National Marine Aquarium Reviews

A bit overpriced but an enjoyable experience. A bit unacceptable to have to pay extra to use the soft play though.

Excellent! Little bit pricey though, but it can't be cheap looking after those huge fishes. Iv been in there many times.

Outstanding! Really enjoyed my visit here. The whole places is delightful. The different zones are fascinating and exciting.

The staff are great. Friendly and knowledgeable. Big thanks to the volunteer chap with glasses (sorry didnt get your name) who was very informative.

Highly recommended.

Lovely aquarium with some really impressive displays, such as the Atlantic Ocean exhibit tank with the glass bottom and top walkthrough, the huge Eddystone reef tank and the Ocean lab, which gives a good insite in to what goes on behind the scenes with conservation projects.
The staff were friendly and helpful even during busy periods. Good stock selection in the shop.
Well worth the visit :)

truely amazing place , so interesting , our 3 year old daughter loved it , highly recommend

Interesting place, doesn't take long to go round. Cafe pricey. 17 quid for adult, 13 for child, but includes free entry for a year, so if you're relatively near Plymouth, could be really good value.

Staff although young, very knowledgeable and polite. Can't wait to visit again soon.

Way to many people allowed in today Wednesday 14th August 2019. Very hot in there not aware of any air con and it wasn't a hot day. Would have been unbearable if it had been. Couldn't see some of the small tanks due to so many people. The big concern really is the safety of the paying public if there was an emergency.

Great place, easy to get to, lovely that you can get half price if you visit Dartmouth Zoo. Your tickets also let you visit for free during the following year. Easy parking at the Premier Inn but look at the non residents section.

A good aquarium with a wide range of sea life. Not too bad on the price. Avoid if you hate kids.

We really enjoyed our visit here, we came with 3 of our children aged 3 - 11 years and they were fascinated the while way around. The free return for a year makes it a bargain too. We plan to return soon just the two of us so we can spend more time reading all of the educational boards.

Very informative staff and volunteers, passionate. Excellent atmosphere.

Brilliant family day out. Impressive aquarium. Lots of exciting fish and ocean life to see in a great caring environment. Watching Feeding the fish, all shapes and sizes; some very large up close and the accompanying talk was really fascinating. Very large tanks. These creature are well catered for!

A great family day out. A large range of marine creatures in large enclosures. Good value too

We thoroughly enjoyed it. Much better than some of the other reviews suggested. The talk and divers in the main tank were well worth the watch.

Nice aquarium and the fact you can return back for free for a year is great

Enjoyable for children and for anyone whom likes all sea...ish

Such a great place to spend the day.... Amazing creatures of the deep... loads of places to take time and just watch the fish do their thing... look out for Cordealia the rock bass in the Eddystone tank.... and if you go on a Wednesday you get to see the Eddystone tank fish being hand fed by divers...

Three big pool and it's over, yet it's known as extraordinary ...

Had a great time, the entry cones with a year long membership so I'll definitely be going back.

Well laid out with the main tank hosting some beautiful marine wildlife. The tea was awful in the cafe because I believe UHT milk was used.

By far the best aquarium I ve had the opportunity to visit and we re so lucky to have it right here in Plymouth. Obviously not somewhere you would go frequently if you are local, however, it s great if you have family or friends visiting.

It was VERY busy! Parking was very difficult. We went all the way to floor 10 and back down to five before we happened on someone just leaving. None of the parking machines on three floors I visited were working properly. Loads of people gave up and risked a ticket. Once inside Aquarium we found staff and volunteers really helpful. The layout of the place is really well thought-out and you go on a journey with exhibits getting better and better as you go. Luckily our little ones were very patient in waiting their turn to see. They were full of questions. They both really enjoyed it and want to visit again!

Had a great time with my 1 yr old. We bought the annual pass and speedy entry online before we set off from home. It was only a few quid more than a single standard visit. Glad we did as we didn't have to queue on arrival and get to go back as often as we want for a whole year

My family and I had a very lovely time at this establishment, if you are stressed and/or need to chill out I would recommend coming here

Great place to take children. You get a yearly pass and can go as often as you like. Lots of different tanks and there is a turtle.

Amazing aquarium.
However very expensive to get in and the food from the resturant is overpriced,the service wasn't good either.

Amazing variety of sealife and all presented very well. Notice people mention the price and can see what they mean. I think most people will spend 2 hours here. That sounds expensive unless you get the free 1 year entry and that makes it an absolute bargain.

My wife and I were invited to dive in the octopus tank, it was feeding time and the octopus was particularly hungry, we fed it lots of fish but for some reason it got angry and attacked my wife, I never realised they could be so viscous, I pulled it as hard as I could and sadly most of its legs came off, the Latin for octopus is cephalopod, this one should now be regarded as just cephalo as it now has no legs, great day out and next week we've been invited to chin the sharks

We are regular visitors to the aquarium. It's a great day out and if you get the season ticket you only need to visit a few times to get your money's worth. Great for kids lots to see.

Great afternoon went on a Sunday so wasn't busy... lovely to be able to take our time and stroll around will definitely go back.

Wonderful aquarium in Plymouth. Wheelchair and pushchair friendly. Excellent displays and education features for all. Excellent day out.

What a great place to visit. Got to see the divers in the main tank feeding the fish. Best part for me was going to see the sharks when they are swimming over head. Then you look around and notice you are stood on the clear acrylic to see the fish swimming underneath you too.

Average at best. Disappointing, as we visited around 5 years ago and the aquarium was in a much better state.



