Clearwater Marine Aquarium Reviews

Fun place to spend a couple hours with the kids learning about a few marine animals and also getting to see Winter the dolphin of "Dolphin Tale" fame. We went later in the afternoon for the discounted rate and still had plenty of time to see everything.

Loved this place. Watched Dolphin Tale again prior to visiting. We were able to see Winter, Hope, Rufus (who was actually a female, Rickie, and was Hollywood trained), and the male dolphin who played a female who had sunburn in Dolphin Tale 2. I would highly recommend visiting the Aquarium and rewatching the movie prior to your visit.

Awesome, be sure and take the dolphin spotting tour.

My wife and I live the movies Dolphin Tail and Dolphin Tail 2. We think the she is an amazing creature. She is setting examples to all those who have to use artificial limbs or braces to be brave and stay strong.

Let's see. First you pay to park very far away. Then by the time you wonder inside you see about 3 fish in the most crowded environment ever. I had more fun licking the salt off the windows then wondering around looking at basically empty tanks.

We had a great time at the aquarium, especially once we got to see Winter. She was incredibly friendly and interested in seeing what we were up to on the other side of the window!

Much smaller than I expected. Some of the windows were really murky which was pretty significant since there was so little overall.

After reading 1-star and 5-star reviews I decided to go see it for myself to form my own opinion, thankfully it's only 7 miles away...
It is definitely not a 5-star attraction, but also not a 1-star either. You really need to know why you are going there and WHO you are going with. I wrote "who" in all capitals because how much it is NOT the right place to go if you have a hyperactive 2 year old going with you. Granted, the admission was free for him, but unless you have another adult with you who sacrifices his/her time in order to watch the kid so you can get a full experience of the place, then your might as well just throw your money in the harbor. There absolutely nothing for the little ones to do or see for that matter - a very few rescued animals in very small tanks won't hold their attention for more than couple of minutes...
Bottom line: go by yourself or with older ( over 6 y. o. ) kids if your goal is education and you want to support a good cause (supposedly); don't go if you expect entertainment or to see an abundance of marine life or if you have small and very active children.

Winter and Hope! Totally awesome! We visited on a rainy July day. CMA is not very big, but it has much to see. Obviously Winter & Hope & Nicolas are the big draw. It was neat to actually see a movie star. There is construction right next door to expand. The parking garage is right across the street. We enjoyed the Boat adventure. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. We would recommend a stop here for a part of the day.

A unique experience. However, be prepared it is very costly for a family, especially considering there isn't really that much to see besides Winter and a few other animals. Everything outside the basic access comes at very high additional cost.

They had a dolphin show at 7pm. Most places wouldn't do shows this late. There was always someone that could answer questions.

The aquarium was very small so my son was highly disappointed but the staff was very friendly also have to say the crowd was to much for the little space they have

Great time will be better when the construction is done.

Such a cool place. Educational AND entertaining! Kids loved it!

The Cafe to eat is outside under covered tarps right in front of the doors to the aquatic center. I was so hot and miserable while we are. The food was terrible and it tasted like I ate cardboard cheese pizza. The tanks for dolphins seem extremely small and the shark tank was even smaller. We paid to feed the Stingrays and I was given several different answers by several different staff members on where to meet to feed the Stingrays. I was told to meet at the stingray tank, then I was told to meet upstairs next a sign that said Meetup and then Guest relations. It ended up being next to the Stingray tank. The stingray tank was disgusting with fish bits floating in it and so it was no surprise they were not hungry for "feed the Stingrays". At the Saint Louis Zoo you have to remove all Jewelery and wash your hands before petting the Stingrays, but here everyone just sticks their hands, rings, bracelets and all, right in, to pet them. I was concerned the entire time at the level of care for these animals. We paid to feed the otters and have a photo taken. You drop a single fish in from a distance and photo is taken at a distance from the otter also. So if you want to drop a fish for 35$ per person go for it. We never got the photo print as directions on next steps was unclear. I could walk the entire facility in less than 10 minutes. Not worth the money at all. Maybe once they are done with construction it will be better. As of now, it's a waste of funds. Don't waste your time.

Loved it. Amazing experience. But way to many strollers.

Amazing place rehabbing injured animals and caring for the ones that can't be released

What a great behind-the-scenes look at what an aquarium / sanctuary for marine animals looks like.

