There are p-p-plenty of penguins at ZSL London Zoo in our stunning Penguin Beach exhibit – England’s biggest penguin pool!
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.
Penguin Facts
Humboldt penguins love cleaning (preening) themselves and their friends. When preening they gather oil from a gland in their tail and then apply this to their feathers – like penguin hair gel!
Humboldt penguins never chew with their mouth open because they don’t chew at all! Instead our penguins swallow their fish head first.
A Humboldt penguin can reach up to 30 miles per hour in the water!
Our resident Rockhopper penguin, Ricky, moved to our sister site ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in March 2017 to find love. Take a trip to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo to visit him and meet his new pool buddies.
Buy Tickets Online
Find out more about the inhabitants of Penguin Beach
Catch a glipse of our amazing Penguin Beach exhibit.
Videos
Get up close and personal with our family of Humboldt penguins with a special Meet the Animals experience at the Zoo.
From £54 per person
Hosted by an expert keeper, you'll be able to ask all your questions about these amazing animals, find out if all species of penguins live in cold climates, what makes them a unique bird and how fast they can swim.
By taking part in this experience you will be supporting ZSL’s vital conservation work which includes programmes for amazing birds just like these, whose futures are threatened due to habitat loss and climate change.
Your experience
- Meet and greet with our colony of Humboldt penguins
- Discover more about this beautiful species
- Opportunity to ask our expert keeper questions about the colony
- Meet the Penguins takes place at 1.50pm
- Please be at the meeting point at 1.45pm, located at the VIP area at Penguin Beach.
Please be aware we are unable to offer this experience during August and September as this is our penguin's moulting season.
Terms and conditions
- General admission ticket or valid membership per person must be purchased to be allowed entry into the zoo and take part in the Meet the Penguins experience.
- Please listen to the keeper at all times. (Your safety as well as the welfare of all animals is their upmost priority. As such, the keeper can stop the encounter or ask participants to exit the VIP area at any time should they feel necessary.)
- Appropriate closed toe footwear must be worn for the experience.
- Maximum of 6 participants per experience. Children: must be aged between 8 years and 16 years old and be accompanied by an adult. No more than 2 children per adult. Each adult must also has a valid Meet the Penguins ticket.
- Disabilities: Participants with learning or visual impairment must be accompanied by a carer who takes full responsibility for the adherence of health and safety and welfare protocols. Accompanying carers can enter the VIP area free of charge but must not participate in the experience. Wheelchair access is available for this experience.
- Pregnant/ nursing mothers who have given birth within the previous six months cannot participate for health and safety reasons.
- Cancellations: ZSL reserves the right to alter the experience or cancel on any given day if necessary. We will endeavour to contact you via email at least 24-hours before your visit to notify you of any changes. We recommend checking your emails on the day before your visit in case we have emailed you. If these changes result in you missing the encounter or you are no longer able to attend, please contact us to discuss options. Turning up late will invalidate your ticket and will not be refunded. Bookings cancelled up to 14 days before the date will be eligible for a full refund. Thereafter changes will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of ZSL.
