Phuket Zoo is surrounded by lush greenery, palm trees and open spaces, and then you enter. The animals are all in small cages, minimal natural habitats - if any - with some enclosures being empty or totally over crowded. I am an avid animal lover, so I was excited to head to the zoo, but seeing these creatures in the metal cages did nothing but remind me of the argument about whether animals belonged in zoos or not. And in this case, I would say "not". A lady at the front was selling long string beans for the monkeys, which are double the price of what you could buy them for in a supermarket, so I would recommend buying before you go. While you're at the supermarket, I would also recommend picking up a LARGE tub of insect repellant. If you research Dengue fever, you will see that a certain mosquito carries the virus and the type of areas they breed in is pretty much everywhere in phuket zoo. My girlfriend got bitten several times that day after realising we had left our repellant at home and 3 days later she was in the hospital for 8 days. Sure, we can't prove that this is where she picked up the virus, but we are 90% sure that it was from there. So if you take your kids - make them wear the right clothing and whack on the repellant. Overall - I wont say don't go, because I love animals - but be careful and try to look past the concrete slabs of each enclosure. Oh, and maybe skip the crocodile show - there's nothing brave about 2 men hitting crocs with big sticks.