The Faruk Yalçın Zoo and Botanical Park is in Darıca, in Kocaeli province, just beyond Istanbul’s Tuzla district, and it is reachable from the city in a day. This guide gives the opening hours and ticket prices we could find, the main rules, and the practical points for a family visit. The zoo is currently closed to visitors (as of 29 October 2026, per our own information). We could not confirm the reason or a reopening date, and we could not open the zoo’s own website. Confirm that it is open before you travel, and treat the figures below as the last published ones.
Faruk Yalçın Zoo at a glance
- Where: Piri Reis neighbourhood, Tuzla Caddesi No. 297, Darıca, Kocaeli. Booking sites give this address; the zoo’s own site was not reachable for us.
- What it is: A zoo set inside a botanical park. A zoo official told Hürriyet Daily News it held about 3,600 animals of 286 species and 8,000 plants of 600 species. That count is from older coverage, and other sites give lower numbers, so treat it as approximate.
- Opened: 1993, according to a ticketing site.
Hours and ticket prices
A June 2025 report in Ekonomist lists the following. These are list prices for Turkish citizens, and we found no separate price for foreign visitors.
| Ticket | Price (June 2025) |
|---|---|
| Adult | 599 TL |
| Child or student, 37 months to 17 years | 469 TL |
| Aged 65 and over | 499 TL |
| Disabled visitor | 119 TL |
| Children up to 36 months | Free |
The same report gives opening hours of 10:00 to 19:00 every day, with ticket offices closing at 18:00. It also says tickets bought before 11:00 get a 10% discount and that a ticket is valid all day. Other sites show higher gate prices, such as 699 TL for adults, so prices have probably risen since June 2025. Ask at the gate or check the official site.
Rules to know
Feeding the animals is forbidden, according to the same report. We repeat this because visitors are often tempted to hand food over the rails. Uncontrolled feeding can harm the animals’ health, so please do not do it, even if you see others. The park has places to eat and a baby-care room.
Getting there from Istanbul
The zoo is outside Istanbul’s city limits. A ticketing partner’s page says you can ride Marmaray to Tuzla or Gebze and take a short taxi ride, or take a minibus from Kadıköy towards Gebze and Darıca. We have not checked these routes, so confirm them in a current journey planner. By car, the zoo has parking. For other trips by public transport, see our guide to day trips from Istanbul without a car.
Who it suits
It works best as a half-day with children, combined with a stay or a meal in Tuzla. Our Tuzla stay guide and the Tuzla fish restaurant guide cover the area, and Istanbul with kids lists other family options inside the city. Zoos raise welfare questions, and we describe only the practical side of a visit.
Last checked: 29 October 2026. The zoo is reported closed at present, so confirm before going. Prices and hours come from third-party reports dated June 2025, and the zoo’s official site could not be opened. Sources: Ekonomist, Hürriyet Daily News.
