Description
Are you looking for an immersive and memorable destination to explore with your children? Located on Hazelwood House grounds in Loughnagin, Letterkenny, this premier mini zoo and butterfly house offers some of the best things to do with kids in Donegal. Operating as a highly interactive indoor and outdoor sanctuary, it connects families with exotic animals, beautiful free-flying insects, and vibrant play spaces.
Planning your family budget for this educational day out is incredibly straightforward. Standard adult admission tickets cost €12.00 (approx. £10.20), while tickets for children under 14 are just €9.50 (approx. £8.08). Best of all, a dedicated family ticket is available for just €40.00 (approx. £34.00) to cover two adults and two children, making it an exceptionally affordable place to visit.
If you are looking for the best place for a day out with family and kids that sparks a love for nature, this tropical zoo attraction is a spectacular choice. It turns a standard science lesson into an exciting hands-on adventure by letting children walk through humid rainforest canopies and get up close with rare creatures. It is a fantastic setting to explore together, giving toddlers a thrilling sensory experience while offering teens deep insights into global conservation.
Features
- Paid
- Host birthday parties: No
Features
What makes this tropical zoo unique?
- Sensory Play Environments: The humid temperatures, vibrant colours, and sounds of the jungle create a wonderful sensory experience for younger children.
- Vibrant Interactive Exhibits: Free-flying tropical butterflies flit around visitors in a completely immersive indoor environment.
- Superb Educational Day Out: Informative species displays teach kids about global habitats, reptiles, and bird conservation.
- Dedicated Recreation Spaces: Covered walkways and an indoor adventure play park ensure active fun regardless of the weather.
Detailed Highlights
- The Tropical Butterfly House: A beautifully warm, indoor jungle enclosure where hundreds of brightly coloured butterflies fly completely free around you. Children love standing perfectly still to see if a friendly butterfly will land gently on their arms or shoulders.
- The Reptile and Amphibian Enclosures: A fascinating indoor zone home to curious tortoises, slithering snakes, and camouflaged lizards. It gives kids a safe, up-close look at exotic creatures they usually only see on nature documentaries.
- The Lemur and Monkey Walkway: An active outdoor animal section featuring highly energetic ring-tailed lemurs and playful monkeys. Families enjoy watching the animals swing from ropes and interact with their enrichment toys.
- The Jurassic Land Dinosaur Trail: A fun, step-back-in-time path featuring impressive, life-sized dinosaur models hidden among the trees. It provides younger children with a thrilling, imaginative photo-opportunity alongside a towering T-Rex.
- The Monkey Swing Play Park: A fantastic, custom-built indoor adventure play zone complete with a large indoor sandpit and physical games. It is the perfect spot for parents to rest with a coffee while children burn off their remaining energy.
Detailed Collections & Sub-Exhibits
- The Ring-Tailed Lemurs: Highly social, expressive primates loved by children for their acrobatics.
- The Cotton-Top Tamarins: Tiny, distinctive monkeys known for their wild crests of white hair.
- The Sulcata Tortoises: Massive, slow-moving land tortoises that fascinate young toddlers.
- The Bearded Dragons: Popular, textured desert reptiles found basking under the indoor heat lamps.
- The Exotic Aviary Collection: A vibrant indoor bird sanctuary filled with noisy, colourful parrots and parakeets.
- The Meerkat Mound: An entertaining outdoor viewing enclosure where sentry meerkats stand tall on watch.
- The Indoor Sandpit Zone: A safe, covered sand play area built straight into the main play park.
91.15 miles
