Taronga Zoo

Sydney’s zoo is a great place to see some of Australia’s famous wildlife as well as to get one of the prettiest views of the city. You can hop on the ferry at Circular Quay and buy a zoo pass that includes round trip ferry ride. When you disembark at Taronga, either hop on the bus to the main entrance or ride the gondola, known as the Sky Safari, which also whisks visitors up to the zoo entrance.

Among the Australian animal highlights are kangaroos, emus, koalas and platypus. If you sign up for one of the animal encounters, such as the Koala encounter, a zookeeper will bring you up close to koalas in their habitats.

Note: Special opportunities for real animal fanatics are spending an overnight at the zoo at the Roar & Snore Sleepover or playing zookeeper for a day. On overnights, visitors sleep in African safari style tents and get to spend time exploring before the zoo opens and go behind the scenes with zoo rangers.