Animals are always interesting for children. No wonder, zoo is one of their favorites. A few months ago, we visited Bandung Zoo. Actually, I hesitate to come, because there are some bad rumors.

Years ago, there was a viral video about their honey bear that looked so thin and asked food to the visitors. Even Bandung Zoo clarified that their animals were fine and got medical checkup periodically from Veterinarian, I still doubt.

However, my youngest child was eager to see zoo. Her brother had already been gone to Singapore and Surabaya Zoo. Nonetheless, she had not been to any zoo yet. Therefore, I considered Bandung Zoo because it was nearest zoo from our house in Purwakarta.

Before we went there, I searched online about Bandung Zoo. Surprisingly, they were changed. From some videos and news, I can see they are reformed. It looked clean, new, and refresh.

Thus, we decided to go. We came early and went to a hotel just to left our backpack, because the room had not opened yet. Then, we straight away to Bandung Zoo. It was located at Jalan Tamansari No. 17, Lebak Siliwangi, Bandung, West Java. It was in city center and near ITB, famous University in Bandung.

We came in the morning about 9 am on weekday. It was just opened. We bought the ticket from Traveloka before for about Rp 45.000, cheaper than buy on the spot. The price ranges from Rp 25.000 to Rp 60.000.

If you want to get the cheapest price, you must come 6-8 am on Saturday and Sunday wearing sport costume. They want to attract visitors who want to workout in the zoo. I think it is a good idea, workout seeing the animals.

First thing I saw was the big main gate. It was catching my attention. We heard monkey sound at the time we came in. We can see it while we queue to come in. The air was so refreshing. Many big and tall trees. We can just walk or rent some electric bike or stroller for kids.

The animals were well looked after. We can see elephant, horse, camel, giraffe, tigers, lion, many birds, deer, etc. Surprisingly, my youngest was really like crocodile. And there were a lot crocodiles, small and big. Therefore, she was beyond happy.

My children wanted to ride an elephant. Unfortunately, it is Friday. We should wait until 1 pm because it’s Friday break from 11 am to 1 pm. Therefore, we cancel it.

Remember, to not feed animals with any food. If you want to feed them, buy some food they had already prepared. You can buy food for some animals, such as deer, giraffe, elephant, with various price. We chose to give food for deer. They provided some green vegetables and carrot for deer. Both my children were exiting to feed them.  

Then, we go to playground area. They play swing, slides, monkey bar, and see saw. Near it, there was a pet area like rabbit, goat, and chicken. You can buy them food and touch them too. We skip it because we already feed the deer.

Overall, it was an enthusiast vacation for us. I think Bandung Zoo is success for rebranding. It was strategic, enjoyable, and memorable. We will come back soon.