Clearwater Marine Aquarium Reviews

Great operation with a great story. The gift shop staff VERY helpful providing other things to do in the immediate area.

Awesome experience! I love how they truly take care of the animals and you can tell the animals feel safe in their reaction! Winter and Hope have an awesome bond. I highly recommend donating to this cause.

We were very excited to go in there, but were extremely disappointed after our visit. The place is very small and doesn't have much to offer. You only need 20 minutes to see everything they have. Yes, they might have a good cause, however, it is not what it is supposed to be for the money they charge. I hate to say this, but you can probably see more SeaWorld from the bridge than in this so called aquarium.

Great way to spend a hot day, get inspired, see info on a real life movie and support a great cause

Very friendly, knowledgeable staff and volunteer. Well marked signs for social distancing and all staff were wearing masks.

Always so much fun! The boat cruise was amazing! I love what you all do here!

Way too crowded. Very touristy. Not alot to see. When you go see winter the windows are way too small for you to see without people walking infront of you. Not worth the two and half hour drive.

Great place. Can't wait for the new Aquarium to open for Hope and Winter. I will come back than. Staff is very knowledgeable.

I give you 5 stars because of all the work you do saving the marine life. You are doing the work that needs to be done. I am glad to pay and donate to you so you can keep up the awesome work you do. To the people that think this place is boring, It's not about a show or a sea circus, it's about the sea life being saved and cared for.

Absolutely great aquarium for the size. Boat excursions are great too!

Nice little Aquarium. Free for Military members so I was pretty happy with that price... Our little girl had a great time.

Smaller than expected aquarium, but had several things going for it: despite the COVID-19 precautions, we were still allowed to touch the sting rays; the animals are rescues so they're not being caught simply to be put on display; and the back story on Winter is pretty amazing. I had never heard of Winter before my visit, so I was compelled to watch the movie the same evening. Construction makes access to the aquarium a bit awkward.

Admirably, their main concern is conservation and rescue. Possibly their only concern. I felt misled about the aquarium aspect. Very, VERY little to see/do here. The tanks they do have were very difficult to see because the water/glass was so foggy. Exhibits were very lackluster. We were done in less than 15 minutes. I appreciate their safety measures, but the staff-customer ratio appeared to be around 1:2, making social distancing harder than it needed to be. I m glad I paid through city pass, for which I am thankful, because if I had paid full price I would have been upset.

The boat ride to see dolphins didn't dissapoint. We got to see them rescue a sea turtle named Violet, as well. Had to do an operation on her while we watched. A very cool experience this day.

A beautiful catch, rehabilitate, and release aquarium with residential animals as well! Very friendly staff and great for family's!

Don't miss visiting here if you are in the Clearwater area

I've seen too many good aquaria (e.g. Atlanta, Baltimore) to properly enjoy this place. It must be said I've not seen any movies associated with the dolphins or the aquarium, so maybe that's why I'm not very impressed?

Clearwater is not supposed to be a complete giant aquarium. It's a research and caretaking facilitiy for the most part, which is amazing.

How's my little otter doing? I'd love to meet him someday.

Love this place for what they do but for 2 adults and 1 child to visit for the day was $80 not including any foods or drinks or souvenirs. So it's a great place to visit and I know the money goes to a good cause it just makes it kind of hard for most families to be able to visit them. If you want any animal encounters or to feed anything it's all extra. So happy that they save the animals though and keep them safe too much needed place to have in our area.

This is so much more than an aquarium. The backstage tour is a must! It was so interesting to learn about the marine rescue that the volunteers do here. Got to see the ER, ICU and kitchen prep areas. Our guide Laura had many interesting facts and stories about all the rescues and animals that were being rehabilitated there. You could tell that the staff and volunteers were passionate about these marine animals. Viewing tanks from underneath held the opportunities to see these happy creatures living out their lives in safety. Well worth the visit. Will not look at marine life in the same way ever again.

I friking loved this place!! I got to see two amazing celebrities!! Winter and Hope

I absolutely loved the movies and loved that Winter and Hope were my first dolphins I got to see but unfortunately for me the aquarium wasn't all it's made out to be! I paid 200$ for 11 people to see 15 minutes worth of stuff. Way to expensive and unless you can afford the crazy prices to pet them or interact with them it is just not worth it. I think we enjoyed the boat ride the most.

