Monterey Bay Aquarium Reviews

People talked it up too much. Atlanta aquarium is much better and my high expectations were maybe unrealistic.

The exhibits are so beautiful they're almost living works of art!

Very interesting exhibits!! Good place to go with family.

Best aquarium ive ever visited. If you want to avoid the crowds try and make a weekday

My first impressions when arriving to this aquarium:
There was a lot of traffic (when we were there) and very little parking on the streets. However, I believe there are parking garages nearby but we didn't use nor see them.

Upon entering:

The overall experience of seeing different marine life is pretty cool. It reminds me of a museum where you observe a window and there are fact boxes that give some information on the fish. Many of the viewing areas are medium sized (think the size of a single door) glass windows that make it kind of hard to view when there are over about 20 people per window. But when you do get a chance to observe, you can see the fish in great detail and up close. There is one area where the viewing window is as tall and wide as a two story building. It feels like you were submerged deep underwater with thousands of fish! Didn't get to see any of the shows but there are a few if you don't go to the aquarium towards the end of the day.

But overall, I'd go again and maybe catch a show or two.

Courtesy tip: if there are over 20 people trying to view the same window, please observe the wildlife, take a picture (or short video), and leave if you are in the front. I spent on a few windows about 10-20 minutes waiting for people to finish their conversations and taking excessively long videos (documentary length) of fish swimming.

Always a good place to visit, I do have a membership

Sea otters are sooo cute. A very relaxing place to go for a break.

We are spoiled with visits to some remarkable aquariums. The main kelp tank is great and this aquarium has the best jellyfish exhibits we've ever seen. Penguin exhibit wasn't the best.

This lived up to all the hype! The aquarium is huge with lots of interesting exhibits and interactive exhibits that are good for all ages of kids and adults! Definitely recommend going.

Friendly staff. Way overpriced for what they offer. Overcrowded even on a weekday. Food was not good and extremely expensive. Okay experience but wouldn't come back.

Gotta go. Gotta go! Sea otters, penguins, SHARKS. Love that they take such good care of the animals, too. Go see for yourself!

We have been coming here over the years every time families and relatives with kids happen to be in the area. Tickets are a little bit pricey but you get what you pay for. Lots of exhibits from penguins, to jelly fish and open sea fishes. Also there are lots of scheduled feeding you can witness throughout the day but is always crowded. The place is well maintained and restrooms are clean. Despite that, it is a must visit place for families. I'm sure kids and kids at heart will have fun. Just bring lots of patience when dealing with the crowd. By the way cafeteria foods are ok and is on the expensive side. It is there for convenience but there are plenty of choices outside.

This place is absolutely fantastic. It is not the cheapest one, but worthy every penny. MUST GO !

Always a great experience. It was packed but they got us in quickly. I'd avoid the weekend just because of the crowds.

Easily the best aquarium! I was a member before having a kid. When you have kids, it's even better because they can't contain their excitement. Definitely check out the Outer Bay exhibit. They just added a lot of schooling sardines to it. Watching a massive yellowfin tuna swim by you is surprising if you haven't seen the size of them before. If you can, go early, before crowds; it is still busy in the morning.

Great aquarium. I've been to Shedd and this beats it handily. Multiple wings with different exhibits. There is a hands on display exhibit and there is also a shorebird aviary. Also fun bit of trivia is that they filmed Star Trek IV here, renamed as the Cetacean Institute.

It was a realy great display of sea life, I know it goes to a great cause but a little pricy to get in. Senior discount should start at 55, they would do a good cause in return for those on a budget.

For some reason there were just a bunch of pictures of the entrance on the google review website. So I was wondering if they even had a lot of fish. I was awed by all the different species that I had never even seen before! It s expensive, but it s no wonder. Such a beautiful aquarium! 10 stars!

This is my favorite aquarium!!!! They have more octopus and jelly fish than I have ever seen. I could stare at them all day.

Loved this place as a child and still love it today!

Crazy busy on weekends with a TON of kids. But even with the crowds this place is worth the visit. Don't get your hopes up to see many otters. You will get a better view of those cutties at Moss Landing. But jellyfish exhibit and large tanks with sharks and mantas are one of the best in the country.

So much to see! Great for all ages! Plan to spend the day here to see it all.

Great place to visit with children. A great variety of species are displayed throughout the aquarium.

My family visited last week (March 2016) This is a wonderful aquarium! There is a lot to see and experience here. All of the tanks and interactive displays kept the attention of my kids (age 8 & age 3), as well as my husband and I. They loved the hands-on learning centers and the presentation about the great white sharks. I scored a 4 star based on parking difficulty, ticket price, and crowdedness. We spent the full day at the aquarium and ended the day with dinner on Cannery Row. Definitely worth a see!

One of the world's best aquariums...we expected to spend 2-3 hours and stayed 6 hours!

Had dinner there as part of conference. Unique and impressive atmosphere outdid the food IMHO.

