We decided to take the kids out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life and go on a last minute trip to St. Louis Zoo. Yes you can take last minute trips on a budget. One thing great about this last minute trip, it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to go. The Zoo itself is free to get in. There are some things you can pay for, but are ways to do the zoo for free or minimum cost.
St. Louis Zoo is a free zoo, only thing you pay for is parking. Well you can avoid paying parking by parking on the street instead of the parking lot. If you park on the street may have more of a walk. We have also gotten lucky by getting there about 15/20minutes before open and got in the parking lot for free. That has only happened like once or twice. Parking is $15 dollars in their parking lot, which is cash only.
Make sure you arrive to the zoo early, well right about open time . Reason I say that is cause during the first hour the zoo is open, the sting ray exhibit and the children’s zoo is free. Head to the sting ray first as that line gets long fast. In the sting ray exhibit, you get to touch the sting rays, which is fun for all. After you get done with the sting rays, head to the children’s zoo if the first hour isn’t up yet. Long as you get in the area before the first hour is up, its free. The Children zoo can also get a little busy but so much to see and do from sea otter, petting goats, rabbits , funny bird that makes noise and more.
Yes, the zoo is a free zoo, but its huge. Make sure you bring good walking shoes, as you will need them. There are plenty of different animals from grizzly bears, penguins, monkey, reptiles, big cats, rhinos and more. This time we packed our lunch to save some money. You can bring outside food and drinks. Also bring a refillable water bottle as there are refill stations throughout the zoo. The evening before , I got our lunches ready and packed them. Also got our drinks and refillable water bottles ready. I also filled up our SUV with gas. We do a quick breakfast before we leave, I also had a quick dinner picked for the day.
We left about 5:30 am and got home about dinner time. The zoo is about a 3 hr. drive for us. Our out of pocket expenses for this trip where $40 to fill SUV, $15 for parking(can find a free spot on the street), $25 in gas on the way back. Also around $20in the gift shop to replace a figure of mine that broke. You don’t have to go into the giftshop. So our last minute day trip cost $100 for 10 people. Could have been more if we didn’t bring our food and drinks. Also saved money by getting there early to visit sting rays and children zoo first. This is do able with a large family on a budget.
Menk's Large Family Travels 