Kuranda Koala Gardens General Entry Ticket

If you care about the welfare of animals, this place is not for you! The size of the enclosures is horrendous for the type and amount of animals that are kept in them. In the night enclosure, there was a bilby that just kept jumping back and forth along the enclosure the whole 5-7 minutes we were in there. I understand the park has limited space but it is horrible to see. The animals looked tired and silently stressed, especially in the kangaroo/wallaby enclosure with many of them looking really sad and lethargic. They were being touched constantly by tourists and there were children running around their enclosure scaring them (a staff member told them not to once, but did not check on them again and two of the kangaroos moved from where they were resting, to their retreat zones). We visited them around 2.45pm and it was quieter due to being later in the day, the kuranda railway and half the skyrail being closed but I hate to think how busy it is and how many tourists they must endure when everything is open! Just a tourist trap and not a good experience.

This park has a lot of different animals: of coarse koalas, kangaroos, crocks, parrots, butterflies

Having only one staff member on when there's a line out the door wasn't ideal. Inside was small and over-crowded, and definitely felt more like a tourist trap for overseas visitors, than for locals or anyone who truly cares about wildlife.

DO NOT VISIT - awful, humiliating and downright cruel. The animals have no space and are simply there to make money for the operators. We are a family of 5 and everybody wanted to leave as soon as they entered - wathching children chase penned in wallabies and a queue of people to hold a koala who had nothing but a stick to sit on, no trees or anything. This simply shouldn’t be allowed. Feel traumatised.

It’s a must if you want a up close picture with a koala. Taking picture with koala and feeding wallabies were the highlights for this venue. It takes less than one hour but you can see many koalas near by in safe environment. I felt admission fee was appropriate for the situation.

Loved our interaction with the Koala. Although you don't get to hold the little guy, you can touch and pet and they will take a picture of you and it is printed out before you walk away. They are very generous with letting you take your own pictures as well.

This was an interesting spot to visit while in Kuranda. The best part was being able to feed a kangaroo!

I have mixed views about my visit. I paid extra for the photo with the koala and that was the highlight. I loved that picture! I will say it was kind of sad to see the animals in captivity, they seemed overheated and lethargic.

This is effectively a very small zoo, there’s not much to do in the village so we thought we’d give it a go. We were in and out in less than 15 minutes not sure who was bored the most me or the koalas.

I was really disappointed by my visit to Koala Gardens. The enclosures and terrariums are far too small and noticeably lacking in enrichment. Many of the animals appeared unhealthy, understimulated, and distressed, which made the experience uncomfortable rather than educational. The fact that visitors are encouraged to hold koalas and snakes purely for photo opportunities is especially troubling. In today’s world, this kind of interaction feels unethical rather than fun. It’s heartbreaking to see an attraction like this operating in the middle of Kuranda’s stunning rainforest while failing to respect the animals it profits from. I wouldn’t recommend visiting if you care about animal welfare.

Although it is a small garden/zoo area - there are a great deal of animals that all look very happy with their enclosures. Our highlight was definitely our photo shoot with a koala bear. Astra was lovely and friendly koala who posed so well for photos. Definitely a bucket list tick for me

The enclosures are tiny and poorly equipped, the animals lifeless and depressed looking. Wombats are nocturnal creatures but I witnessed a keeper throwing food at one to wake it up at 2 in the afternoon, to entertain the visitors. I came away pretty depressed myself.

Honestly I think all of the animals are depressed. The gardens are tiny and overpriced and the animals barely have any space

I would leave zero stars if I could - ashamed with myself that I didn’t do my research before going. The animals are in tiny enclosures and fully exposed to visitors with nowhere to escape. They looked visibly stressed and sad. The photo opportunity seemed purely for money making with little care for the welfare of the koalas. Please do not spend your money here.

If you want to see wildlife up close go to this place (koala, kangaroos, wombat, crocs, etc.). The wallaby was scared of people and the koala during his slumber had no choice when he was disturbed to take pictures with the paying customers. If you go to this place, don’t pay for the pictures. Leave the koala alone. You can also feed and pet the kangaroo. I remain neutral about this place.

Good place to spend a couple of hours if you are in Kuranda with kids. The kangaroo feeding and panda patting with family photo option is a highlight. The kids enjoyed the ranger talks while they fed the wombat and crocs. Kids also enjoyed the snakes and lazy tortoise.

