The Florida Aquarium Reviews

The Aquarium was definitely the highlight of our trip.
It was a great experience and met all of our expectations
The staff was amazing, extremely knowledgeable and ready and willing to answer any questions

This place is amazing! There are so many aqua life here to look at. Took a bunch of photos here, and had a great time! Would highly recommend checking this place out!

What a excellent time me and my family had at the Tampa Aquarium over the weekend. So much to do and see at this beautiful place. I saw aquatic life I never knew existed. We had a fantastic time and can't wait to go again soon.

Love the hands on - touching the jelly fish, etc. The deep sea aquariums where also very educational.

Just beware if you are buying with a card you have to use the website on your phone even if you are standing right there. Kind of annoying when the cell service was spotty at best and they aren’t that busy. Other than that the aquarium is good for kids. Lots of things to touch and interact with. So many sea creatures to look at and learn about.

Great place to spend a hot Florida day. So many up-close experiences. Great for all ages. It was great to have the tickets ahead of time. No waiting.

Lots of fish but would have expected more bigger fish and sharks. Only one big sea turtle. It is a nice place though and good for kids. Walkable to other Tampa attractions too

Clean, beautiful and excellent experience!
So well done and all the staff was very helpful answering questions. The splash pad looked awesome. Definitely a must see if in Tampa

Terrible, the animals all have way too little space. Species-appropriate posture definitely looks different. The worst aquarium we've ever seen.

As a couple that enjoys zoos and aquariums this was super cool! Very unquie exhibts. They allow you to get closer to the amilas them most places do. Very unquie would go again!

The big tanks full of oceanic animals were beautiful. Interacting with stingrays was cool and a first time experience for my daughter and I. I don’t believe the full experience was worth $100 for 3 of us. I feel like at first, there was nothing but random different fish and ducks. The entire experience lasted 53 minutes. So to pay $100 for an hour was pretty excessive to me. My daughter is 4 years old and she had a fantastic time so, that’s all that matters!

I requested a refund due to the sudden illness of my child. I have contacted several people & never received a response. Almost $200 - GONE! Horrible customer service!

The aquarium is an awesome place to visit. This is our third time visiting and probably the least favorite. It might be because we went on a Saturday and despite picking a time to visit, the aquarium was crowded and the food lines were unreal. There were so many rude and ignorant visitors that didn't follow any of the rules for petting the critters. Some people are just stupid if they think they can lift their child over a wall with the kid in the water up to their elbows. The exhibits were so pretty and the splash pool was so cool for little kids. Next time I think I will visit another aquarium

Fun trip with our granddaughters. Spent almost 2 hours and they had a great time. The staff was very friendly. We recommend!!

We went to the aquarium with our three children (10, 13 and 14 years old) and I didn't expect it to be so big and so exciting for everyone. It was a very nice afternoon, you can easily spend two and a half hours here.

Wonderful aquarium for all ages! Very educational and visually stunning exhibits! We saw many families there with young children.

The Florida Aquarium was a great place to visit for my granddaughters, my wife and I. We spent a couple of hours there and still didn’t see everything. The layout was good, displays were great and the staff was welcoming. Do yourself a favor and visit the Florida Aquarium in Tampa.

The Aquarium facilities are well maintained and clean. The animals and their habitats appeared well cared for. There are not many large animals there. It is a small Aquarium.

Did you know you can by your tickets at a huge discount on AAA. The aquarium doesn't advertise that. While we were on line waiting to buy tickets my daughter found this out on line. We attempted to buy them on line, but you needed to do it the day before. Finally we got to the ticket window. Only 2 ticket windows open and the line was so long people didn't know what type of ticket they wanted. The woman said they didn't accept AAA cards you have to go directly through AAA. There were 2 seniors and 2 adults our basic general admission was $163.30. Parking was a joke. No one directing, cruise ship guests were parking in aquarium parking. Someone needs to be directing traffic. The aquarium was interesting, but not worth the price at all. Too expensive and will not do it again.

This is a really nice aquarium. I only had a brief amount of time to spend between the end of a cruise and boarding my flight home, and wish I could have spent much longer. The exhibits were high-quality, and included several where you could “pet” the sea life. They will also store your luggage free of charge with your purchase of the aquarium ticket.

Despite what they say on their website, they are NOT easily accessible for people with mobility impairments.

Parking is not close, and valet was not there. The attendant on the 3rd floor said nothing about all the steps involved, to get to the 2nd floor from the exhibit, despite seeing me walking with a rollator.

When brought up to the 2nd floor attendant, we were pushed to the manager, who seemed grossly disinterested and almost bothered that we were attempting to educate.

We had byeen reading on Tripadvisor about Florida Aquarium where people gave bad reviews. This was not correct, we are happy to say that our visit was great. It was clean, the staff was great and there was so much to see. The big aquarium with all kind of fisk, turtle and shark was really fun to watch and the employees gave a great lessen. The only thing was that we only saw one alligator. We would go there again.

Parking is not very clear; just pick a garage across the street. The entrance is rather understated, but inside had the usual aquarium exhibits and sea-life; all very nice. Food there was good. A good place to visit while in Tampa.

Lots to see! We really enjoyed it and would definitely go back. It wasn’t overcrowded so you could take your time and really check out the exhibits. We were there on a chilly day, so opted not to do a dolphin cruise but that would be fun next time. Just valet park because it’s the same price as the parking garage. We thought we’d save a few bucks parking ourselves. Cruised the entire parking garage only to find out there wasn’t one spot left and it was the same price

Really fantastic aquarium, it was so interesting to walk inside and such a large amount of sea creatures and animals. We met a staff there showing snakes in her hands, that was the first time I touched a snake.

The "Pet the Penguin" experience was right on. I loved all of it. Won't give away details just remember to stand by the elevators 15 minutes ahead of time. Lunch is great, drinks expensive. Boat trip is rain or shine. Many hands-on experiences. Also, try to catch the Raptor experience.

What a disappointment. Parking was expensive and hard to find. The enclosed areas were crowded. Outdoor exhibitions were closed "for remodeling". The huge crowds surged in pushy bunches -- and this was on a weekday. The outdoor play area for children was paved with fake grass and planted with dull little plastic play structures. All of the fountains were gone. Worst of all, the staff appeared bored, unfriendly and even put upon for having to be there. On top of everything, the aquarium cost more than ever. There are a lot of great things to do in Tampa. The Florida Aquarium used to be one of them.

Visit completely ruined because the aquarium administration failed to notify that this day was open to hundreds and hundreds of young primary school children. A crowd and incredible noise made this visit unpleasant.

This is a must do especially for families with young children. Very family friendly, clean and educational. Displays are easy for everyone to see and information about the displays are close and easy to read

This was a very nice aquarium run very well. If you want to learn about Florida’s, marine, life and ecosystem, this is a place for you!
I had hoped for more variety in the fish, but this place specializes in the Florida region. I love seeing all the wild birds and snakes and turtles. It was a nice touch to see the ecosystem working.

To top it all off, they have an amazing splash pad outside for the kids. Make sure to bring your bathing suits if you plan to go in the summer!

The Florida Aquarium is simply awesome. It is well organized and kept clean and visitor friendly. The exhibits are so natural and spacious. Lovely experience in every way!

We went to the Tampa aquarium today and were very disappointed to say the least. Dark, dirty tanks. Not alot of fish and definitely not worth $35. Each.
Stopped by the gift shop thought maybe I'd buy a gift for the grandkids..nope. A little plastic whale $15.00. If you have little kids there is a nice water activity outside tomlkay in. But as adults, not worth the price

Very nice place to explore sea life. Enjoyed the otters the most. It's a good way to spend a couple of hours. Not too crowded

The aquarium is quite lovely but it was hard to see because of the crowds and large strollers. I think the lesson is not to go between Christmas and new year's. The staff told us it was the busiest time of the year. I found the price to be quite high for 3 of us plus parking. Parking was also hard to get, eventhough right beside the aquarium. It's in a busy area with lots of other things to do. I would suggest getting there early and not at a normally busy time of year. The aquarium itself is lovely and has lots of interesting exhibits if you can get near them on uncrowded days.

This was such a great and incredible experience. They had a lot of information and fish, birds, stingrays, lemurs, eel, sharks, flamingos, turtles, jellyfish and much more. My husband and I enjoyed this just as much as our 6 year old. Her favorite part was touching the moon jelly!

We were visiting Tampa for the holidays and made it to the Florida Aquarium. Our kids were 5 and 8 and they enjoyed the aquarium. It is a decent sized aquarium with lots to do. Nothing like Atlanta but still nice. They were adding on when we were there. The penguins were closed down but they brought one out in a wagon for the kids to see. It was actually pretty cool because they got to see one up close. They also were doing interactions with the lemurs which was cool to see

This is an amazing attraction even better on a hot day since it is all air conditioned. The tanks are all kept so clean and there are a lot of tanks. It is great for every age. We loved sitting and just watching the fish.

My husband and I spent the day at this lovely aquarium today. Favorites were watching staff feed the spoonbill birds, watching sharks swim in the huge viewing room, listening to a very informative talk on various marine animals’ skulls, touching sea anemones, jellyfish and stingrays—under supervision. There were so many great times at this aquarium. Really first rate!

A beautifully kept up environment where all types of fish and other creatures thrive. River otters swimming, sting rays available to touch, Madagascar wildlife - lots to see and do. Outside food, bar ($14.50 for a glass of wine!) and ice cream shack are available.

Beautiful Aquarium. Had a Great Time Children will love it. We had a Great Time. So Many different species of Fish and other Wildlife

There are lots of much better aquariums. This one is not worth the price plus $10 to park and a very long, hot walk from the parking lot. My elderly husband uses a walker and there were only a few handicapped spaces, all full. Once inside, there is a huge crowd, NO maps or schedules of shows. Just one (that we found) large, confusing directory. Then only one elevator and so many people with strollers, walkers, wheelchairs, all waiting in line to use it. The displays were just OK. The African penguin display very disappointing after seeing the penguin displays at SeaWorld. Don't waste your money and time.

Very cute aquarium, with many interactive sections. Also lots of information to be learned for all ages!

The aquarium is overpriced for what is on show. They do have a variety of fish to view, but some of the tanks seem a bit small for the fish. A very underwhelming experience. It only takes 60 to 90 minutes to go around the aquarium. I have been to better and bigger aquariums.

My favorite part of the trip to the aquarium was when I saw the python that I couldn't see its head but it's still what I'm most afraid of.

We stopped because the aquarium is just across the street from cruise terminal 2, they hold your luggage for no additional charge, and we had several hours to kill. We were amazed and fully engrossed for 2-3 hours. It is a great place for kids too, with an outdoor play area.

Was a fairly good aquarium with a good layout and lots of information. Some exhibits were large and there seemed to be a lot for families to do as well. 4d movie we didn’t see and a splash park outside for the hot days. Some construction was noticed for future expansion.

Super easy and saved us lots of money. Would use TripAdvisor again for super savings deals In the future!

The Florida Aquarium is a great place to spend a day, and it's even better when you get to go at a discounted rate! So glad I came across this offer, plus paying for the tickets in advance is such a timesaver.

