Clearwater Marine Aquarium Reviews

I loved dolphin tale . One problem y is the web cam not colored

Very nice aquarium for seeing dolphins. Much smaller than the Florida Aquarium however, it is it's own unique experience worth seeing on your visit to Clearwater.

Got to see winte the dolphin they fo great work rescuing see life

The staff was so nice, and helpful. I enjoyed every second of the aquarium and I'm 14 years old. My faviorate part was the dolphins he was so cool. I also enjoyed the boat ride, tons. Love this place and will be coming back soon

We love your social work but we think it would be much more

Im sorry to say, It was disappointing visit, as there was nothing much to see. May be they are renovating. When it is so little so see, they could have close it completely, could have reopened after renovation.

Currently under construction to expand more. The volunteers/staff are friendly.

This place charges a ton for entrance and doesn't have very many animals to see. Most of what you see is the souvenir shop and videos and pictures of animals instead of the real thing. This place makes millions exploiting injured creatures whom they can't ever fully rehabilitate, yet their motto is 'rescue, rehabilitate, release.' I'd save my money and go to the Florida Aquarium instead!

Small but worth it. We love going here to see the dolphins.

Go take a tour. This place is fabulous but it needs some money to spruce up. All proceeds go back into taking care of these amazing creatures..

This is hardly an aquarium - it is more like an animal recovery enter. There are approximately 10 different types of animals with the price tag of a much larger aquarium. From the moment you enter, you are bombarded with advertisements for Winter and Hope. It feels as though it was an animal recovery center that, since the creation of the movies, decided to cash in on the fame. The facilities are dilapidated and disappointing. My wife and I left stunned and appalled thinking about how we just wasted $50. Save your money and go to an actual aquarium.

Enjoyed this so much. Love the dolphins a whole bunch! Hope to visit with family in future+++++

If your kids are fans of the movie Dolphin Tale than this aquarium is worth the time. We did the boat excursion, and if we hadn't seen dolphins in the last few minutes of our ride would have found it not worth the money. It goes to great cause though.

I would classify more as a rescue than aquarium. Very expensive plus paying for parking. The Florida aquarium in Tampa is better choice.

Great visit, and they are EXPANDING! Winter gets a new home soon. Just all around great adventure.

It was okay. It should be better in a few years after the Winter and Hope backed expansion.

A wonderful rescue, rehab, release center. It's not a huge location but a lot is packed into a small space and they are expanding. Currently 4 permanent dolphins on site that cannot be released due to medical or situations that occurred during their young lives.
We did the behind the scenes tour and it was very educational and interesting.

We liked it very much and the entrance fee is absolutely justified.
Keep it up, we are very excited to see how the new system will look

What an amazing experience. Knowledgable employees and interns. I will be visiting again and enjoying the different exhibits. My camera quality doesnt do the aquarium justice so you'd have to stop in yourself to see some incredible animals and read up on their individual stories.

We didn't realize this was the set of Dolphin Tale... If you or your children really love this movie, its probably worth the price. If you haven't seen the movie, it is not worth going

The staff was very friendly and helpful they were under construction when, my niece and nephew told me we have come back and see it again when they are done

You can't go there with the expectations of a high end aquarium...it is a rescue. So wonderful to see such an effort put forth. Everyone that works there has such a great attitude, very polite.

Friendly staff very informed with what they were discussing

Heartwarming stories of rescues and rehab. Loved our visit.

I have here nothing special found. many construction sites

Fun and educational day visit with behind the scene tours. Friendly and informative staff makes this attraction a worthy visit for the whole family. The facility is clean well maintained. There are two different short boating excuses available, which we will have to do next time. Admission price is reasonable and there is also a discount for veterans. Good parking in covered garage.

Wasnt impressed at all. The glass for veiwing the fish n mamals were dirty n cloudy couldnt make them out CLEARLY. Not much to see we saw everything in 45 mins. Dont waste yr $$$ go to the Tampa Aquarium. Tgey know how to keep thier viewing glass cleaned. Lot more to do n see. I was totally DISAPPOINTED.

What a great place. The people who work there have such big hearts.

Not all I thought..yes you see Winter but without his tail in a pool..only 2 dolphins in pool. ONE was entertaining but you need to stay behind a fenced off area which makes it hard to get a photo. .one small Dolphin show outside..not bad..I would highly recommend Tampa aquarium over this

It's a nice rescue you can see it in about 2 hours Max.

Very nice experience. Learned a lot about sea animals

As advertised - an aquatic hospital with great stories. If you are anticipating a full blown aquarium, this is not for you.

winter inspired me
winter hope you get better!!!

