Early Bird Offer
No matter the date or time, pre-book your tickets online in advance from 15th – 29th July 2026 for the price of just £15.50!*
*Terms and Conditions apply.
Tickets
Tickets must be pre-booked online in advance for a specific time of arrival!
£15.50 per person
OFF-PEAK DATES 27th* • 28th* • 29th* November 4th* 6th* • 11th* December*after 6:30pm only.
£18.00 per person
£15.50 per person!
PEAK DATES 27th* • 28th* • 29th* November 4th* 5th • 6th* • 11th* • 12th • 13th • 18th • 19th • 20th • 23rd • 27th • 28th December *before 6:30pm only.
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What an amazing experience we had. The lights were amazing, plenty of them and the fountain display was great.
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Visited the zoo for the light show. We thought it was brilliant, so much to see and having the train running too was a definite wow factor for the little ones!
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This is my favourite one, beautiful lights, mutliple pit stops for food and nicely spaced out – doesn’t feel packed in like other events.
The Enchanted Trail of Light returns!
Immersive Illuminations
Prepare to be amazed along our magical trail filled with wonder at every turn and all put together by our creative in-house team!
Festive Road Train
Marvel at dancing fountains before enjoying a ride aboard our festive road train as it takes you to more enchanting sights!
Refreshment Zones
Enjoy some tasty treats from our food outlets located along the route including Gourmet Sausage, Wrap and Roll and Chip ‘n’ Mix Stop.
Special Guest
If you are visiting on dates prior to Christmas, you may even see a special guest from the North Pole along the route!*
*Special guest appearances cannot be guaranteed on dates after Christmas.
Food & Drink
Don’t forget to stop off at our Refreshment Zones and enjoy a festive meal so there’s no need to eat beforehand!
Gourmet Sausage
Wrap and Roll
Chip n’ Mix Stop
Snack Shack
PLEASE NOTE:
- All outlets will be CARD ONLY during our ‘Enchanted Trail of Light’ event.
- CZS Member Discount is not valid on catering purchases during ‘Enchanted Trail of Light’ evenings.
- All food outlets are subject to change and may close due to unforeseen circumstances without prior notice.
- Allergen information is available at each outlet. Please speak to a member of the team regarding any allergen concerns.
Early Bird Offer Terms & Conditions
- Offer valid on bookings made from 15th to 29th July 2026 ONLY.
- All tickets are subject to availability.
- Offer not valid on Tesco Clubcard Vouchers.
- Offer is not valid in conjunction with any other offer, or on other special CZS events.
- Enchanted Trail of Light terms and conditions apply.
- CZS reserves the right to withdraw this offer at anytime without notification.
Importance Notice
This evening event does not include access to The Santa Experience or any other activities taking place in the daytime during our Magic of Christmas event. Although this event is hosted by us here at Colchester Zoological Society and the trail is within the park, The Enchanted Trail of Light does not include animal viewing. If you wish to visit Santa, you must book a separate Santa Experience ticket AND you must have a Zoo Entry Ticket/Annual Membership to enter the Zoo during the day.
Please be aware that all activities, terms & conditions, dates, times and prices are subject to change.
FAQs
Anyone over the age of 3 years old will require an Enchanted Trail of Light ticket to enter this event. Children under the age of 3 years old are not required to pre-book and will be admitted free of charge on the evening of the event.
Anyone under the age of 16 years old must be accompanied by a responsible guardian over the age of 18 years old. We will not admit anyone unccompanied under the age of 16 years.
As CZS will be closing and reopening outside of normal zoo operating hours for this special event, all visitors attending Enchanted Trail of Light will be charged the same admission price per person. Unfortunately, it is not viable for us to offer a discount to CZS Annual Members for admission due to the general operation of the event.
Enchanted Trail of Light is an exclusive evening event which is separate to the Zoo.
Our popular daytime Magic of Christmas events will be running on selected days in November and December for which a standard Zoo Admission Ticket is required and a Santa Experience Ticket if you wish to also visit the grotto. Please see our Magic of Christmas event pages for more details.
Yes, we will have a number of food outlets open offering hot food, snacks and drinks throughout the evening so you can take a break and enjoy some festive treats! Please be aware that all outlets will be card only during our Enchanted Trail of Light event.
We will have entry timeslots every 15 minutes. This allows for a smooth flow of people throughout Enchanted Trail of Light, helping to avoid overcrowding and queuing for long periods of time. As you enter certain areas of the trail, our marshals may ask you to wait for a short period of time to allow for previous groups to move on and keep a steady flow throughout the trail.
CZS will close to daytime visitors at 4:00pm (weekdays) and 4:30pm (weekends & school holidays). The Enchanted Trail of Light will then open for evening visitors and the Zoo as you know it will remain closed. Therefore, it will not be possible to see any of the animals.
Enchanted Trail of Light consists of a marked route which you will be asked to follow. If you would like to see the animals at CZS, Enchanted Trail of Light is not the event for you. Instead we recommend joining us during the day.
The trail has been designed to be accessible for wheelchairs however, there are some areas that may present difficulty becuase of uneven ground or after wet weather when the surface may become muddy or slippery. Due to the natural terrain and landscape of Colchester Zoological Society, the Enchanted Trail of Light will include hills.
Please note that mobility scooters and wheelchairs will not be available to hire during our Enchanted Trail of Light event.
We do not recommend this event for assistance dogs due to special effects that will occur throughout the trail. However, this is at the owners’ discretion. Emotional support dogs cannot be admitted to this event.
If you decide to enter with an assistance dog, please contact us in advance to make our team aware of the time you will be visiting. Please be aware that tickets are non-refundable so do keep this in mind when deciding if this event is suitable for your assistance dog.
Smoking and vaping is strictly prohibited within the Zoo grounds. Please only use our designated smoking area located in the car park, outside the Zoo’s main entrance.
We plan to go ahead in all weather conditions, unless the team feel that it is unsafe to do so. If we are unable to open due to adverse weather, a member of our team will be in contact with you as soon as possible.
A Flexi Booking guarantee is available for an additional fee of £10 per transaction and must be purchased at the time of booking. The Flexi Booking guarantee allows the lead booker to change the date of their visit once to an alternative event date, subject to availability. Requests to change a booking date must be made at least 48 hours before the original visit date and time.
Bookings made without the Flexi Booking guarantee are non-refundable, non-transferable, and cannot be amended or rescheduled under any circumstances.