I’m writing this review while currently on the cruise. Husband and I are pretty bored. Big boat, slow moving, looking at the shipyards. Our narrator has said maybe 6 sentences so far, been on the boat 30 minutes. She’s not interested in her job at all.
Find an independent company for a dolphin sighting cruise! This is not worth it and I’m not sure what this is other than a slooooow boring boat ride to view Tampa Bay
If there was a way to get off we would

Good selection of fish and reptiles.
Awesome jellies.
Lobsters were cool
Like the outside play area and third floor overlooking wayer

I am glad we went, but the aquarium really could use a little updating. We went on a Sunday and it was very crowded. As other reviewers mentioned, it is unfortunate that some people just turn their kids loose to annoy others, but that isn't the fault of the aquarium. Buying tickets from Trip Advisor was cheaper and we were able to skip the very long lines.

The exhibits are very nice and well maintained and definitely reflect the hard work and dedication of the aquarium staff and resident marine experts. As a former fisheries biologist and lifelong aquarist, I certainly was is awe of the reef tank and the various aquaria and other displays. However, for the size of the facility, the price with parking is very high. There was no discount for senior citizens or Florida residents and with parking, a single visit was just over fifty dollars for a facility that takes about an hour or so to view. That is without paying for the various premium experiences available for additional ticket prices. I enjoyed my visit for sure, but it is too costly to make visiting the Florida Aquarium an annual or more frequent event if you do not live locally and cannot take advantage of a membership.

We were looking for somewhere to kill some time after our cruise and before our flight home. The aquarium is adjacent to the cruise port and offered a free luggage check so it worked out perfectly. The luggage check is absolutely free as they don't even let the employees accept tips. We enjoyed our 2+ hours here and then went to the airport. It is not the most impressive aquarium but the exhibits on the wetlands and the coral reefs are very good.

Love the acquarium beautiful peaceful good time with husband nice place to relax and see nature love all kind of fish

Aquarium was nice and similar to most we have visited. Friendly staff. Food at the cafeteria is disgusting. East somewhere else.

We had a wonderful afternoon out. It is clean, cool and calm. Everything is laid out really well. The kids had such a good time as did the adults. There is a playground and a good cafe. The aquarium isn't too big either so no one got grumpy and tired!

Discount tickets,skip the line and TONS of fun. This aquarium far exceeded my expectations. I'm 50 years old and walked away with new knowledge!

We had a wonderful time. It was a nice facility, a little worn down but all of the displays and wildlife were well cared for.

Great family activity. We spent five hours looking at exhibits, having lunch, and doing the splash pad. It’s so darn hot in Tampa, and the splash pad provided important relief. Big crowds on the weekend, but nothing unexpected. The aquarium is better than many we’ve visited. Of note, our kids are seven and five, so not having a stroller was great. Definitely recommend!

I loved getting it on TripAdvisor because it saved me 20 bucks! I didn’t think it would work to be honest but I got in no trouble and got to skip the line. Which is where I’ll start my review… the line was so mismanaged and hectic I couldn’t even find where to skip the line in the first place. Once I got in it was PACKED like there was no room to even move. Every single tank or even small viewing area had a line of at least 5 people. You couldn’t see any fish unless you waited in the “line” for about a minute or two and then you’d have people run in front of you. There was so much people that I was constantly getting rammed, stepped on and just pushed aside. I must have gone on a bad day it was just a madhouse. Not to mention kids slamming their hands on the these poor animal’s tanks… it seemed more like sea world then an actual aquarium wanting to help animals and animal research. Many of the animal’s enclosures were also horrible. With somewhat of a background in some of the animal’s proper husbandry I can admit some were pretty good! And other were just horrible and extremely sad to see. You see a lot of comments about the African penguin enclosure but I don’t think anyone grasps just how bad it is. It’s extremely small and cramped, they look terrified. They seemed to be shaking and huddled in the corner it was just sad. The whole part took 30 mins to get through… it wasn’t worth it. I don’t know if it was the flow of people pushing me through the park or what but there really wasn’t much. Maybe on a day when no one is there but still some enclosures just made me sad.

It was not much to see or experience , first they close to early and closed the restrooms at 4:30pm making seniors go up the stairs for restrooms smh

The best part of the visit was the wetlands exhibit, but other than that, definitely not a place I'd look to revisit. Nothing terribly exciting - maybe it's because I've been to the Georgia Aquarium, and once you've visited that venue, it's tough to beat it.

Not really worth the money. We expected more bigger exhibits, lots of fish tanks, just not that cool or unique. Wouldn’t bother coming back. The one in Clearwater is better.

I love this place. Each tank has a gorgeous display of sea creatures. Very clean. Fish look very healthy. I loved the penguin add on experience. I will never forget how adorable they are. The women who taught us about the penguins were fantastic. You can tell they really love their animals. The boat ride is a little pricey and mostly you see the industrial canal. We did see dolphins riding the bow waves of a big ship coming in which was cool. Watching the sharks get fed was really interesting. The food at the cafe was really good. Definitely try the Korean steak and noodle bowl. I also thought the soak pad for the kids was a great idea. The garden eels are my favorite to watch. This place is expensive but I do feel it is worth it.

It was awesome. There is a lot of interesting animals to see and they are all very well cared for. It is definitely suitable for children as they have several interactive areas for kids to get to know and interact with various creatures both land and aquatic.

Aquarium was different but enjoyed it. Lots of kids were there so very loud and chaotic. Didn’t have as much to see as I would have thought.

Went with my husband and we had a wonderful time. Good pricing for the aquarium to get the tickets on TripAdvisor.! Will order on here again!

I have been to many aquariums including Georgia Aquarium and the one in Tokyo. This is one is laid out very well and it appears they are expanding greatly and in the process of adding new exhibits. The staff was friendly and as engaging as you want them to be. I did not do any of the encounters because they were way too expensive compared to other aquariums I've been to - including Georgia Aquarium! I also don't like how expensive the admission is (but all of the parks in Tampa seem to be super expensive compared to other places I've been) and the parking is astronomical. At least if you park in the lot that says Florida Aquarium. It cost $25! I thought the garage nearby was $15, but navigating Tampa traffic is NO fun, and I didn't realize I had gone to the wrong parking area and didn't want to drive around looking to save a few bucks. The meals were reasonably priced, though. The hamburger was surprisingly delicious. I did the dolphin boat tour and that was wonderful. The tour guide did an excellent job. She was super helpful, friendly and enthusiastic. We also saw a few different dolphins (though nothing super crazy exciting happened). They try very hard to find them without being intrusive. I did the virtual reality experience, as well. It was kind of cool, but I would probably pass next time. It's $8 for about a 6 minute video. It's basically a documentary but you can look around and your seat moves to make it feel like you are on and in the water. You get to choose from several different movies. Overall I loved my day there and would definitely go back after they finish their expansions. I would recommend both the general admission and the dolphin boat tour.

It was very crowded and I felt I couldn't fully enjoy my experience with the amount of people there. It also felt underwhelming for the price I paid , I figured there'd be more to explore. The aquariums were pretty but I felt the amount I paid wasn't worth it.

Had a wonderful time at the Florida Aquarium! They had lots to see and do!! We would definitely go back!Definitely recommend going!

This was a great day out! Exhibits were really good and formed a good route around the Aquarium. The Bird show was really good and informative and also funny, well done 'The Bird Man'! We have 2 teenage daughters so the splash pad outside was not for us but lots of small children were having fun, which I thought was also a good idea in the heat. There seemed to be plenty of staff around which was good and they were very welcoming. We only had fruit snacks from the canteen and the fruit bowl had some mouldy fruit in it so I returned it for a refund which was given but no 'sorry about that' which you would expect. We parked across the road for $15 for the day which I thought was really reasonable but not sure how much it would have been to park on site, but where we parked was literally across the road. I would definitely recommend, however be sure to book in advance.....we tried to book through TripAdvisor on the day and no tickets left, so I booked direct on the Aquarium website and it was about $30 more than TripAdvisor......Great day out so would definitely recommend!

Family had a great time, The fish were so beautiful. We really enjoyed the entire outing. The splash pad and playground area were a great way to chill out after all the walking.

This was underwhelming compared to other aquariums. Denver aquarium is twice as big and half as much. Cost $275 for 4 adults, 1 child, and 1 senior. Took about 1.5 hours, taking it slow but didn’t do any upsell experiences. Facility itself is very nice. Parking was $7 in a parking garage across the street, about a 5 minute walk.

Horrible experience, bought tickets online with the promise to "skip the line," however, the line for online ticket holders was 45 minutes long in the florida heat with a baby and elderly individuals. If you bought tix there, no wait. False advertising. The aquarium itself was underwhelming.

It was windy and rainy today so we couldn't go to the beach. I had a very good time at the aquarium. I thought it was great and there was a lot of good animals to see. My favorite animals were the lemur and the penguin.

- from my 7 year old daughter

Got “skip the line” tix. Tried to find parking for 30 minutes in the rain, then stood in line in the pouring rain with no shelter for another 30 with our “skip the line” passes. Walk up ticket entry is no line and no waiting. Inside is total chaos with WAY too many people and small exhibits. Literally shoulder to shoulder with screaming children and strollers ramming your ankles. We were there for all of 45 mins.

Unless you have literally nothing else to do, avoid entirely. Maybe weekdays and sunny weather is better, but good luck.

Plan to spend a few hours here. The layout of the exhibits are fantastic. The cafe has plenty of food and drink choices. Get there early so you can have adequate time to enjoy all the things they offer.

The aquarium itself was wonderful if you go through without feral, obnoxious children running wild. The children there on a field trip from Sunlake Academy were the rudest, loudest, worst behaved children I’ve ever seen on a field trip. I cannot believe they were allowed to be there acting the way they were. I cannot count how many times a child ran up next to us and just screamed. Even my 7 year old was amazed that there wasn’t anyone keeping an eye on them. I strongly encourage you to call ahead. The outdoor playground and splash pad was a great place to hide while they were there because they weren’t allowed to be there. Once they were gone we were able to spend time in each area without being screamed at and run into, it was very enjoyable. The large tank viewing area was a great place to just sit and watch and the attendant was wonderful about answering my son’s questions. The food is overpriced, but the customer service was great. I didn’t take the time to get a refund that I was due because we would have been late getting to the airport. I hadn’t expected to have to go through twice to see the aquarium in peace.

The aquarium was decent but no wow factor.

The accessible parking is not near the aquarium entrance and there is no shuttle to take you to the entrance. It was a challenging distance for those in our party with mobility issues.

The splash pad was damaged during a hurricane and they have no plans to replace it which was a disappointment for the kids in our party.

The tanks were large with lots of animals to see. But I didn’t feel like there was anything special and worth making this a “must do again”.

Took us between 2-3 hours to complete. If we had to pay full price for tickets I would have been more disappointed than we were. It was a nice visit, but we will not be going back anytime soon.

It was a super hot day in Tampa and the Kids needed a place to explore and cool off. Why not visit the Florida Aquarium! This was my 2nd visit to the Aquarium and I enjoyed it very much the first time and also this time. Although, I thought it was a little larger 6 years ago?
There are several parking options located near the Aquarium along with restaurants if you want to grab a bite to eat before or after the Aquarium.
Purchase online tickets for a quicker entry into the Aquarium.
After entering, there is a supervised tank FULL of floating, non-stinging Jellyfish which you can pet/touch. Take the first floor pathway which will transport you into the mangroves of Florida. Birds fly freely within the exhibit, ducks waddle, fish swim and there are a few gators. As a gentle reminder there are signs which state "Please Keep Hand Out of the Water: ANIMALS POOP IN IT!
There are a few more tanks which allow you to touch marine life and even a large tide pool of stingrays to touch. The floor to ceiling Aquariums have a variety of fish, sharks, stingrays, turtles, etc. There are benches to sit and just watch them swim. A great place to Meditate and reflect!
Stop by the Gift Shop, a wonderful place to pick up a souvenir or gifts.
While we did not see an Axolot at the Aquarium, there were T-Shirts, Hats, socks, etc with the cute, pink creature's photo.

It was good not great. Wish the aquarium had penguins. Manatees would be a nice addition. More snakes also. I think it was the one python.

Beautiful. Definitely much more to see since last I was there. Enough to see for about 2 hours.
My daughter is older now so she enjoyed it.

The aquarium had a wide range of fish we had never seen before. The exhibits were well done and the staff was extremely friendly and anxious to help and answer questions. It is fairly expensive but definitely worth the price of admission!

Very easy to get in very reasonable to get my Handicap Scooter it was a little crowded with all of the children there because we picked a week during spring vacation for schoolers but otherwise had a good time the food is very good there

It was a nice outing and I’m glad they’ve added additional features to the aquarium! I really like the lemur exhibit and the tropical vibe.

The views were amazing. So many pictures and memories. I’m thankful to see more of Gods creation! I absolutely recommend.

It was a quick access buying the tickets at TripAdvisor and was able to save a couple of bucks. The place is really nice I think the highlight was the Birds of Flight show. You can't miss the show. All birds were beautiful and the presenter you can see how much he loves the birds and his job. The shark tank was amazing! Get there early to be able to find parking. It takes about 2 hr to walk through the aquarium. This place has a little bit of everything. There's even a splash pad for children and restaurants. You don't have to go out to buy food. It's all in one location. It's worth it!

Took my children. Its been so long. Went there long ago. I am looking Forward to going and taking grand kids. I love the building was almost new. Beautiful.

A beautiful Aquarium to discover with or without your children.
Lots of things to discover, lots of local species.

Easy access from Downtown Tampa, on the Teco tram line.
The Floridian Mangrove took my breath away. This area is full of animals, birds, reptiles and fish that are native to Florida. Lots of information and fun facts are available via interactive boards.
A couple of empty display tanks but we didn't struggle for long to find the inhabitants in each tank.
Supervised touch tanks allow visitors to physically interact with jellyfish, sea stars, anemones and cow nose rays.
There is an outdoor adult refreshment bar outside along with a kids splash pool.
The cafe made food to order.
A fantastic experience, we will definitely be returning when we get the chance.

The convenience of getting checked in quickly. The easy process of purchasing tickets. All of our family loved it! Ages ranging from 5-40

We went here on a rainy Sunday afternoon at appox 1:30-2 pm with my son and his fiance. I was not aware until reading online that you should purchase tickets in advance so that you are guararateed to go inside and its even called "SKIP THE LINE' well I will tell you that after circling and circling the parking lot to find a spot to park and paying the $10 at the machine to park(because the app kept saying it was unavaible at the time ) we had to walk in the rain to the aquarium and I was hoping once we got up there we would get right in since we pre-purchsed tickets...lol... NOT!!! The line was all the way to the parking lot and it was raining and we had to wait anyway with the people who had not bought tickets yet so that was pointless, once inside it was sooo packed you could hardly get round and had to wait for everything. I was really disappointed in the fact that the womens bathroom did not have a diaper changing table and my husband said there was one in the man's bathroom?? I found this to be very strange because they are usually in both or at least the womens if anything. The best part of the whole day was being able to touch the jellyfish an sting rays and I guess it was better than sitting home and the cost for the four of us to get in was $133 which is not to bad considering the other prices in the area for attractions. The pictures they take when you walk in are not to expensive etiher, they give you a little card with QR code and you can view your pics that way and buy them later if you want and they are $35.00 for all or $30 for a big one. Also, eat before you go because the food is super expensive as well but they always seem to be that way in these places so that did not surprise me.

Fantastic aquarium! Exhibits are often interactive and the variety of marine life on display is GREAT! Birds, too!

Lots of great stuff for kids and the staff as very friendly and outgoing to get kids involved.

This is a wonderful aquarium and certainly one of my favorites. We try to go every year even though it's a little over 2 hour drive. On the top level they have birds and the top deck they have lemurs. Downstairs are multiple rooms all having great displays. The volunteers are very knowledgable and helpful. Because of the remodel, the food area has been moved outside but we were in the shade and it wasn't too bad. My friend had the turkey wrap and it looked the healthiest. I had the hamburger and it was OK.

We enjoyed the aquarium and look forward to returning to participate in the upcoming exhibits that they will have. The amenities were great and we had a wonderful time.

It was fabulous! We had so much fun seeing and and being up close and personal it was a great experience perfect for travel

Loved the “skip the wait” & they let us in 45 minutes early. The No Bone Zone was fun - got to touch various sea creatures.Someone was there to supervise & answer any questions. The 4D theater was about sea turtles- complete with mists of water. Plenty of areas to explore. Also there is a section where they are growing a specific type of coral to help replenish the reefs. Very interesting. I noticed they were having a child’s birthday party in a separate room. Very cool place to have a kid’s party. I would definitely return here. Next time I will leave my car at the Joel and take the free trolley. In fact ,it was raining ( big surprise-Florida in hurricane season) when we left so we hopped on the trolley down from the aquarium and rode the loop to see the sights.

Only go if you have kids otherwise you will be wasting a lot of money. There were a few animals in nice size tanks. I felt bad for a couple birds who could not fly and looked very bored… some fish had the smallest tanks I have ever seen…. So much wasted space. They are better off in their natural habitat. Letting the kids poke and touch the wild life was really sad to watch. But I get it, it’s like a zoo. I was hoping to see some way better attractions. If you have kids then it looks like a fun experience for them, but for adults not so much.

Being a retired couple from out of town, our biggest issues were logistics related. I read where we would need to purchase tickets online regardless of how busy they are. I tried to do so but the screen for entering my credit card information would disappear before I could even enter the first number. I finally decided to just use the apple pay option and that worked easily. That’s a tip I would offer others.

We had trouble seeing where the aquarium was actually located so we would know where to best park. There are huge cruise terminals in the area and it’s tucked in between them. Once we figured that out, we found a decent spot to park. This was important to us because my husband can be unsteady on his feet.

We went on a Thursday in November and found the aquarium to not be overly busy. This enabled my husband and I to take our time. We have been to several aquariums and while this one was not top ranking, it was very enjoyable. We were glad we went and recommend it!

I invited a group of family and friends to meet me here for my kid's 2nd birthday and I might as well have been at Disney World! First things first, don't buy your ticket on the Aquarium's site. I paid $30 something per person online using TripAdvisor and the day of at the ticket office they were in the $40something dollar range. I don't know if I just don't get out much or if that was super expensive to look at some fish in a big tank.

I went on a Saturday in June and I will NEVER do that again. It was SO CROWDED and overwhelming. People were everywhere. The aquarium entrance is right next to the port entrance for cruise ships, so there are just people in every direction.

There are seemingly endless attractions and exhibits throughout the upstairs including sea and land creatures. Like I said, it was crowded so we barely got through half and regularly bumped into other people. The food in the eatery is very good! Unfortunately, there was lightning in the area so the splash pad was closed. There were tons of photo ops and the kids loved it, so I'll probably be back on a weekday afternoon or something.

IMPORTANT! Parking in the lot adjacent to the aquarium was $20. There's also a garage across the street (idk how much it costs), a cruise parking lot (free) a half a mile north at York Street and parking at Sparkman Wharf that's a quarter mile west (pay by the hour).

The nicest part of the aquarium was the gift shop. I feel everything else was just ok. It was crowded and felt small. Fish were very well cared for and displays were nice, although their tanks were small. Pricing varied as to where you bought your tickets. Many people didn't expect they had to buy tickets in advance of coming.

This was not what we expected. It was shocking to see how small some of the tanks were especial housing the otters and some of the larger fish.
This is supposed to be one of the best aquariums in the world supporting conservation. I came away feeling saddened.

Very well put together. Family had a great time was clean and it flowed so well. Was also very clean and not so overcrowded.

If you're looking for something to do to kill 3-4 hrs, this place will work. But first, beware that this aquarium is located in the heart of tourist area and cruise port. Finding parking can be very challenging. And when you find one, it's not going to cheap.

This is not a huge aquarium in comparison to a few others I have visited. But it's nice and quaint enough that you'll enjoy yourself. Man of the pools with fish are close enough, that you can really see them and the animals well. Small children seemed to really enjoy being at eye-level with a lot of the tanks. They have both fresh water and salt water fish and wildlife to explore.

They offer a 10% for military and veterans.

We had a great time. This is perfect for little ones - at the zoo, animals may not be moving so toddlers have a hard time spotting them, but at the aquarium kids can get up close and they’re always moving. The otters are always playful, and colorful fish swim right past the glass. Some exhibits (alligator, lemurs) were less engaging to our little one, but there were plenty of others to see. Buy tickets ahead - much faster unless you go near opening time.

It was a day of relaxation with my fiancé. We celebrated 7 years on Oct 1st. and we decided to go somewhere different that we haven't been to. It's something I would recommend someone to go to and I will definitely go back.

Way too crowded. Need to put a limit on people... And strollers.
Also more air circulation was needed!! Please hand out maps, not downloads... And parking was ridiculous!

Beautiful place and lots of animals.you need at least 3hrs to view the wetlands alone. You need a whole day to explore the whole aquarium

Fun family experience and purchasing tickets on Trip Advisor was easy and saved our family some money! Would definitely recommend!

I booked it from TripAdvisor and got it for dirt cheap price $83 for two adult + 1 kid.

The aquarium is amazing and very well organised, parking at $10 and buy it at Kiosk.
Sharks viewing is from a massive glass, Touching the starfish and stingrays is good.
Don't miss the Dolphins at the end is good .

Very disappointing! Very expensive for what we saw. Compared to the Maui Ocean Center, the Atlanta Aquarium, and the Monterey Aquarium, this is a very small aquarium that lacks focus. It's supposed to be wheelchair accessible and technically it is, but it was difficult to maneuver. Some of the docents were knowledgeable, but some were not. The displays were dirty and small, and I felt very sad for the animals in them. The signs lacked basic information such as from where the birds and rays had been obtained for the exhibits. The aquarium had been decorated for Christmas, but the decorations had no theme and were quite tacky. They also made it even harder to maneuver. A word of warning, do not prepay for parking. It would have been much less expensive had we just paid when we parked.

I expected more for the price. Sure, it was OK. But the Sealife Aquarium in Orlando has better value for money. We were disappointed.

My husband and I had a wonderful time at this aquarium. We enjoyed going through each attraction and seeing all the interesting inhabitants. In the Wetlands, we enjoyed the otters and the aviary with birds who were able to fly free. We were able to get up close and personal to many of the birds and fish. In Journey to Madagascar, Shorelines and Coral Reefs, we experienced lemurs, turtles, spiny lobsters, eels, sharks and fish of the reefs. There were many interactive adventures as well. We got to touch stingrays and jellies. Many of these fish and sea creatures were something we had never seen before. Their colors and special features were so unique. Our stay at the aquarium was about 2 1/2 hours and the time flew by. The staff were friendly and helpful. It was a fantastic day of fun and learning for both adults and the school children who were there on a field trip that day as well.

Such an amazing experience, the Florida aquarium is clean and nice. The different type of fishes were amazing to see there’s a playground for the kids which clothes at 4 PM on Saturday so my daughter and I was not able to enjoy the playground, but besides that everything was amazing. You will have a good time with your friends and family.

My husband and I enjoyed our aquarium visit very much! We had lunch and I was impressed with what they had to offer... I even had a beer with my lunch! Being new to the aquarium, we were a little unsure of which direction to head upon our arrival. The folks at the information desk were very helpful in directing us to the upstairs area. We would absolutely visit this aquarium again.

Enjoyed our visit and it’s an ok attraction but was slightly underwhelmed - I mean, it was ok, but not great!

It’s not a big attraction and we were in and out in 90 minutes

I have a very strong phobia of sn***s, something I’ve had medical help with (but failed). There was no way I that such reptiles are present (in tanks). This is extremely distressing and frightening. These are not sea creatures and shouldn’t be in an aquarium!

$$$

I hadn't been to visit the Aquarium in quite some time. There were no problems other than it was quite noisy with the school field trips. But it was just as exciting! Penguins were limited to see but all-in-all, it was a nice day!

Very average. Surprised how small it was. A couple were getting married which was a different “exhibit” from previous aquariums I’ve visited. I think it’s overpriced too..$30 per ticket more appropriate.

Beautiful Aquarium. Touch pools were a hit with the kids. Nice activity to do indoors. We will visit again.

Buying the tickets through tripadvisor was the easiest process ever. There was a line at the aquarium for prebought tickets but it moved very fast. Tickets were scanned from my phone then that was it. It took us about an hour and a half to go through the aquarium. We took our teenage daughter, she loved it. I will definitely use TripAdvisor again!

When asking questions about something, no attitudes from the workers, just wish there was more SeaTurtles and interaction with them

I've been to better aquariums. A lot better ones. Epcot's for example. This was was average at best. Not worth the price. Plus the time we went was with numerous schools so it was very hard to see exhibits. They should limit outside people coming when they have schools coming, it was so hard to see many of the exhibits. Parking was expensive too.

While I was there I saw several goldfish and a shark, it was so awe-inspiring that I had no words to describe it and I
saw Jellyfish

This was our first time and was very surprised. Very clean, well marked with helpful staff. Will go back again. Bird show was awesome. Parking is ridiculous

We had a great time at the aquarium lots of great fish to see. Only disappointed there was no splash pad. It was a super hot day way cheaper to book through TripAdvisor than on the aquarium website.

Finally visited here during a B2B cruise for something to do between first and second leg. So glad we finally did it. What a beautiful place! Very clean, very modern, many helpful volunteers and many fish, birds and animals. One of the best aquariums we have ever been to. highly recommend.

Visiting the Tampa aquarium is a great way to spend the morning before boarding your cruise ship. It had fish and other animals we had never seen before! Enjoyed the aviary. Feedback: 1) the fish in many tanks did not match the descriptions, so we spent a lot of time trying to identify them. 2) it was challenging to find our way around, especially the exit at the end of our visit. Exit signs all took us to Emergency-only doors. Finally found an employee to help us

It is a great aquarium. Admission is kind of pricey. Parking is very hard to find. The gift shop is very nice but outrageous prices! The staff was friendly. The exhibits were very nice. We really enjoyed it.

Not for nothing is it said to be one of the best aquariums in America. You will find a myriad of fish, but also sharks, turtles. You can stroke manta rays (a first), but also see exotic birds, pelicans and otters in an aviary. Finally, you will have the chance to see alligators (adults and babies) and lemurs.

I went here before with my family, but decided to come again with my partner. There was a brand new exhibit called "Morph'd" that brought chameleons, axolotls, and various other camouflaging creatures. Loved the place! It can get full on weekends and Fridays, though, so be prepared to weave around crowds of people.

I saw so many different animals and seafoods in the Aquarium. Those sea animals are so beautiful and amazing. I haven't seen them in the past of my lifetime. I couldn't imagine that there are animals looks like that in the world.

I did not go , did not use your service. I have requested that you cancel the charge on my card. I was unable to attend, due to medical issue.

We drove to the aquarium mid day after looking at the website, decided not to prepay for tickets and pay when we arrived, from St. Pete. Arrived after surviving two slowdowns on the bridge where everything stopped because two cars pulled over to the side. Found parking was being directed by men to satellite lots. Got to the last lot and we were one car away from it closing full. Not being familiar with Tampa and parking lots, we turned around and went to the Clearwater Aquarium. Tons of parking there. The Florida Aquarium may be fantastic, but we will never know due to parking limitations.

My travel to FL took longer than expected. I wanted to see if I could use my ticket for the next day and your office no. Which is really disappointing. I’m sure you have many customers who travels are delayed somehow and your does really care about that. As long as you guys got payed…screw the customer. I will NEVER BOOK THROUGH YOU GUYS AGAIN!

Wonderful place!!! Great displays. Learned a lot! Enjoyed the indoor and outdoor areas especially the penguins. Gift shop was amazing.

Super immersive experience. There was plenty of things to do within the aquarium and it’s not limited to only aquatic life! Was able to see and do pretty much all the activities included with admission and stayed for about 5 hours. The cafe is great place to grab a bite and have pretty decent prices as well. All in all, had a great time with my friends and would love to come back again because they’re constantly changing and adding new habitats and exhibits.

Parking was not convenient especially during the time that the cruise ship was boarding. Parking areas not well defined

Tampa Aquarium is for all ages - educational, informative, and fun! Staff was well trained to answer any question you might have! We did go through Skip the Line to get our tickets which made it a breeze! Bring your swimmies to enjoy the splash pad - totally fun!

A wonderful time being with my wife and revisiting an area that we met in 23 years ago... She is my best friend! 💯

The aquarium is always such a wonderful experience, I love learning new information every time I go and the staff there truly goes above and beyond with any questions you have. One of my favorite places to go in Tampa!

Most of the exhibits were closed the prices were too high it's $9 for a soda that's absolutely ridiculous a lot of the things for the kids to do outdoors was shut down so it wasn't even worth the money to go

We went to Busch Gardens two different days with grandchildren. The first day, the kids got on every ride with wait times of 5-15 minutes. The second time was on Presidents Day. Many popular rides were down and the wait times much longer, 30-120 minutes. We saw a few shows that were good. The animals were great to see. We had all day dining tickets and we ate our moneys worth, although disappointed you could only use them at select park restaurants, not the smaller places. Overall, the kids had a great time.

As we entered the aquarium, the first thing we encountered was a tank very full of jellyfish which we were encouraged to gently touch. We know they are "only fish" but somehow it didn't seem right.

The conditions the creatures were kept in varied. Some tanks seemed small or very crowded but to be fair, others, especially in the new gallery, were much better.

The worst thing was seeing the birds. Having watched flamingoes skimming over the sea and diving for dish the previous day it was upsetting to see one in captivity, doing nothing. A roseate spoonbill was trying its best to find material to build a nest on a ledge, with little success.

We were there on a busy Sunday and the whole place was extremely noisy. The gentle music in one section was sadly pointless.

I disagree with reviewers that that say the aquarium is only suitable for children - just the opposite, unless you want to educate them about creatures in captivity. However, there is the opportunity to identify and enjoy those displays which are good.

Excellently good, I went with my family and it is a spectacular aquarium With a lot of variety of species of marine life, sharks, crocodiles, sea turtles, manta rays, snakes, otters, clownfish among others, highly recommended and do not get carried away by the average travel time of 1-2 hours if it is your first time going well you can spend 5-6 hours watching tooodo what is in the aquarium and its different sections, highly recommended

From direct experience (& from reading other reviews), there are some useful things to know before you visit.

First off, you will need to book a entry ticket in advance - they offer various entry time slots to manage admission rates. Even though this may seem unnecessary on some days / times. Also plan your parking needs, if you plan to drive there - there are two nearby car parks but both use online (but different) apps for payment, and you pay by the time period needed. The free Tampa trolley bus stops nearby, or you can easily walk to it, if you are staying in downtown Tampa.

Secondly, if you are interested in actually visiting all parts of the aquarium (the individual themed areas, the deep sea tank, the touching pool/s, the penguins outside and any temporary exhibitions) - then book entry in the morning so you have the rest of the day to get the most out of your visit. You can easily spend all day in the aquarium. It's jam-packed with marine life, conservation information and exhibits about the various natural habitats in Florida.

Thirdly, pace yourself on your visit. Be aware that it is easy to spend lots of time looking at the first 2-3 main areas in the aquarium, and end up having to rush through the final areas (like the deep sea tank), which is disappointing.

Finally, look at for the volunteer guides (friendly & helpful) and the short talks that biologists / staff offer throughout the day. You may enjoy the introductory talk about Kraken the otter, or the talk about the habits of rays.

Amenities - inside the aquarium there us a large gift shop, a cafe (with indoor & outdoor seating) and plenty of restrooms. There are some stairs (as well as a lift) to various parts of the aquarium. There are also sit down points throughout. Also nearby is Spark man Wharf, a waterfront area with restaurants, bars, an gorgeous outside eating area (you can take your own food) and some great street-food stands - which are well-worth a visit.

We went over the weekend. Overall, we enjoyed our experience. We love the stingray area and the coral reef section. It was especially cool seeing the sea turtle and shark in the tunnel. We thought it would take more time than it did though. If you go without kids you can only spend an hour or two there before you finish.

Really disappointing. So many of the tanks had fish or sea creatures that were not identified. The touch screens (of which there were few) were pointless and boring also. We saw the whole place in an hour and 20 mins. I was shocked that a place that supposedly cares about the environment had an exit to the outside area that had no doors! A/c just blowing outside the entire day! Also this place seemed like a daycare, not much of interest for anyone over 12. Full of strollers and only one elevator. Was shocked at the Penguin “exhibit” which was smaller than a big screen tv. You can’t even call that an exhibit. Absolutely not worth the cost. Parking was not convenient or well labeled. I can’t speak to the food court as we didn’t stop there.

Tickets through TA were less expensive, no arrival time choice was needed, saved enough to pay for parking. The aquarium itself was wonderful and definitely worth the price.

Good location, doesn't take long to visit. Convenient to many other sites in the Tampa area. Recommend taking a dolphin tour.

The wetlands was great but after that it was just okay. It was super short and we finished within an hour. We would’ve been done sooner but there were a lot of daycares. There were no dolphins or penguins to see. Only one tank with sharks. It was way too expensive and not worth it.

You need to sign up for a time to enter. Thought for crow control - NO. At 10:30 on a Monday morning it was extremely over crowded. Strollers, wagons, wheelchairs all blocking everything to view and lots and lots of people. Staff at Guest Services: 4 people there all looking down and never make eye contact with you. You need to go up, stand, wait until the person decides you are worthy of their attention. Ask your question and be met with “I don’t know” as a response! Only staff kind and knowledgeable was the woman at the spot to touch the Jelly Fish. So glad we got our tickets at a discount. Aquariums in other cities have better experience even some that are much smaller.

