Clearwater Marine Aquarium Reviews

We enjoy the tour and walking through and seeing everything

It was very nice
We saw winter the dolphin
We would have liked to interact with them.

Every staff member we encountered was friendly knowledgeable and helpful. I love what CMA is all about, and seeing the animals get a second chance at life in a safe, nurturing environment was beautiful.

Good place to take the kids , it's under construction so little bit of congested it looks.

I don't know why everybody was just so rude my family and I we had fun but I just felt it was improper the way people was looking at us maybe it was because of the color of our American Indian skin maybe they thought I was an illegal immigrant or something I'm a republican I just can't figure it out

It's under expansion ,a great place for the whole family.

Small, but working aquatic rescue facility from the movie Dolphin tail. Contains dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, rays,other fish, otters, birds, and small crustaceans. Intresting, and educational. Definitely worth a look for kids. Maybe watch the movies first.

Very interesting, not only for visitors who saw the movie "My friend the dolphin". Especially the guide is recommended, which also allows views behind the scenes.

Very interesting and the kids loved it. We also took a boat ride.

I wish they had more tanks. Done in like an hour. Maybe next time. Your heart is in the right direction.

Great place to learn and help a great cause. All about the Dolphin Tale.

Excited to see the reno..it was confusing but they are doing great work!!

I honestly am astounded that so many people rated this "aquarium" so highly. It's great that they are helping rehabilitate, but they are not much of an aquarium at all! $97 later we feel ripped off because nothing in the building would take more than 30 minutes to see, and that's pushing it. We've never seen A Dolphins Tale, but believe this place is making a killing off that alone. If you haven't seen the movie then you'd likely be just as impressed as our group was.

The place is extremely run down and small. Almost impossible to get a stroller through all of the parts. 26.00 per adult and saw like 4 fish, 1 nurse shark and one dolphin, who wasn't even winter. There weren't even any otters or turtles around. Over 50% of the entire building is merchandising. Probably the worst aquarium I have ever been to, as far as wildlife goes. 3 stars because the staff are quite nice.

A lot of walking with little to see. Not handicap friendly; lots of stairs and walking. Parking is far from the actual aquarium. Boat ride, at additional cost, was nice.

The things to do here are very expensive... place is clean, staff is knowledgeable, everything costs extra but you are at least able to see Winter and Hope. Probably won't return because for 6 of us and a couple of add-ons (which we couldn't all be part of and was so rushed it wasn't enjoyable) plus parking was well over $600... too much in my opinion!

Less of an Aquarium more a working sea animal hospital. Nice for kids to learn about conservation and our effects on sea life.

First time visiting a rescue center and my experience was amazing. They help so many animals who've been hurt and displaced by humans. I enjoyed seeing the dolphins, sea turtles, puffer fish, and sharks. My children enjoyed petting stingrays and learning the secret formula to Winters gel. Each animal has its own personality and that was fun interacting with them.

One of my favorite places. It is small and can be seen in a morning if you don't do any of the extra activities such as a dolphin tour or stay for a feeding. But I go for the dolphins (i.e Winter and Hope.) On one of my visits i got to watch them do surgery on a turtle that had recently been rescued. It's a great place to go with kids....or for those of us that like to get in touch with our inner child BTW: the turtle in this photo is blind and interesting to watch as he feels his way his around living space.

Decent for little kids but really small. For how much they re charging, it isn t worth it.

Could never get close enough to see anything, no boat ride due to weather. No intention of coming back.

Cool place to visit, but bombarded with staff making you take photos holding a disabled dolphins prosthetic tail and just shy of guilting you into paying for those photos and extra donations the moment you walked in the door. It was set up just like a corral for cattle just for that reason. All about donations. Which is fine, but I had to bark at one volunteer who asked me if I'd like to donate stating that I have donated five times already starting at the parking garage before I even paid for our tickets in. Cute place, but don't drive more than an hour to visit. The drive will be longer than the time to see everything...