Not bad but somewhat small, it looks like they are expanding right now so maybe better later.

Had a good experience overall. This was the main reason we came to Tampa. Unfortunately it was busy season and the place seemed small and way overcrowded.

This place can best be described as a sea life animal hospital with an amazing visitors program. There's is no limit the staff here won't do for saving, treating, and long term care. Their mission here is to Rescue, Treatment, and Release. But, upon your your visit here as you tour this place you will notice they as do long term care. They also have some celebrity movie star animals here, but I won't ruin the surprise . This place of miracles survives on donations. Donations allows them to go that extra mile to care for our local sea life. Be prepared to be wowed by their entertainment presentation. Worth every penny. If possible, donate to help keep their mission going.

If you are in the vicinity, you have to go over there. It is for 1/2 day to calculate. A guided tour behind the scenes is highly recommended. With a little luck you can park for free nearby.

Always enjoyed the educational part it will enlighten you on how humans should watch your trash. Recycle when ever possible.

Very nice place, reasonably priced, all proceeds go to the care of the animals!
Had a great time!

Amazing place. Saw winter and hope as well as Nicholas and PJ. very informative behind the scenes tour.

Really small, construction so hard to actually find the entrance. I wasn t impressed. We got through it in like 30 minutes.

Took our Grandchildren to visit after watching Dolphin Tale about Winter - We had a great time. You have to realize this Aquarium is a Rescue, Rehab and Release Facility where the educational focus is on saving our marine life. If you're looking for a big tank with colorful fish - this isn't your place - If you want to see Winter, hear about her rescue and her inspiration to others - this is the place to go!!!

Wonderful experience!! Very educational! Staff and volunteers very friendly! Can't wait to go back once they complete their expansion!

for the amount of money they charge you to get in you would think there would be a lot more to look at not just overpriced souvenirs. Granted there is construction going on which will enhance it but sadly it was not worth the $150 it cost a family of 6 to go in for an hour and a half. this was our first and last time the staff is great but it's way overpriced for what they offer the windows looking into the tanks are filthy and cloudy you can hardly see the dolphins.

Not a lot to see here compared to larger aquariums but still wonderful. The dolphin show is amazing and petting stingrays was a lifetime experience. We loved it!

Amazing educational experience. This place really is one-of-a-kind.

If it wasnt for the behind the scene tour it would not have been worth the money

Too small and not much to look at. Walked there from the beach. Hard pass.

Great education aquarium, but very overpriced. Feels like you're paying because they made a movie.

Everyone should go there and see the amazing things that they are doing with these animals and how they have paved the way for prosthetic I support them 100%

Very educational and calming environment for the family. As new newlyweds Bobby and Theresa this was on one of our must do stops..

I love this place got to see Winter and Hope and Nicolas I had so much fun

Great day with the family and looking forward to returning when the renovation is complete

This was my second visit to CMA. I went again because I am a school teacher and my kids and I read Hope for Winter, so I wanted to go and bring back my experience since I would be in the area for family vacation. I also have a 3-year-old who I knew would love seeing the animals and she did. She was also very interested in the divers who went into the underground tank and we're interacting with the spectators. She especially enjoyed the Winter's Gel Slime "show", which I and my S-I-L found hard to sit through because of the ridiculously corny accent and jokes of the young lady who played the scientist but then kept making jokes about not being good at science (not a very empowering message)! Anyway, the real reason I gave less than 5 stars is because of the parking situation. They are constructing a new facility but in the mean time you have to walk from the parking lot around a separate building to get to the entrance which would be a non-issue except that this walk is either on the street next to traffic or on a narrow sidewalk that is not meant to support the foot traffic of this attraction. Hope this all takes care of itself over the new facility is up and running.

Fun and educational. Great place for families to visit.

This cool to know how they rescue and rehabilitate some species of the sea, but for me it is not a very funny aquarium. But I'm glad to know that they have an extension to bring it to something better. So when that new phase is ready I will give it another chance.

Down to earth, very very educational, makes you wander and want to do more for fish, wildlife marine animals, great friendly workers, very informative, guaranteed to see the star winter the dolphin, heart worming and influential animal.

