Penguin Beach

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Species
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Meet the Penguins

There are p-p-plenty of penguins at ZSL London Zoo in our stunning Penguin Beach exhibit – England’s biggest penguin pool!

Penguin Beach Live demonstration

Penguin Beach recreates a South American beach landscape in the heart of London, with stunning colony of Humboldt penguins.

The exhibit features a large pool with stunning underwater viewing areas so you can see how our flippered friends fly under water. The exhibit’s 1200 sq metre pool holds 450,000 litres of water!

Our large demonstration area turns feeding time in to an even bigger spectacle than before. Penguin Beach Live features twice daily feeds where visitors can watch the birds diving for their food.

Penguin Beach is a breeding facility for colonies of Humboldt penguins with a special penguin nursery, including a chick incubation unit and a pool where the youngsters can learn how to swim.

Visit our penguins

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Book your tickets now for a really great day out that makes a real difference!

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Gifts for penguin lovers

Meet the Penguins

Get up close to our colony of Humboldt penguins at ZSL London Zoo!

Meet the Penguins

A Humboldt penguin at ZSL London Zoo

Adopt the penguins

With an adoption pack, you can help to care for our penguins at ZSL London and Whipsnade Zoo, and support our worldwide conservation work.

Adopt the penguins

Penguin chick soft toy

Penguin gifts

Find the perfect present for penguin lovers!

Browse the collection

Find out more about the inhabitants of Penguin Beach

Penguin (Humboldt)

Catch a glipse of our amazing Penguin Beach exhibit.

Videos

Keepers'-eye view of Penguin Beach

Get the zookeepers’-eye view down at Penguin Beach.

ZSL London Zoo's annual...

In January 2019, zookeepers at ZSL London Zoo dusted off their clipboards, calculators and cameras as they prepared to count...

P-P-Penguin Time!

Meet our Head of Birds, Zuzana, as she talks about our fantastic colony of Humboldt penguins at ZSL London Zoo.

Rainbow the penguin chick at ZSL London Zoo

Premature penguin saved by...

Discover how Rainbow was saved by heroic keepers at ZSL London Zoo

Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, this experience is currently available to existing voucher-holders only.

This experience gives you special access to a VIP area inside Penguin Beach, where our penguins will waddle over to meet you.

Find out everything you've ever wanted to know about penguins in the largest penguin exhibit in the UK!

Your experience

20 minutes on Penguin Beach meeting our enquisitive penguins
Discover more about this amazing species by our expert staff who will introduce you to our colony
Lots of photo opportunities with our friendly penguins

Please note that you will not feed the penguins. They have a special diet which is very smelly and we wouldn't want you smelling bad for the rest of the day!
Tip: Penguin Beach is different to other beaches, so instead of flip flops we ask that participants wear closed toe footwear for this experience.

To help us protect our penguins and to prevent the spread of avian influenza, participants will be asked to dip their shoes in a disinfectant when entering our penguin encounter area. Please avoid direct contact with poultry or game birds in the 14 days prior to your experience. If you have contact with poultry or game bird within this time frame, please contact us.

Meet the Penguins photo

Know before you book

Important information before booking your Meet the Penguins experience:

Children must be at least 8 years of age and be accompanied by an adult who must also purchase a Meet the Penguins experience ticket. There must be no more than 2 children per adult.
General admission is not included and must be purchased separately.
You must wear appropriate closed toe footwear for the experience.
Pregnant or nursing mothers cannot participate in our Meet the Animals experiences.
Please arrive on time to ensure that you are present for the health and safety briefing.
Please see our full terms and conditions for more information

To manage your booking please visit https://zsllondonzoo.seetickets.com/customerservice

How to Book

BOOK NOW (Voucher-Holders Only)

Availability

Meet the Penguins takes place daily at 12 pm and 2:30 pm, from April-October. Please note that the experience is closed for several weeks from mid-July until mid-August to allow our penguins to go through their annual moult.

Price

£54 per person
ZSL Gold Members, Patrons and Fellows receive a 10% discount on this experience. Please enter your CRM ID found on your membership card in the Offer Code box.
Those with disabilities can be accompanied by an essential carer to support them during their experience. Essential carers can enter the experience area free of charge but do not take part in the experience. Should you require an essential carer please put this information in the participant information form at checkout.

Dates and Prices

Dates

Meet the Penguins takes place twice daily at 12 pm and 2:30 pm April-October.

Please note this experience is not available over several weeks in July and August each year to allow the penguins to go through their annual moult.

BOOK NOW (voucher-holders only)

Accessibility

This experience is wheelchair-user friendly. Please let us know at the time of booking if there are any access requirements.

Price

£54 per person
ZSL Gold Members, Patrons and Fellows receive a 10% discount on this experience. Please enter your CRM ID in the Offer Code box.
Those with disabilities can be accompanied by an essential carer to support them during their experience. Essential carers can enter the experience area free of charge but do not take part in the experience. Should you require an essential carer please put this information in the participant information form at checkout.

Penguin Beach