San Diego Zoo & Safari Park Discounts & Coupons

The world-renowned San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park are on opposite ends of San Diego County. Both are run by the San Diego Zoological Society, but it can take about an hour to get from one to the other. So you may want to visit them on separate days. 

San Diego Zoo has over 3,700 animals, more than 700,000 plants and was one of the first zoos to house their animals in exhibits that recreate their natural habitats. In addition to walking around the exhibits, there is a guided bus tour, a mini train and a Skyfari. The San Diego Zoo is located in Balboa Park just outside downtown San Diego.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park is known for their Asian Savanna and African Plains Safari exhibits, which have animals and plants from those habitats in the same open-range exhibit, best viewed from a tram. There are a variety of other exhibits and animals that can be seen from walkways, such as the Tiger Trail and the Gorilla Forest. The Safari Park is located about 35 miles away from the San Diego Zoo, north of San Diego.

San Diego Zoo and San Diego Safari Park can have discounts or special offers, but there are authorized ticket resellers that offer discounted tickets. Check below for San Diego Zoo and Safari Park discounts. All offers are subject to change without notice. Always call ahead and confirm before driving out of your way to take advantage of a particular offer! 

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Tips and Advice about San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Tickets

Both San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park offer a 1-Day Any Day Pass as well as a 1-Day Value Day Pass, which costs a bit less and only available online. The Any Day Pass gets you admission on any day and the Value Days Pass only gets you admission on Value Days (blackout days include weekends, late March/early April and most holidays). Please note: the 1-Day passes are only good for a specific park (either the San Diego Zoo OR the Safari Park), so be sure you purchase tickets for the correct park!

The 2-Visit Pass includes two 1-Day Passes that can be used by the same person at the San Diego Zoo and/or San Diego Safari Park within one year from date of purchase. The San Diego 3-for-1 Pass includes one admission to each of San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari and SeaWorld San Diego. This pass must be used by the same person within 7 consecutive days from the first visit.

There are a variety of Memberships that include one year of admission to San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park (with or without blockout dates), along with discounts on guest tickets and other benefits. There is a Wildlife Explorer Youth Membership specifically for kids age 3-17. A membership may be worth purchasing if you think you will visit more than once this year or can take advantage of the other perks and benefits. 

If you need tickets to the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and other Southern California attractions, it’s worth checking out the available multi-attraction ticket discounts under both attractions to see if they can save you extra money. Be sure to compare the final cost of a multi-park pass to the combined cost of the individual tickets; the best deal varies depending on the specific attractions and the discounts that are currently available.

San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park Ticket Discounts

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San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Ticket Discounts From Undercover Tourist

Undercover TouristUndercover Tourist, a great ticket vendor we’ve recommended for many years, offers significant discounts on San Diego Zoo tickets, San Diego Zoo Safari Park tickets and tickets for other California and Florida attractions. We really like Undercover Tourist because they constantly strive to have both the best prices and best customer service in the business. That’s a tall order, but we have years of experience and feedback from our readers that tells us they really deliver!

Exclusive Discounts for MouseSavers Newsletter Subscribers

Undercover Tourist offers its best prices to subscribers to the FREE MouseSavers Newsletter and Hot Deals announcements! By using the exclusive link located in every monthly MouseSavers Newsletter, you always get an extra discount on most tickets, and the lowest prices Undercover Tourist offers, across the board! In addition, Undercover Tourist puts a handful of individual tickets on sale every month, and those tickets are offered only to Hot Deals subscribers! (It’s a different set of tickets every month, and can include any combination of Disneyland, Walt Disney World and/or other California or Florida attractions.) The MouseSavers Newsletter and the Hot Deals emails also contain exclusive hotel and other discounts not found anywhere else. Remember, it’s completely FREE.

AAA Ticket Discounts

If you are a member of AAA, you can get discounts on San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park tickets. Go to AAA Tickets and then select “Theme Parks & Attractions”. 

If you show your AAA membership at the ticket window gate at San Diego Zoo or Safari Park, you can get 10% off a 1-Day Any Day Pass for up to 6 people.

Costco Ticket Discounts

Costco.com sometimes offers a very good discount on San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park tickets and you don’t have to be a Costco member to buy through their site. (Non-members pay a 5% surcharge, however.) There is a shipping charge when ordering from Costco.com.

Senior Ticket Discounts

Seniors (65 and older) get 10% off a 1-Day Any Day Pass at San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park. Available at the ticket booth only (not in advance); valid ID required.

For the entire month of February, Seniors (age 65 and older) got FREE admission to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Parking is not included. Must show valid ID. 

Airline / Cruise Line Employee Ticket Discounts

Airline and cruise line employees presenting a company-picture identification badge or CLIA at the ticket windows receive a 10% discount off the 1-Day Any Day Pass at San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park. 

Military Ticket Discounts

Active duty US armed forces with valid military ID card receive FREE regular admission and FREE parking at San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park. Available at the ticket booth only (not in advance).

US Active duty eligible spouses and dependents receive 10% discount on 1-Day Any Day Pass only. Valid dependent ID card required. Available at the ticket booth only (not in advance).

US Military retirees and veterans may be able to purchase discounted tickets through their participating ITT/MWR office.

October is Kids Free Days

Children ages 3-11 receive FREE regular admission to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park during the entire month of October (must be accompanied by a paying adult). Each paying adult can bring up to 6 kids for FREE. 

Discounts on Multi-Attraction Passes that include the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

Go City San Diego All-Inclusive Pass Plus

Go City San Diego All-Inclusive Pass Plus allows you to visit as many attractions as you want within a set number of days (usually 1 to 7 days). You pay one discount price for the number of days you choose, and can save a lot of money with some planning! The more attractions you visit, the more you save. Note that the San Diego Zoo OR the San Diego Zoo Safari Park is also included as an option on Essential Passes if you don’t want to visit other major attractions.

Go City San Diego All-Inclusive Pass Plus: If you want to fit in as much as you can in 1 to 7-days using one simple pass for one price, consider this all-inclusive pass. This pass includes the San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park, Legoland California,  SeaWorld San Diego, Knott’s Berry Farm, plus multiple other attractions in the San Diego area. Plus, MouseSavers readers get an extra 5% off total pass purchases!

Hotels near San Diego Zoo

Looking for a place to stay near the San Diego Zoo? Choices are plentiful in the San Diego area near the San Diego Zoo, and getting around San Diego is fairly easy by car. If you don’t have a place in mind, we suggest checking out the hotels below. Our recommendations are not the cheapest places you can find– there are plenty of those out there– but we feel they offer a very good value for your dollar. As with our Preferred Hotels for Walt Disney World (Florida), we suggest accommodations that will enhance your stay while not breaking the bank. That said, if you are used to Orlando area pricing, you will be in for some sticker shock. 

The San Diego Zoo is located at 2920 Zoo Drive in Balboa Park, just north of downtown San Diego. Zip code is 92101.

If you don’t know where to start, we suggest checking out:

Hotel Websites

Sometimes the best offers are directly through the hotels’ own websites, and if you are a member of a specific loyalty program, you probably want to search across all of that hotel company’s brands. For example, Hilton owns DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Waldorf Astoria, etc. Here are links to the overall parent company websites where you can search their whole portfolio– use Balboa Park, San Diego, California to find hotels closest to the San Diego Zoo: