National Marine Aquarium

Excellent day out, huge impressive tanks with many species, staff and volunteers massively knowledgeable. A must visit for anyone in Plymouth. Cafe was also very good. Don't forget to gift aid when you buy tickets as the aquarium is a charity and it doesn't cost you anything extra!

A truly wonderful place to visit. Very educational and informative. Great for all the family. Some amazing aquariums. Some are enormous! Fantastic fish and all things relating to them. Very educational talks relating to certain areas/tanks We have a season ticket and its been used many times. Handy restaurant.

Amazing. Myself, my wife and my 2yr old son went on my boys birthday and what a fantastic day it was, the place is so well engineered, so much to learn {I learnt loads} my boy was amazed at the sights too, especially when a real life man in the water {professional diver cleaning} the diver waved as my boy was so stunned to see him, my boy smiled from ear to ear and waved back, priceless stuff really.. This place does great work and are actively envolved in many marine projects which shows that its not just an attraction but also a valuable asset to the marine conservation world. Tremendous day - i cant say enough about how great it is here.

This is a very good visit. Very informative. Get very close to the fish. Will informed helpful staff. It was reasonably quiet when we visited on a mixed weather Friday afternoon. However I cannot give 5* as the shop had no ordinary postcards for the aquarium of fish. Only three d postcards at £2.99 each! Which when you want to send quite a few cards to grandchildren it works out too expensive. Also the cafe was just too "self service ". No help at all. One had to do everything. Hate to think how chaotic it must be when cafe busy. It was late afternoon when we were at cafe

Absolutely brilliant day out with the family. Even the kids aged 11 and 14 loved it too. The underwater tunnel was fascinating.

I spend many happy hours here just taking photographs. It's a very relaxing place to walk round. If your local to the area it's always worth getting a yearly ticket. I was spending two to three days a week here and on average three hours a visit. Sometimes it's worth walking round again. There's always something to see so don't miss out. Enjoy your day at the National Marine Aquarium.

A good day out..cool sharks..rays..and jellyfish.. Nice cafe and friendly staff. One bloke was talking to us about sharks for ages,he was really passionate,it was great..a must visit if your in Plymouth..and we met Harry the starfish!!

Huge fan of the aquarium. We bought my son here when he was a baby and he's in primary school now and he still loves it. Lots to see, and it doesn't get too crowded, so you can see everything. Lots of interaction for kids, from looking at hiding fish to crafts. They have a cafe or you can bring a picnic. Plenty of seats by the big tanks so you can have a rest of you need to. Staff are really helpful and if they don't know an answer they'll find out.

If you can get past the confusing layout and total lack of signs / information it's a good day out, especially if you have kids.

Pros:
- Some fantastic displays with a great variety of sea life, particularly liked the jellyfish and Pacific Octopus
- Cafe with tea, coffee, cake, hot and cold food and kids meals
- Picnic area so you can bring your own lunch
- Very well informed staff, happy to answer questions
- Clean and tidy
- Disabled parking is available on site

Cons:
- Quite expensive
- Picnic area has no shade / shelter
- The layout of the place is quite confusing and there isn't a lot of signs to help you find your way round. This was made worse on our visit by the lift being out of order so we had to go round in reverse to avoid the stairs.
- No information about what's showing or the times for the video presentations

Tips:
- Book your tickets online, it makes it a lot cheaper, gives you fast track access and allows you to return again anytime within the next 12 months, you just have to make sure to book the tickets at least 3 days before you visit.
- Make sure you pick up a map as you go in, they should give you one but we weren't given one until we asked

'THE UK NATIONAL MARINE AQUARIUM'..... Which has the largest "aquariums in the country"...... Divided into four sections, one of which features the local sea life at Plymouth Sound, the largest aquarium holding 2,500,000 litres of sea water..... Events here include, 'SLEEPING with THE SHARKS'......Educational displays and information talks through out the day light hours with special theme evenings and 'quiet evenings'....."PLEASE BOOK EARLY"..... The 'THE UK NATIONAL MARINE AQUARIUM', is very popular with foreign students and tourists. I watched the 'RAYS' for at least an hour, gliding through the crystal clear waters, with only a couple of inches, between me and them.....Watching "THE SHARKS" is an amazing experience and can be very therapeutic.....Some "SHARKS" have two rows of very sharp teeth, which move forward in the powerful jaws and replace themselves and "SHARK" heritage dates back to "PREHISTORIC TIMES"......"PLAICE" which are sea bed feeders actually move eyes to suit their habitat....."FIND OUT HOW THEY DO THAT".....
What a location...... The whole area has many historic monuments, to the people of the past, not far from 'BRUNELS RAILWAY BRIDGE', 'THE ROYAL ALBERT BRIDGE'..... Go on, 'SLEEP with THE SHARKS'...........'I DARE YOU'.......They stay awake all night, can you?......"THE UK NATIONAL MARINE AQUARIUM".....Dedicated to Education, Conservation, Preservation........See a few of the hundreds of marine species today.......

The mix of fish here is simply breathtaking, the information and guidance on hand is fantastic too. A great day out whether you're 3 or 83!!

It was laid out perfectly for a wander around on a wet and windy afternoon. Bonus, we get to go back again for a whole year with the cost of our ticket.
The staff were lovely and informative too

Really great place to take kids. The large two story tanks are impressive. All tanks are very clean and all fish looked very healthy. Could do with a slight smarten up here and there.