I just visited Ckearwater Marine Aquarium for the first time I did enjoy my two hour experience seeing and learning about marine life. Clearwater marine aquarium is not your typical aquarium it is a rescue and release aquarium as well as a marine hospital. You have to keep that in mind before passing any judgement. Like many of you I have seen the movies and know the story told by Holywood. Most of that is not an accurate account of Winter the dolphin, or the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. You also need to keep that in mind as you tour the aquarium. They do like to play up the movies while you are there, but they do it with good reason those movies have helped them financially. I do not blame them and we need more places like this because they really do care about what they are doing to help marine live. The only reason why I gave this place 4 stars instead of five is due to the fact it is had to actually see winter and this place is small and it is very hard to get around because so may people are packed in the building to see the world's most famous dolphin. It took me the better part of two hours to get a picture of Winter. Here is why other then the people they have parts of the dolphins pools blocked off from the view of people, so the dolphins can go and relax without being bothered. They need to destress from being around a crowd the same as we do. Over all Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a great place doing outstanding things, and I definitely think you should put it on your must see list if nothing else then to help support their efforts of marine rescue.

Educational, fun, interactive. Tours are available if you'd like them. There's a gift shop and a snack area as well.

We have been twice and we look forward to going again. The dolphins are our favorite!

This is by far our favorite place to visit when we travel to the Tampa area. Hope and Winter are inspirational dolphins.
We follow them on snapchat to keep up with what is happening at the aquarium.
Wer are excited to see the renovations on our next trip

Incredible team and mission that truly cares about our planet and the local communities! Thank for all your support and wishing you all continued success!

Need to move into facilities to accommodate the public. Shows not kept to daily schedule m

it was awesome there are touch tanks and winter hope and nicholars are thier from the movie!+!

I am saddened by all of the 1 star reviews of this business. It all comes down to your expectations. If you are expecting Sea World Orlando shows, you will not find them here. There are impromptu sessions with the experienced staff, which we found to be authentic and entertaining. If you are expecting a large commercial aquarium experience, you will not find it here. There are only a dozen or so animals here and more that are being treated and released back to the wild. I was happy there were not more permanently being held due to their captivity from a young age. The "dirty" water is really just cloudy glass due to a staff member cleaning the windows with the wrong cleaning solution. We actually saw divers cleaning the large inside dolphin pool with scrub brushes when we were leaving at closing time. We were disappointed that Hope and Winter were in separate pools. But the staff explained that it is like siblings who must be separated for some time to relax and be alone. The only expectation not met was the Florida resident discount. They only gave the discount to me and my wife, but not my daughter and her husband from MN whom we invited to come with us. The adult admission was $24 for non-residents and $12 for residents. My opinion of the actual value is around $12-$15 per person. The parking was $6 which I consider cheap for a large parking ramp near a beach.

This is the home of Winter, from the movie Dolphin Tale. We went after 4pm to get the cheaper rate. Lots of things to do. We took about 2 hours to visit. There are talks, exhibits, a stingray petting area, different ocean animals (sea turtles, fish, an otter, dolphins, etc...). They are currently working on an addition. They do have a boat tour as well, but is an additional charge.

Worst aquarium that I have ever been to. Please save your money and just go to vinoy park you'll see more wildlife there. Way over priced for what you get... wouldn't even pay 10 dollars to see what was available there. Bottom line, don't waiste your money.

Wonderful experience to see Winter the dolphin. The staff were wonderful. Special mention of Ariel in the gift shop who went out of his way to find a Winter stuff toy that had run out in the store. Made our lil one super happy!

I thought for the cost it was a self guided tour. There were people to answer your questions but like in the hospital area I didn't even know what I was looking at. I just feel it was very expensive 78.00 for 3 people

If you are from a big city, this aquarium is very unimpressive and underwhelming. Run down, dirty, empty, bare, nothing to see.

Profits from this place go back to conservation, even the gift shop and snack shop purchases. Knowledgeable staff...great rescue aquarium. Would spend my money here instead of the bigger snazzier ones.

Beautiful and relaxing , makes you forget all about the rest of the world

I love the heart of this place. Every person on staff or volunteer always takes the time to talk with you. Being passionate about marine life really starts in the amazing interactions Clearwater Marine Aquarium prides itself on. It is never a bad day being here!

I appreciate the rescue work but very little to see for more than $60 for two with parking.