You finsh the thing in like 30 minutes it’s nice i guess. I was able to pet a jellyfish, but not recommend, don’t waste your money on this

The Aquarium is quite large and so much to see! It was a very busy day so a few times we had to wait a bit to see fish habitats and such. The amount of sea life was amazing and a lot of fish and sea life I’ve never seen. Frogs, alligators, birds and so much more!

Although smaller than several aquariums I've visited, I found the layout most accommodating. I especially appreciated the host of guides available to provide information and presentations. There are great up and personal views of the tanks. We paid for the dolphin watch excursion, sighting six, including a mother and her infant calf. Our visit to the Florida Aquarium was time well spent.

My kids were mesmerized by the many tanks of diverse species from around Florida and beyond. We especially enjoyed the touch tanks scattered around with opportunities to meet jellyfish, anemone, star fish, and sting rays.

Fun first time trip to Tampa. Very cool & informative. Interesting animals & exhibits. After walking around & seeing all the aquarium, it was nice to take a walk outside & venture around the area.

Honestly for the price, I wasn’t that impressed. There was not much to the aquarium and most of it was under construction

They have maybe 2 sharks
1 sea turtle
No dolphins
No manatees

Some of the exhibits were empty

They do have an open stingray exhibit where you can touch a sting ray but kids are too small to even reach into the tank. The tank was at least waste high on me (5’3”) if not higher.

Love the playground and water areas. The glass floor is my daughters favorite, along with the sharks and the scuba divers.

Although this aquarium had very nice nautical features and great huge fish tanks, it had elements to it that should not have been there. For instance, there were too many distractions in the aisles such as virtual pay-per-person booths at $8 per person, a face painting station at $20 per child, a churro stand at $14 per churro, and all of this was in the path of visitors to the aquarium. Parking is costly too at $5 per hour but truly 3 hours max is enough time to see the entire museum. In comparison to the Baltimore, MD aquarium with the rain forest at the top, this one is very disappointing. BTW, someone told me that there use to be a wading pool for kids — that’s gone.

Everything was good except the trip advisor never sent me a barcode to scan when we got to aquarium which made it a pain in the butt
The aquarium employees were very good in helping us out to get in
Don’t know if I will buy next tickets thru TripAdvisor or not

Many local animals are brought closer to you here. You can also touch rays, starfish and sea anemones under supervision. In some places there are employees who can give you even more information and are happy to answer questions. We visited the aquarium with the Riverwalk Pass. So it is cheaper if you are in Tampa for 1 day and still want to visit several things.

I was impressed by the way the animals and landscapes were presented.
Some of the birds fly around freely. The main focus is on Florida. I think that's good too. A little detour to Madagascar and penguins.
Also very nice and child-friendly for children.

Enjoyed the uncaged bird and stingrays, but a smallish aquarium with none of the grand displays you will find at larger aquariums (KY, Boston, etc). There's an opportunity to pet the stingrays, but get there early before the crowds start to arrive. Nice that they will store your luggage.

It was very busy with day camps for preschoolers. This made it very busy and congested. The displays were well done but certainly would not take 2-3 hours to see. We were there just under an hour with a teenager. I would go again but avoiding March break

The Aquarium is really fun and they are expanding. I used to go to this Aquarium when i lived in Tampa a decade ago. I was very happy to see that it is still an enjoyable experience and is growing. The animals were very active when i went and the exhibits are very nicely taken care of. Highly recommend bringing your family of all ages!

Being able to skip the line and walk in was so awesome! My daughters and I had a great time seeing all the exhibits and touching the sting rays and sea cucumbers!

We had a great time. There was a lot to look at even for my teens. There were a few field trips there when we were there that made it a bit crowded at times.

It was beautiful with a wide array of creatures. The only downfall was it is much smaller than I expected. It was nice as a new experience.

Park in the parking deck across the street for $20. There's plenty of parking and it's convenient, otherwise it might be a hassle to find parking. This is a great way to beat the heat in Tampa. There is even a water park/splash area onsite to visit after your tour. Besides fish, the outdoor area houses alligators, otters, birds and more. I spent about 2-3 hours.

If you've never been to one before it's worth the trip. Once you've seen a Aquarium I guess you could say you've seen them all. Very educational for sure. a lot to see also.

This was a smaller aquarium that I couldn't help but compare to Mote since that's the second most recent aquarium I've visited. I would return to Mote (for a 4th time) but wouldn't bother with Tampa Aquarium again.

Highly recommend skip the line. The process is easy and tickets are discounted. Nice facility and fun

I think this may have been timing for us. It felt small, like we walked through everything too fast, but there were a few "coming soon" exhibits. If I want to go to an aquarium nearby, I would probably choose Mote over this next time.

I find that this aquarium is not as good as everybody who recommended it to me. I have been to five different aquariums around the United States and this one is on the bottom of my list. First the exhibits are small and hard to get to because of the crowds. The staff doesn’t understand English. I ask where is the aquarium and her response is repeating my words Aquarium. And the big kick was when we ate at the Cafe Rays they wouldn’t give us a straw for my daughter who is Autistic and only drinks with a straw or she makes a big mess. They told me we are trying not to use plastic to help the environment. But they told me I had to buy a souvenir mug to get a straw. The mug was another dollars. And guess what the souvenir mug was made of! Plastic

The aquarium is really well done. It has a lot of exhibits that are clean and well maintained and interesting. However the crowds were quite high (on a Sunday) and the number of unruly children and massive strollers forcing their way through the crowds was absolutely awful. It made is so unenjoyable, women were literally blocking the viewing area to the floor to ceiling aquarium exhibits spread out feeding their kids. I get it, I have kids. I fed kids in public but I also didn't take up the entire floor and deprive others of a good experience at a public space. There are areas where the exhibits are closer together and parents would block it all off with enormous double strollers and just leave them there. I get if you need to push your child up to see but the vast majority of strollers are empty just being shoved around taking up space.

The staff was kind, gift shop is large and well stocked with some very cute items. Lots of opportunities to "touch" fish and sea creatures with a moon jelly, ray and touch table of assorted other animal exhibits. We were there pretty early in the day and definitely buy your tickets online. We wound up spending about 2 hours there all told.

This place is such a gem, my daughters and myself had such a wonderful visit here. The stellar staff at ROOST hotel (easy walk to the aquarium) suggested we visit during our time in Tampa and even organized our visit. Tristin greeted us and and made sure our visit was off to a good start! The facility is really so well done and the exhibits are beautiful. It was a rainy day, so it was rather busy with visitors and school trips, but it never felt too crowded or crazy. We ended up having a wonderful lunch in the cafe and I was impressed with the food quality. Definitely not the typical fast food type stuff you find in most places like this. We had such a great time we decided to "adopt" a lemur. We willl definitely come back!

It was awesome. My son loved it! He couldn't wait to see each exhibit. I enjoyed the beautiful and clean exhibits. I went to treat my son to a fun day. But as it turned out I had a blast at the Aquarium.

We wanted to some place fun for our anniversary so we went here and also the dophin tour, unfortunately it rain the whole tour and no dophins came out .

It was our first time to the aquarium but my in-laws had been several years before. We were all pleasantly surprised with the layout and flow of the exhibits. My mother-in-law doesn't walk well on stairs but there were escalators and elevators plus places where you could sit and rest. The workers all had good know of the animals and exhibits. We were told of new planned exhibits and look forward to a return visit in years to come.

Timed entry does not mean much. The museum was so ridiculously crowded. Our young granddaughter could not even see what was in the tanks. We paid a lot of money and left after an hour. SO many field trips. We were so happy to get out of there. Never again.

The aquarium was laid out so you can easily go from one exhibit to the next. There are plenty of staff available and ready to answer questions regarding the exhibits. However, it felt like the aquariums were overpopulated, making it difficult to appreciate each exhibit. It was like looking at a forest and unable to appreciate an individual tree. Our tickets were scheduled at 3:30. That gave us plenty of time to walk around and enjoy the experience. It should be noted, when they say they close at 5:00, EVERYTHING closes at 5:00. We did not have time to go to the gift shop. We recommend adding the aquarium to your trip itinerary, but make sure you schedule it earlier in the day.

Came as first time visitors, there were alot of aquariums to view and see the fish etc. A couple gators, frogs, ducks. But this did not take us that long to go thru and for the price, it was a bit disappointing. They had multiple exhibits closed or some that were going to be opening soon. We probably wouldn’t go again when visiting in town.
We had a 19 yr old, 17 and 11 year old with us.
It was just Ok for them.

The Florida Aquarium does a great job with their displays and the layout of the aquarium is easy to follow. Great variety of fish and sea animals to enjoy! Was a little disappointed in the penguin area as it doesn’t seem big enough and the penguins were not interacting like they used to. Overall, a great place to take your visitors when coming to Tampa or spend some time after a cruise as it’s right there at the cruise port.

We wanted fun family time and we got it!! We had a blast💜
It was crowded, but not overwhelming!!!
We can't wait to go back when it's cooler weather.

This aquarium is very beautiful. $40/adult on a Saturday. Large number of diverse sea life. Took us about an hour to get through, but if you have children, of course it will take you longer. Great place for kids, by the way. All the kids we saw were having a great time. They even have an outdoor play area for them. Areas for touching jellyfish, stingrays also. Very knowledgeable, friendly staff. Not sure about the food, as we did not eat there. $10 for pay by plate parking, which is very reasonable....especially for the area. Will probably be back sometime in the future when we have grandkids. Would definitely not hesitate to go back.

I was very disappointed in this aquarium. I expected a much more elevated, animal friendly place. The fish were is dismal conditions, small tanks - too small in my opinion. I typically don't frequent animal attractions but understood Tampa to be a very conservation minded place. Would not go back, and would not recommend.

This was just okay. It wasn't a bad facility and the staff were very nice. But being the "Florida Aquarium" I just expected much more. I thought it would be more like the Camden Aquarium or even the National in Baltimore, but it was very small. We walked thru and took our time looking at everything and we were done in about 45 minutes.

This aquarium was really big and had a ton of exciting animals and wildlife. We enjoyed our time here and there was plenty to see. We came on a Saturday during a cruise deporture day and it was crowded but we still had plenty of room to move around and see the exhibits.
The staff there were really friendly and knowledgeable.

We had 5 hours to do something between getting off of our cruise and our flight home. The aquarium is just across the street from the cruise port, and they store luggage for no charge. The staff are very friendly and they are well trained and knowledgeable. The aquarium is easy to walk thru and has many interactive exhibits. The cafe has a variety of delicious options (try the truffle fries!); prices are a little high, but the portions are generous. We loved it and will visit again if we're in the area. A 20 minute cab or Uber to the airport runs $25-35.

Wonderful displays, clean fun entertainment, educational. I love the children’s play area outside
With the splash pad. My 6 year old granddaughter had a wonderful time. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable…except for one man. When I took my granddaughter to the touch pool, there were three open spaces (with stepping stools for children). We headed to one of open spots after standing in line, and the gentleman working there yelled at us to go the back of the line…very rude and humiliating.

You really feel like in the ocean. And the food is very good as well. Very good! Even when it was a rainy day and we couldn’t do that much stuff outside the building, it was an amazing experience.

