National Marine Aquarium Reviews

Definitely much bigger - and more worthwhile - than the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay (which in itself is good, but is pretty lackluster when compared to this). And even though it doesn't have an underwater glass tunnel like Blue Reef, I still really enjoyed this place, and would highly recommend it to all those who love the ocean.

Overall score: 9/10

Brilliant place to bring the whole family catering for any age with lots to see and do. Great talks and friendly staff.

The best aquarium I have visited across the South West , the staff are extremely helpful and were always on hand to help educate visitors. Would highly recommend.

Over too quickly, really expensive if you aren't local and able to use the 12 month entry

Lovely aquarium to spend a couple of hours wandering around, with a good focus on conservation, but smaller than expected. Good value if you can make use of the free returns pass.

We come here regulary from mid Cornwall. The diversion of species is ingredients. There is plenty to learn and a strong message about looking after our seas. Great for a day with the kids

The big tanks are absolutely stunning! I got lost looking at those sharks and barracuda's swimming by. However, the entrance fee is too much for the length of the tour. Many tanks are empty as well. The blue lobster and octopus need larger tanks with hiding places too! And where are their friends? Poor guys are all alone, these are intelligent creatures. Update your tanks, lower the entrance fee and stop promoting eating fish twice a week if you're also promoting the protection of the sea and its inhabitants, it's contradicting.

Fantastic! Had a great day out and even got some great photos. A++

It was made even more interesting for us when Lizzie came and explained all about baby sharks large sharks, being hatched growing times, where to look for cuttlefish small crabs etc my two grandsons( 6yrs + 3yrs) were spellbound - thank you Lizzie it was an amazing day

Great way to find out more about the marine environment both on our doorstep and around the world. The cafe is also very reasonably priced.

The aquarium is a great family day out. Staff are friendly and knowledgeable. There are a huge amount of tanks full of marine life.

The aquarium is disability friendly with easy access to for wheelchair users.

Top tips: Agree to charity aid your entrance fee for free entry for the year at no cost to you.

Second tip, if all those fish make you hungry there's a cracking chippy next door! Use the entrance nearest the aquarium rather than the restaurant entrance. Same food and kitchen but cheaper.

Enjoy your day out!

A great place for entertaining the younger children

Brilliant way to spend a Sunday. Great family time and really quite relaxing!

A great day out. Very friendly staff and the behind the scenes tour is excellent

I have a very big interest in marine life and love sharks as does my girlfriend. So I took her here on our second date! The price seemed a little steep to me but I really wanted to see all the beautiful creatures! Though we didn't have the guild, we overheard one and his knowledge was incredible! There is so much to see at this aquarium to the others I have been to, this aquarium is absolutely stunning! There is so many sharks so I was so happy to see them! My girlfriend loves jellyfish so she lost her mine when she saw some! One thing I thought they may have had was turtles however they didn't. I saw going previous as a kid I swear I saw some turtles at Plymouth Aquarium. The information around is incredible, so much to read on each fish, so much to look at, one tank had a bleeding plane in it! Was so incredible to see! The details are incredible too. With some of the most beautiful fish on the planet, so many colours in these tanks! It brought a smile to our faces, definitely an amazing date idea for any budding and blossoming couples reading! I have been so many times to Plymouth aquarium over the years! I love seeing the sharks and fish! Always an enjoyable experience! The gift shop is full of Incredible goodies, fairly priced too! I highly recommend this Aquarium!

The most spilshy splashy super funtime explosion extrodinare I've had since I became an adult

It's a fun place, you can see some huuuuge fishes in the tank.. lot of people and kids running and laughing. It was just awesome

Great aquarium with a large cafe and shop. Knowledgeable staff and a good variety of things to see

Bit expensive for how much stuff there is but really friendly and knowledgable staff.

Always brings a crowd, loads going on throughout the day and nice to get out of the rain. So many exotic, weird and wonderful aquatic life it's worth the money because you pay once and can come back anytime for a whole year.

Definitely worth a look if you want a fun day out!! +you get a year's free entry, what more could you want

Fantastic attraction, brilliant for children and adults. Lots of educational activities and you can even have a sleepover with the sharks! Well worth a visit.

Lovely place to visit. Highly recommend. Great for the kids &adults alike.

Very disappointing, not much to see. Brighton SeaLife centre is exceptional in comparison. I'd give it zero stars if it was an option! Expensive waste of money. Expensive cafe too with barely any seating. Britain's largest? More like 3 tanks and an unexplainable amount of walking up and down slopes and looping back on oneself. When we left we were speechless with disappointment. Don't bother going.

Very accommodating to our group which included 3 kids and an 85 year old

Lots to see for all ages. Good facilities. Reasonably priced too. A good day out!

Good all round Aquarian I feel missing a walk through/ under the tanks exposition

I love this aquarium!!! Very very busy as it was half term. Fairly expensive day out with the family though.

