Clearwater Marine Aquarium Reviews

Should drop the "aquarium" title and go with "rehabilitation center featuring Winter the Dolphin". I would not consider this an aquarium like Chattanooga or Atlanta. They only had a handful of species such as dolphins, otters, sea turtles, and nurse sharks. We were in and out in 20 minutes. Unless you are a fan of the Dolphin Take movies, avoid this place.

Not worth full price at the moment but go if you must after 4pm as it drops to half price, the place will be better after renovation

Very worthy cause. Educational more than entertaining. Exceptional staff. Everyone is very happy working there and happy to share their knowledge. Would suggest mirrors on ceiling in turtle hospital so visitors can see them in the tanks. Also move any other tours outside if another "show" is speaking on the PA. Our guide for behind the scenes could not speak above the PA system. Bonus, delicious carrot cupcake at pastry counter. Be sure to give generously. fyi You park and buy tickets about a 1/2 block away from the actual aquarium.

Went here with my daughter. Second time going. Currently under construction for improvements. Got to witness a dolphin training session that was very informative and eye opening. Great family activity.

This place is amazing for adults and children alike.

Great progress being made. Great care for the animals.

A nice rehab center for dolphins, turtles, and pelicanos.

Enjoyed the aquarium, lots of fun education. The pictures are far too expensive though. Y'all need to calm those prices some.

Loved this place. The work they are doing with all of these animals is wonderful. The staff we met were very knowledgeable, friendly and willing to help us. We hope to come back again one day.

I love how it is a rehab, rescue, and release. I have always wanted to help save animals in need, and rescue them when they are in danger. I want to be able to be a marine biologist when I am done high school. I am currently in grade 11 and I am 17. The story of Winter and Hope touched my heart I truly want to meet these two very special Dolphins/mammals. They have touched my heart and have made me want to help animals like them in need when I am older. I have always noticed from when I was younger I would always want to help any animal in need. I really would like to embrace this love of animals in a way that I could help animals in need. They all need a place in life and I can promise you that both Winter and Hope will always have a very special place in my heart I love them so much. I hope to one day work with amazing animals like those two amazing beautiful Dolphins. Watching how you help rescue animals in need then releasing them back into the wild is something I love to see, it brings joy to my heart. Being able to help animals in need is the best most amazing experience in the world to me. I hope to one day create a bond with a beautiful creature like Hope and Winter. I love them and hope that they are doing well..... Xoxox you will always be in my heart you two beautiful masterpieces of life. <3

Awesome place can't wait until the expansion is done this year. The boat ride was amazing saw many dolphins and the staff is very knowledgeable.

Kid friendly they have kid family fued great to watch the kids being entertained

If I could, I would rate this a million stars! This place surely wasn t like other aquariums, as it is a hospital. The animals there are happy and seem glad to be there! The staff there are great at taking care of the animals. The animals there are lucky to be in such caring hands and are in very good health after near death experiences!

Loved seeing what Clearwater Marine Aquarium does for the marine life. It was great to see as they did there normal routines and checks on the dolphins they would put on a microphone and explain the checks they were doing and what they were looking for. Was both educational and fun.

27 dollars to see a dolphin a turtle and a sting ray..

good luck

Absolutely loved it! My girls really enjoyed it. They have all kinds of different shows and things going on through out the day.

Good place to get out of the heat and check out the lead role of the movie Dolphin Tail.. offering boat tours, sting ray petting tank, and schooling for marine biologist..

Very crowded. Loaded with children during what I thought was a school day. Behind the scenes tour, though geared toward children, was interesting. It was sad to watch Winter seem bored.

Great time with the kids. Winter, Hope, PJ and Nicholas were totally enjoyable.

Well after seeing both movies I decided to stop in for an afternoon visit. It was nice to be in the environment and get the complete scoop. Throughout the day they have activities where they explain things and allow you to ask questions. Even during our short time there we were able to attend three: the outdoor dolphin tank, indoor dolphin feeding and rays pool.

Nice little aquarium. Definitely take a boat ride while there as it is well worth the money and the marine biologists on board make it a great learning experience. Not too many exhibits in the aquarium but the work they are doing with the animals is very impressive.

Simple place, but good, short to go, but enjoy what they have.

Wonderful aquarium that is doing great things! We really enjoyed seeing all the animals.

