Monterey Bay Aquarium Reviews

I've spent an Amazing day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, eventuali though It Is not so Big It Is worth the price, which by the way It Is affordable. Moreover, i appreciated that whenever you want you Can go outside the Aquarium and come back with the same ticket. I would strongly suggest It to family with children because There are a lot of interactive activities they can enjoy and that can help them to discover and respect pur Seas.

Outstanding aquarium! Well organized and despite a large Spring Break weekend crowd, it didn't feel like it. Kids were able to fully enjoy each of the exhibits and it took us a whole day to visit everything. Restaurant is on the expensive side, but food was actually very tasteful and filling. One of the best features is the amazing ocean view out back.

I absolutely love everything about this place. My favorite part of it was The Open Ocean. It s very peaceful. The food maybe a little pricey. But I couldn t really say no to their Mac n Cheese. All the employees were super friendly and helpful. Everything was great. It s great for people of all ages. Can t wait to come back again soon.

Amazing place, defo a recommend - the set ups and the things on display are excellent. The descriptions were great too and let you know what was happening in each tank

This aquarium is enormous with a lot to explore. You can go inside or outside while in the facility and there's even a place to grab some food if your hungry. This place brings in a lot of people so expect it to be busy and packed.

For adults, apart of the million-gallon tank, it's pretty "meh". If this is your only destination in Monterey don't.

Very fun and a great experience for all ,especially kids. Only thing that was a bit challenging was that it was so crowded but this was during the holidays so was understandable .

Some good exhibits but overall underwhelming and overcrowded. Fighting the crowds really got tiring. Not worth the trek from San Francisco.

Huge aquarium with many interesting showpieces. Entrance fee is quite pricy, though. Parking is also should be paid separately. Place is very popular, so be prepared to it.

Must see! This aquarium is so unique for the fact that all the types of animals here, live right out in the bay! (Besides some special temporary exhibits they have every now and then.) Pricing is fair, but if you live close enough, a membership is more cost effective. They also have a unique Kelp Forest exhibit and a open water exhibit with over 1 million gallons of water. Look into their Seafood Watch program if your a seafood fan. Helps you make smarter choices and help the environment out a little at a time. See it!

Great place for kids and adults of all ages to learn about our oceans fish and wildlife.

Jelly fish displays are especially great! My wife loved the sea otters too.

If you have one, don t forget to use your student ID to get a $10 discount on an adult ticket.

If this is the best aquarium in the US (that I heard), and as they charge $50 per ticket, it has to be a little better. But it deserves a visit for sure.

Brought our two year old here for the second time. He loves this place. There's tons of stuff to see and do. Very friendly staff who will answer questions and have knowledge about the various animals.

Interesting place and there's so much information about sea life as well

done on professional level and workers inside work with enthusiasm

Best aquarium I've been to. Great exhibits. Great conversation effort.

Loved our trip to Monterrey bay Aquarium. We got free passes from our friend who works in Santa Cruz. We took our kids for Underwater Explorers program (ages 8-13yo). My girls loved the experience. They were thrilled and had fun. They went to into tide pool with trainers which is on the back of aquarium.
Cafeteria was super expensive. Kids got free hot cocoa card with their explorer program. We got coffee(not very hot) and super small size cup with double the price. It was okay.
The staff was very helpful, kind, and polite. I was impressed with the detailed program they crafted for kids.
Definitely recommend going there. It's quite expensive.

One of my favorite aquariums. Also was the site for filming Star Trek 4 movie aquarium scenes. Great jelly fish and octopus exhibits. AMAZING large tank with hammerhead sharks, tuna, and sunfish.

I was disappointed, I guess I expected more for the price of a ticket. It was very crowded when we were there, perhaps effected our experience.

too crowded and areas not designed to give good viewing beyond a quarter of the people here. shows on movies are amazing. wheelchairs provided but impossible for the user to see much.

Favourite aquarium in the world, frequently visit from 2+ hours away because it's so great! Just make sure to come on a slow day.

I used my student ID so the price was worth it. Loved all (4hrs....don't judge...) Of it! There is a lot to see and do. Bring comfy walking shoes.

The pros are the place is actually very nice and well kept with various different rooms and layouts for the animals. They had an aviary and a touch pond as well as a balcony outside to look at the animals (with binoculars to borrow for looking). Also, the food at the cafe was remarkably good...especially for an aquarium. It is sort of expensive but the quality was good. You could tell they didn't just pop the kid's pizzas in the microwave and charge you 12 bucks for them. I had a chicken and biscuits meal that was rather small for the price but, again, the quality was very good.
I guess the only con is that it is quite expensive. It was about 33/ person, which was quite a lot for our large family.

Great family afternoon. They have great places for very young children to play and have hands on experience, and nice displays for adults. They even have opportunities for grade school kids to experience scuba diving.