Avoid the restaurant, it's overpriced and the food was average. They do have vegan and vegetarian options which is good to see.

If you're looking for another aquarium, try Living Coasts in Torquay, which is much more worth a visit in my opinion.

The 'cinema' was in a very bad state. Chairs were comfortable but the projection screen was ruined and folded, and the film they showed was basically just an advertisement for the aquarium asking you to donate or get a membership. Wetsuit racks were hidden in the corner, it all felt like it wasn't looked after; a real shame.

My 4 year old absolutely loves this place and even I learn a thing or two every visit. Definitely worth a visit.

Nice place to visit esp for kids. Big aquarium with lots of interest esp big sharks in big aquaria.

I'm always a little disappointed by this aquarium, such a shame. It may be a reflection of the limitations of our coastal waters. The on site "restaurant" was very disappointing and I'd not go back.

Great place to bring family and friends and it has a restaurant inside as well

We had a great time at the National Marine Aquarium, huge aquarium tanks with a brilliant variety of fish, lovely staff, very informative and friendly, we attended 3 talks which were suitable for the whole family.

Very good, good value for money. A lot of different species of fish under one roof.

Absolutely first class visit. Staff great. Very helpful.

Great for kids and families - not so much for adults.

Excellent Aquarium. Largest tank in the UK I believe. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff on hand to explain things. Great for small and big kids alike.

Brilliant time, not quite a full day out but so close to Plymouth city centre and the barbican you can easily make it a day trip

A magical place . With surprisingly beautiful super colorful marine animals. Kids love it . You have the animals up close and with the maximum security that nothing will happen to you. Excellent to go out with family and meet new and divine animals

Lovely place to visit, very relaxing hanging out with all the fishes and friendly knowledgeable staff.

Came here whilst on holiday with family. Amazing aquarium and easy access to get everywhere with pushchair.

There's fish and sea creatures..... They look sad..... They should have union representation......

Was a little disappointed tbh. I thought it would be much bigger. I think we were in and out in an hour. They offered free annual ticket on entrance but not local so not much good to us. Quite an expensive day out

Loved my underwater experience. So busy and so many people visit. I want to do a VIP tour if I go again.

UK deepest aquarium, lots to see with an outdoor picnic area overlooking the harbour

Nowhere near as good as I remember and the price is to deer for what you get.
The coffee shop is seriously overpriced too.

Time to CELEBRATE the recovery of "HUMP BACK WHALES", since their near to extinction by aggressive hunting factory whaling ships two hundred years ago....."HOOOOORRRAAAY to the CONSERVATIONISTS".....

'THE UK NATIONAL MARINE AQUARIUM'..... The largest "aquarium in the country" known + recognised internationally, divided into four sections, one of which features the local sea life at Plymouth Sound, the largest aquarium holding 2,500,000 litres of sea water..... Events here include, 'SLEEPING with THE SHARKS', "ENVIRONMENTAL BEACH CLEANS", " V.I.P. EXCLUSIVE TOURS".......Educational displays + information talks through out the day light hours with special theme evenings + 'quiet evenings'....."PLEASE BOOK EARLY"..... The 'THE UK NATIONAL MARINE AQUARIUM', is very popular with foreign students and tourists. I watched the 'RAYS' for at least an hour, gliding through the crystal clear waters, with only a couple of inches of reinforced glass, between me and them.....Amazing to watch "THE SHARKS", a very therapeutic experience. "SHARKS" have two rows of razor sharp cutting teeth, which move forward in the powerful jaws + replace themselves frequently. "SHARK" heritage dates back to "PREHISTORIC TIMES"....." SHARKS" were removed by culling, (humans worry over infrequent attacks), from their natural habitat in a coastal sea, where upon, "HUMBOLDT SQUID" are now at the top of tree, now bathers are unable to bathe, without wearing a chain mail wet suite...... ."PLAICE" which are sea bed feeders, actually move their eyes to suit their habitat....."FIND OUT HOW THEY DO THAT".....?
What a location...... The whole area surrounding this site, has many historic monuments, to the people of the past..... Not far away is 'SIR BRUNELS RAILWAY BRIDGE', 'THE ROYAL ALBERT BRIDGE'..... Go on, 'SLEEP with THE SHARKS' one evining..........'I DARE YOU'.......They stay awake all night, can you?......"THE UK NATIONAL MARINE AQUARIUM".....Dedicated to Education, Conservation, Preservation........See a few of the thousands of marine animals, fish, sea life species today......The great species alive in the seas today need your help, to survive into the 22nd Century............

Why would you not love this place, brilliant for the family & it's amazing that you learn something new each time you go.

Lovely experience. You can feel so close to sharks and rays. The kids and the adults enjoyed walking through the sea creatures. The Inka octopus was a bit shy but the rays weren't. And the big turtle waved to us. Really well organised. Seats available to enjoy the 'big screen' of the underwater

Wonderful place. There is an ability to return without having to pay full price again which is with checking out. Inspirational for kids.

Very good for a couple hours but only has half the stock that they had

One of the best aquariums I've been too. Lots of variety- great for a rainy day

Great aquarium and improving. great speakers full of knowledge and passion. kids came away wanting to help save sea creatures and knowing where to start.

Fantastic, worth going just to see the sharks and turtle in the biggest aquarium in the country, spent a good 4 hours here loads to see

Quite expensive but there's lots to see and some impressive tanks with sharks, rays etc. I think you can also get a year pass for nearly the same price. Both our kids loves it and has lots of educational bits as you go around. There is also a cafe but you can take a packed lunch as there's seating at various points.