The kids really loved this aquarium. I give it a 4 as with their new Covid procedures it seemed really disorganized getting in, even showing up early for your slot. I know everyone is still figuring it out though.

Would definitely still recommend going, especially if you like Winter from Dolphin Tales.

Under construction. Long walk to even get to the entrance. No handicap transportation at all. By the time we got near the entrance, we had to leave. Never got inside. Should warn loud and clear that unless you are capable of extended walking stay away. I wasted a ticket and parking.

Great biology, chemistry and other history of the animals around in Clearwater beach, Florida. Winter, Nicholas or Max with are not all the animals your children can see. Learning about our world and environment is so essential. Research and recuse is very important for our younger generation.

Only because there was construction on the sight but loved the animals .

Love going here with my family. Awesome staff and exhibits. They really care about the facility and animals. Worth the visit

This place is awesome and very educational. I suggest everyone to come down and enjoy your day here.

honestly wish i could put negative stars. First off aquarium is so small and barely any marine animals. Not worth the amount they charge, if i where to know how it was id maybe pay $5. I've seen better home aquariums and ones at dental offices and thats free. Last place id take a kids as well.

This place was absolutely awesome. Love what they do here and the kids loved it! It was great seeing Winter and the others!

This is a small aquarium, however it was fun. They have sea turtles, sting rays that you can touch, sharks, a river otter, pelicans, and dolphins. My favorite part was the touch tank, you could touch whichever creature was out at the moment. There was a sea urchin, sea star, and crab. It was neat seeing the animal hospital in the aquarium. My son did enjoy the aquarium, it was just a quick tour.

Nothing much to see. There is no fixed time for dolphin show. Also, at the entry if staff is asking you for clicking picture just say no.

Very nicely displayed with emphasis on education and conservation.

Need transportation to and from Aquarium I'm handy cat add almost too much for me For the price you charge It's not handicap friendly

love the true story of human love for fellow earth companions, this is a story of human race true character love for one another in this planet.

We loved seeing the wildlife. Great educational opportunity. Animals are well cared for.

it's worth it to go once, but there isn't a whole lot to see.

It was awesome we took our 9 year old and 15 month old both got to see winter, hope, and cj up close. Got to pet the sting rays. Altogether an awesome experience none of us will forget!

Great place, a little pricey, but the money goes to a good cause.

They're currently under construction and with all the covid-19 restrictions a few of the attractions were shut down. My little one did enjoy having room to run around. Maybe in a few months or so we'll revisit.

This is our second visit. It's not a big place but what they have is worth seeing. Obviously, we visit to see Hope and Winter. All of the "residents "are very well cared for and healthy. It is going to be great when they finish expanding the place. Great friendly knowledgeable staff also.

If you are having trouble seeing the nurse sharks, you can go downstairs through the gift shop for an underwater view. They seem to hang out in the dark near the windows

The greatest experience of my life I have much respect for winter

Was pretty neat to see. Wish there was more there. The boat tours are 100% worth it

Nice experience. Knowledgeable staff. Can't wait for the additional

not worth the money. Saw everything in less then 20 minutes. Advertised as a hour and a half walk through but most things were blocked off. I know things were changed due to covid but the website didn't warn how limited it actually was

I highly recommend. The Sea Life Safari was so educational and fun. We saw 3 dolphins swimming and did some fishing. We got to touch cool fish. The Trainer for a Day program was beyond expectations. Interactions with the otters and "Lucy", one of the pelicans that plays "Rufus", were really fun. Then my daughter got to play with Hope. Next she worked with Winter and Winter gave her a kiss. Then she waved to Nicholas. Amazing place...we spent 2 full days there. The staff were all very nice and helpful. An experience my daughter and I won't forget.

It really is a great place to go but i had no idea how small it really was. You are really helping finance the care for the animals, which is great, but then you get to see them also! The people were very knowledgeable and even MORE FRIENDLY! I wasn't sure but this is where winter from the movie is at... I only mention because I DIDN'T KNOW.

