While exploring Florida’s breathtaking beaches and pristine waterfronts, why not take a refreshing break from your Siesta Key tours to discover these incredible animal exhibits? Conveniently located within a short drive from Crystal Sands vacation rentals, these captivating attractions offer a delightful change of pace for you and your family. Prepare to be amazed and create lasting memories at these wonderful animal exhibits!
Sarasota Jungle Gardens
For a fun, family-owned and operated attraction, Sarasota Jungle Gardens offers special local community education and conservation efforts for everyone to enjoy. Since 1939, Sarasota Jungle Gardens has delighted locals and visitors alike in preserving Florida animal species.
This attraction has over 200 native and exotic species, from birds to mammals to reptiles! Many of these animals are rescued or donated and live on 10 acres of beautiful tropical land with jungle trails. See parrots, macaws, primates, snakes, lizards, iguanas, alligators, crocodiles, and Florida’s famous pink flamingos. Sarasota Jungle Gardens also offers daily entertaining and educational animal shows, so the kids can get up close to birds and reptiles during your visit! After the show, visitors can hold the animals and pose for pictures.
One popular show is the Jungle Bird Show with exotic birds. These talented one-of-a-kind birds perform fun tricks like roller skating and bicycling. Yes, really! Your family won’t want to miss this exciting talent show. Another visitor favorite is The Wildlife Wonder Show, which features a diverse range of wild animals like Red-tailed hawks, Kookaburras, skunks, owls, and more! For creepy crawlers and unique creatures, this is the show for you.
Prepare for an interactive and educational experience at the captivating Reptile Show, where you’ll discover fascinating facts about snakes, alligators, and other incredible reptiles. Delight in the opportunity to get up close and personal with these amazing creatures, and capture a memorable photo as a unique souvenir. Don’t miss this chance to learn, marvel, and take home a lasting memento of your reptile adventure!
Younger adventurers have plenty of excitement awaiting them too! Let them unleash their energy at the playground, an ideal spot for running and playing. Afterward, embark on a delightful Koi fish-feeding adventure. And for an extra thrill, hop aboard the wooden train where the little ones can take charge and sound the “all aboard” signal! There’s no shortage of fun and imaginative experiences for the younger crowd to enjoy.
Tickets for adults are $21.99, and children’s tickets for kids aged four to 12 years old are $14.99. Infants and young children under three years old get in free.
For a short 25-minute drive from our Siesta Key condo rentals, the trip to Sarasota Jungle Gardens is the perfect way to spend the day!
Zoo Tampa
For one-of-a-kind experiences getting up close to wildlife, there’s no wonder that Zoo Tampa is known as the best family attraction. This spot is also an 11-time winner of TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Award with unique animals from all over the world!
Offering educational programs and activities for all ages, Zoo Tampa has something for everyone. So, bring the kids and enjoy a day of checking out animal exhibits, going to shows, and catching attractions like the Macaw Flyover! After stepping through the main entrance, start your day at the Canopy Aviary. This free-flight exhibit offers you an up-close look at various bird species. If the kids need to cool off, check out the Manatee Circle and fountains before heading to the animal exhibits featuring local and worldwide endangered species.
Plan Your Visit!
Are you ready to embark on an unforgettable animal adventure during your next Siesta Key vacation? Book your stay with Crystal Sands today and begin exploring!
Part of Zoo Tampa’s mission is saving these animals from extinction through conservation, so you can know that you’re supporting a good cause during your visit. To further help the zoo’s conservation efforts, visit Nature’s Kingdom Gift Shop to symbolically adopt an animal.
Check out animal exhibits in the Asian Gardens with endangered species like the Malayan tiger, Sun bear, Komodo Dragon, and Indian rhino. Find your way into Primate World with species including the Ring-Tailed Lemur, Bornean Orangutan, Golden Lion Tamarin, and Hamadryas Baboon.
During your visit, get your chance to feed the animals at the Indian Rhino habitat to give the rhinos a tasty treat on Saturdays and Sundays from 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Experience more personal connections with the animals at the ZooVentures Theater and meet Zoo Tampa’s animal ambassadors! After exploring, get a bite to eat at the Safari Pizza Co. and grab a refreshing drink at the Beer and Wine garden. If you want to get close to the animals, visit the animal encounters opportunities like the African Penguin Encounter and African Elephant Behind-the-Scenes tour.
To visit the land down under, check out the Wallaroo Station for Australia’s truly unique animal species. Come see the Koala bears, Wallabies, bats, Palm Cockatoos, and Nigerian Goats.
Get close to the Koala bears with a special meet-and-greet opportunity on Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m., where the kids can also get an up-close look at the Koala habitat! For Aussie farm animals, check out the Wallaroo Barnyard every day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to meet the goats and llamas. If the kids are up to explore, bring them over to the Koala Clubhouse Playground, where they can enjoy running, climbing, and sliding on this wooden outdoor playground.
While you’re visiting and searching for all of the Siesta Key things to do, check out the special Florida exhibit with local animal species! See the variety of local species like the West Indian Manatee, North American Black bear, Gopher Tortoise, Florida Panther, Caribbean Flamingo, American alligator, and Bald Eagle.
Then, check out the daily Manatee Critical Care Center to see the life-saving work of Zoo Tampa’s animal expert team to save sick, injured, and orphaned manatees. Learn about the process of recusing, rehabilitating, and releasing these aquatic animals back into the wild. With Zoo Tampa, you pay for one day and get in free for the remainder of the year! These tickets are priced at $45.45 for everyone 12 years old and up. Tickets for children aged three to 11 years old are $35.95.
The drive from our Siesta Key rentals is about an hour and a half, but it’s well worth the trip over. Going to Zoo Tampa is one of the best things to do near Siesta Key because of all the extraordinary new ways to visit animals in the zoo. The kids will have a blast being able to feed various wild animals, which is a moment they will never forget!
Why Stay With Crystal Sands?
When planning your family vacation, get the comfort of home with our Siesta Key vacation condos on the gorgeous beaches of the Florida coast! Stay with us at Crystal Sands Condominiums, where you can get picturesque views of the award-winning Crescent Beach.
Explore the downtown with Siesta Key tours, showing your family the best of this popular vacation spot. Our comfortable rental accommodations include two bedrooms and two bathrooms and three bedrooms and two bathrooms, so there’s plenty of room for the whole family!
With plenty of things to do and new experiences waiting for your family, call us today and book your perfect beach getaway with Crystal Sands!
