Bali Zoo

If you are travelling Bali with kids and you want one day where the itinerary writes itself, Bali Zoo in Singapadu is the default pick. It is smaller and more intimate than its bigger cousin Bali Safari, and the whole place is structured around close, guided animal experiences rather than long drive-through loops. For a lot of families staying in Ubud, Seminyak or Canggu, it slots cleanly into a Gianyar day out alongside a rice-terrace stop and an early dinner.

What it is

Bali Zoo is a privately run wildlife park on Jl. Raya Singapadu, about 15 minutes south of central Ubud and roughly 45 minutes to an hour from the Canggu and Seminyak belt depending on traffic. The grounds are walkable in a half day, with shaded paths winding past primates, big cats, reptiles, deer, a bird aviary and a Sumatran-themed area called Kampung Sumatra that anchors the orangutan and elephant programmes. There is a kids’ splash play area, several food outlets and a clearly marked encounter schedule posted at the entrance.

Signature experiences

The headline is Breakfast with Orangutan, the experience the zoo is best known for and one of the few of its kind in Indonesia. Guests sit at the open-air Warung Lokal in Kampung Sumatra from around 08:00 to 10:00 while the orangutans move through their adjacent enclosure, supervised by trained handlers. The package usually rolls in onward zoo entry plus smaller encounters with birds, baby monkeys, porcupines and rabbits.

Night Zoo (also marketed as Night at the Zoo) opens the park back up after dark, with a torch-lit walking trail past nocturnal species and a dinner served beside one of the predator enclosures. Add-on options include the Elephant Expedition and Elephant Mud Fun in the dedicated elephant area, plus a “Mahout for a Day” programme for guests who want a longer hands-on session.

A note worth being honest about: captive elephant and orangutan programmes anywhere in Asia sit inside an active welfare debate. Bali Zoo describes its conservation and care work on its own site; if that side of things matters to you, read up before you book and pick the encounter level you are comfortable with.

How to do a day there

The smart play is to arrive for the 09:00 opening (or earlier if you have booked the breakfast), do the orangutan, elephant and Kampung Sumatra side first while it is cool, then loop the rest of the park before lunch. By early afternoon the heat builds and the kids will want the splash zone. If you are doing Night Zoo, you can either stay through the late afternoon or leave, rest at your villa, and come back for the 18:00 reset.

Tickets and platforms

Tickets are sold direct on bali-zoo.com, and the same packages are widely listed on Klook, GetYourGuide, Headout and Traveloka, often bundled with hotel transfers. Prices shift through the year and by package, so we are not quoting numbers here — check the official site or your platform of choice on the day. Booking ahead is genuinely useful for the breakfast and Night Zoo slots, which cap numbers.

Getting there from Canggu, Seminyak and Ubud

From Ubud, it is a short 15–20 minute Grab or scooter ride down through Singapadu. From Seminyak or Canggu, budget 60–90 minutes by car depending on the Sunset Road and Sunset–Sukawati corridor; most families just book a half-day driver and pair it with a Sukawati or Ubud stop on the way back. There is a large car park on site.

When to go

April through October — Bali’s drier months — gives you the best shot at a dry, walkable day. Within any given day, mornings are the move: animals are more active, the breakfast experience is at its best, and you avoid the steamy mid-afternoon stretch. Weekday visits are noticeably calmer than Saturdays and Indonesian public holidays.

For the bigger drive-through alternative see Bali Safari, or browse what else is on this week in Out and About. If you are building a wider trip, the 7-day Bali with kids plan drops Bali Zoo into a full week of family-friendly stops — and the Tuesday newsletter keeps you on top of new packages and seasonal events.