Took the whole family here, the stories of their marine life and the journey to healthy recovery are inspirational!

If you are looking to visit the aquarium where winter the dolphin is park at this spot they have a free shuttle to the other aquarium.

Very disappointed. The aquarium in Tulsa, OK was much better and it's nowhere close to the ocean!

Overall when visiting the Clearwater Marine Aquarium one must remember..
1) the selection of sealife is limited because the Aquarium is a rehab-release aquarium.
2) it also doubles as an animal hospital.
I had rather my money goes to animals that I know will potentially go back to the wild then an establishment marine life for profit.
The dolphins are so playful, and you can tell the staff is adored by many of the animals here
One of the potter's knew his name.
The bird are huge, and colorful.
My only complaint is that we had to walk far Renovations from the parking lot to the actual Aquarium, and no one reminded us about the pictures we had gotten taken in the begaining
(Obviously that's partially my fault as well)

I loved the place because it is so important to me and to other people and I love the move it was so sad a happy that she could swim again and I love dolphin soooo much

Expensive, and not much to do. Unless you go through during a show there's maybe a half hour of content. Small enclosures too :/

Having been to aquariums up north this was a very different experience. The entire place is animal focused both protecting them and rehabilitation. Some exibits were empty but thats a good thing. The new addition coming soon should be great for both the animals and customers alike so I hope I can make it back to check it out soon. Great place for kids and adults alike to learn about marine life and how to protect them.

Very nice rescue aquarium & info. It will be so much better when they finish the new add ons. Hopefully they will update the sound system as we couldn't hear much of the show. Winter & Hope were unable to be seen very well. We can't wait for the new additions.

Many renovations are underway that I look forward to checking out.

Not what we expected. Wanted to see Winter and it was a long time before we could see her. We are glad we did the boat ride.

We love it! The boat ride with the Aquarium staff was great!

Excellent place to visit for educational purposes. Friendly staff. A new facility is being built which will earn it an additional star.

Great Sealife Safari boat ride by the aquarium itself is small and open to the elements so it's HOT! ...I wouldn't come here looking for an aquarium but as part of a group learning about the care of marine animals, as they are more of a working hospital open to the public.

We left after 30 minutes . Truly an upsetting experience. The tanks were filthy dirty and tiny . I'm sure most of the Florida residents have bigger swimming pools in their yards than the poor dolphins and sharks had . We ask why the sting rays pool was so dirty to be told there were no sting rays in there ????? When we advised them that there were actually 2 sting rays In there they blanked us . Horrid tiny concrete enclosures with nothing in them to entertain the dolphins and other marine life . I left feeling disappointed and sad . Never again .

I absolutely love Clearwater Marine Aquarium they are the best I have only been there once and I have had the time of my life I would love to go there again. MY FAVORITE PLACE EVER

For what you get the cost of admission is not worth it unless you REALLY REALLY want to try and see Winter and/or Hope in person. This is NOT an aquarium it is a rescue that allows guests and put some viewing windows in their holding tanks. The entire place is cramped and poorly lit. Also, your odds of seeing Winter/Hope are slim since the viewing area is so small. The fact that parents let their children run wild without supervision does not help.

They do very good work here so I'm very hesitant to say anything that could be construed as negative. I will say that the cost of admission is fairly high and my family found it hard to spend more than an hour exploring the exhibits.

I traveled from MI to see this place, it's wonderful how they are taking care of the animals in need, but we were disappointed that we couldn't get that close to seeing Winter and Hope like they show in the movie it was pricy for not that big of a place. I'm glad we went but I'll be okay with not going again

Amazing experience made my daughters dreams come true!!

Kinda lame, don't pay full price or you will regret it. Nice little aquarium although, very few exhibits.

Love that they help animals in need, but for what we paid it was way over priced. 6 adults and one child, the place is dirty, hot and not much to see. and for the money spent there I think should be better.literally 30 min and you've seen all they have. I would recommend taking your family somewhere else to enjoy your time. Just make a donation somehow if you want to help out.