Khao Kheow Open Zoo

A Family Trip with Kids in Pattaya

2024년 5월

Khao Kheow Open Zoo is conveniently located midway between Bangkok and Pattaya, making it a popular stop for travelers commuting between the two cities.

Throughout our trip to Thailand, frequent rain forecasts made it hard to plan in advance. Each day had to be decided on the spot, depending on the morning weather. Since we didn’t have any plans in Bangkok and spent all our time in Pattaya, we dedicated one day to visiting the zoo from our Pattaya base.

We had rented a car for the entire trip, primarily for airport pickups and drop-offs at Bangkok Airport, which made traveling from our Pattaya hotel to the zoo much more convenient. However, navigating Thailand’s roads was a bit tricky. The GPS often led us astray, and newly constructed roads sometimes weren’t even recognized. After a few wrong turns, we finally arrived at Khao Kheow Open Zoo. The drive from Pattaya took about an hour.

how to book and return a rental car at Bangkok Airport!

Getting Around Inside Khao Kheow Open Zoo

Upon arriving at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, we first bought tickets at the ticket booth.

While purchasing tickets online in advance would have been cheaper, we couldn’t make a reservation since we weren’t sure when we would go.

Ticket Prices at the Ticket Booth:

Adult: 350 THB
Child: 120 THB

Opening Hours:

08:00 AM – 05:00 PM

The zoo is divided into two main zones: the Green Zone and the Pink Zone. It’s so large that walking around is difficult. The Pink Zone can be explored by car or golf cart, while the Green Zone is walkable or can be explored by golf cart. We first toured the Green Zone by car, then parked in the lot, rented a golf cart, and explored the Pink Zone.

Golf Cart Rental:

4-seat golf cart for 2 hours: 500 THB
Insurance fee: 50 THB (additional)

Required Documents for Golf Cart Rental:

Identification

Since we’re foreigners, we had to leave our passports as ID. (Instead of taking a copy, you’ll need to leave your actual passport, and it will be returned when you return the golf cart keys. Don’t forget your passport! Make sure to bring it with you!)

Khao Kheow Open Zoo is an open zoo, the animals are allowed to roam freely in their environment. The monkeys, living in a natural setting, may snatch food or personal items, and can even pose a threat to visitors, which can be quite frightening.

Since we were inside the car with all the windows closed, the monkeys climbed up onto the car and stared at us, which was pretty scary. When a golf cart behind us zoomed by, the monkeys moved aside just a bit, but they didn’t really run away. If we had been in an open golf cart, it would’ve been even more frightening…

Most of the main animals are in the Green Zone, so if you’re short on time, you could focus on exploring just this area.

The Green Zone features animals like deer, hippos, rhinos, elephants, and giraffes, and you can even feed some of them.

The deer roam freely in the grassy fields, so you can feed them, and the photos we took here turned out really beautifully.

so able to see an elephant water show. We went to watch, not really knowing what to expect, but it turned out to be the elephants entering the water. It made me feel a bit sorry for them… 😞

Khao Kheow Open Zoo, we also had the chance to feed the elephants, and I was really surprised when one of them quickly grabbed the food with its trunk! ^^

Finally, we set out to feed the giraffes, but as dark clouds gathered, we found ourselves getting lost while trying to follow the map. After circling around twice, the path seemed to disappear completely…

Maybe it was a sign to just head home. Eventually, as we were riding in the open golf cart, the rain started pouring down, so we gave up on the giraffes. Eddie dropped Liam and me off under a shelter, then went back to return the cart and get our rental car. He picked us up and drove us back to our hotel in Pattaya.

On the way back, Liam fell asleep in the car, and by the time we arrived in Pattaya, it was already time for dinner.

Khao Kheow Open Zoo is a great place for a day trip! I highly recommend it, especially if you have kids!

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