The San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park don’t list a discount for individual teachers on their own pages. What they do list is a school field trip program for groups of at least 15 participants, with one adult chaperone age 21 or older for every 6, and a rate that depends on where your school is.
If you’re building a field trip, the group pages below are where your planning starts. If you’re heading out on a weekend with your own kids, the Zoo’s help center lists a few ways to pay less that don’t depend on your job, and we’ve put them further down.
How To Get The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Teacher Discount
There’s no individual teacher discount to claim, so the route for a teacher is the school field trip program. The Zoo’s student and youth groups page says a group needs a minimum of 15 participants and allows a maximum of 150 per group, per reservation. It requires a minimum of 1 adult chaperone, age 21 and older, for every 6 participants, says reservations are required one month in advance, and says groups must arrive and enter together. It also says to limit one visit per teacher, per school year.
The Safari Park’s own group page lists the same minimum group size, the same chaperone ratio and the same one-visit-per-teacher limit, so use whichever page matches the park you want.
The pages don’t print prices. Each tier points you to a Rate Calendar, and the Zoo’s page sorts schools into three. San Diego County public or private schools have to reside in San Diego County and be listed on the California Department of Education Directory. The Southern California rates apply to schools from Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Imperial and Riverside counties. For everyone else, the page says schools outside Southern California are eligible for a discounted rate. The Safari Park’s page adds that Southern California students pay a discounted rate on traditional school days.
Group Admission And Youth Groups
Separate from the field trip program, the Zoo’s help center lists an admission discount for groups. Groups of 15 or more paying admission receive a 10% discount off the walk-up and Any Day 1-Day Pass, and groups of 100 or more receive 15%. It says advance reservations are strongly recommended and that group reservations can be arranged through its Reservation Sales Department at 619-718-3000. Group discounts aren’t offered on Tours, Safaris or other Special Experiences or programs.
If you run a club rather than a class, the group page says youth groups such as Scout troops, Boys & Girls Club, YMCA and extracurricular programs are eligible for a discounted rate.
Classroom Resources And Guided Visits
If a trip isn’t in the budget this year, the Zoo’s group page links a recorded field trip it describes as a 22-minute, narrated exploration of the San Diego Zoo. It also links a curriculum website of wildlife and conservation activities you can use in your classroom, in conjunction with or without a visit. The Safari Park’s group page offers a guided or virtual visit with a Safari Park wildlife expert.
Visiting On Your Own
On a weekend with your own family, the Zoo’s help center lists a few discounts that don’t ask what you do for a living. AAA members who show a valid AAA membership card at ticket windows at the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park receive 10% off a 1-Day Pass, valid for up to 6 people. The page says it can’t be applied online or by phone, since you need to show the card in person at a ticket window, and it can’t be combined with any other coupon or offer.
If you’re taking classes yourself, the help center says students 18 and older receive a 10% discount off the 1-Day Pass Any Day ticket when they show valid photo ID and proof of current enrollment at any ticket window.
The Kids Free page describes a yearly event in the fall. Youths 11 years of age and younger are granted free entrance to the Zoo and Safari Park when they’re accompanied by an adult age 18 or older with a valid form of entry, and each ticketed supervising adult may bring up to 6 of them free. Youths ages 2 and younger are always free.
What We Couldn’t Confirm
ID.me’s store page for the San Diego Zoo lists Teachers Save 10% at the San Diego Zoo, and its teacher page says the Zoo is one of the retailers offering special savings for verified Teachers community members through ID.me Shop. The same store page lists a 10% savings for Military and for Students, so it reads like an offer open to several groups rather than a teacher program. The Zoo’s help center, its ticket page, the Safari Park’s ticket page and the ticket terms don’t mention it. The listing names only the San Diego Zoo, not the Safari Park, and it doesn’t say whether it works at a ticket window or only online, or how to claim it. We didn’t verify with ID.me or buy a ticket, so if you want to try it, read the terms on ID.me before you plan around it.
We also couldn’t confirm what a school group pays, since the pages send you to a rate calendar and print no prices. The pages don’t say whether the help center’s group discount applies to a school group or only the field trip rates, or what the recorded field trip and the guided visit cost. The student and group answers in the help center don’t name the Safari Park, so check at the Safari Park before you count on them there.
Q&A
Does the San Diego Zoo give teachers a discount?
Not on the pages we read. The help center’s discount questions don’t include one for teachers. ID.me lists a Teachers 10% offer that we couldn’t confirm on the Zoo’s own pages.
How big does a school group need to be?
The group page requires a minimum of 15 participants and allows a maximum of 150 per group, per reservation.
How many chaperones do I need?
A minimum of 1 adult chaperone, age 21 and older, for every 6 participants.
How far ahead do I book a field trip?
The page says reservations are required one month in advance.
Can I bring my class more than once in a school year?
The page says to limit one visit per teacher, per school year.
Does the group discount cover tours and safaris?
No. The help center says group discounts aren’t offered on Tours, Safaris or other Special Experiences or programs.
More Information:
The details above come from the San Diego Zoo’s, the Safari Park’s and ID.me’s own pages as they loaded when we checked, and they change without notice. See more entertainment discounts for teachers.