VERY BUSY! On a rainy day the place is jammed.
It’s pretty short (takes roughly about 2 hours and 30 minutes.) The African penguins are kind of hyped up but it is just a small house looking enclosure. Other than those miner amenities it is beautiful! The animals are all super lovely and the tanks are clean and clear. There are animal “touch” tanks that are very carefully watched to make sure nothing wrong happens and makes it enjoyable. Lots of walking so wear comfortable shoes (crocs work good) and bring water it is warm. There are lots of restrooms. The gift shop is great but kind of over priced. Which I understand since it is a great experience. They have a few different tours you can look into. My family and I did not do a tour but they looked very fun and informative. Not messy and over all a very nice place for people of all ages. (Children 3-11 have a discount and seniors 60+ also get discounts) so it is very nice and affordable.

The aquarium has greatly improved since its opening many years ago. Excellent display of all types of sea, lake, river, and other marine animals, with a focus on Florida natives. Indoor spaces with a huge aquarium where even my 3 years old spent time watching and trying to "catch" sharks, fish, and other creatures. Outdoor spaces are home to roseate spoon bills and native birds. All designed to educate and make you go WOW! Parking is available in their own lot or large city parking garage. Venue is wheel chair accessible, signage is good. Restaurant on sight with options for gluten free and vegetarian. We spend about 2 hours for aquarium viewing with pre school kids. On site meals and snacks is helpful. A big draw is the outdoor water space with great splash pad and mini water park.

We enjoyed our afternoon at the Aquarium. Who was with you? (required) Family Ages 38-91. No teens or young children, but still a family. It was a great outing to beat the heat. The most memorable was the customer care we received from ZABIAN.

Very busy on a rainy day. Friends went to the one in Clearwater and liked the interactive news better.

Buy tickets online before you go to minimize the line experience.

We were initially a little tired of aquariums since we'd been to so many, but so far the Florida Aquarium is our favorite! It has a large amount of touch tanks, some truly impressively massive reef tanks, three rescue sea turtles, and an aviary showing different waterfowl in Florida. The food court is also really good. There's options to go out to the broader bay directly from the aquarium to see larger marine mammals as well as an outdoor water playground for smaller children. This is definitely among the more unique aquarium experiences we had and I loved the focus on local wildlife! Lots of interactive screens and education and well worth a visit for anyone in Tampa. For added ease, the free streetcar stop is right by the aquarium entrance.

Everything was wonderful. My grandson was amazed and intrigued to see all the animal life. It let's me know how awesome the Creator is!

Nice for kids and grands. lots of fish, etc to see. It was something we wanted to see and we saw it. Would love to have seen more sharks but fun trip

This is a great aquarium to take your family. A lot of free interactions . The only thing is it could have a few more signs pointing you in the right direction better.

Great time plenty to see. The sting ray touch tank was awesome for the kids. Very clean facility with hand cleaners throughout. Food court very nice and an outside bar for adult drinks.

Get your tickets on trip advisor and save some $$$$

The displays were so colorful and had plenty of information posted next to them. You could spend a couple of hours if you wanted. They had helpful docents to answer any questions and give brief talks about some of the big displays.

We had an amazing time. Loved the big aquarium with the bigger fish, sharks and the turtle. Will visit again. Maybe bring a couple more people with us!

My family has visited this aquarium 1-2 times the past 5 years and we are done after our most recent visit. The aquarium had several areas under construction which should be notated on their website homepage as a disclaimer. There aren’t any animal shows. The decision to not replace the splash pad and playground was a huge mistake. The entire area is turfed with 3 lawn games and there are only a couple small umbrellas proving shade. It’s incredibly hot and so underwhelming. The former outdoor area was a huge draw for us. The 3D movie theatre is gone too. This was such a disappointing trip and we won’t be back. It’s way too expensive for what is being offered. We were done in an hour and a half and felt like we wasted our money.

Wonderful place to visit with family especially if you have kids they will enjoy it and love all they can see in the aquarium… recommend to visit The Florida Aquarium. Easy to get there from the parking lot just a few steps away… the staff is amazing people there are so friendly and welcoming people and ready to help you out with anything you need in regards of information about the place… thank you all 👍

Un lugar maravilloso para visitar en familia, especialmente si tienen niños; lo disfrutarán mucho y les encantará todo lo que pueden ver en el acuario. Recomiendo visitar el Acuario de Florida. Es fácil llegar desde el estacionamiento, a solo unos pasos de distancia. El personal es increíble, son muy amables y atentos, y están listos para ayudar con cualquier información que necesiten sobre el lugar. ¡Muchas gracias a todos! 👍

I have never been to an aquarium before and thought this one would be of excellent quality. I enjoyed, and was enthralled, by the fish and sea creatures found but disappointed because I wanted more. We went on a Saturday so it was full of families and small children, which made viewing hard. I was impressed with all staff members we met. Courteous, knowledgeable and friendly.

With children it is definitely an option, especially if the weather is bad. We were there without children and would not go again. The Aquazoo in Düsseldorf near home offers at least the same or more for much less money. Between 11am and 1pm it was naturally very loud because of the many children. The larger animals in particular have little space - the facility did not convince us from an animal welfare perspective either.

Very nice aquarium with lots to see. The local animals in particular are presented in a very educational and interesting way. The children also had the opportunity to interact (touch or try things out), so they also had a great day. Not least because there was also a small water park (don't forget your swimwear). There was also a 4D cinema with short films.
A note on the entrance fee. It is not cheap, but apparently it is also used to finance maritime projects, so the price is put into perspective and we were happy to pay it.

Sad to say, but I was quite underwhelmed with our experience. Have been to many aquariums throughout the country, and I would rank this as middle of the road. We expected a lot more given the price that we paid to get in. A lot of displays with some information, but staff not really really available to answer questions, or give more information. The few staff members that we did run across were actually quite grumpy and seeming to be miserable. Saw a couple of them being a bit snappy with some other families and their young children. The bird show was very disappointing. Had a seven-year-old with us who was very very much looking forward to this, but in the end, she was quite bored with it. Parking was easy in the garage across the street. The gift shop was good, and the prices in there were reasonable. No complaints regarding the food options and quality given the environment. The aquarium was clean throughout, including the bathrooms. The highlight for all of us was most likely the splash pad outside right before we left. If if it was just a splash pad, I would give it a five out of five. I would go back again, but only if I was able to obtain significantly discounted tickets.

It was ok. I don’t feel it was worth the price you pay. No dolphins. No aquarium tunnel to walk thru.

Fun half day at the Aquarium. Great staff, clean and a fair amount to do. Would recommend to friends and family.

Size wise it’s your typical aquarium. We found that it had a good variety of things to see and actually several interesting fish that we haven’t seen at other aquariums.

It was nice for a rainy day. Especially since we had the CitiPass, we didn’t need a reservation and the lines were REALLY long on a stormy day for regular admission. Only gave a 4 star just because I have been to several other aquariums that were bigger.

The Florida Aquarium was good, with the potential for great. We were a little disappointed that 2 of their biggest attractions were closed for renovations while we were there, and it wasn't made clear on their website ahead of our visit. If they were completely open with all exhibits this would have been a 5.

My husband and I got the Tampa CityPass. We really enjoyed this Aquarium. There was a lot to look at and just have fun. We were there in October so they had pumpkins in the displays/aquariums. It was really cool. My favorite was the Penguins exhibit. We really enjoyed this Aquarium.

it was amazing, employees were very welcoming! great experience! it was pretty big, lots to see. it was also very interactive, lots of fish petting.

Nicely laid out. Wasn't too crowded. Exhibits were BEAUTIFUL and well marked. We had 4 children from 16 to 10 and all enjoyed.

I was really looking forward to visiting the Florida Aquarium and I enjoyed the exhibits but it was challenging in several ways. First was finding it and getting parked. Not comfortable with inner city driving made getting into downtown Tampa a bit tricky. Next was figuring out parking as the main entrance to the lot was closed since there was a cruise ship in port adjacent to the aquarium. Then I had to download a new parking app in order to pay and estimate the unknown amount of time to spend (I put two hours but could have used more). Finally, it was a pretty long walk into the building, especially since I have some issues with walking. The cost of tickets varies according to demand and must be purchased in advance unless you are getting tickets through a reciprocal agreement from another institution--and then your 50% is off the higher walk-up rate. Finally I was in the building and wondered what direction to go. Sadly, like most places now, they no longer provided paper maps and offered a phone app which I did not enjoy using. But there were staff members to ask questions of. I began with the "Wetlands of Florida" exhibit which was very tastefully done but of less interest to me since I had been in many authentic Florida wetlands. From there I went upstairs to the "Journey to Madagascar" which was an interesting immersive experience. In other sections, I visited the stingray touch tank which was hard to enjoy with the crowd of noisy children but nevertheless inspired me to write a song about these lovely and unique creatures. There was a huge reef tank with many inhabitants and a jellyfish exhibit I enjoyed. Some other areas had touch tanks which I skipped. I did feel that there could have been better signage on a tour direction as I found myself repeating some areas and worried about missing others. This was not the best aquarium I've ever visited but the exhibits were well displayed with plenty of informative signs. If you are visiting the area and want to see dolphins, sea turtles and otters, try the nearby Clearwater Marine Aquarium which has more space for these kinds of exhibits.

We loved the Florida mangrove exhibit. You are face to face with every type of Florida wetland wildlife! The large sea tank was amazing!!

I really enjoyed seeing everything there at the Florida Aquarium! The people/staff were all nice, friendly and helpful! I would recommend going there to my family and friends.

My family and I spent about three hours looking at all the different types of fish,Penguins,Turtles and all the different species of birds and sea life. They have an amazing selection. We enjoyed it very much and recommend it to everyone to visit it if your ever in Tampa.

Family has been to several aquariums. It’s nice but we have been to a lot nicer aquariums in my opinion. Staff is very friendly.

Enjoyed spending an afternoon at the aquarium. Went on a tuesday afternoon. Not crowded. Lots of beautiful displays. Numerous signs for upcoming exhibits. Seems like the place will be even better in the future.

The skip the line thing the amazing it was so hot outside and if we had to wait in line that would be annoying

Very cool place while in the area to check out. You can touch sting rays. Jelly fish and see all kinds of other cool things! Definitely would recommend if in the area.

Grandkids had a great time! Looking forward to a return trip next year
Will be sure to encourage other family members to attend.

Best aquarium I’ve been too! Finding Street parking normally takes about 10 mins unless you are okay with paying 20-75$ on parking.

This is one of the best aquariums in the United States and an entertaining and educational experience for all ages. Allow a couple of hours to see everything and enjoy a lunch at the aquariums’s Cafe Ray. If you’re visiting between November and mid April, take the time to drive down to Apollo Beach and visit The Florida Aquarium’s conservation center where you can see seas turtles that have been rescued and are being rehabilitated for release. Admission to the conservation center, which is part of the manatee viewing area, is free.

Love the play and water areas. The glass floor is my daughters favorite, along with the sharks and the scuba divers.

animal cruelty. scandal, difficult to get in by buying tickets via the internet, as you don't have wifi, you are penalized for not having bought a ticket in advance. poorly planned aquarium as you cannot clearly see where you have already been/have seen.

Not Bad. I've been to better aquariums.

$40 per adult. Discount if you are >60 years young and small Military Discount.

Paid $15 to park for 3 hours, which is what you will need time wise.

