow Zoo — these impressions will stay with you for a long time, and if you remember that the tour costs only 400 baht (500 baht at a tour office, but it includes transfer), you should book tickets.

Don’t forget to share your vacation impressions in the comments; they help those who haven’t decided yet where to spend their holiday.