National Marine Aquarium Reviews

First time visiting, despite living nearby for many years. Had a wonderful time and it was well worth the entry price. I will be going back several times to catch the shows and spend a lot more time with my camera watching sharks swim by.

Great to see Friday the Turtle again, always worth the long trip

Expensive for what it is. Not that big. Disappointed

Fabulous day out for all the family, have been back time and time again. The multi story tanks are breathtaking. I recommend getting there early at weekends and during the summer. It is also very accessible for wheelchair users.

Fantastic aquarium. Helpful staff. Kids 5 and 8 loved it

Visited on Sunday with my husband and twelve year old daughter and we all really enjoyed ourselves. The staff are friendly and informative and there is plenty to see.
We spent about 2 hours here and then went to the gift shop on the way out which my daughter loved. I was really surprised by how good the gift shop was on prices have been to a few places where it's so expensive and you end up with a disappointed child at the end of it but here there really is something to suit all budgets and we cane away with some lovely gifts. Also have to give the tropical slush puppy drink a mention as it was the best I've tasted. Would definately reccomend a visit here but book online 3 days in advance as you can save 10%.

A family favourite. Almost yearly membership for locals and it's always an educational trip.

This is an excellent place for family they have a huge amount of different species of fish and jelly fish

Even with the restrictions for covid19. It is well worth a visit and managed well.

Wet Zoo! Fantastic experience. Good value as ticket lasts all year.

Had a lovely day here. The fish where really well cared for. Beautiful animals and loads of information, loads to see and learn. Brilliant day for kids and adults! Gift shop is expensive but they are self funded so that's understandable. Saw some amazing things, even the daily diving where the divers hand feed the fish! Perfectly accessible as well, i made it all the way round on my mobility scooter and didn't miss a single thing because of it! And also when you pay for entry it includes free entry for a year, and gal price entry to Dartmoor zoo!

Truly great experience, clean well looked after site. Well informed and helpful staff and a huge array of interesting creatures. Well worth a visit.

Great aquarium with the biggest tanks in the UK. The whole aquarium was a bit smaller than expected but the sharks and turtle made it worthwhile. Needs better lighting on some of the signs as couldn't read all the info. Loved the gift shop.

Great for the younger generation but less for the older

As always, an amazing wander through the rapidly endangered marine life, both local and global; enhanced by the very knowledgeable and helpful volunteers who help keep the place running!

Its not been the same since lockdown with noticeably fewer species on show, however the more people support be place he more exhibits they can get. I would say it's a must for a trip to Plymouth

It was beautiful to see how each fish was described and how it looked. There was a single quiz to follow. In the interval of about 1h there is a question round for the slightly smaller ones. As you can see on the pictures you can see a huge selection of fish. There is also a cafe with coffee and cake.

A little pricy for my liking but a stunning location and great for the kids. They would be better off with a low price and higher foot fall it is otherwise a once a year treat for the kids rather than let's go to NMA

Definitely the best aquarium I've seen. Ive
been in Newquay , I've been in Bristol, but this one, finally.. is worth to spend money, which I wouldn't say about Aquarium in Newquay or in Bristol

Great for a family day out!
Although sign posting to aquarium not great.

Sharks, a sunken sea plane and loads of amazing fish - what's not to like!

Every time we go we have a lovely time and the kids love it. There's lots to see and you can spend a lovely day here as a family. There's a soft play area so you can enjoy a tea and cake whilst the kids play. We keep going back as it's so enjoyable.

Excellent place to take the family. Kids loved being able to get so close to all the different types of fish and having clown fish is always going to be a winner.

Best afternoon with 5 kids and all staff helpful through out
... thank you all for a pleasant afternoon

Not really my thing, but the kids really enjoy it. Plenty of places for a stop and sit! Very expensive entry, but it does give you entry for a year. Not so useful if you're not local.

You cannot say you visited Plymouth without going here, very nice place.

Great day out, the rearurants food could be better. But a great attraction for a family day out

Great for all ages. Younger kids can just take in all the different fish, older kids can learn about the animals and adults can spend ages watching the sharks!

Visited with family on bank holiday weekend. Excellent aquarium, far better than the Sea Life Centres. Well laid out, lots of interesting things to see. Children (4 and 7) enjoyed it. Took 4-5 hours including a stop in the cafe (good value and nice views over harbour). 3 large viewing tanks and regular talks throughout the day. Staff all very knowledgeable. Well worth the entry price and you get free returns within 12 months. Will definitely visit again and highly recommend.

