Community Access Scheme

Last modified: 8 March 2023

Discounted Zoo 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 London 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 Community Access Scheme (CAS) provides discounted tickets.

Tickets from as little as £3 per person

Help for Households

We know how hard things are for many families on low incomes right now, and we want to do what we can to help.

As part of our Community Access Scheme, reduced price tickets for London Zoo are available for pre-booking at £3 per person, if you are receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Due to high demand, we have made the £3 tickets available for purchase in advance online, for up to 6 people per household (under 3’s go free and do not need to book – but must be accompanied by an adult with a booked ticket).

These tickets must be booked online in advance of your visit.

Many dates are now sold out. If the date you are trying to book is unavailable, please try an alternative date.

Book £3 tickets

If advanced £3 tickets are unavailable for the date you select, please try another date. We cannot guarantee entry to the zoo for anyone who does not hold an advanced ticket.

What you need to bring

For your group, you will need to bring one proof of benefit letter or with you to the zoo when you present your tickets(s) to our friendly staff at the admissions gate (this can be an electronic copy, for example logging in to your Universal Credit App or Pension Credit Online Journal to show us on arrival). You may also be asked to show Photographic ID.

How to get a proof of benefits letter

Tickets are valid for entry from 11am every day of the week, and the current offer runs until the end of March 2023.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to accept discounted tickets unless you are able to show one of the above documents (per household) as proof of eligibility.

The Help for Households offer has proved very popular, so please be prepared to queue to enter the Zoo, especially at peak times like weekends and during school holidays. To minimise waiting time we recommend arriving later in the day, or if possible choosing to visit at off-peak times.

Frequently asked questions

Why are you able to offer cheap tickets?

As a charity, we are able to offer £3 tickets to people who meet the Help for Households criteria, and this scheme has been made possible by a grant which we were awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Why aren't these tickets available to more people?

To qualify for access the £3 tickets, we are using the government’s Help for Households criteria, which also sets out the proof of benefits accepted. If you are not eligible for this initiative, you may be able to access other reduced price tickets through our Community Access Scheme which helps a range of community groups access our Zoos including those with disabilities and older people at risk of isolation, through partner charities.

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.

You'll find our full Terms and Conditions of entry here.

Important notes:

Please book online in advance to avoid disappointment
Regular admissions tickets, including those for anyone coming along with you, must still be booked online and in advance.
We’re operating a cashless system on our sites and we ask that you pay with credit or debit cards, or contactless payment methods only.

Charity and community partner organisations

Please note: we are currently unable to accept new Community Access Scheme applications as we are changing over our ticketing system. We will reopen as soon as possible so please do check back regularly.

ZSL's Community Access scheme provides discounted tickets to:

Low-income households
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 people living in Greater London, and 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 31 out of the 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].

Visitors with additional needs and disabilities

Our Community Access Scheme also provides reduced price tickets (£6.50 per person) to people who have additional needs or disabilities.

We are working through carefully selected organisations to issue these tickets. Our partners have a wealth of experience in supporting disabled people and have been offering advice and support to us in improving accessibility.

People over the age of 60 who may be at risk of isolation

The Community Access Scheme is also here to help people over the age of 60 who may be at risk of isolation (£6.50 per person). If you are part of a community group for older people, why not contact the group organiser and see if the group is part of the Community Access Scheme? If not, please share this page with them so they can apply.

Refugees

If you are an organisation that supports refugees living in London from any background, you are eligible to apply for low-income household vouchers even if the family you are looking to support are being hosted by a family who are on a higher income. Please get in contact with us at [email protected] to enquire about providing tickets to your community. In these cases, we are not able to offer discounted tickets direct to individuals; instead, all Community Access tickets are provided by community organisations

Ticket validity

Tickets obtained through the Help for Households scheme are valid for entry to the Zoo on the date of issue only.

Community Access Scheme vouchers obtained through a partner organisation are valid for 365 days from the date they’re issued and must be exchanged for a dated zoo ticket. For further details on tickets please refer to our Terms and Conditions.

Information on vouchers and pricing

We have 2 types of Community Access Scheme (CAS) vouchers and tickets:

Flexible use vouchers which will be valid for 12 months, allowing individuals to visit at a time that suits them best. Vouchers need converting to General Admission tickets before they individuals can visit the Zoo.
Group dated CAS tickets which would save you from converting your CAS vouchers to General Admission tickets.

Below is the pricing breakdown per person for organisations purchasing an allocation of vouchers (minimum of 10 vouchers).

People from low-income households	£3
People with additional needs and disabilities*	£6.50
People over 60 years of age and at risk of isolation	£6.50

Please note: Vouchers will require payment at the time of booking which is after your application has been accepted. Our team will contact you to confirm the total price before taking payment details. Vouchers will be sent via email for the organisation to distribute to service users.

* Subsidised price includes a free carer

Can we buy more vouchers?

Absolutely! Once all the vouchers from your first purchase have been redeemed, you can email our Supporter Contact team via [email protected] to reserve more vouchers and request to pay via BACS. Please ensure that you include your unique account number from your previous booking and number of vouchers per category required. Once the payment has cleared, your vouchers will be sent to you via email, this is most accessible option as our call centre can sometimes have long wait times.

Alternatively, you can call us on 0344 225 1826 to speak to our Supporter Contact team and purchase more vouchers, this route would enable you to pay for your vouchers via credit card. Check our Contact Us page for our phone line opening times.

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
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].

If you would like to apply directly, please do so on the link below:
Apply here

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.

The survey link will be sent to the applying organisation at the same time we send the vouchers, 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 vouchers 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

CAS tickets cannot be used by schools for class trips. If you are planning a school or educational visit, please visit our education pages.