We went on a sunny day in the middle of the week, so hoards of kids wasn't a big problem. There were a few schools visiting, but it wasn't crazy. I've heard that weekends and rainy days are very crowded.

The penguin display was very disappointing. They have a better one at the Tampa Zoo. There are NO Dolphins, certainly no whales.

They had some sharks and sea turtles. Many of the displays were small and the wildlife didn't look like they were exactly "living the life".

We went because we needed something to do and we have never visited before. It's okay to visit once. We won't be going back.

Very nice aquarium! A lot to see, took us about 1.5-2hrs to get through it all. Price is a little steep, but not over the top.

I really like the mangrove section with the birds and ducks right up close. Baby gators were very cool too.

My son loved the area with interactive kids stuff and of course all the different kinds of fish.

Nice couple hours spent here! Gift shop is nice but very expensive and they have a restaurant but we didn’t go, Sparkman Wharf right down the road is a great place to eat!

According to online reports the Tampa Aquarium is top 5 in the U.S. upon arrival you are not greeted and it's on your own to find your way. We start on the 2nd floor and get finished and come out back on the first floor within 30 minutes. We are thinking we missed an entire floor so we walked back through and nope we didn't miss anything. The Newport Aquarium in Kentucky, the Ripley's Aquarium in Tennessee are so much better. Even the St.Pete and Clearwater seems to be better for families. $200 for 4 tickets for what they offer was beyond disappointing. This is only the 2nd review I've ever left in 40+ years so that should speak volume to you.

This is an awesome place! So much to do..duck movie..penguins..lemurs..and you can touch jelly fish! Get there early..parking is a pain

I’m not sure why I saw a lot of negative comments about this aquarium. No, it’s not huge, but it’s not small either. If you take your time and enjoy all the information given, you can easily spend 2-3hrs here. Parking was a bit much $$, but you cant beat the location. We parked at the Channelside Parking Garage & the elevator takes you straight down to where you need to be. We also had lunch here. Pizza is great! The age range in our group was from 9 to 66 & we all had a great time. Would recommend.

To crowded. Not as much to enjoy as I have seen at other aquariums. Found it very boring. I would not recommend it to anyone. We bought things in gift shop and had to carry them out in our hands were not given a bag. Had to pay 5.00 for a gift bag. We had breakable items. Not good customer service.

The views were amazing & took many photos. Very fun afternoon for us. Parking was expensive & it was a walk. But it was worth it.

It's a good aquarium with focus on Florida, thr Gulf and the Caribbean. Other areas touched including electric eel, penguins and a rooftop exhibit about Madagascar.

Nice demonstration of "raptors" (birds of prey such as kestrels and hawks, but rooftop location in 95 degree heat was daunting.

Located adjacent to cruise ship docks whose passengers make parking difficult. Open lots are chaotic, nearby multi story garage is a better option.

First floor cafeteria has a good range of options. A smaller selection is available on the roof near the raptor demonstration.

For the price, not worth it. It wasn't that great. I could've seen the same thing at a fish store. There were a few birds, a lemur and some fish, nothing exciting. Very small place.

Bought tickets through TripAdvisor…. Which were NEVER delivered! Contacted TripAdvisor to get a refund… and they opened a support team case… still no response or refund.

Bought tickets at the aquarium in person and the aquarium is GREAT.

TripAdvisor and their service after the sale however, SUCKS!

Fab aquarium - excellent facility . Nothing this quality here in the uk .loved the whole place , not too busy either .
Loved the outdoor dome bit , full of creatures !
Very good value for money .
A must see - if visiting Tampa

Had a great time! It was my birthday. Place was nice and clean was not able to see the dolphins because my husband cannot go on boatrides due to his condition.

Amazing experience awesome will for sure go back 😀 colorful, super clean staff extra friendly loved the splash pad for the kids just an overall great place

Such a nice aquarium — clean, well-kept, and the staff were friendly. The layout flows well, and the touch tanks and coral reef exhibits are highlights.

Fun afternoon. Bit busy but it’s summer break. This aquarium is very small. Can get it done in mostly 2 hours. We prefer the Georgia Aquarium but we live here in Tampa. So glad that I we bought tickets here. Saved so much money. The only complaint we had was the penguin exhibit. That was a terribly small window with two penguins away from everything inside

This was my first time here and really enjoyed myself. Booking through trip advisor was easy, fast, and cheaper. So my suggestion buy your tickets ahead of time. There was so much to explore and you learn so much about all the wildlife. You’re even able to touch some. Overall a great experience and would definitely go back!

Fun aquarium, lots of great exhibits. If you aren’t with small children it only takes about 90 minutes max to get through. Staff is very friendly. Parking in the main lot is $5/hour. Not sure I
I’d pay $34 per adult again.

With 3 levels there is a lot to see and do. My daughter loved the outdoor splash pad at the park. The food at the cafe was delicious. I had the green goddess sandwich 😋
We had a great time and definitely will be back.

The whole process was very easy and the best thing is not waiting in line and a little bit of a discount

Experience was not worth it! Price way to high and did not justify it’s cost. I would not recommend. Clearwater aquarium is so much better!

One of the prettiest aquariums we have ever visited. We couldn’t help but notice the youthfulness, friendliness and competency of staff. We saw an amazing presentation on the shark and there were other presentations on different areas in the museum. They had touch pools where we could touch a stingray and also some jellyfish.

The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, Florida, which opened in 1995, is a 250,000-square-foot facility that is home to more than 7,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and all over the world. Located at 701 Channelside Drive, in the Channelside District of downtown Tampa, the aquarium's exhibits are laid out to show the journey of a drop of water from one of Florida's many freshwater springs out to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Open from 9:30 to 5 daily, visitors can observe exhibits and habitats that include a large simulated wetlands, an 80-foot-tall glass dome aviary and a 500,000-gallon coral reef. See sand tiger sharks, bonnethead sharks, sea turtles, Atlantic stingrays, green moray eels, otters, seahorses, alligators, roseate spoonbills, white ibises, sea dragons, snakes, bats, groupers and tarpons. But the most fascinating exhibit of all is the MORPH'D, which is located in the new Mosaic Hall on the second floor. A highly interactive experience that features 18 curious creatures from around the globe, utterly engaging and resilient species with unique adaptations. From the colorful to the camouflaged, from the slightly slimy to the super smooth, each animal tells a unique story of survival. See electric eels, paddlefish, mudskippers, four-eyed fish, red cherry shrimp, poison dart frogs and the critically endangered axoloti, a paedomorphic salamander that is closely related to the tiger salamander. It is unusual among amphibians in that it reaches adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of taking to the land, adults remain aquatic and gilled. A sexually mature adult, at age 18 to 27 months, ranges in length from six to 18 inches. But don't be fooled by the axoloti's miniature size. It is a carnivorous animal that feeds on small animals such as worms, insects, mollusks and fish.

One of the best we have seen! Crowded even on a Tuesday morning, but where isn't? Enjoyed about two hours of aquatic wonders and even some lemurs!

Very neat attraction and sooo many different things to see. Definitely 10/10 experience and made a perfect birthday trip for a friend, she enjoyed every bit of it. Have a great big splash pad for the little ones. About a 2-3 hour attraction but definitely worth it.

Fun and safe environment. My 10 year old niece thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The splash pad is perfect for hot summer days!

Many beautiful tanks to observe marine life. Employees were kind and knowledgeable. The walk from the parking was too hot. Overall a pleasant event.

Aquarium okay. Nothing fabulous. I took my 85 yo dad, so he enjoyed his outing. However, after visiting the Atlanta aquarium, this one in the big city of Tampa was a letdown. There was a water play area for children that was nice, but I came for the aquarium. Parking was a hassle too. My father was in a wheelchair, so my husband dropped us off, and he had to search down parking. I waited a while with my dad for him to make it back to the aquarium.

It was just another aquarium We did not see anything special. I thought it cost to much for what we saw. a lot of people seemed to be enjoying it.

If you can get the tickets on trip advisor as they are cheaper (they sell out quick) however with that being said my husband and I had a great time. The tanks are really nice & the large tanks are fun to sit in front of & watch the fish and other animals. Parking is about $5 per hour in the lot right next to the aquarium which is cheap compared to other lots around it. Take the street car while you are there. That was a fun added bonus. Next time we will bring our son

Easy access, parking nearby and economical, the tour was very interesting, there are many species, beautiful. Excellent plan to spend with the family.

One of the most beautiful aquarium I have ever visited. So much to see, learn and touch. Admission is a little expensive but worth it.

It far exceeded our expectations! Very fun and interactive. Take your peluchia bear or buy one at the entrance and stop at the various stations with the kids to learn about aquatic animals and more. The whole staff was extremely attentive and cheerful. My child loved and the adults were delighted. Oh, we touched live waters, sea stars and anemones, it was really cool!

Great family time at the aquarium, we loved the interior aquarium where all the big fish, sharks and turtles are. The aquarium is very informative and have pretty cool presentations. We learned the difference between venomous and poisonous. Great place to learn about the diversity of Florida sea life.

Nice exhibits, clean, friendly staff, great atmosphere, and the "touch" exhibits were cool! Parking and walk was not too bad.

We visited years ago and wanted to go back with our grown children. The aquarium is so well put together and the staff is very knowledgeable. We always go to the local aquariums when we are on vacation and this one is awesome. That is coming from someone that lives in Chicago! Good rainy day place to go and it rains a lot in FL.

Beautiful building and catering and merchandise. But for animals is pretty cramped basins, the ticket price is way, way to high. In an hour we had seen everything.

What a wonderful experience! From the beautiful aquatic life, to the interesting descriptions to the well done habitats, I thoroughly enjoyed this visit to the Florida aquarium! The bird show was fun and informative, the variety of sea life was inspiring, and lunch at the café was delicious! All the employees were super friendly and helpful. Thank you for the fun adventure!

Very nice aquarium with a fantastic play area for young children. A bit pricey. No large animals such as dolphin or manatee.

Weak is very expensive.In Brazil we have much better aquariums. In 30 minutes you can see everything. Pay parking for $29. It's not worth it.

The Florida Aquarium was a really enjoyable experience, especially if you’re looking for something both fun and educational while visiting Tampa.

The exhibits are well laid out and easy to navigate. I appreciated how interactive everything felt without being overwhelming. There’s a great balance of marine life: from colorful reef fish to sharks and stingrays. The tanks are beautifully maintained. It’s the kind of place where you actually slow down and take your time, because there’s so much to look at.

Inside, the signage was clear and informative, and I liked that there were plenty of educational moments that didn’t feel too dense. The flow from exhibit to exhibit felt intuitive, and even on a busy day, it never felt too crowded.

Overall, it’s a great way to spend a few hours—especially during the warmer months when you’re looking for a cool, indoor option in the Florida heat!

Well-structured tour. Touch pool with jellyfish, rays, anemones and starfish is particularly exciting for children.
No or poor internet connection!

This is a great visit for both grown-ups and kids. A large variety of fish and other creatures that you can see up close.

The museum also includes eateries and a playground.

Half of the facility under construction. Lack of transparency about minimal exhibits. Full price charged. Will not rerurn.

Nice family experience. My 3-year-old daughter was very happy, especially enjoyed her time in the splash.

Great activity for the family! The kids enjoyed touching the jellyfish. There were lots of different exhibits, same inside and some outside.