It is ok.... dont think it was worth the money but ok for the rainy morning that we awoke to.

Loved it. Well worth a visit if in Plymouth and staff very knowledgeable

we have a priority pass which is great no queueing especially on school hoildays. take our grandson there he loves it never gets tired of seeing all the fish. he's only 3 but knows a lot of the fishe species now.if you go at certain times there are work shops running. check Web site. food at the restaurant is fair but very hot on a sunny day as it's all glass windows.

Very good, however a few empty tanks at the moment due to changes happening

Overcrowded, couldn't see the exhibits. Too many people and not enough space. Everyone seemed to be having a bad time. Parents struggling to get their kids close enough to the tanks to see a fish. This made everyone aggressive. The staff were all teenage volunteers who were overwhelmed, which made them unhelpful. Terrible, but the NMA probably made lots of money. I would only recommend this to someone I hated.

Decent aquarium. Was better than alot of the reviews suggested. Did not take too long for us to walk round but would take longer with children. Some of the information panels next to the takes were hard to read in the limited light.

Well organised, good experience and exhibitions. Expect to spend a few hours there.

My Y6 son went on a School Trip here and he said he wanted to live there. Very interactive guides and stunning views of the fish and aquatic life.

We love going here. Bigger than most of the sea life centres. Full of educational resources and information. Kids will love it!

A good place for a 'day' out (3hrs is about max I'd say), particularly with younger kids. However, in some places it is looking rather tired with signs and information boards being worn out trough use. A refresh is needed soon!

It's a nice experience. Nicely done. Finally, the chance to see a shark.

Great half day out. Think it was 16quid for me and under 3s are free. My daughter loved the glass floor. Had to carry her away too the next stage.

Thoroughly disappointed with this place. Very little on show. Member of staff at the till appeared to be doped out of his mind and struggled to answer basic questions. Spent around 35 mins here before leaving as there was so little on offer

Great for children and adults alike but after parking and admission cost it is expensive for a family day out

Over expensive 1 hour all done, don't expect it to be a good day out. Very disappointed in general with Plymouth and Cornwall. It feels like whoever is doing the planning of this nevertheless beautiful part of the world is going out of is way to make your life a misery. Sorry but for me never again

A Fabulous place to go really interesting and educational.

An amazing aquarium with fascinating and varied displays. There's lots to see but for the best day out you should check out the schedule for the talks and hit a few of them. The cafe is reasonably priced and serves good food.

Good layout with lots of fish. A bit better than Bristol aquarium. The gift shop could have more range.

Great day out for the kids. Single day ticket can be upgraded to a yearly pass for free.

Avoid the Aquarium, 10 levels of car park, nothing and no-one to tell you car park is Full, wasted 40 minutes trying to park and now have had to leave as NO SPACES. One star is too much

It was fun for the whole family, very informative and we had lunch in the cafe which was delicious (amazing ice cream)

Whilst it has the feel of many sealife aquariums (which familiarity can lead to complacency), on a rainy summer holiday in South Devon any respite was gratefully received.
Expensive but not too much, busy but if you're early then you're ok, restaurant average but with a decent viewing area.
All in all better than average.

A real experience. This is rare. For zoology novices and connoisseurs a valuable asset. You should have time to watch. Three hours have passed quickly and too little. Alone the sea anemones!

It s a brilliant experience. You can get around it it around a hour tho.

A very good place to spend a couple of hours for the whole family. We went on a Monday afternoon and it was busy but there was plenty of room to move around and no need to queue to see parts of shows / displays. The only disappointment really was the cafe area which was both a bit shabby and dirty. Coffee and cakes were good but the sitting area let the whole place down. Having said that you don't go here for coffee and as a aquarium it is definitely worth visiting.

Edit : the aquarium is very disabled friendly one of our party was in a wheelchair and had no problems accessing all of the site.

We wondered whether this would be worth the entrance fee but it most definitely was. Two tanks are huge and contain some charming memerising fish with names. We fell for 'Cornelia', a seabass, which is large and characterful. Watching fish is known to lower the blood pressure and this visit definitely did. I learned about the health of the ocean from the displays and got concerned about sea grass. I would like to do more for conservation of the seas, having visited.

A good couple of hours however it was very busy which meant we couldn't spend as much time as we'd have liked as we couldn't get near most tanks. Quite expensive in this respect too