The Place is small.... But great in customer service, all staff are very helpful and very friendly , always smiling also my daughters meet the Dolphin Tale Stars

Fun place for the kids. That famous dolphin is there...not flipper...not summer...I think it s winter. Anyway, the stingray beach is very cool and the dolphin show is nice for a small size aquarium. Can t be compared to the more substantive larger aquariums like the one in Baltimore and other locations, but still fun for the kids.

Really not all that great parking was terrible long walk to the exhibits not really Built Well for handicapped

Amazing place! Absolutely loved it! (very good price as well) Very attentive staff and lovely animals

Visited this aquarium and I appreciate all the great work they do for the marine life.
Also they have boat tours that take you out of the aquarium so you can see the marine life in the wild dolphins sea turtles and maybe a sting ray if the conditions are ideal.

Pn the boat ride we got to see a bunch of dolphins and even got to see the sun set all the way till we wouldn't see it.

Not a lot for younger ones, money goes to Good cause!

It is really sad to witness how the poor "permanent residents" live in their permanent tiny cells. Unfortunately my daughter wanted to come to this place as her bithday present. The place is so small, with an outer, pelican, dolphin and stingray exhibits. They charged fir two adults and two children $100.00 including parking. The place is not cosmetically nice, and in about 30 minutes you are done. It looks nothing like the movie, and you can barely see Winter through a small opening. We were so disappointed. It is a ripoff, and the animals should be transferred to appropiate facilities or released to their own fortune.The way they are kept is sad, and really is like a prision cell, as it is small and without sunlight. It is a center for animal cruelty disguised as a non profit. The saddest aquarium I ever visited. Say you had a sickness with one week left to live, would you prefer , being abducted by aliens and placed in a tiny cell for other aliens to observe you every day of your life, but you get to live or , die in peace in your own domain and with your family? The animals should be released no matter if they are good candidates for release or not. Animals eat other animals, we luve in an ecosystem

Our 4th trip! We love the closeness to the animals and the personal touches they give. Note...if you buy a membership for 5 it is cheaper than one day admission and parking is included!

I was actually really disappointed. Like some of the other reviewers I was under the impression this was an aquarium. We visited because my niece really wanted to see winter and hope. We saw lots of sea turtles, otters and sting rays. Over all it just wasnt what i was expecting. I appreciate what they do and think it's quite amazing. I think a lot of people come here with the same impression.. that they're going to see a lot of sea life.

Amazing! Wonderful to see the animals in recovery. Had the pleasure of seeing Winter and Hope, from Dolphin Tale.

This non profit, rescue aquarium was fun. We highly recommend going!

So scenic great experience for kids who have seen the dolphin tale movies I definitly enjoyed it and you should try the backstage pass super cool

This place was not all the hype. A lot of people hype it up because of the movie dolphin tale. No more than 50 species including the feeder fish. You could barely see the fish cause the tank glass was so dirty. Definitely not worth the $30 per ticket however good to know my ticket money went towards rescuing the animals. It definitely doesn t earn the aquarium title it is more of a show and tell animal rescue center

What a wonderful experience for the family! Kids had a blast and so did we! Highly recommended! Also the staff is very friendly and you can tell they love the animals.

This was the best experience, great for kids, many things for them to do and touch.

Had an amazing visit last night. All the staff were very knowledgable, friendly and you could tell they loved their job. All of the attractions and special informed presentations were very good. We love coming here. They do great things here for all of those marine wildlife in peril. A must see regularly :)

Terrible experience, not even an aquarium. Paid around $28 per person and after walking 30 minutes to get there, and waiting in line for about 40 minutes, we were excited for our last experience here in Clearwater. There is no aquarium. There s a couple dolphins, a couple weird nurse sharks , a few stingrays, turtles, and two otters. All the animals are kept in large bins with murky water, bins just large enough for the animal to turn around in. Took about 15 minutes to exhaust the resources there. Extremely upset looking for a refund as this should NOT be called an aquarium .

Not a fun place to visit. Barely have anything to see.

I saw more wildlife having lunch at the Island Way Grill, which I do recommend!

We had such a great time! Especially liked seeing and learning about Nicholas!!

Very educational, a lot to learn for kids that like marine life

AWESOME place to visit! Great guest service for visitors.

Wonderful place. Love what they are doing for marine life. Took a behind scenes tour. Great to see all the staff working on the different rescued animals.

Well organized and easy to follow. Had plenty of interesting marine animals. We enjoyed seeing Winter the most ! The staff was great :)

Loved seeing dolphins and seeing winter, loved the experience