Not bad but not amazing. Very pricey as others have mentioned. Several hands on opportunities. Staff was very informative and passionate about the sea creatures. The Madagascar exhibit seemed odd to be part of the Florida Wetlands but I enjoyed the lemurs very much. Also beware of bird droppings from above. The cafeteria food was very good surprisingly. We spent 3 hours here because the couple we were with studied everything!

We had a great time at the Florida Aquarium! We visit aquariums in most cities we visit. This one had an interesting Wetland area w a ton of bird species that you could get really close to. They also had numerous turtle species which I loved. The Educational staff was very friendly and told you fun facts about the animals. I learned about the special mucus the clownfish cover themselves in to stay safe inside the poisonous anemones. The Wings and Things talk was Interesting. The staff lady made a really funny dad joke about the Quetzalcoatlus. I was sad the Pacific Octopus didn’t come out from his rock but we were able to see many other playful beings. We went right when they opened at 10a on a weekday. I am glad I had some sensory earplugs because the crowds of field trip children got a little loud at times but overall it was a super fun trip.

Our children are all young adults and this was the first vacation we went on with just us as empty nester. What a wonderful aquarium! It was so peaceful yet we learned so much!!!! We also noticed the large ship Victory museum next door that was awesome also! We showed our receipt for the aquarium and got half of admission!

We have visited this aquarium several times over the years and it never disappoints! During the spring break season it is extremely busy and I would highly suggest that you purchase your tickets online. When you purchase them online, you are given a select time whereby you are allowed to enter the aquarium. Once inside you don't have a time limit but expect to spend around two hours inside. Also, you will need to pay for parking ($10), the lot is usually very full so be prepared for a decent walk to the aquarium. Be aware that when it is packed inside with people, there are long lines everywhere. Petting the stingrays will easily take up half an hour- if there is a lot of people there. Also, during peak season the Aquarium does raise the price, so check online before you go. It may be cheaper to visit on a different day for you. Once inside here is what you can expect: A lot of different exhibits and experiences. You can see coral reefs, and touch "no bones" sea animals. You can pet sting rays and watch aquarium staff feed the animals. You may also want to bring a swim suit as there is an outdoor splash pad area. You can also have lunch at the cafe- but it is expensive! This aquarium is the best in the area, it is great for families and sea life enthusiasts. With some prior planning you will definitely enjoy this aquarium.

Very well organized and lots to see. Favorites were sharks, sea turtles, river otters but much more. Touching tanks were nice for rays and jellies. Penguin exhibit very small. Food pretty good but pricey. Have to pay for parking. Tickets expensive but good rainy day activity. Prices better if you buy day before.

If you get mesmerized watching the fish in a home or office aquarium, imagine sitting in front of a two-story aquarium in the Coral Reef area as sharks, sting rays, eels, a sea turtle and a plethora of fish species pass before your eyes. This area is so large that there are glimpses of it as you pass through different parts of the surrounding exhibit.

The Florida Wetlands area is housed in an 80 foot dome where fish swim through mangroves, river otters frolic, birds nest high in the trees, while turtles rest on logs by the shore.

Watch the lemurs in Madagascar. Aquarium ???

For kids and kids at heart there are hands on exhibits in the no-bone zone, and Stringray Beach. Roll up your sleeves - it's time to touch and learn about stingrays, sea stars (aka star fish) and anemones. Head to Moon Bay to learn about jelly fish.

There is a cafe on the first floor where a good variety of meals are offered. Dine in the air conditioned cafe or outside in the large covered patio area with fans overlooking the splash pad for the kids.

Allow a minimum of 2 1/2 hours - more if you'll be having lunch, the kids will use the splash pad or if you'll be doing the dolphin watch

Overall, it is an enjoyable way to spend the day.

Optional additions
The Dolphin Watch - If you have ever been on a dolphin watch before you know that there are no Flipper moments with dolphins dancing on their tails or jumping in the air. Instead, you will see fins and occasionally part of a body. Very anti climatic. If you really want to see dolphins head to Clearwater Aquarium. If you would like a one hour tour of the bay with a possible dolphin fin citing this may be what you are looking for. Entrance to
the Dolphin Watch is outside the cafe patio. $17 - must buy aquarium ticket in order to do this crusie

Interactive penguin program for ages 8-12 for an extra $75

Quick Facts
Address: 704 Channelside Drive, Tampa
Open daily 9:30 to 5
Parking is a flat rate of $10
Cost of entry varies depending on the day you visit ($32-42 per person age 3 and over with a slight discount for those over 60)

Located in down town Tampa near the cruise lines, traffic by car and foot can be heavy so pack your patience

Located in the Channelside district of Tampa, the aquarium is:
- next to the World War II steamship museum SS American Victory
- a short walk to Sparkman Wharf for dining options, park and music events
- close to the Tampa Bay History center

Very fun for young kids and adults. Lots of exhibits and fairly well organized. The staff were kind and helpful. There were other activities for snow days, which we didn’t do because we traveled south and have snow at home lol, but we saw lots of families enjoying their experience with snow. The playground and splash pad were fun and a surprise to us when we got there. It is expensive but that’s kind of expected for a place like this these days unfortunately. Can’t wait to visit again some day! I want to try the scuba diving in the shark tank!

We had a great time! I love aquariums and this was definitely one of my favs. More than what meets the eye for sure as it doesn’t look like it has as many exhibits as it did.

It was suuuuuuper fun 10 out of 10 would recommend we got into a fender bender beacause the person was drunk but other than that it was perfect

This is the perfect activity to do on a cloudy or rainy day! We just finished up a great cruise & weren’t flying out of Tampa until the afternoon. So we bought tickets on TripAdvisor & got an Uber over to the Tampa Aquarium, right after breakfast. The employees are friendly & very knowledgeable. So we had no trouble finding our favorite species to check out first. We loved the seahorses & stingrays. The place is very clean, relaxing & spacious. The gift shop was well done & we purchased several items. Even the restrooms were very clean! We planned to stay 2-2.5 hours since it was just the two of us adults. If we had brought children with us, there were plenty of learning activities for them and then a nice play area outside that was partly shaded, with outdoor games. We took in the rooftop view of the ship port & enjoyed watching the boats once the sun came out. We plan to go back with the kids!

It was interesting and kool .Great place to experience.There is a lot to see and learn.
And the prices are reasonable and worth it.

This was our first visit to this aquarium. It is is beautiful, but small. The animals are well cared for and there is information on digital reader boards by each display. It was clean and easy to navigate. They had quite a few hands on experiences from touching jellyfish and sharks to a tide pool where you could feel sea stars and anemones. There were many talks geared toward the kids going on by the different keepers that were informative. I felt that the enclosures for many of the animals (both fish and land mammals) were very small. I was surprised at how few animals were actually there. They had a good variety of fish, but there were no birds (except a couple of pelicans and a few tropical birds flying around the atrium.) They had two crocodiles in a small cage, a few lemurs, and three otters. No dolphins or any other larger marine animals. The reef tank was awesome. It has a tunnel through it so you can see the fish, sharks, turtles and sting rays swimming all around you.
The pricing varies by day and season, so check that out. It was a full $10 cheaper per person on Wednesday than it was on Saturday. You have to pay by the hour to park, and you have to pick how many hours you want to be there when you pay. We love spending time at aquariums. Trip advisor said 2-4 hours to visit, so we chose 5 hours since we figured we would be hanging out longer. Even with reading most of the stuff, we only spent just over 3 hours.
We did not visit the cafe area, so can not speak to pricing there.

Loved it! Fun experience seeing the aquarium with my husband and will be using TripAdvisor again to buy tickets for other fun things to do

Great aquarium. Staff were very educational and helpful. Definitely worth it, saved 10$ on admission price by buying through trip advisor.

Teens and adults alike enjoyed the aquarium. We especially enjoyed the unique fish and sea life we had never seen before. Followed signs to aquarium outdoor parking. Easy to access and great 2.5 hours spent.

Excellent facilities. Ushers very knowledgeable and willing to accept at all times. Would repeat the visit again without any doubt.

We went here and was impressed with the aquarium overall! Very nice exhibits and spaced out just right. Lots of families and us older folks. I highly recommend it!!!

One of the best aquariums I've had the chance to visit. Loved the variety of sealife and animals that were there. I could stand there for hours and watch the jellies!

40 euros is too much for an aquarium that has nothing particularly attractive or particular. Great for children but not for adults. Note: they make free luggage service with tickets, if you are passing through...

Overall, the Florida aquarium is nice, but lacks exhibits and engagement with their guests. To begin, the parking is horrible. It seems that their parking lot is used by the people who are going on their cruise. I went on a weekend it was busy, but manageable (parking).

Secondly, as you enter the aquarium, there is a dedicated line for people who are buying tickets and people who bought them beforehand. There isn’t a good indicator on which line is which, unless you ask. I bought my ticket through TripAdvisor and didn’t have any issues. It saves you about $6 dollars if you purchase through them, so take advantage if you can!

Third, the exhibits are small. For an aquarium of this size, I feel like the animals are forced into small exhibits and they didn’t look happy. Specifically, the penguins.

Lastly, you can walk through the whole aquarium in about 45 minutes to an hour, so it’s not big at all. It lacks engagement with the public, so the employees should be a little more focused on that.

Overall, I would say I would potentially return to this aquarium, but I am not expecting to go back anytime soon. One thing to note is that it can get super busy on the weekends, so plan accordingly if you don’t want random kids running between your legs and slapping on the glass of the exhibits.

We had fun at the florida .aquaruim uts busy because it is springbreak but it is organized.We do also the dolphin cruise we take the picture and sight seeing.my son loves it so much.

It was OK for what it was but it was definitely overpriced. Didn’t bother with tickets in advance like I usually do because I just happened to be in the area, early in the morning so just thought I’d check it out.

But definitely do the homework to get the discounted prices and make sure you find the aquarium parking because they’re definitely trying to scam the parking close to the aquarium and charging a premium price so in my opinion that’s not worth it either. Just check out the designated parking area and choose a time slot for how long you think you’ll be there. I’ve saw another reviewer say that they were there for a few hours, but honestly, I was done and in about an hour and change if that.

The only other thing that really annoyed me was that a bunch of interesting stuff was supposedly ‘coming soon’. We paid a premium price for an average experience. But it’s nice to know that more interesting stuff is coming soon.

This is a cruel aquarium. I was horrified to see the lack of space almost all animals were kept in, especially when i got tho the penguins. They were all bunched up together and seemed depressed. Their space was tiny! This aquarium is always full and with the price of entry, they could afford to improve animal welfare and comfort but they obviously don't care. The animals are used as a human exposition, that's all. I left the aquarium heartbroken.

The Florida aquarium was Ok. Ive had a way better experience at the Georgia Florida. I wish that the exhibits were a little longer and better but the aniamls were Ok to look at. Also the Raptor show was kind of a dissappointment because only two birds were shown and we thought we would see more types of birds and were expected to see a Owl. But overall it was OK.

Nice Aquarium for a couple of hours and then you can have the rest of the day by the pool. Great for any age. Best to go earlier in the day.

Nice Aquarium to visit. The indoor AC on a hot summer day was welcome. We opted for the 75 min boat ride to catch a view of some dolphins. Was pleasant saw a few.