This Aquarium needs to be on your lifetime bucket list. They pay attention to the needs of the littlest child and the oldest adult. Lectures, aquarial displays, splash zone penguins, a list of seafood you can eat that won't hurt the environment, and some of the most adorable otters you can imagine. The dining is amazing, with some of the best clam chowder on the Peninsula. Heavily involved in research of the mid-bay Canyon bigger than the Grand Canyon, the Aquarium shares that in video form. We and our grandchildren have grown up here.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is the best aquarium I have ever been to. I have been to many aquariums in the US and southeast Asia/Japan. The staff and volunteers are knowledgeable and you can tell they love what they do. It's an amazing experience and the membership pays for itself after 2 visits.

Great place to spend the afternoon. The whole family loved it. There is something here for everyone.

Always so much fun and intriguing to see all the beautiful sea life. Jellyfish and Sharks are always my favs!

Our family loved visiting and enjoyed the tour and changing features, loved biking thru town. A favorite place for all.

Great staff, helpful and friendly. Great fun and interesting tour. You can take your time and go at you're own pace. The UV stamp for re-entery is convenient too

Wow the sea life you can see here is its absolutely pulchritudinous!! Easily worth the trip!!!!

The entry fee is slightly expensive but totally worth it

Pricey but worth every penny. Wish we could afford to go more often

What can I say about this place that hasn't already been said. It's an amazing aquarium and the selection of exhibits here is second to none. The employees seem to really care about the environment and educating visitors as much as possible. The auditorium is home to some enjoyable movies and presentations and I've never left without learning quite a bit.

If there was one complaint, it would have to be the cost. It's around $50 for adults and $30 for kids, so when you also throw in a meal or two in this tourist area, you're definitely talking a fair amount of money.

But, you can't put price on education, right? A portion of the ticket fees also goes to help the aquarium's research and local efforts, so at least your money is going to a good cause.

Regardless, if you're in the mood to be one with the ocean, then this is the place to visit.

We are members! I love animals and never tire of seeing them. We go here 3-4 times a year. The Beach, shopping, eateries, and great family fun.

Loved this place! It's filled with so much to do, you need at least 3 hours to see everything. Make sure you save time to catch one of the film's they play throughout the day!

I had a great afternoon exploring the aquarium with my toddler. It was terribly expensive--but that's my only complaint.

Great conservation work but absolute crowd insanity. Arrived at opening on a random Monday. This is a very popular place but poor crowd control and pushy parents make enjoying the exhibits very difficult. It is expensive to come here $50, but it is not really a great time because the major crowding. There should be timed tickets. You need 3 hrs not because there is so much to see, but rather to get through the crowds.

Great place that seems to care about the animals inside the aquarium.
The restaurant, not so much! Seems like over fishing is a problem.

The place is really a nice place with a lot to see. I am just upset that we paid an additional $100 per kid to participate in what seemed like a really cool program in which the kids learned to SCUBA in a small tide pool. I was really excited.

The kids geared up, along with about 7 other kids. They broke up into groups of three. I watched all other groups swim heads down, staring at underwater wonders, while our kids group walked around, never going under. Their instructor spent the entire time holding unto a younger girl and never had the crew go under.

About half way through the time slot, I brought this to the attention of the staff. I saw supervisors observe and take notes. A different instructor went to our kids group supposedly to help. However, within two minutes, that instructor left and nothing changed at all. Our kids finished the entire 90 minute program having never gotten on their tummies and swim with their heads under water as the kids did in the other groups.

I was pretty upset and was able to speak to the supervisor afterwards. She apologized and said this was her fault but I could not understand why the situation was not corrected when I brought it to her attention. She had no answer to this question other than to say she was sorry.

When we spoke to the kids afterwards, we asked them what happened and why they didn t go under. They said that their instructor kept talking to them the entire time. Every time they tried to put their heads under and swim, the instructor told them to pay attention to him, as they continued to walk around listening to him talk about fish.

The little girl the instructor was holding could not swim. I believe the instructor tailored the class to the little girl s ability, which is fine, but we spent $200 to watch our kids walk around a ride pool listening to some ponytailed ding dong yap about fish instead to learning SCUBA, which what was bragged about in the program.

Although we brought this to the supervisors attention, all we got was sorry . She offered to give us our money back, but my wife is Asian. We were not going to take our money back.

Listen, folks, get it right the first time, instead of waisting our time with a bunch of politically correct apologies after complete and utter inaction. What a disappointment.

My daughter and I really enjoyed the aquarium! Plenty to see and tons to learn. Awesome experience

Amazing food, atmosphere and service. Absolutely one of the best Mediterranean eateries I have been to. You have to try it.

Amazing place! Each section of the museum covers different types of sea life and includes not only fish but mammals and reptiles.
Otters and penguins are absolutely adorable! Most of interactive things are for kids, though there are several open pools where you can put your hand in and touch stingrays.

If you haven't been yet, what wrong with you? Best early or during the week because it does get crazy busy. Try the sit-down restaurant, very good food and a respite from the noise and crowds.

Always a great time when I go. I went to see all of the shows they had and ended up spending most of the day there. My only concern is that the food is very pricy in there and there is no way to get water unless you go to the food section, though it is free which is nice. Lots of exhibits to see and one of the best Aquariums I have visited. Everything is clean and they have something for everyone to enjoy.

My kids love the aquarium! Have the family membership, which if you go more than once in a year is totally worth it. We calculated that we would have saved over $1600 in tickets over the last year. Our kids spend hours looking at every exhibit, and every time we still see something new.

