What a "Zooprise!" The Buin Zoo is a fantastic bargain on the outskirts of the Santiago metro…read morearea. Admission was only 7000 CLP (about $10.50 USD)....compare to the San Diego Zoo at $50 USD per person...... Granted, the Buin Zoo is not as comprehensive as San Diego, the landscaping is only 20 years old (compared to 100 years for Balboa Park). But the value is amazing. The enclosures do a great job of getting you close to the animals. The decoration of the exhibits was amazing. But the most glorious part of this park is the BATHROOMS. Decorated impeccably, modern in their technology but made to look like African huts or antique buildings. We actually had to look in every restroom, just to view the many antiques that were on display! The african masks in particular. My only complaint about Buin Zoo: Everything is in Spanish. They obviously do not get any tourists here, which is a shame because this was our favorite place to visit in Santiago, Chile! Highly recommended....but you need to bring an interpreter!

The zoo was nice until my daughter ran into a rusted piece of metal that was sticking out of the…read moreground. the response time from the staff was slow until a security person called for a wheel chair and a medical team. Once we were in the first aid clinic the team was quick and efficient. Unfortunately after a quick trip in ambulance to hospital for a shot my daughter had no desire to return to the zoo at all. What really worried me was that there were several pieces of cut metal in the ground waiting to find someone (chile or senior citizen) that could fall on these steel poles that were sticking out of the ground. I suggested in their complaint book to check the whole park for dangerous objects as this was an extremely dangerous situation they had.