Fantastic place to visit. Even the small exhibits had plenty of attraction

A total waste of money. Hardly anything to see. Sea Life is far superior to this. Should have gone for the one hour boat ride. Don't waste your time and money.

Really enjoyed my afternoon here. Talks were fun and informative. Price for drinks was quite expensive

Educational for the kids. Pram friendly. Staff seem to know a lot and engage well with visitors and kids. For those living close by the complimentary annual pass is a bonus.

Been here twice and I'm still amazed by it. Absolutely eye-open for children. My 9 year old grandson was really impressed

We went here during half term Boys really enjoyed it especially sitting under the tank watching the sharks and turtles swim by. Family ticket is expensive but you do get free entry for a year so that out weighs it. We did think drinks were expensive in the coffee shop. But definitely worth a visit.

Aquarium was very interesting but avoid the cafe. Untidy and food offering not very interesting - several items unavailable when we visited an a Saturday lunchtime.

A free season ticket upgrade, decent - well priced - cafe and some amazing fish. Not too many labels to tell you what you're seeing

Very informative, spacious environment with helpful enthusiastic staff on hand :)

It is the perfect place to visit to relax and see some great fish. I go a couple of times a year and really enjoy it.

We had an excellent time 'tho surprised at the additional charge for the soft play area. We ran around outside instead and had a fab time

The fish are great but the information panels are a bit dull to be honest

The best aquarium I've been to! By far out does London Aquarium!

A very interesting place. It's worth seeing because there are many species of fish here.

Great place and the return visits make it cost effective day out

Lots to see in the tanks when you take the time to look. My 7 month old loved it!

Amazing. Myself, my wife and my 2yr old son went on my boys birthday and what a fantastic day it was, the place is so well engineered, so much to learn {I learnt loads} my boy was amazed at the sights too, especially when a real life man in the water {professional diver cleaning} the diver waved as my boy was so stunned to see him, my boy smiled from ear to ear and waved back, priceless stuff really.. This place does great work and are actively envolved in many marine projects which shows that its not just an attraction but also a valuable asset to the marine conservation world. Tremendous day - i cant say enough about how great it is here.

Amazing place, second visit and doesn't disappoint.
You could stay here watching the displays for a very long time.
Lots of effort placed by the staff to make your visit welcoming and full of facts.
If you have a baby with you really good facilities, baby change in both men's and women's toilets and microwave for your use in eating area.

4.5 review - excellent place to visit, well laid out, great tanks of fish, shark plus lots of other interesting stuff. Lovely staff, good restaurant and gift shop, easy parking nearby.
Information boards in front of tanks need a little repair - a bit worn. Some more pics to identify contents of tanks would be helpful.
Plan to go again

Quaint little Aquarium with really engaging staff. If you read everything in there it'll probably take about 2 hours to get through the entire place. So nice for a morning/afternoon activity with other things planned.

Amaziing place, got free tickets! The sting rays are cool, they've got sharkes and an octopus. Educational talks ever hour. Would recommend.

Great for kids and the soft play is cheap for a hour. They also do birthday parties- great for younger kids

Amazing kids enjoyed ot soo much going again in the summer

All they really had on display were fish, and pretty standard fish at that. I was hoping to see more anemones, sea stars, octopus, etc.

The only thing more numerous than the fish were the preachy environmental literature. If I'm going to look at fish, I'd at least looked to see more information telling me what kind of fish I'm looking at, what kinds of things it eats, what it's known for, etc. But instead that space was taken up by placards telling me to reuse my plastic bags and only buy sustainably sourced seafood.

Awesome place. Very educational. The displays are fantastic

It's a brilliant place which is impossible to review without sounding like an excited small child.

For example: They have a shark in a big tank with a glass tunnel going through it, that you can walk though and he can't bite you but you can look right at him as he goes by.

They also have a huge tank in front of tiers of seats that is designed to show you the variety of life contained in a cube of seawater lifted out of Plymouth Sound. It changes your perspective when you look at that body of water.

There's lots more there - a play area and cafe, a '4D' theatre (a film with rumbling seats and other effects, like squirts of water) that is popular with the kids.

The heart of the place is lots and lots of tanks containing an incredible variety of sea life large and small.

You can get various tickets, family passes, and concessions and the staff are friendly and efficient.

Whether you go more than once depends on your interest in the exhibits - but it's with a trip, and can awe kids.

Quite busy and lot of kids about, sometimes you have to wait for a gap at some of the tanks so if you hate crowds maybe avoid weekends and school holidays.

Amazing.
Staff have a really good relationship with their animals, you can see they love their job and they care about the ocean and with that you can see the happiness and high welfare of the animals.
Most defiantly one of the best i have been fortunate to visit.

good value for money, lots to see and do, very intellectual for children of all ages, very clean and tidy with easy access for pushchairs & wheelchairs. would go back

Highly recommended! Very polite personnel and tasty food!