The facility is to small and too many people but the animals were beautiful

Great as always but could use for fans to help circulate the air during these hot summer months...

Just meh. The new dolphin enclosure is cool, but the rest feels dated and it s very small. We saw everything in under 1 hour. Additionally, (I m assuming due to the current construction happening) the parking was inconvenient, so bring an umbrella in case the FL finds you.

Really great rehab center for injured sea turtles, dolphins and otters. The behind the scenes tour is super informative and I highly recommend!

Getting to see winter and hope was amazing. The aquarium itself is rather small but they are expanding and getting a larger area for hope and winter. I took my family and they were very happy the whole time. They have things as small as hermit crabs and the largest I'd say was the sharks. Overall I was satisfied and the staff were very helpful and had amazing attitudes that made you want to return again. Also if you get a chance try out the stingrays feeding. Definitely worth it.

Great research aquarium with lots of informative talks. Dolphin Nicolas does lots of tricks.

They charge a bundle to get in, then you see this place is super tiny. My daughter wanted to see Winter but they keep you far away from her, so she was disappointed. So if that's why your going save your money. We did see some funny otters, one can balance an ice cube on his head which is why I gave an extra star. We pet stingrays but they really didn't look happy in that tiny tank. They removed all their Barb's but I thought they were supposed to rehab and release, so why do you need to keep stingrays?? Besides that and some dolphin feeding and playing we saw nothing else for the amount of money they charge. Go to the Florida aquarium, it was awesome and we swam with sharks, sea turtles, and stingrays.

Not what we were expecting. Pretty small in size and not a lot to see. What we did see we enjoyed. Price could be lower for what we got.

i rilly wont to go and i have been dieing to go sence i was 3 years old

Awful! This took about 5 minutes to see everything! We drove an hour to get to the facility and was completely disappointed! There is very little to see! They have more staff than animals! We paid $100 for 3 adults and 2 kids! We took longer walking to the faculty then at the facility!

The aquarium is small but great! They are doing great work there and we really enjoyed taking a Dolphin Adventure Tour.

We loved the behind the scenes look at marine animal rescue, and learning how these animals are cared for and rehabilitated. We also enjoyed getting to see Winter, Hope, Nicholas, and the other permanent animal residents. Well worth the trip!

First off any 5 star of this place is crap.I lived in Clearwater for over 10 years. I go to the Tampa aquarium. It has more animals, better conditions, and better staff. Clearwater Marine has always been low quality. Think above ground swimming pools and warped wood decking. Their 'experts' are kids on probation doing community service and their biology staff is not formally educated. The few animals they do have are horrifically mistreated and stressed. Winter is nothing more than a cash cow for the facilities new owner. Her exploitation is just sad. The animals have no shade, no place to hide. Admission was 5 when I first went, now its over 20. Its just sad. Do not support these criminals. Please. Imagine your children in small pens with no shade being yelled at by kids and blaring music 18 hours a day. Winters story is what to teach your kids, don't expose them to her exploitation. She only uses the tail 1 hour a day. The facility is a 501c but please believe the owners do make a lot of money from winter. The movie rights and filming is not nonprofit. Spend the extra couple bucks and go to Tampa aquarium. Take it from a local. This sad facility in Clearwater just makes me sick. Always has since before poor winter. Don't believe the fake 5 star reviews.

This place is so amazing and ran by funds from donations and the public. All the animals stories are amazing and of course Winter's real story is the most amazing one of all. I can not wait to come back and see the new rehabilitation center!

Meet the dolphin trainer is a good show to attend...

Absolutely wonderful! Can't wait until the construction is complete!

If you are a fan of dolphin tale...you have to visit

I love clear water because it's so cool cuz I can see hope and winter and they are so cute and all the animals are there to even Nicholas

I have lived in Clearwater my whole life , participate in clean the beaches events and remember back when the marine aquarium was just a small facility doing all they could to rescue our sea life . I think it's worth every penny to help them continue the amazing efforts they make everyday to keep these amazing creatures healthy. My daughter who is 17 and my son who is only 8 has gained so much respect and knowledge because of them . They volunteer as well . Much love and respect to the dedication everyone here shows.

Nothing there to do and was so crowded that you couldnt get close to the few things to see. Glad the money we spent goes towards the care of the animals, that was the only plus about it

We had a great time and plan to go back again. Great show's.