Found our experience quite depressing. The animals were in small enclosures and looked generally unhappy and stressed with nowhere to hide from humans when they were fed up or just wanted a break. Yes there’s a kangaroo rest area but it’s next to where you can stand to watch them with very little space for the animals. Would definitely recommend others to look for other animal sanctuaries to visit.

It’s nice park just very small and not much to see unless you want to pay for a photo standing next to a koala. Definitely should have bought ticket for other parks to see as we were finished with this park within 25 min

Great little collection of indigenous Australian animals, which you can get close up with. The roos rock!

Great small animal garden. Not so many aminals to see. Please note that if you pay extra for the korala photo that it's taken at a distance from the korala and not holding the korala, as they have changed their policy since the last time we came 4yrs ago. Overall, good value for money.

This experience was underwhelming. The gardens are s all and only had 3 koalas for viewing. The kangaroo enclosure was over crowded so they really were not interested in eating the food we had or interacting with the people.

This was what I was looking forward to the most! We got to meet and pet Sebastian the Koala as well as pet a Kangaroo!

We loved getting to cuddle a koala and hand feed the kangaroos. It’s a little wildlife park but offers a closer view of some of Australia’s Wildlife

It is my understanding that this is the only location in Australia that allows for the holding of a koala. It's for a very short time- enough to take a photo- but it's worth it. You can also feed kangaroos here. Definitely worth a visit.

Spent around 1 hour in here looking at all the different animals on show. Sadly the wallabies and kangaroos didn't want to eat from our hands but still loved seeing the koalas up close

I thought I would spend the whole day here but went round pretty quickly. It’s good to see if you won’t get to visit another wildlife sanctuary in Australia (definitely recommend their partner - Hartley’s Crocodile Farm). Go as late as you can, close to closing, as the animals are fed at the end of the day and become more interactive.

This wildlife centre is good for mainly overseas travellers. It had a lovely big Wombat. Also Koala's, Quokka's, kangaroos and lizards. We didn't get any photo's done with a Koala or anything like that nor did we see any of the presentations. This visit was nice but the one in Port Douglas is better we felt. It didn't take long to go around the centre.

The kids enjoyed seeing the koalas, kangaroos, crocs and lizards. Was a good place to visit whilst in Kuranda, we bundled the 3 attractions together and it was well worth it.

A fantastic way to see our cuddly koalas up close and personal! A small, interactive park which is well set out. My visit was specifically to get the photo of me holding a koala - well worth the money & a great experience for all ages!! Friendly staff and plenty of photo opportunities.

If you’re with kids or didn’t venture into Australia’s spectacular wilderness, maybe this would be worth the $21 AUS. But to me it was an utter waste of money. We spent a mere 25 minutes in this glorified petting zoo. The animals are understandably tired of interacting with humans. It’s a quick walk through, basically.

I was just in the koala gardens. Being able to hold and touch a koala is heavily advertised. It costs AUD 21 per entry. 36 AUD for entrance fee and to hold a koala. Luckily we only paid for the entrance fee because this was the saddest sight I have ever seen of a koala and other animals in a zoo. Long queues to have a flash photo taken with an animal that usually sleeps during the day. We find this very sad, unethical and predatory of Australian animals in captivity. We regret paying money at all and supporting their industry.

Kuranda koala park is good but even tho how it is like a zoo is even better but the only letdown is the time of my skyrail so i had to pat the koala not hold. 22nd Monday July 2024

The animals are kept in very small enclosures that are not natural habitat conditions. The wombat, a nocturnal animal, had no natural burrows, just concrete and metal tubes and was trying to nap in a concrete tunnel facing the crowds. The koalas had sticks to sit on at shoulder high level close to the crowds, with a few leaf-bearing branches propped nearby to eat, but no actual trees to climb or forage in. All the animals looked depressed. We have been to several animal sanctuaries during our trip to Australia where the animals were provided large spaces with natural environments, and the primary aim was providing for the animals' welfare, the secondary aim to educate the public about the animals. The aim here is to cater to the tourist whim of holding a koala and profiting off of these animals. My whole family just felt depressed after visiting this unethical operation.

The Kuranda koala Gardens while small and rather dated, had a fair range of Australian wildlife for visitors to enjoy. A highlight is the opportunity to have your photograph taken while cuddling a koala. It should be noted that the staff really respect the koalas, and ensure that they are not stressed or upset by being handled by visitors. Overall I would recommend this attraction in Kuranda, although it is rather pricey for what you get.

