Monterey Bay Aquarium Reviews

Monterey Bay aquarium is great I paid for my ticket even though I thought about sneaking in it was really nice once I was in there except I hit on a tank and all the fish got confused and started swimming different directions it was really scary I thought I was going to get in trouble but other than that I really liked it I mean it's alright

I purchased an Ocean advocate member package and im extremely happy with the family benefits of the package. Money well spent, I sure regret not knowing about it sooner. We most definitely will be renewing our membership next year

This is one of the best aquariums I've ever been to! The aquarium itself is spacious and houses a wide variety of ocean creatures. There's even an outside area where visitors can admire the pacific ocean.

Upon entering a friendly volunteer would recommend sections/programs to visit. I'd agree with the highly recommended feeding program. Also check out the shark and giant octopus!

When you leave be sure to take a card that reminds you the sustainable fish to consume! Must visit in the bay area!

This was the first time visiting the aquarium. Honestly it will be my last. The tickets were outrageously expensive. There wasn t a lot of different things to see. Seemed like same thing over and over. I have visited the Vancouver Aquarium several times and the Vancouver Aquarium is so much better. So much to see and tickets are cheaper. The Monterey aquarium has more gift shops than exhibits. If you do go, I recommend on a weekday. It was so busy you can t enjoy the exhibits. I was told this aquarium was fantastic but to me it wasn t. I was greatly disappointed and especially what we paid for it. We had left the aquarium to get lunch and came back afterwards. One of the employees let us in the door so we did not have to wait in that long line. She unlocked the door and we went in. No sooner did we walk in 2 employees stopped us and would not let us go anywhere. We kept explaining that their employee let us in and we have stamps. After s bit of telling them they finally let us go. Treated ya like we snuck in and they did not apologize afterwards. That really put a damper on our visit. Combining the ticket line and returning guest line is a ridiculous thing to do. Have separate lines for that because it is uncalled for to wait in that long line when you already paid.

This aquarium is known world-wide and for a great reason! The entire experience is so enjoyable, the exhibits are clean, big and beautiful and the music played as a backdrop really add to the overall atmosphere of the visit. What the aquarium does for Monterey Bay and the conservation of animals is so inspiring and I am writing this during the apocalypse when I am missing this beautiful aquarium. It's great for kids and adults who act like kids because you get a chance to touch some of the animals at the tide pools. My favorite is standing in front of the open ocean exhibit and listening to the music as I pretend I'm underwater, just a lovely and magical experience. Best aquarium ever!

Wonderful place to visit!!! Wish I lived closer do I could go regularly. The Open Sea is awe inspiring.

My husband and I visited on a Saturday evening. We were impressed! We caught one of the aquarium's video presentations in the auditorium; it was very well done. The building itself was beautiful, and the interior was clean and well-lit. We loved the large kelp aquarium that was two stories tall in some places. The jellyfish and octopus exhibits were amazing as well. Our only regret is that we didn't go earlier in the day; from 10-5pm there are frequent feedings of the sea otters, sharks, and other fish. There were also many exhibits for kids, including a few "touch" areas where you can touch the sea creatures.

Fantastic aquarium, lots of stuff to see. A lot of educational displays and interactive stuff for kids. They have tours available and they do big demonstrations and feedings and explain what's going on.

An awesome aquarium.

This not only has a beautiful beach, it has a dedicated section on pollution. Too things you seldom find at an Aquarium.

Also featured on the show, Big Little Lies!

Great place lots of amazing animals and very helpful staff and volunteers to help with questions about the animals.

Been to a lot of aquariums. While not my favorite in terms of big exhibits, Monterey is my favorite in terms of layout, design and the open feel to it. I really enjoyed the more unique exhibits that I've never scene as thoroughly at other aquariums like the cuttlefish.

Wonderful place to take the family and learn some really cool things.

So much to see, touch and learn! Thankful and loved the homeschool program! Beautiful place to visit!

Best aquarium I've ever been to. Even better than the Baltimore aquarium

Hands down the best aquarium I've ever visited, and well worth the price of admission!

This non-profit aquarium is works class, and does super work educating the public about our oceans and their conservation. And it's so fun. Try to catch the otter feeding - so cute!

A bit crowded but didn't feel hemmed in. Well worth the money to get in. Was a little bit pricey.

World class aquarium. Kid friendly. Definitely worth the trip.

Very cool place. We have a decent aquarium where I am from, but I live in the Midwest, so having the ocean lookout at Monterey Bay was fantastic. I saw otters just hanging out in their natural habitat. Only downside to this aquarium is the layout. It is kind of all over the place and there is no flow, so there are just people randomly walking everywhere, rather than in an organized pattern through the displays. I think my favorite parts was the "Open Sea" exhibit. So humbling.

