Khao Kheow Open Zoo

Khao Kheow Open Zoo, run by the Zoological Park Organization of Thailand on a forested hillside about 45 minutes north of Pattaya, is widely considered the country’s best zoo — and since late 2024 it has been world-famous as the home of Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippopotamus whose glistening outrage turned her into a global meme and roughly doubled the zoo’s visitor numbers overnight. She has an official viewing schedule at the hippo enclosure and remains the star attraction; expect a queue at her pen on weekends.

Moo Deng aside, the zoo itself deserves the trip. "Open" is the operative word: enclosures spread across some 2,000 acres of real hillside forest, with many herbivores in large walk-through or drive-through areas where deer and antelope wander up to visitors. The territory is far too big to cover on foot — rent a golf cart, join the hop-on tram, or drive your own car through, which is half the fun. Highlights beyond the hippos include a large open African savannah zone, a good nocturnal house, gibbon islands, and keeper-talk feeding sessions scheduled through the day.

Entry for foreign visitors is 350 THB for adults and 120 THB for children (the posted Thai rate is lower — dual pricing is standard at state attractions), with children under 95 cm free; the zoo opens daily 08:00–17:00, and a separate night-safari programme runs Friday to Sunday evenings. Allow at least four hours, realistically a full morning-to-mid-afternoon with kids.

Getting here is the one real cost: there is no public transport, so it is your own rental car, a Bolt/Grab arranged for a round trip, or a private driver — roughly 45 minutes each way from central Pattaya toward Si Racha. Weekday mornings are dramatically quieter than weekends, when Bangkok families arrive in force for the same hippo you came for.