National Marine Aquarium Reviews

Loved it! Covid measures in place that made it feel like a safe place.
Lots of fun for children and adults alike.

Kids love the up close & personal feel of this aquarium

We had a great time my 5yo loved it! Loads of sharks and rays to see, easily the biggest sharks I've seen in an aquarium before. Plenty of feeding demonstrations and information around. The tickets aren't cheap but they do last all year so you can come back again and again without paying each time. It was so good we went round twice in one morning!

Not as big as I expected, but still a good half day out with kids. Staff are knowledgeable and friendly.

this is the best aquarium I have visited the facilities are good and the exhibits are superb I could easily spend all day just sitting and watching the fish and as a bonus you get a years free pass with unlimited visits

Brilliant place!! Lots of fun facts a very interesting and fun day out x

Must visit. The Aquarium is a must visit when in Plymouth.

Totally mesmerising and often holds "an evening with sharks"

Nice clean cafe and gift shop

Very disappointing. The building is old an in need of upgrading. There weren't many fish to see. We had to read about them more than physically see them

A great asset to plymouth, beautiful aquarium and really important education for us all living near the sea.

It is so-called national aquarium ! but it is not really big: the creatures range is nothing really special ? They can be seen in other aquariums around UK.

The entrance is really expensive - compare to other ones ! I don't mind paying extra if it is worth it but needless to say

There is no free car park so

This is the worst one I had been so far. never again!

Lovely relaxing and informative venue with free reentry for a year x

What a wonderful experience. There is so much to see and a fantastic place for everybody to learn so much. The aquarium is very well laid out and so many different varieties of sea life to see. I have found lately that there is much more emphasis on conservation. The dangers of plastic in our waters etc etc. I love the fact that we paid for tickets once and that covers the price of entry for a year. Exceptional value. We have been taking our 7 year old grandson done he was 3. Not much he doesnt low about sea life now. Well worth a visit.

Smaller than expected, but the large tanks are impressive. Staff and friendly and helpful. You don't need more than a few hours to see everything.

Always a good time. Had some VR stuff this time and found the soft play area.. very nice for a visit

I love this aquarium! I like to think that fish are like underwater birds. The first time I went to this aquarium I ran out screaming "I'VE SEEN A MERMAID GHOST!! GET OUT OF MY WAY! I'VE SEEN A MERMAID GHOST!!!!" I jumped into the sea and tried to swim to France. Later on my wife pointed out what I actually saw was a Jellyfish and there is no such thing as a Mermaid Ghost.

I love this place! lots of info to read if you're in the mood, or just stare at the beautiful aquariums. I find it a really relaxing place to spend a few hours. it's lovely seeing all the kids enjoying themselves too. great location, nice to have a walk around the harbourside too. the entry fee allows you to pop in and out which I think is brilliant.

Fell into the shark inclusore , but mad some new friend BFF

Loads of fishies, watched a worker feed their octopus

Amazing place to visit with plenty to see, also have a small cafe which serves food and drinks and a large gift shop.

Loved it! My baby boy was fascinated and we have been back again within a fortnight. Perfect for a rainy day

Beautiful floor to ceiling aquariums filled with amazing fish, rays, octopus, turtles, starfish, anemonies, sharks crabs etc. Amazing and are inspiring.

Expensive but amazing and when you buy ticket it's valid to use for a whole year and go as many times as you want!loads of fish and stuff to see!

Very interesting place with lots of species of fish and marine life. Not quite as big as I had expected but still worth a visit. Wish the gift shop sold real sea shells (not sure if that's now prohibited)

Love this place, as near to the sea as possible without getting wet..

Beautiful place! The best aquarium I've ever visited! Especially numerous sharks (sand shark, lemon shark, smoothie or poppy), sea reptiles (turtle) and other fish and fishes make this place unforgettable!

Unguided route. The types of fish are very few and the aquarium is medium in size.

Very nice place for families with children but food in cafe could be a bit healthier considering that children are visiting, mash could be the real one and not the powder...

If you visit Plymouth dodnt miss that experience !!!

Nice place. There is plenty to do here but it does cost an arm and a leg to get in here. The talks are very interesting and are also short so I definitely recommend going to see one. However, make sure to get here early as it gets increasingly busy by the hour.

We've got an annual pass, first time we've been back since it re opened, booked our slot thinking they'd only let so many people in, what a joke, if I wanted to be surrounded by that many people I'd go to a supermarket on a Saturday. On a personal note we love the place and my son enjoyed his morning.

Lovely day out for both adults and children. Lots of information and plenty to do see.

Excellent aquarium staff very friendly and lots of different fish. Very easy to navigate and young children friendly

There is an abundance of cool fish to see and the entry price isn't too bad compared to others! The gift shop is pricey but if you just want to see fish, go for it! A great spot for a date too.

What's not to like, huge aquariums in front, above and below. Interesting talks and displays, enthusiastic staff. Some parts could do with some tlc but with the option to return as many times in a year with one ticket purchase, win win.