This was so much fun. The exhibits were very well done. Everything was well looked after and clean. Even the kangaroos were moving about. The nocturnal animals were a nice surprise. I was happy to pay extra to be able to get my picture taken with one of the koalas.

I assumed that we would be able to hold a koala and get a photo. It was an additional $25-$30. U would not choose this experience

this was a horrible experience I booked holding a koala at 1:30 in the lineup was they had 50 people in line for the same time It was totally disrespectful no value for peoples time But what was the saddest thing is that the koala bear seemed sad and the animal keepers were rude One Ashley yelled at me because a couple ahead of me asked me to use their camera to take a picture She was also rude to my daughter, because the koala bear wasn’t coming to her The people they are mean and just trying to make money off you I paid $40 to get my two dollars to hold a koala, and they made a big deal saying only one could hold them And they said hurry up, even though the bear was not coming to my daughter It was a rudest most insensitive, moneymaking experience I’ve ever been to I highly recommend do not go there But mostly, I felt so sorry for the koala bear

This experience is interactive with lots of educational posters. The staff are amazing and we could get an up close look at so many animals that are a wonderful example of God’s creative genius. I would highly recommend this encounter to anyone looking to experience Australia’s unique biodiversity. ( The koala holding is an extra charge, and made my experience all the more memorable.)

This place was not for us. Watching the koala holding was not a nice experience, with a little koala being passed from person to person for about 20 minutes. She was then put into an enclosure and then before she had even settled she was taken by a keeper to do another round of photo's (seem to be every half hour). It was the same koala which does not seem to meet guidelines. It is not allowed in most states. Sad to see. People also ask - Is it OK to hold a koala? No. In the Australian State of New South Wales, as with most other States, it is illegal for any zoo or sanctuary to allow a visitor to hold a koala. Only trained accredited rangers are allowed to hold a koala. This is a sensible law as it protects koalas from being stressed because a human wants to give it a hug.

A great wildlife experience and good interactive animal encounters. The animal enclosures were all decent sized (particularly the freshwater crocodiles) and easy to navigate around the zoo.

Great experience and fun. Seeing wallabies close up, Quokka was so cute and interesting to see reptiles. Definitely would recommend it.

Very beautiful place that allows close interaction with most of the native species. Feeding the wallabies and kangaroos, watching the crocs, pythons and kualas was a unique experience.

This was a pretty decent park, but we had previously had an awesome experience with the koalas and didn't find this to be as special. They are still delightful to see no matter what, and they did have some other native animals as well. It is clean but just didn't seem anything more than average.

With a variety of native animals on display and out and about, this is definitely worth doing if you're in the area. You can cuddle a koala (or even a friendly snake) and feed some kangaroo joeys from your hand. They have a dedicated nocturnal exhibit for things like bilbies, and it is right next to birdworld and just down the road from the butterfly sanctuary. If you're there for at least half a day, definitely spring for the combination ticket to see all three places.

Rude staff…having willingly taken our money they then said we could not have photo taken with koalas as they had been “put away” …30 minutes before the advertised time…questions about this were unanswered and the staff hid behind the “Verbal abuse” phrase, ridiculous as we were calmly and pleasantly asking questions they did not want to answer….hope they treat the animals better than the customers!

Not remotely comparable to Currumbin or places in Sidney, Melbourne. If you want to hold a koala and skip the lines in big cities, however, this is as good an opportunity as any.

Liked the write up of the history of railway / Kuranda. I personally don’t not like caged / enclosed animals but suppose if someone were seeing them for the first time they may like it. The staff was nice.

They do have 2 quokkas!!! The park is small but you can get up close to things. They have a koala holding experience I didn't sign up for because I'd done one at a park just outside Kuranda. This zoo is much easier to access, so the line for this experience was pretty long while the other place only had 3 people that day (so the koala was done "working" in just a few minutes). I did see the Koala Gardens' ranger rotate among several animals several times but I thought it was a lot. I did not see any mistreatment in anyway, but I know these attractions are going away and I probably shouldn't have done it myself. I think now that I've seen 2 different versions, I understand better why there is some controversy of having the animals do "unnatural" things to help the organization make money. Again, I didn't see anything at all wrong happen but now I understand better what I've been reading about.

This is place is a sad zoo. The enclosures are small, cramped. The koalas are constantly being subjected to the photo taking. Many of the exhibits don’t even have animals in them. It’s fine if you’re just want photos with abused animals, but I would skip this.