It was beautiful to see the Dolphins such as Winter and Hope and there was even sea turtles, otters and birds. Food was delightful and entertainment was for all ages. Amazing!!!

Very cool place recommend paying the extra to do the behind the scenes tour

We love what you guys do! Keep it up! We'll be back soon..
For all the people who are writing stuff about, this is not an aquarium and there is no entertainment.. Go to Disneyworld..
This is a real marine life hospital! It is not a, can't even pronounce the name, Seaworld attraction like park where poor animals kept captive for your "entertainment"!
They work for a cause and if you aren't interested and just want to have fun with the family instead of supporting and learning things about the animals itself (which I know is a great time with the family) and seeing what we as human beings are doing to our own planet and marine life and what this "aquarium" is doing to change it, then this is not your place to go.
But I do hope most people think otherwise and go here to have a great time and see things they can't see anywhere else! People who support, help and dedicate there lives to saving these beautiful marine animals!
We flew across the world to see CMA and it was a heartwarming experience to see everything in real life!
And of course if you're lucky you can even see winter ;) if not don't be sad! Luckily they didn't make a glass wall in the tank because the animals should and must have a place to go where they can rest and we can't really bother them, even if they are in a tank.
Again thank you CMA we are very lucky that organizations like these are still around, we're proud of all your work! Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release!

Hardly had fishes and the tank where Winter and Hope was dirty.

So went to the dolphin and went on an echo tour boat price worthy and fun

I want to respond to Pinkie Pie. I am tired of the people who think that no animal needs to do any type of work in order to earn a living ----- except for people. The reality is that ALL animals work to survive and work to live. Stop giving this aquarium a hard time. They rescue animals and save the lives of animals. It is not a cost free venture. It costs money to rescue animals. Look, whenever someone needs a beached sea animal rescued (or a manatee or something), they call places like Clearwater Marine Aquarium and Sea World to rescue it. And, these enterprises rescue the animal and do whatever they can to save the animal's life for FREE. They cannot pay for all the medical care, food, accomadation, etc. that is needed to save the lives of rescued animals and to keep those animals alive and healthy without money. They have to make SOME MONEY some how. We now have people who want to say that every single animal who works is being mistreated. I have met many seeing eye dogs and police dogs who work every day and they are not being mistreated. I have met horses who give horseback rides or who pull wagons. I have met birds who perform in shows. Etc. They are usually very healthy and very well taken care of. Stop exaggerating and saying that every animal who does anything that could be considered to be earning a living is being mistreated. Sure there is animal abuse out there. But, places like rescue aquariums, police departments, financially rich tourist attractions, handicapped assistance organizations, show dog organizations, etc. are not the places engaging in the real abuse. The real animal abuse happens by the farming industry, puppy mills, pet hoarders, dog and cock fighters, some researchers, and stupid people who abandon their animals when they abandon their houses. For the most part, many show animals, zoo animals, and work animals are treated VERY, VERY well and have loving trainers and care givers who try to indulge the animals any way they can. They get proper medical care, a balanced diet, exercise, mental stimulation, and social interaction with both people and other animals. It is not a bad life. And, it is not like the stuff that you really need to worry about ---- the stuff that happens to animals behind closed doors where you can't see it.

This was a Great experience we touched sting rays & my daughter who is a dolphin lover got to see Winter & Hope. Priceless to see the smile on her face.

Loved it took my husband for our anniversary seen a live show and got to pay the sting rays

I love this place and i went to see winter and hope and i had a great time.!!!!!

Very friendly staff to assist with questions. We needed to get the kids (2 and 3 years old) out to do something fun, and this was a good way to spend an hour.

It was a great place to visit. Our kids loved getting to see the animals they were so familiar with from the movies. One thing I will say - it is a animal rescue/veterinarian clinic. That is their primary purpose.

Also, the dolphin trip/sea safari was AMAZING and made our day. All the staff and volunteers in every corner were great.

It was ok overall. It's awesome what they do, but not really a normal aquarium you would think of (no tanks full or exotic fish), more of an animal recovery clinic. You might like this place more if you like more presentation stuff on the things they do to help injured sea animals or the more permanent animal residents of the clinic. Some of the stuff was a bit lackluster (they had some creepy animal exhibit but was just photographs and a really dark room) and they are in the process of expanding the building. Might want to wait a couple years for them to expand. Probably worth going to if you get the city pass, but I wouldn't recommend going until they finish the construction.

Little boy had fun! Avoid bringing a stroller if you can its hard going down the stairs and up too see all the places.

It is not well organize, not easy to see the animals, no acomodations for people with disability.

This place was amazing! We learned so much and had a fantastic day. Highly recommend!

Saw the star of the Marine aquarium. But there wasn't a lot of things to see.