Pricey but is for good cause, is a small aquarium that tours can be complete within an hour

So educational and the animals are so close. They have a lot of behind the scene stuff you can do for an added price. Winter and Hope are precious! Only thing is a lot of the hallways are tight so be prepared to feel like a can of sardines at times, but so worth it.

Amazing staff and volunteers that care so deeply for marine life. My family and I can't wait to come back once the addition and renovations are done.

One of our favorite places to go. We're passholders and we learn something new each time we go.

Wonderful time, everyone very informative. Thank you!

We went to clear water specifically to see winter and hope we immediately saw two ladies doing sparkly tattoos and we started chatting with a girl name Lanny what an amazing young ladies you guys have on your staff she was awesome with my daughter and answered all my annoying tourist questions and fan girl questions about the movie.
Lanny you are an amazing kind soul we only chatted for a few mins but you made a world of difference in our experience there good luck with your adventure with sea turtles I know you will rock it!!!!

Great place , staff is super freindly and eager to educate . If your anywhere near this place go ! Love this place

So overrated. The whole place basically advertised the movies. The posters showed that you can witness medical procedures and touch dolphons and see otters up close, but you didn't get to do any of those things. And the staff did lectures of things people already knew, or the summaries of the movies.
We spent fifty dollars for thirty minutes of walking around and not learning anything new.

because of the great job you all are doing and the dolphind

It was a nice experience to stop by when you are around the area. They are constructing new additions to the aquarium

There is a great deal to see here, but the entire experience seemed discombobulated.
There was no rhythm to the flow, as though each building was an add on. The story of " Nicholas" was inspiring but the show with his trainer lasted only ten minutes. We all know the story of Winter, and it was gratifying to see her doing well.
We paid $10.00 extra for the " behind the scenes" experience which was very disappointing, but consider it a donation to the cause.

Super fun day! Got to see the dolphin from the movie and even a few of the actors were there that day! Very informative and very dedicated to saving marine animals. Tons of props from the movie as well. Fun for kids and adults.

It was awesome! They are adding on, I love to see the money going back into the place for the animals. Will definitely be going back!

I love the friendly staff and how informative they are. I've been there twice and I keep learning something new. I will be signing up for the annual pass.

The aquarium is a rescue facility. The focus is helping animals and to educate the public. Do not expect it to be "THEME PARK" quality. We had a fabulous time. Keep in mind the aquarium part is not air conditioned. The museum part is and was very much worth it. They have hands on activities for the kids, educational movies, as well as various other activities for the family.

Dont go here if you want to see a large variety of sharks and fish. The free shows were enjoyable.

I had to give it a star in order to even write a review...this was the worst $20 spent EVER!! and I thank my lucky stars there was a discount for residents today or I would have asked for a refund. We saw 1 dolphin, a sting ray, 2 nurse sharks and 4 fish through extremely mucky water. It's barely wheelchair/stroller accessible and it smelled like old fish. Never again....sorry Winter.

This was such an amazing experience and I highly recommend going if you re in the area. We also added the boat tour and we are so happy we did as we seen so many dolphins and got so much information. We got to watch some dolphin training while we were there and my kids had the best time especially seeing winter and hope from their favorite movies. This has become a must do for all of our future vacations and we all can t wait to come back. We ve done a lot while in Florida but this was by far everyone s favorite part.

Nice, I would do it again but it's a bit on the pricey side for only a few animals. (They are expanding though) 2018 July

It was just ok. Everyone was nice. Some of the windows were cloudy and we were unable to see thru them. We got in for half price today so that was good,but that price was all it was worth any day of the week. Thanks

Really interesting things about marine animals rescue but very very limited exhibitions, but even locals say it doesn't worth the money you pay.

Hermosa pelicula y quiero conocerlas personalmente
A winter y a hope en clearwater.
Hermosa mision de rescatar a los animales
Del mar heridos.
Bendiciones a todos los que participan en ellas.

It will be 5 once the construction and upgrades are complete.

Been to better aquariums, this one is fairly small and just went to see winter the dolphin

Really not much to it :/ kind of bland. Wish there were more attractions and fish. For what you pay it s really not worth it to be honest

Great for kids, I loved that this was a medical and teaching aquarium. It is kind of small as far as exhibits go but still lots of fun!

Very interesting. Spent 5 hrs there. Enjoyed the short movie presentation.