Reasonably priced and a great way to spend the day, especially if the weather outside isn't great.

Good selection of exhibits emphasis to wildlife protection. Shark feed was informative

My 3 year old cried for 4 days that we weren't going back a second time. Enchanting for every generation and promoting so my awareness loved it

Love this place, go each year we visit Cornwall. Bit pricey but it is huge. There are plenty to see and has the U.K largest tank.

A great tourist activity once in Plymouth, but can also be a way to decompress, with plenty of giant aquariums. A gift shop at the end of the tour is available for those who want to keep a little souvenir.

Nice aquarium, lots of space, not a lot of fish NO haddock

Very tired and dated. Signage on the tanks all faded and for some they couldn't be bothered to even provide that. For all I know the signs could of said "here's a tank of fishy stuff now f off", or maybe not

Lots of things to learn about the sea and preserving it. And you definitely don't want to miss the aquariums

Wonderful place. We are lucky having this on our door step

Amazing for kids and adults, fantastic talks, beautiful sea life, great cafe with stunning views and reasonable priced gift shop

Learnt a lot from here about our oceans and richness of the biodiversity in the water! Was amazed to see the shows at regular intervals during our visit! One explaining why we know much less about our oceans than the outer space

Amazing! There is a lot of very interesting information about marine wildlife and incredibly beautiful marine animals.

It's expensive and over to quickly but a must if you love your sea life

Brilliant aquarium, loved the sharks and the rays!!

Been here a few times now with our son, he loves nothing more than staring at the fish. However I would definitely make sure you take advantage of the multi ticket letting you return for free for a year. Otherwise it's quite an expensive trip hence the 4 stars.

Free return for the year is a great idea. 10% off on the door if you take the bus and show your ticket. Or 10% off if you book online 3 days in advance

Loads to see. We took a 2.5 year old and she loved it!

Loved seeing all the fish. A bit small and got round it quickly. Had to go back to see half of it again to fill our time. Not much interactive activities. Fine for me but may not fully entertain young children.

This is a nice place to visit can easily spend good few hours here. I do however think it is expensive for what it is especially for younger children should be cheaper for say 12 and under. They do need to sort out the queuing system though and mayb invest in a few more tills

Having been to many other aquariums including ones in Chester, Hull and Birmingham we decided to visit here while on holiday and what a disappointment. This place compared to the others listed above is dated and lacks exhibites. The wooden information signs are hard to read and worn. The water seemed cloudy and the lighting in the big tanks makes the fish hard to see. We had walked round in an hour and unfortunately we would not return again.

Good value for money, specially if you live in the area, with the annual pass. Worth a visit!

Interesting place, specially for kids. In my opinion price is slightly to high.

Great place to visit - very child friendly and admission price gets a years worth of entry.

Exhibits are great and really well presented - staff are very knowledgeable- partly due to the amount of marine biology trained interns and staff.

Parking costs extra as it s right near Sutton harbour / Barbican and the footbridge closed - worth checking if you want to come from the Admiral Macbride side.

Lots of space to sit and watch different fish in main tanks as well as tanks showing all sorts of smaller marine life.

Didn t use cafe so can t comment on food but the cafe offered views out towards Mountbatten and Plymouth Sound.

Wheelchair friendly, discounted tickets available from premier inn which is short walking distance if you re travelling too far for a day trip.

Definitely worth a visit - busier during wet weather as it s a great indoor attraction.

Fantastic place education great for.the whole family

Aquarium, not the biggest or the best but a good am or pm with the kids if it's raining. They also offer return for free for a year at the moment, that is the only way we could justify paying the price they charge (it costs almost as much as the zoo with a fraction of the fun)

Well maintained exhibits. Well laid out. Very friendly and knowledgeable team. Can be very crowded. Boasts of having the largest tank in the UK, but I struggled to find a "wow" factor that would have elevated it to 5 stars. Overall though it is definitely worth visiting.

My daughter loves this place. Initially seems expensive but you get a pass to go free for a year. Staff were very friendly and very helpful. Multistorey carparks very close but best to take cash as card payment on the ticket machines are quite confusing and ques were building to pay due to this. Inside the aquarium is nicely laid out and sea creature exhibits are very good including a couple of good sized octopus tho separate tanks. It may be the largest aquarium in the UK but it doesn't take long to get around. Great place to take children to introduce them to life in the oceans.

Great aquarium in Plymouth with lots of different exhibits. Need the talk schedule more easily visible and could do with improved digital displays. But a great day out with the kids.

Had Christmas party here and it was really good! Views are great, food was great and service great. Couldn't have asked for a better work Christmas party venue! Thanks

A lovely aquarium, with lots of deep water tanks and plenty of viewing angles.

Loved every minute of it. Amazing exhibits, very informative. So little we know about our beautiful world. So much we can all do to protect and preserve it. I wonder if we can focus more of our resources to discovering more about this amazing rock we all call our home.