Last modified: 18 April 2024
Charity and community partner organisations
ZSL's Community Access scheme provides discounted tickets to:
- Low-income households
- Refugees
- People with additional needs or disabilities
- People over the age of 60 and may be at risk of isolation
The scheme is currently open to organisations supporting people living in Greater London. We work with a wide range of local councils, charities and community groups who apply for tickets and distribute them to the individuals and families they work with. Organisations in all 33 London Boroughs are currently participating in the scheme. If you already have a relationship with such an organisation, please ask them if they’re already one of our partners. If not, we’d love to hear from them – please email us at [email protected].
How to apply to the scheme as a community organisation
If you are an organisation wanting to provide Community Access tickets to your service users, please apply to the scheme on the button below. We provide tickets to a wide range of organisations that meet the following criteria:
1. Your organisation works with or supports one or more of the following:
- People from low-income households, including refugees
- People with additional needs or disabilities
- Older people (60+)
2. Your organisation works with people living in any of the 33 London Boroughs.
If you would like to enquire about the scheme, please contact our Community Engagement team at [email protected].
Please note that applications can take between two to four weeks to process.
Ticket validity
Community Access Scheme tickets obtained through a partner organisation are valid for entry to the Zoo on the date of issue only. For further details on tickets please refer to our Terms and Conditions.
Pricing
Community Access Scheme tickets are priced at £3 per person.
Carers are permitted free of charge.
Please note: Tickets require payment at the time of booking. Tickets will be sent via email for the organisation to distribute to service users.
Can we buy more tickets?
Absolutely! Once all the tickets from your first purchase have been redeemed, you can email our Supporter Contact team via [email protected] to purchase more tickets and request to pay via BACS. Please ensure that you include your unique account number from your previous booking and number of tickets per category required. Once the payment has cleared, your tickets will be sent to you via email.
Alternatively, you can call us on 0344 225 1826 to speak to our Supporter Contact team and purchase more tickets, this route would enable you to pay for your tickets via credit card. Check our Contact Us page for our phone line opening times. Our phones lines may be busy so there may be a wait to speak to our team.
How to give us feedback
We require that individuals visiting through the Community Access Scheme complete a post-visit survey to share their experience of London Zoo. This feedback will support in developing our offering and in delivering on our commitment to becoming more accessible for everyone.
It is up to the organisation to ensure all individuals complete the survey. We will review completed surveys and if an organisation chooses to apply for more tickets we will consider their completed survey rate.
We also aim to make the application process as easy as possible, if you also have any feedback on this please email [email protected].
Information for schools
Community Access Scheme tickets cannot be used by schools for class trips. If you are planning a school or educational visit, please visit our education pages.
Good to know
We know that travel and food & drink can really add up on a day out. We have wonderful restaurants, cafes and refreshments areas in our zoos, but if you are on a budget you are welcome to bring your own food and drink.
Our shops sell keepsakes and souvenirs from as little as £1.
Our Zoos may differ from others, so if it’s your first time at our Zoos it’s good to know that:
- Your food is for humans only! We don’t allow visitors to bring food for our animals. For their wellbeing, they all have a very specialist controlled diet.
- We have talks, but not ‘shows’. We want our visitors to enjoy and learn about our precious animals, and for the species we look after to have as natural wild behaviour as possible. So, you can enjoy fun and informative short talks from our presenters throughout the day – but we don’t ask our animals to participate in ‘shows’.
- The homes we build for our animals are carefully designed to provide places for them to explore, rest and, yes, sometimes to hide if they’re feeling shy! You’re sure to see a whole host of amazing animals during your day, but some may be more challenging to spot, so our friendly volunteers and staff are always happy to help.
Behaviour Guidlines for Group Visits
We are proud to be working with the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Universal Credit tickets
We want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy a brilliant day out with us, to benefit from the amazing animals which live at Whipsnade Zoo, connect with nature and help us create a world where wildlife thrives.
To help people who might find cost or other challenges a barrier to visiting London Zoo, our Universal Credit tickets provide entry at a reduced price.
