I'm here with Tina from Do DC with Kids and in this video
we're going to be telling you about the best tips for when you visit the National Zoo.
Hello, welcome to Trip Hacks DC, my name is Rob and I'm Tina from DoDCwithKids.com
and in this video
we're going to be telling you about our favorite tips for when you visit the National Zoo. If you're coming to Washington DC
and you're looking for the best tips, tricks, and hacks for exploring the city, make sure to subscribe to this channel
and hit the bell notification icon so that you don't miss anything. And
Head over to Tina's website Do DC with Kids afterwards and sign up for her newsletter so that you can keep up with what's going on
with kids in DC.
If you live in DC or have been to the National Zoo before
leave a comment on this video and let us know what your favorite tips or hacks for the zoo are. Otherwise
let's get started... One of the best things about visiting the National Zoo is that unlike other zoos in the United States ours is
completely free and open to the public. The first set of tips that we have is
about getting to the National Zoo. It's really recommended that you don't try to drive or park at the zoo
regular parking right now cost $20 per visit
but Tina does have a hack if you do live nearby. If you want to become a member of the National Zoo and that's called FONZ
Friends in the National Zoo, you'll get free parking at every visit. It doesn't guarantee you a spot
but you'll have a free spot should one be available.
And that's the reason why you
probably shouldn't drive, right? Because even if you are a FONZ member if you show up too late and the parking lot is full
there's nowhere for you to go. So a much better option for getting to the zoo is to take the Metro's red line.
Yes, and a hack for that is to always walk downhill.
So if you get off at the red line stop for Cleveland Park, you'll walk downhill
to get to the zoo,
and when you leave the zoo you'll again walk downhill to get to the Woodley Park stop
That's a really good one because I often see families going from the Woodley Park station to the Zoo entrance
and they're pushing their strollers uphill and it just looks like a lot more work as if they'd gotten off the Cleveland Park stop
they'd just be cruising downhill with their strollers, so that's a great hack.
So let's move into our second set of tips which is about getting around once you're at the zoo.
I personally recommend that you wear the most comfortable pair of shoes that you own.
Definitely leave your fashion sandals at home. And the reason is because people don't quite appreciate this
but the zoo is actually built on a big hill - a very steep hill
so when you're walking around in the zoo to get from exhibit to exhibit you're actually walking up and down hill the entire time.
Yes, and a hack for that is that is the zoo actually runs a shuttle throughout the day
so if you're at one of those points on the hill, and you're just too tired,
you know you still have to walk home, you still have to deal with Metro, I would just wait at one of those shuttle bus stops and let
a bus drive you back to the top of the hill. And that's completely free, right? Completely free. Yeah,
so another great thing about the zoo is that even once you're inside things are still completely free.
So of course if you're visiting with a small child or children you probably are going to have a stroller with you and so can
you tell us a little bit about what it's like to push a stroller around and which things you're allowed to bring it into and to not?
Right, so when you have a stroller at the National Zoo
it makes things super easy you can pack everything you need, but I will say there are exhibits that encourage you to leave your stroller
outside. I would recommend you have another small bag with all of your valuable items
that you just take with you as you leave your stroller and diaper bag behind.
Ok so when you're visiting the zoo, you're going to get hungry
so let's talk a little bit about the best and the worst places to eat. The best places to eat are
actually not at the zoo, unless you bring your own food. The zoo food is overpriced, you're going to wait in line,
it's expensive and the food is not very good,
and there's not a lot of options. If you're organized you can bring your own lunch or I
recommend you eat at Nando's, which is my personal favorite,
and you have a personal favorite... My personal favorite is called Duke's Counter,
it's located right across the street on Connecticut Avenue from the front gate of the National Zoo and
just a good place for lunch before you go or after you visit. So in my "Best Places to Eat in Washington DC" video
I talked about Eater maps a little bit,
and there's also one for the National Zoo, they have about ten restaurants that are located on
Connecticut Avenue between the Woodley Park and the Cleveland Park Metro stations
so because you're getting off at Cleveland Park and getting back on at Woodley Park you'll definitely find a place
that's suitable for your family when you visit. So our next set of tips are about when is the best time to go visit the
zoo. So unlike the Smithsonian museums that are located on the National Mall which open at 10:00 a.m.
the Zoo is actually open early - the grounds open at 8 a.m. and the exhibits open at 9 a.m.
Now one of the great things about getting there early is that it's usually cooler in the morning and for that same reason
the animals tend to be a little bit more active in the morning hours
than they are in the afternoon. If you want to see animals, I definitely recommend going at dawn
or at dusk because midday it's not only hot but the animals are taking their naps.
One good thing about visiting the zoo during the summer though is there are misters
throughout the zoo that are super fun for kids to run through, and there's also a splash pad that a lot of people miss. It's by
the sea lion exhibit which is also by another really great exhibit that
people tend to overlook and that's the Amazon room.
So another really cool thing about the zoo is that they do special events throughout the year.
Probably the best known one is ZooLights which takes place every year between about Thanksgiving and January 1st.
ZooLights is super cool because it gives you a chance to see the zoo at night and it's all lit up, it's beautiful,
it's also very cold so I'd recommend bringing hand words, and maybe a thermos of cocoa.
We do have four seasons here, so when you come in the winter going to be really cold
So if you check out ZooLights it's going to be at night and be pretty cold so
definitely dress for it. And they also have events throughout the year that are super cool and you don't want to miss. They have
Breakfast at the Zoo in September which you can find by
Googling Breakfast of the National Zoo; they also have Boo at the Zoo which we went to last year and you can trick or treat
at the National Zoo and it's definitely
an experience you're not going to want to miss. And if you're in DC
when they're having any of these special events you want to check them out because they don't happen all the time and we're going to leave
links in the description to these events so that you can make sure that you visit that you can know what's going on.
And that's it! Thank you for watching this video if you found it helpful
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so you can keep up with all the things that are happening in DC year round when you visit with your family. Thanks. Enjoy your trip!