If you want to have a great vacation with your family but don’t want to spend a fortune, consider Lowry Park Zoo. Situated just north from downtown Tampa in Florida, Lowry Park Zoo offers much more than just animal attractions. It is the kind of place that has something for everyone to enjoy. The park has over 2,000 animals and includes Asian Gardens, Free-Flight Aviaries, a children’s zoo, a Native Florida Wildlife Center, a Manatee hospital, and an African Safari. The zoo also features shows, rides and hands on interactive exhibits.

Don’t let the word zoo throw you off. Lowry Park Zoo also has a banquet room for special gatherings fully equipped with rental facilities and a catering staff. Corporate meetings, birthdays, weddings and family reunions take place here and they can accommodate parties for thousands of people. Gatherings or parties can be held outside at a natural serene escape like the Garden of Love or you can choose the indoor Banquet and Lecture Hall facility.

Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo just got cuter with a new Aussie addition, the Queensland Koala, Bundaleer. It is the Zoo’s first Koala resident and Bundaleer prefers low humidity so his exhibit is indoors in a climate controlled environment. Like Kangaroos and Wallabies, Koalas carry their young in a pouch and live almost entirely on eucalyptus leaves. They don’t drink water because they get all the water they need from the eucalyptus leaves and Koala is the Aborigine word for “no water.” Koalas have a low metabolic rate for a mammal and rest and sleep for about 18 to 20 hours a day. Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo works in cooperation with the San Diego Zoo to support the Koala breeding program and habitat conservation and research in Australia. It is one of the few Zoos in the United States accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to exhibit Koalas.

On your next Florida travel vacation, do keep Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo in mind. It is truly one of best parks to spend time with your family. Here are some more attractions you can enjoy.

Safari Africa and Ituri Forest – see elephants, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, warthogs, cheetahs, crowned cranes, pygmy hippos and much more in their natural habitat.

Wallaroo Station – lots of fun for the whole family in this Australian adventure that includes cockatoos, kookaburras, goats, wallabies and kangaroos. Kids can play in the Billabong water play area, pet the goats, ride a pony or ride the Tasmanian tiger family roller coaster.

Asian Gardens and Sulawesi Aviary – watch the tigers, bears and leopards at play. You can actually get up close to all these animals.

Free Flight Aviaries – enjoy a sub-tropic rain forest in the Zoo. Admire nature’s colors in all their glory, red legged honeycreeper, the purple swamp hen, the toucan and the blue bellied roller. You will also enjoy the peaceful waterfalls and river that runs through this area.

Florida Boardwalk – you will be amazed to see the many animals whose native habitat is Florida. Don’t miss the two interactive areas in the boardwalk, the Harrell Discovery Center and Stingray Bay where you can feed and touch Florida’s stingrays.

Primate World – here you can see orangutans, chimpanzees and mandrills. You will also see tiny marmosets and tamarins. The majority of these primates are endangered species in the world.

Birds and Prey – the list is endless but here you will see bald eagle, American kestrel, Andean condor, barn owl, barred owl, black vulture, hawks including a red tail one.

Gator Falls Flume Ride – enjoy the thrill of raging waters and a treacherous 30 foot drop on this ride. Watch as hungry alligators wait for you at the end.

Taz Tiger Family Coaster – here is a family friendly coaster that takes you on ups and downs for a thrilling ride.

Boomer’s Flyin’ Bananas – here kids can soar high in their own flying bananas. It is a circular motion ride and children can use control levers to move them up and down.

Safari Ride – climb aboard the custom made safari vehicle for a 15 minute long narrated ride and see dozens of African animals.

Jungle Carousel – take a ride on a cheetah, manatee, elephant or other exotic creatures on this colorful carousel.

Treetop Skyfari – you can see the entire zoo from this sky ride as well as a great view of downtown Tampa and surrounding areas.

Camel Ride – hop on the back of a camel and experience the thrill of riding one of these magnificent animals.

Pony Trek – get the kids to ride on the back of a Haflinger horse and on weekends, they can ride a llama.

In addition, you can also enjoy some of the many water attractions the park offers such as River Odyssey Eco-Cruise, Manatee Fountains, Billabong Fountains and the children’s play area with exciting slides, tunnels and ladders. Do consider the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa on your next Florida travel. It is a great place to visit.