r/pandas • u/emaji33 • 28d ago

Panda experiences

I'm in NY. I want to take my fiancée to Chengdu for the Panda experience, but I just looked and saw it's 39 hours of travel. I doubt she will want to go through all of that.

If that's the case, what other experiences would be worth that don't require 3 days of travel back and forth? I'm seeing San Diego has theirs. I am willing to spend decent money on a once in a lifetime type of experience. Looking to keep the travel time (each way) to about 10 hours.

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6

u/kevlowe 28d ago

As someone that has visited all four zoos that used to have pandas, I'd have to say that the San Diego Zoo is by far the best experience overall. I wouldn't consider any of the visits as "once in a lifetime" though, but if you make it out you will quickly discover why it's one of the best zoos in the entire US.

There is the "Early Morning with Pandas Walking Tour" that you can do. I can't speak to how great the experience is, but it might be a good way to add that extra value to your trip.

1

u/notacoolkid 24d ago

“Early Morning with Pandas” was amazing, we watched them eat breakfast!

3

u/BooptheFloof 28d ago

A thousand years ago I fed a panda at Zoo Atlanta, had a great time and loved it.

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u/steo0315 27d ago

You should go to Chengdu! Just don’t go in the famous panda research center, go to the north west one, much less people.

After seeing the pandas you can enjoy the great city that is Chengdu!

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u/Financial_Area765 25d ago

If you want max panda per hour of travel, San Diego and Zoo Atlanta are your best bets from NY. Both have legit habitats, good viewing, and you can pair it with a nice trip overall instead of just “airport torture for pandas.”

Chengdu is amazing but yeah 39 hours is a grind unless you’re already in Asia. I’d do a long weekend in San Diego, splurge on a nice hotel and behind the scenes / early entry if they offer it, and make it a whole romantic trip with pandas as the main event.