My Daughter and I loved it!!! I could stay there all day!!! We had a fun time in the CMA Family Feud. Lots of laughs. Nicholas broke my heart with his scares. But he is so adorable and smart. It was amazing to see Winter!!! We have watched the movie, but never thought we would get the chance to see her... It was a Wonderful Day... Will come back.... Have to head back to Ohio...

We took our two small children here while visiting Clearwater. We went after 4 and it cost less. It still was very expensive for what it is. You see Winter and other dolphins. There are sting rays for the kids to touch other than that nothing too exciting. The pictures they take in the beginning were ridiculously overpriced. I recommend just watching the movie and skipping the visit to see the dolphin.

If you enjoy watching animals that have ocean mileage at your disposal, trapped in small concrete cages this is your place. Except for the dolphin that needs special care because it doesn't have its full syrup. I wonder how cruel they can be to confining animals into tiny concrete cubes. Tiny indeed. I know several larger pools than the environments where dolphins live. Forgetting this, it is terrible to observe the other animals, fogged and muddy glass, impairing the viewing of animals. Only small aquarium was with its clean glasses. I do not recommend.

It s a really nice aquarium for sure, definitely on the small side and I just wish I knew that the construction meant you couldn t even see winter which was made me want to go. I still definitely enjoyed seeing the sea turtles, otters, sharks, etc and even fed the stingrays (they re aggressive little guys when it s feeding time lol) other than that all of the staff was super knowledgeable and friendly. I love animals and can get super talkative but no one made it seem like I was annoying them with all my questions and they all seemed to genuinely enjoy what they do, which definitely enhances the experience in my opinion! I can t wait for the new exhibit to be complete so I can go back and see winter and her gang they also do a great job with cdc face masks and social distancing guidelines but not to the point of being annoying about it !

Expecting a better experience in the coming years with the expansion. A little rough there right now but still worth the visit to learn about the work they have done.

What a wonderful, educational place! The kind of place, where your admission is going to a great cause!

This is nice little place to stop and spend some time with the kids for a few hours. Much of their facility is under construction. I would guess they will have a lot of nicer newer things opening in the next year or so.

Had a great day with family and Alice Marie really enjoyed watching Winter and hope swim together

Go early for up close views of Winter and Hope. Also, make sure to do the movie set tour too

Wonderful place filled with wonderful workers and volunteers. They made our experience unforgettable. Thank you so much!

Not an aquarium (yet). This is a destination for fans of Winter the dolphin and not much else. Once they complete construction I'm sure it will be better but there are better options in the area.

Friendly very well trained staff. I say they are not an entertainment place per say but do a good job at that. They are there to rescue sea animals and are very good at what they do. The new facility will be spectacular and will greatly improve the thing they do the best. Please support them by attending the facility and donating funds as that is a major money support for there service.

Great place to take the kids. They learn about Marine life, the ocean and hopefully a bit more conscienceness for our ocean friends. It was great to see the real "Winter" from the movie Dolphin Tales. She likes to "tweet"!

Excellent facility to get a true experience of what the wildlife rescuers do. The well educated staff cares for these animals and it shows. From the sea turtles, to otters, to fish and to their crowd favorites, the dolphins these animal seem to enjoy their stay. Caring and educated staff not only attend to these wonderful animals, they educate the visitors that stop by. Very crowded most of the day, but it's well worth the visit. For the low price of admission, the whole family gets educated and entertained.
Highly recommend the boat tours they offer and behind the scenes tour. Getting valuable education about sea life and rescue information helps us all coexist on this planet. These people working here really do care about their job.

Way too crowded. Six of us went, including my 9 year old who had wanted to visit for about 3 years. Visiting was really the main reason for making the 950 mile drive to the area. Unfortunately, it was so packed full of people that my daughter couldn't hear what the presenters were saying half of the time, especially in the sting ray exhibit. Adults and kids alike were jostling for limited space around the rails of the tanks, and after maybe 30 minutes my two older kids and the three adults in the group were ready to go.

We took advantage of the reduced prices and visited in the early evening. Maybe it's not as busy during normally priced hours.

As for the picture takers at the entrance, holy cow. I know they need to generate funds for their mission, but telling us we had to get our pictures taken before we could go in was ridiculous.

Bottom line was that it was a big disappointment but we admire the work being done.

a bit overpriced for what you get out of it
I thought it would be bigger. still bought a hat to support them, because I love what they're doing. Praise Winter the dolphin!

A nice little aquarium, but pretty expensive ($25/person) to get in. We got lucky and got a discount with our FL Aquarium membership and got to take part in some extra Halloween events that aren't usually there. Lots of construction happening, so might be worth the entry fee once the big expansion is done.