The Parque Zoologico Nacional is the largest zoo in Cuba, featuring wide-open spaces. Plenty of animals have been imported from Africa and other regions and coexist rather than being in separate cages. Bring the kids for a pleasant day outside the bustle of downtown Havana.
Visit the African Plains exhibit and imagine you are on an African safari. As you ride through the open space in the zoo’s trolley, see antelopes, elephants, giraffes, hippos, ostriches, rhinos, wildebeest and zebras grazing together. Look for zookeepers on horseback tending the animals. The guide on the bus will share descriptions of the animals in Spanish.
Close the windows on the bus and continue to the lion pit, where you’ll pass some of the 20 or so lions in the zoo. At the end of the trolley ride, disembark to tour the rest of the zoo exhibits. Look for monkeys and other favorite smaller land animals in cages and marine animals in pools. One popular section of the zoo has numerous donkeys. Bring some bread to let the appreciative animals feed from your hands.
The zoo is open Wednesday through Sunday. Travel about 30 minutes by car southwest of Havana’s Old Town. Drive, take a taxi or join a round-trip excursion bus, as public transportation to the area is limited. The admission price includes rides on the trolley. Purchase lunch from the cafeteria or snacks from stands throughout the zoo. Bring the kids to the zoo’s small amusement park with rides and playground equipment.
Near Parque Zoologico Nacional, visit Parque Lenin, which has a larger amusement park and a huge bust of the Communist leader. A bit farther south, view the Jardín Botánico Nacional’s cacti and tropical plants in greenhouses and appreciate the serenity of its Japanese garden.