Australia’s best zoo sleepovers for kids

Amber Jacobs dons her PJs to uncover Australia’s best zoo sleepovers.

As the noisy crowds leave and the sun sets, a zoo becomes an entirely different beast. What better way to experience it than on a sleepover? Both at home and abroad there are many zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks offering epic sleepovers for families, with a variety of hands-on animal experiences, exciting torchlight tours and kid-friendly accommodation ranging from tents to luxury suites. Here’s our pick of Australia’s best zoo sleepovers.

1. SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast Sleep Under the Sea

Mooloolaba, Queensland

Children can explore this aquarium in their pyjamas and see what SEA LIFE’s creatures and coral get up to at night. The school holiday sleepover experience includes a night tour, behind-the-scenes tour and seal presentation. SEA LIFE has impressive exhibits including an 80-metre-long Ocean Tunnel where guests can gaze up at stingrays, vibrantly coloured coral and eight different species of sharks. After a night full of activities and supper, kids will sleep soundly on the provided mats before waking up to breakfast.

2. Taronga Zoo Sydney Roar & Snore

Sydney, NSW

Parents and children over five will love the Roar & Snore sleepover. Immerse yourself in the wilderness surrounded by bears, elephants and crocodiles, while soaking up the city skyline. The experience includes a 1.5-hour night safari and two interactive keeper tours. Viewings and encounters range from exotic animals to evenings with native Australian reptiles and mornings devoted to friends such as koalas or perhaps insects and lizards. Purpose-built tents with electricity and comfortable bedding will have the family feeling cosy and relaxed, and there’s a buffet dinner, breakfast and refreshments included.

3. AQWA Shark Sleepover

Perth, Western Australia

Kids aged between seven and 12 can spend the night in, or at least under, the sea, snoozing surrounded by colourful fish, sharks and turtles in the Aquarium of Western Australia’s tunnel. They’ll get hands-on with marine-themed art and craft activities, and learn about the exhibits at night with an Ocean Guide. After a delicious meal served in a treasure chest for dinner, kids will enjoy a movie and popcorn before falling asleep beneath three million litres of water. Morning sees these submarine adventurers sent home after a continental breakfast with a free kids’ pass to return and a shark backpack filled with goodies to remember their fishy night.

4. Jamala Wildlife Lodge

Canberra, ACT

Jamala immerses families in the National Zoo & Aquarium’s wildlife while they enjoy luxury accommodation with modern facilities and bespoke African decor. Be enthralled by your animal neighbours, including giraffes, which stroll up to your balcony, tigers that sit by your bath, and sharks that swim beside your lounge chair. Each Giraffe Treehouse welcomes a family of four, while uShaka Lodge’s suites can house up to six guests.

To stay, children must be over six with the exception of Family Fridays, when kids over four are welcome and offered an early dinner and Aquarium tour while parents relax and enjoy dinner.

5. Taronga Western Plains Zoo Zoofari Lodge

Dubbo, NSW

This incredible zoo in NSW’s Central West invites guests to sleep in style in one of the 15 luxury Zoofari Lodges, 10 of which feature views of the giraffes, zebras and antelope. Enjoy the sunrise from the deck, your double bath or in the saltwater swimming pool at the Guest House. Or for spacious, affordable family accommodation chose a Savannah Cabin and fit up to six family members comfortably into two bedrooms and the open lounge area. For those families that want to get really wild, Billabong Camp features permanent tents that allow you to sleep under the stars and get close to nature.

6. Werribee Open Range Zoo Slumber Safari

Werribee, Victoria

Just 30 minutes from the centre of Melbourne, this zoo gives you the opportunity to sleep overlooking the African Savannah. Eight tented lodges offer up to five guests a glamping experience like no other, and include ensuite bathrooms, electric blankets and a balcony overlooking the pretty Werribee River. As well as falling asleep and waking to the sounds of Africa, each guest can enjoy two days of zoo entry, a hosted safari experience and an African-inspired dinner and buffet breakfast. Kids will also love the night-time activities by the fire, especially the roasted marshmallows.

7. Melbourne Zoo

Melbourne, Victoria

After the daytime visitors leave, discover the peace of this inner-city zoo at night. From September to May you can drift off to sleep with the sounds of the animals surrounding your tent in the former Elephant House (tents, mattresses and meals included). On the after-dark tour, you and the kids (ages five years and over) can all find something to marvel at. Guides carry infrared lights that let you catch a glimpse of the elusive animals who only come out to party at night without disturbing them. When day breaks, another guided walk includes up-close encounters like hand-feeding the giraffes, before you are free to explore the zoo at your own pace.

8. Mansfield Zoo

Mansfield, Victoria

Mansfield Zoo is the home of a wild sleepover experience with the tamest of prices, and kids of all ages are welcome to join the party. Your sleepover includes two days’ entry and access to 12 hectares of this picturesque sanctuary, housing a large collection of exotic and native animals. You can feed many of them yourself as you wander the grounds at your leisure, but some mealtimes are best left to the staff. Watch the zoo’s unusual white lions (as well as their familiar tawny-coloured pals) enjoying a meal on weekends and school holidays. Bring your own tent, barbecue dinner and brekky to combine the simplicity of camping with the excitement of sleeping among wildlife.

9. Adelaide Zoo

Adelaide, South Australia

Imagine a setting that’s wild and unique, where lions roar and the calls of cheeky gibbons punctuate the atmosphere. This is what dinner under the stars in the spectacular surrounds of Adelaide Zoo sounds like. You’ll take a night safari, feed the meerkats their breakfast, and enjoy a behind-the-scenes panda experience during your stay, with a three-course barbecue dinner and breakfast provided. When you bunk down, there’s no need to worry about the zoo’s cheeky monkeys or cuddly joeys hopping into bed with you (BYO sleeping bag and pillow) with the two-person tents set high up on the rooftop garden overlooking the zoo. Kids need to be at least six years old before you can treat them to this experience.