BEAUTIFUL aquarium, a lot of activities if you have kids, and nice staff.

I have been there it's fun to walk around looking at those sea animals.

Fantastic Aquarium. Please support them with an annual membership.

A must do when on the Monterey peninsula. I take my grandkids there 7-8 times a year and they never to of it.

Saturday was a free day and lots of people took advantage of this. However, the Aquarium is so large that no one felt crowded. Had a truly good day. Employees were all so friendly and helpful. We will be joining next year.

If you love the ocean or sea creatures, this aquarium is worth a visit.

Our trip was magical as always. Loved the unscheduled Open Sea feeding

Bought a membership in February and it never gets old! Definitely worth the money if you live anywhere near the aquarium!

A wonderful dive into what lies beneath our oceans. A great education centered on our natural world. Great for all visitors with access to clean and varied amenities.

Finding a parking place is worst than in big cities. Not recommended or worth a visit

Definitely one of the best aquariums I've ever visited. Although crowded, it was clean and well-kept. Exhibits are spaced far enough apart so that there aren't huge bottlenecks of people like other places. Food was decent but a little pricey, but what's new? What's most important in any museum/aquarium is the presentation, and they did a great job here. Kept the kids entertained all day, too!

Our favorite aquarium, it isn't the cheapest but they have amazing displays, very engaged staff and volunteers. We live on the east coast, and have seen many aquariums around the world but this one stands out. Penguins, touch pools, a number of huge aquarium environments, and awesome jelly fish display.

One of the best aquariums that I have visited. There are many things to see while you're here. You could spend the entire day here! I truly loved the large tanks, cool exhibits for kids to play & learn and the beautiful scenic views. Truly a memorable and fun day at the aquarium! After a visit to the aquarium, there is so much to see on Cannery Row.

Best aquarium I've been to. And that's a lot of aquariums.

My niece & nephew took me there for my Birthday Day Love it

Fabulous place so worth it, educational part about plastic interfering with our environment could be more impactful. With a live band in the evening. Enjoyed tremendously, thanks!

Nice place to go with kids. A lot of activities for different ages.

This place is awesome! The aquarium is an unbelievable look into the entire ocean from the surface to the depths all up close and personal. Don't miss this spectacle if your in Monterey and have some free time.

Really enjoyed our trip,enjoy the exhibit jelly fish Amazing

My girlfriend and I loved the aquarium!
The only thing I would have to say is that the pricing is a little steep.

Good collection of fishes. very pleasant place. they have huge aquariums with a lot of fishes. good variety of animals and good place to spend couple of hourse, but a little expensive. $50 per adult.

We went on black Friday so it was packed....they did give us sencory bags to help my boys!

Great time for Families. My wife and I have a 9 year old girl and a 11 year old boy and we had a great time. Plenty of things to do throughout the day and they definitely keep the place clean and have some beautiful displays of the aquatic animals.

Great aquarium! Stroll through one of the many different exhibits (Tentacles was the best!) or see one of the daily feedings which are spread throughout the day.

Such an amazing place to visit! Worth the drive to check out if you can. The massive tank of various fish is so humbling to look at.

Great place to visit and take kids. There seems to be deals on tickets throughout the community so look around before you go. Parking can be a challenge but it is in the historic area so a little walking is just as entertaining. Plan to stay a while and ask about feeding times.

Long wait. It was a busy day, I know. But we sat and waited ignored for a good 30 minutes. They gave one menu for 4 people. Lol. Food was a little bit better than a cheap fast food joint. Shrimp was soggy, overdone. Meh. This place used to be fun, and had a decent array of food. I won't go back. They fell off. The movie is over there.

Went as a private party so I can't give this as fair a rating as I would like. Would have liked more people available for questions that a few of us had. Did enjoy what we did see. Overall, nice place and good to support the conservation efforts.

Outstanding Aquarium to visit. The special exhibits and large tanks are amazing, and the location on the Pacific Ocean is very special with the views of Monterey Bay and ocean wildlife.

This is a wonderful place to go. All that you can do is amazing. It is not just for kids but adults have fun too.

My husband and I love this aquarium so much that we decided to become members. Membership includes two free guest passes with unlimited usage, so it's an incredible value for the money.
My favorite exhibit is the jellyfish display which is exquisite. The shows in the auditorium are really good and presented live by a volunteer which is really nice. All of the volunteers have met have been incredibly knowledgeable and clearly enjoy their work. I also love how the aquarium supports local students through education and scholarship opportunities. We also really enjoyed the members holiday party - it was a whole new world at night, where some of the animals were much more active than during the day.

When kids aren't on vacation its way better to visit. No long lines. You get to see and enjoy things better.

Awesome aquarium. Very busy (we were there on a weekend).

WOW! That place is amazing. The attractions are fascinating. Plan on spending the day there. The place is so big and there is so much to see and experience for both adults and kids alike. There are a lot of hand-on attractions. The reason for the 4 stars is because the general admission is $50 for adults. I have to say the cost is worth it if you can afford it. Be sure to take your own food and drink. The food there is VERY expensive.