Always amazing. Perfect for the whole family. Our family this time ranged in age from 4 to 55 and there was something for everyone. I especially love the kelp forest and the jellies plus the hands-on exhibits and touching areas. I learn something new every time I come.

So much to see, learn about, and experience. Great for kids small and tall. We grown ups loved it too! Our hotel had a two days for the price of one. Highly recommend if you have that possibility. There is enough for more than one days worth for the full experience. Sign up for the text alerts right away, number is on the map!

Exceptional quality exibits. The staff is also very kind and educative.

Amazing place and great, knowledgeable staff. Such a delight to visit; we always go away with increased knowledge of our bay, ocean, and the incredible sea life there.

Very pricey admission ($50 person) for what can be realistically seen in 3 hours total. However I had a wonderful time as the exhibits were either large enough or spread out enough to accommodate the amount of people. Shows centering on the animals were informative and entertaining. Volunteers were interactive and entertaining in the tide pools.

Quite pricey ($50 adult), but worth it.
Highlights are kelp forest, sunfish (mola-mola) and interesting jelly fish. Not too many places in the world where you can actually touch so many live fish, mollusks and other marine life. Easily half a day with the kids.

This aquarium is AMAZING. The exhibits all feel brand new and the open ocean section is just mind-blowing. It's clean and parking is easy.

That said... It's generally super crowded. Don't go if you get overwhelmed by lots of people. It's also expensive - but it was worth it for me.

We live about 2 hours away but are still members willing to brave the crowds of tourists on a regular basis because it's just that good. You can feel the passion for ocean conservancy throughout the entire complex and in speaking with the staff. They just really care. I know it's a catch-22 to have marine like "locked up" and talk about saving them at the same time but that's the small price to pay for bringing awareness to what society is doing to our oceans. That and their focus on rehabilitation and release back to the wild is encouraging as well so I guess it's not quite catch-22. A recommended visit for anyone interested in our oceans and the life that our ocean's sustain.

Love going to this place with my daughter. Even after 10 years she never seems the tire of the place. The best thing to do is get a membership and then go for the sleepover. Something I have found that most people don't know about.

Great aquarium. Open sea exhibit is world-class and so is the kelp forest. Make sure to check out project white shark at the auditorium to learn about the aquarium research program on great whites

Fun place to let the kids run around and have fun . adults will love it too especially the views with are gorgeous

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been a childhood memory! Never ceases to keep me entertained every time I go. Parking is really difficult though so go early if you want to park close by without paying for it.

Best aquarium in the world. You could spend a week here and still not see it all!

The aquarium was interesting. It was a bit smaller than I had anticipated. It was also too expensive, however, at least my money went to a good cause. The best part was meeting an incredible employee named Pamela, she spent over 20 minutes chatting with me about various marine life topics.

On your map sign up for the text alerts and you won't miss cool unscheduled events.

So lucky to have such a world class aquarium in our backyard.

Fantastic displays and variety of species never seen !! Amazing place.....

Really interesting and informative. We thought we'd be in & out in 30 mins, but 3.5hrs later we're still in there, watching the sea otters playing!

The staff was excellent all through the facility! Cameron R was super helpful with my elderly mom's wheelchair, too!

Great aquarium: there is a lot to see and there are many activities for children.

We've been here a few times and enjoy it very much. Engaging exhibits for the kids. Their favorite when they were young was the pool where you could reach in and touch different creatures. We'll be back again in another year or so.

Very educational and soothing to the; ears, eyes, soul and spirit. Try to be there when it opens.

Great place to visit and educational for the young ones!

No.1 place to visit in Monterey. Ridiculously good and very educational. The volunteers that work there deserve medals! Very knowledgeable and accommodating.

Insanely crowded. Way expensive. Exhibits cool but no biggy.

The cafe is a battle zone for seating but otherwise I recommend the establishment and their learning environment 100%.

All the live exhibits are great. I wish they didn't have so many videos and other displays like wood cut outs of animals. The jelly fish exhibits are particularly magical for the little kids. I like the California reef, and the big open ocean tanks the best.

My oldest has asked to come here forever so we planned a family trip to visit. Well worth the trip! Beautiful aquarium with well thought out exhibits in the historic Cannery Row. I really enjoyed the way the aquarium utilized their position in the bay to incorporate the outside within their exhibits.

My one complaint was the food available. Extremely expensive and not very good. Of all of the places we visited, this was the most expensive for food and souvenirs.

So much fun and educational. Go during the week it's pretty slow.

Absolutely brilliant. Ranked along side the other zoos, safari parks and aquariums we have been to this is easily the best.

I saw more human than fish, so we ended up spending most of the day driving along 17miles. Lol

What's not to love about this place? The kids and parents enjoy it, they learn, it's surrounded by fun activities and restaurants, and they have nice updates from time to time. Fantastic place!

