Amazona Zoo, Cromer

On Woodcock Road in Cromer, a few minutes from the seafront, Amazona Zoo makes an unusual claim for a Norfolk attraction: its entire collection is drawn from tropical South America. Over 200 animals live here, among them a jaguar, ocelots, pumas, flamingos, a tapir, several species of monkey, and various snakes. The zoo sits within the Visit North Norfolk listings and holds a Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice designation, ranking eighth of 27 things to do in Cromer across 981 reviews.

The collection

The South American brief is applied consistently. Primates include common marmosets — small New World monkeys of the genus Callithrix, recognisable by their large white ear tufts and banded tails — alongside other monkey species. The big cats are the centrepiece for many visitors: the jaguar and the pumas draw attention, as do the ocelots. Flamingos add colour to the bird section, which contributes significantly to the overall count of more than 200 birds and animals. A tapir rounds out a roster that reads less like a general zoo and more like a focused regional collection. The zoo's own description leans into the theme with the phrase "Braziliant" — a portmanteau that appears on the homepage and signals the tone of the place: family-facing, not po-faced.

On the ground

The site includes both indoor and outdoor play areas, accessible paths throughout, a café, and a gift shop selling souvenirs. Free parking is available on site. The zoo runs a Little Keepers' play programme and hosts interactive sessions in a yurt, aimed at younger children. School and home education groups can book at special rates, and the zoo positions its educational offer — conservation messaging, species information, animal adoption schemes — as a core part of the visit rather than an afterthought. The contact email listed publicly is imogen@amazonazoo.co.uk, which suggests a small operation where named staff are reachable directly.

Conservation and adoption

Amazona runs an animal adoption programme and frames its broader purpose around habitat protection and the preservation of endangered South American species. The zoo describes its role in terms of conservation, education, and maintaining diversity among species that face pressure in the wild. Whether that translates into formal partnerships with field programmes isn't detailed in publicly available material, but the framing is consistent across the site — this isn't presented purely as entertainment. Visitors can adopt an animal as part of a visit or separately, which functions both as a fundraising mechanism and as a way of extending engagement beyond the day itself.

The marmosets, specifically

The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is worth pausing at. They are among the smaller primates in the collection — grey and black coated, with the distinctive white ear tufts that make them immediately recognisable. Their tails are striped in alternating dark and pale bands. In the wild they are found across north-east Brazil; here they are one of several New World monkey species that give the primate section of the zoo its particular character. For visitors who haven't encountered them before, the scale is surprising — they are considerably smaller than most people expect a monkey to be.

Where it sits

Cromer is a Victorian seaside town on the north Norfolk coast, known for its pier, its crab, and a stretch of coastline that draws visitors year-round. Amazona Zoo sits inland from the beach, signposted with brown zoo signs that are visible on approach by road. The address is 2 Woodcock Road, NR27 0FA. It is reachable by car, train — Cromer has a station — or bus. The zoo's own guidance says to follow the brown ZOO signage once in town. It sits within the broader North Norfolk tourism offer, listed alongside coastal walks, nature reserves, and the area's beaches.

Practical details

The zoo opens at 10am and last entry is at 3:30pm. Tickets can be booked online at amazonazoo.co.uk or purchased at the gate. The zoo accepts partner membership discounts — worth checking before you go if you hold membership with another attraction. The site recommends bringing a picnic, which suggests the outdoor space is set up for it and that the café isn't the only option for food. The phone number is 01263 510741. Tripadvisor's 981 reviews give it a 3.9 rating, placing it in the top 10 per cent of attractions in its category — a reasonable signal for a small regional zoo, though the score also reflects the usual range of family-day-out variables: weather, queues, whether the jaguar was visible.