I've been a member for years. It never disappoints. Went on a Wednesday. Almost had the place to ourselves.

Been to several aquariums all over the world and this is by far the best. The staff is courteous and knowledgeable, the exhibits are extremely well done and the movies/live shows are amazing. Highly recommended.

Great exhibits- like many people, my focus was on the sea otters, but the exhibits are so well done that it's worth the time to explore the entire aquarium. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the staff. I have travelled extensively, and I have never been to an attraction with more kind and helpful staff. Even though all of the tours we wanted to take were completely sold out, the staff went out of their way to spend a bit of extra time with us, giving us a more full experience and answering all of our questions.

I've been to plenty aquariums in my time and this aquarium was probably my second favorite behind the Georgia Aquarium. Everyone is very helpful and you will be amazed by the aquariums

This is one of the world's best aquariums. Beautiful, varied. And non-exploitive.

I liked when the announcer at the penguin feeding created stadium seating with the assembled crowd by directing them to sit on the floor, then benches, and stand behind the benches. I'd appreciate more of that on crowded days.

Great displays, we really love this place. It's so expensive though! Hence the four stars.

This is one of my favorite places. The cafe is amazing. So good and so much variety. The tomato basil soup was so good! The exhibits are phenomenal! I could watch them for days. It is laid out very well. Accessible with strollers. Lots of good information and interactive exhibits.

Great visit. Friendly staff. Very fun and my 3 yr old loved it.

We fell in love with the history, science and the beauty. We're members and it's like a home away from home to us.

The jellies hall in the open ocean exhibit has the most amazing ambiance! Baby fell asleep both times when we made 2 visits to the hall. The jellyfish are so majestic with their flowy swimming motion. The other highlight was seeing the otters play. Love the Monterey Bay Aquarium!

Very nice aquarium with very informative displays. The volunteer that we interacted with was knowledgeable and super personable.

Incredible. This is the museum enough has inspired the most awe in my life. If I could give 10 stars, I would without hesitation. The exhibit are hands-on, they teach you about how you can have a positive impact on the environment, and they make it fun.

We had a blast here, we picked a good day to go it wasn't too busy and we got to take our time looking around it was so cool!! My personal favorite was the jellyfish! & Watching the feeding in the kelp forest!!

Amazing looking, but too much info about the stuff, TOO MUCH WORDS!!!!

The best thing to do in Monterey. I always bring visiting friends and family to the aquarium, it s great for all ages. I generally prefer going during the week it s less crowded, but there can sometimes be big school groups. It can be hit or miss for how many people are there but it s always worth it. The rotating exhibitions are always worth a repeat trip too

The exhibit about vanishing marine life (sharks, sea turtles and tuna fish) offers wonderful education to future generations about the importance of maintaining these species. The upper level boasts lots of interactive exhibits geared toward younger children. Overall, a wonderful place for families to spend a half day!

Great layout and all the exhibits were awesome! Took 2 adults around 3 hours to wander around the entire aquarium

Such an amazing experience, went here for a small vacation trip with the family and it's an awesome time for children. Certain places have levers and objects for children to play with and learn more about the animals. It is a pretty huge place too so expect to spend at least 4 hours if you want to see everything. The pictures you can capture are very captivating. There are shows that you can watch which are both entertaining and educational. The staff here are very nice and always helpful.

Been to several aquariums across the U.S. This by far was the best yet! It's not the cheapest, but worth the price.

Just a very Beautiful place and Educational for the whole family

Hands down the best aquarium I ve ever been to. It feels authentic and purposeful, rather than trying to be some kind of theme park-esque entertainment venue (looking at you sea world). So many beautiful exhibits with good environmental education incorporated in. I ve been to a dozen or more aquariums, and this one is just very special.

Such a beautiful place. Make sure to get the membership of you're close by. They deduct your ticket price so it can be really cheap to come back!

Jelly fish + quiet room + soft couch
Would be perfect

We are members but no matter if you are a member or not, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a wonderful place to visit. We've come with our kids and we've come on a few dates here. The restaurant is delicious and you simply can't beat the view. Their giftshop is delightful and a great place to find treasures. After visiting you are left with a feeling of appreciation, wonder and determination to preserve our precious oceans. Love the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Overall a pretty good trip, there is a lot to look at. I went for two hours and that definitely wasn't enough. Only thing I didn't like was the location of the mantis shrimp. I mean I get it they break normal glass but it's in a tunnel for kids. Also tip: if you want the mantis shrimp to come up to the front just barely shine light on the tank. Like I mean turn it on facing down then slowly bring it up to where MINIMAL light hits the tank. Mantis shrimp will get interested and will give you some great pics.

Incredible aquarium! Steep price tag, but definitely worth a visit.

Fun place to learn about the water creatures and very family oriented.