The shows are one of the main reasons to attend here as watching them feed the fish and explain about their conservation efforts is always interesting. If you have smaller children they have a section that will keep them entertained for hours as they experience everything in the splash zone.

Too crowded even on weekday in summer. Come early so you don't miss feeding programs. Fish tanks are awesome and they have maintained the aquarium ecology well. Sea otter feeding and open shoe are most attractive. Cafeteria is good with decent price and options. Very friendly staff.

This is a very nice place to go. Even kids will enjoy here as there are various games as well other than seeing the sea animals.
They have various animal feeding shows which you can attend. Also, the view of Pacific is too beautiful from this place. There's cafeteria also here which serves good food. The people of this aquarium are very welcoming and helpful.

Definitely worth taking a least a half day to devote to all the exhibits here. Great for the whole family, and there is usually a different special exhibit that changes every so often. Plenty of places to eat along the street when you are done. There are special feeding times to watch for as well.

A bit expensive, would recommend going on a weekday as weekends are a bit hectic.

What a wonderful full day's outing. Auditorium with 15 minute videos and comments from a staff member. Feedings and optional $15 tours. All day parking approx. three short, city blocks, for only $8. And of course ocean views. There was some commute hour traffic as we left. This was on a Thurs. I suggest staying overnight so U can go on the whale watching boat excursion and visit Moss Landing. U can also consider staying overnight and hitting the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and beach.

Good for ages 6-12 to enjoy themselves in this vast aquarium. Lots of things to do and enjoy even for the adults. You can spot otters in the bay using telescopes, Walk through a glass tunnel with water gushing around on the other side, Attend shows about fish, seaweed, sharks, and otters (both live and in the theater) There is lots to do but mostly for younger kids to have a blast looking at all the interesting things the sea has to offer.

Fantastic aquarium. The man who helped us buy our passes was super helpful.

Food was good. Like any tourist place was a little expensive.

Adult admission $50, parking $20(if you park a little far from the aquarium, then probably $15). Anyway worse than my expection. I expected more various and some bigger fishes. There are only few sea otters in the aquarium, but you can easily find hundreds of sea lions on the beach near the aquarium. There are also touch zones for children, but most of the things your children can touch are sea weed and crabs.. The aquarium is not worthless to visit, but I think a little expensive and quite crowded during weekend,, and maybe my expection was too high.. Anyway good place for visiting with 4~5 years old kids.

Absolutely amazing!! Our kids love it here, as do my husband and I. Tons of exhibits and learning material for kids and adults alike. You can easily spend many days here and not get bored.

Kids friendly, amazing place to visit with family. Loved it.

Good learning experience for the kids. Seen a lot of sea creatures that were interesting.

Amazing experience and well worth the money. Note for photographers, some tanks have a coating that can cause a rainbow like reflection when viewed though a polarizer. My personal recommendation would be to go without a CPL for best results.

Fun, lots to see. The otters were adorable and seemed to really enjoy playing with the crowd. Interesting exhibits. Entertaining and educational. A pleasant experience, even without small children.

Not what i thought it to be. It's ok type acquarium.

Hmm... Was disappointing for the high price they ask for. Maybe more for families relevant

expected much, much more. Too small. too many people. Too overhyped. Too expensive. Of course all marine creatures are magnificent. The jellyfish exhibit had to be world class and that was a positive surprise. But there is so much left on the table when the most substantial fish is a sea bass. Really!? Two people with parking is over $100. The value was about as much as a movie. Go in with low expectations.

Absolutely not worth the hefty $50 price tag. I'm glad we went on Veterans Day because I else have been upset if we had to pay for two adult entry fees. It wasn't particularly fun for my son either. He was more interested in the pigeons outside than the fish we paid to see. You're pretty much coming here if you care about donating to preserving ocean life, because the experience was not worth the price.

Loved the new exhibits, hadn't been there in a while and was thankful that had a complimentary homeschooling day!

Hands down one of the best aquariums in the world, lots to see and do.

I got to pet stingrays and see the jellyfish! Was really crowded, but Great time for the family.

I love this aquarium!!! The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a "must do" if your lucky enough to find yourself in Monterey. The animal displays are amazing and the sea otters are incredibly adorable. Great place for children AND adults.

I grew up going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but went back about a year ago as an adult and was blown away by how much I still loved it. We take a lot of our out of town visitors here and everyone loves it.

Tip: Try to go first thing in the morning when it's not as busy. Also, if you eat in the aquarium, skip the little cafeteria and opt for the restaurant. They're in the same exact location and only separated by a screen, but the food is much better and you have an incredible view of the bay.

Aquarium with more than sea animals. It's a dream come true and legacy that continues to grow today of a very Inspiring Woman
Lucielle Packard. Who has contributed her HEART to various organizations.