When you think that there taking care of animals, cost doesn't seem to matter but here it costs 25$, people feel cheated and try to give tickets away, parking costs 12$ and ticketing machine doesn't work on exit so nothing to check if you paid or not before exiting. Aggressive photographers like others have mentioned force you to take pictures. The place is tiny, the water looks really murky and not super well maintained. You kind of just feel bad for the sea turtles.

TOO EXPENDIVE FOR WHAT IT IS. NOT AT ALL A GOOD EXPIRIENCE.

Great experience! I loved every part of my day here. Very informational. "Petting" the stingrays was so cool. The dolphins were fun to watch and learn about as well. I Highly recommend visiting.

Good for a two-hour adventure. The aquarium is small, but good for young kids that aren't expecting a ton.

not really like aquarium, but a marine rescue center. we could see winter the dophin and other rescued animals. It is good for kids as it has small show on how dolphins lives.

It was awesome I loved it would definitely go again

Not much going on. Not much wild life. More of a money scheme to feed the injured animals and staff

does not compare to any other aquarium I have seen in other major cities, needs an urgent face lift, mgmt was kind enough to refund me though

It's an expensive place to visit. Especially if you do more than one activity. But the money goes to a good cause. They helped rescue marine animals and return them to the wild. So I don't mind paying a little bit more for that. I loved seeing the wild dolphins most of all. Highly recommend the boat ride

Over priced for what they offer, very small maybe after the new facility is complete it will be better.

The location of the Winter movie The Dolphin. Good for children.

Loved the visit! Seeing the rescued animals was wonderful!

very interesting, it's a marine hospital. You see a lot of love towards animals, by the staff. In addition to caring for them, they study diseases and conditions of the species. Alli lives Winter the dolphin

What a terrible place, won't be coming back. Right now the whole place is under construction, so parking close? Nope. I brought a beach cart (come on people, it's Florida), to keep our 2 toddlers somewhat in the same place but we were told we couldn't take it inside because people can fall over it. This sucked because the car was parked 10 min away and I had looked this up on the website and it doesn't say anything about this. The place is not stroller friendly anyway since there are a lot of stairs. Kids were not allowed to poke their little noses through the gates to see the animals, but had to stay behind a blue tape, so there was not so much for them to see. Animals are kept in small areas, windows are not clean. People are coming for Winter, and it is really clear that the aquarium knows that... it's sad. If you haven't seen the movies (like me) you can't really relate. It was not worth my money ($21.95 pp), hopefully it will look better when they are done renovating the place.

Small but cute! They also have the animals from the movie the Dolphin Tale there!!!! I Dolphins

The staff is very knowledgeable about the animals at the aquarium. Even took time to answer questions. Each animal has a story. Just hearing their stories was what made the experience so neat. The building is under construction which kinda sucks but it means the animals will get bigger aquarium. That always a good thing. Save by buying your tickets online. Ask about family and group ticket packages. We got a family plan for four people for $99 then added an extra person for $15 and that gets us in for a year. Parking an extra $12 but you can park in the church parking lot for free.

Super awesome experiences to see and learn how to help conserve our oceans and our animals.

Loved seeing "Winter" and the marine rescue center.

A little pricey but we really enjoyed our time here

The aquarium has made Winter and Hope's newly built, much larger & upgraded home absolutely beautiful. CMA does amazing & wonderful rescue and rehab services for all our beautiful animals from the oceans

Great staff interactions and rescue details about Florida marine wildlife.

Wonderful staff. Glad we booked the boat tour. The kids really enjoyed it!

Someone else stated it well when they said it is an animal rescue/rehab facility first and a far off second it is an aquarium. If you go in knowing that, you may have a perfectly lovely time. We unfortunately were very disappointed in the experience. I would definitely recommend this for school/educational field trips. I would bot recommend for children who would have minimal interest in the 'function' of the facility. (Kudos to the CMA for what they do - just offering this review for any families like ours who did not understand what to expect.)

We had the best time exploring Clearwater Marine Aquarium! Our daughter wants to become a marine Vetrinarian and we visited with the staff here who were very friendly and answered her questions. Don't go here with the mind set of only seeing Winter and Hope. There are so many more things here. Like Nicholas the male dolphin who splashes you. The sweet paralyzed otter who loves to swim. The cute sea turtles! All so much fun. Take the boat to the movie props and look around there. Allow yourself the full day!