Love the otters! Friendly staff dedicated to preserving the Monterey Bay and fisheries around the world. Informative, entertaining and pretty good rabbit cassoulet in the main Restaurant as was service. Later the jazz band and a glass of wine was a great way to end the day of exploration of the way of the bay and watch the otters play. Things like kelp forest, the octopus and cuttle fish, the open ocean tank with the sturgeon, the halibut, leopard sharks, and moon fish. The jellyfish display, and the artwork made from plastics that clutter our oceans was interesting as well...and so much more. This is at the famous Cannery Row where they canned Sardines and Steinbeck got his inspiration for his novel. Worth seeing for sure.

This is one of my favorite places in the world. I could watch the jellyfish for hours. Fantastic place.

Alright laying all my cards on the table. I came here mostly for the jellies.

Beyond jellies (yayyyyyyy) there were so many animals. I saw some fish and I was like "cool" and there were some sharks and I was like "woah" and then there was a fish like twice my size and I was like "how". So we got to an upper area and there were penguins (?!?!) which was awesome, and we got to see some sea turtles which were great, and some octopus (they were either sleeping or pretending, but I like to believe there was one camouflaged walking amongst us and we couldn't realize it since we're not highly intellectual cephalopods). We got to PET A MANTA RAY (or some other ray variant I can't honestly remember) and it felt like silky? What even is this place. They had cute sea otters (lovely!!!!) and overall it was a positive experience. We parked like eight blocks away for free parking, which I don't regret since this place cost as much as honestly it deserved to cost, and I don't have extra cash for parking. I wish I could donate more to this place. What a lovely lovely place.

Nice souvenirs too, in my opinion. Very nice workers. GREAT for kids. Maybe if you're like me and you're not quite a kid anymore you might feel a little too old? But I have no shame so I didn't.

Also sea horses!!!

Lots of educational talks. Very well organized for large crowds. Food choices were reason and prices well high but ok.

Fantastic! Do not miss this extraordinary aquarium and learning experience! So beautiful and rich. I've visited this aquarium many times since the first year it opened and I continue to have my breath taken away by this inspiring treasure.

I have come here multiple times a year for the past eight years. I absolutely love this aquarium and the dedication by the team here.

All sea life included in exhibits are local to the bay or to California (looking at you, the Baja exhibit). The aquarium does what it can to rescue injured life, rehabilitate them in their facilities, and return them once they ve made a full recovery. The staff and volunteers here are needlessly patient, consistently enthusiastic, and are an absolute joy to converse with.

The aquarium has a number of programs to help raise awareness to pollution, overfishing, and other forms of degradation with active efforts to curb these effects.

I have yet to visit another aquarium or zoo that cares for the animals under their charge, their natural habitats, and the wellbeing of all to the same degree that the Monterey bay aquarium does. I am a happy patron, and joyfully continue donating what little I can.

Lovely aquarium, one of the best in the world, great for family visits

So crowded I was hard to enjoy the exhibits. Parking terrible.

Come here several times a year love it everytime and my kids love it to death and they want more time everytime

Absolutely beautiful aquarium. Very busy, and a little far from San Francisco where we were staying, but well worth the trip. The otter feeding, deep sea feeding, and kelp forest feedings are a must see!

This aquarium was the absolute best. I loved how everything was well spaced out and in sections. I would suggest people do a tour to get the full experience. We did the behind-the-scenes tour and our guide Gary was very informative and made our experience even better. We will definitely be going back to do more tours and see new exhibits.

This place is amazing. I took my wife and all foreign guests here. Everyone from enjoy to adults will love it. Come during weekday for relaxing time, weekends have great shows but very very crowded. We went Saturday holiday weekend and even with the crowd my wife wasn't bothered. Definitely a must go.

Great aquarium...always learn something. Love the sea otters

I aways enjoy what I see at the aquarium, but going on a Thursday in February is wonderful. There were some school classes there in the morning, but there still was no problem seeing the exhibits. And by the afternoon, it felt empty. We were able to talk to the volunteers and we learned a lot more as a result. The downside is that some exhibits were closed (like the Tentacles exhibit).

Student discounts, bring ID. Crowded during spring break. Lines to buy tickets but went quickly enough. Got to touch a ray. Lots to see, great experience.

Wonderful experience. Great for anybody.

Useful to get in early. Bring a student ID if you can.

The city doesn't have a way yet to handle as many tourists as they have.

Amazing place. Great fun for kids and the while family.

Always a great time. The aquarium is well maintained and always has new attractions.

Great place but a little small for the price. They need to lower the price for admission or add more stuff.

Not necessarily the greatest aquarium but fun for kids and the staff are evidently passionate about what they do.

Always a great place to bring your family. We spent half our day here exploring the different displays. I particularly enjoy seeing the big sun fish in the big tank. If you are feeling hungry, they have an area where you can fill up with food for everyone.

Such a great experience. It was crowded because it is always incredible. The otters are so sweet. There are jellyfish exhibits that are absolutely breath taking. There are several places to eat inside, but if you bring your own food, you can eat outside by the ocean. They are all about education and conservation. They have interactive pools with ocean critters you can touch. Everyone you speak to is well educated and happy to teach.