Fantastic aquarium. Their hard work for conservation and education needs applauding. When you visit such a place it's hard not to feel overwhelmed by the beauty of ocean life and supporting this fantastic place is worth every penny.
Friendly service, great place, clean. Great experience
Simply Amazing Each Time!
I would strongly advise buying a year ticket if you live close to Plymouth. Our two girls love going to the aquarium and the talks really bring the fish and the NMA's conservation projects to life.
The staff are young and enthusiastic and this really helps our younh girls relate.
The only down side is a lack of parking. The Barbican carparks fully understand how long the average trip to the NMA takes so they have deleted the medium stay price from their tariff. Thus, you end up paying way more than you actually need.
Very special place and they do great work worldwide
Excellent Aquarium. So much to see and free re entry for the year make a it amazing value
It's such beautiful place the talks are so informative and the kids activities in holidays are lovely.
Came here while in the area,
I was interested to see an Octopus because I've been to several aquariums and not seen one.
There are 2 octopuses here so there's a good chance you will get to watch one, there is also a daily octopus activity so if you are around for it, you will see it being more active.
The large tank with the rays and sharks is packed full of species and really is massive.
I would recommended visiting of you have an interest in marine life.
it good as you get up close to lots of different types of fish. there are windows under your feet above your head as well as on the sides. the only down side is it is quite expensive for the amount of time you are there. we were only in there for about 2hrs.
Not a safe place to visit. If you have any sort of accident their cameras are only focused on the tills - their reasoning - GDPR data protection!!
Was delighted to see Jon Bon Jovi visiting the Aquarium on the same day as myself and my family
Fantastic way to spend the afternoon. They are wheelchair accessible. Lots of onsote facilities including a cafe. Lots of loud children.
Absolutely brilliant. A fantastic day out. Staff so helpful.
I am so sorry to say my daughter's wedding reception was awful. Late so much so that the evening guest had to hang around for over an hour. No tour of some tanks for them. Food which had to be sent back because it was cold. Place cards missing, even a chair. I could go on. So much left of the evening buffet as the food was an hour late coming up. No wedding cake handed to guest, I don't think. So sad we had planned this wedding for two years.
Lovely aquarium, handling the social distancing well, great variety of fish and great unique selling points such as the deepest tank in the UK and the local based Eddystone tank
Great day out for the children. Very interactive. Very knowledgeable staff.
Lovely surprise to walk underneath the fish in the tunnel and to walk on top of them too. Bit awkward that you can't peer too closely at the fish contained in smaller tanks due to social distancing measures.
Wonderful day at the aquarium, thoroughly enjoyed the visit
Good pint of sea fury and the betty stogs ain't bad either
Absolutely outstanding place. Staff are well trained and very informative, to see the interaction with school groups and weekly visitors with SEN was really heartening.
I've been to many sea life centres in the UK and abroad and this has to be the best, its great to see such a fantastic representation of our beautiful British sea life among the worldwide heavy weights!! Loved seeing the batfish, brought back great memories of swimming with them on the barrier reef with my family, and the clown fish and lion fish remind me of long balmy hot days in the red sea with my lovely wife... such a great place... well done to the staff and marine biologists for creating such a fantastic venue.
A really nice aquarium to visit. It is so relaxing and has a wide range of sea life there from sharks to jellyfish and sea horses. Well worth a visit.
If you re a diver they let you go in the ranks as a volunteer to feed the fish and clean. Best aquarium I have been to. It is expensive but worth a one time visit or a free trip every time you dive
Brilliant aquarium, on 3 levels. Easy access and good cafe
This really is a worth while visit for children and adults alike. Just make sure the Covid requirements are adhered to, and that the black and yellow tape on the floors are NOT breeched. There is a wealth of information all around the Aquarium, and is worth absorbing. A 'one way' system is in force, and washing your hands BEFORE ENTRY is desired. Plus there are plenty of hand gel facilities throughout. The views of the Barbican from the cafe area are outstanding. The staff are polite, friendly and available to answer questions.It is a brilliant visit with a wide wealth of exhibits to catch your eye. Try not to be put off by the prices of entry. You can stay as long as you desire and even go around again if you wish. There is lift facility available for families with children in buggies. Just remember when taking photographs. TURN YOUR FLASH OFF ON ALL CAMERA TYPES. NO EXCEPTIONS. NO EXCUSES.
Brilliant time and very educational for the kids, great talks available from the staff. Would recommend it!
A very interesting day we were there about 3 hours but we could have done another hour easy the staff are friendly and knowledgeable
Great soft play... Be prepared to whizz round with children under 2!
The aquarium itself was great and my son really enjoy his day out for his birthday. However, due to the COVID measures (no fault of their own) it took longer for us to get around. the whole day was ruined when we found out a few days later More
Awesome for all ages, a good couple of hours if your with Little s ones who just want to see the fish... longer if your in it for the educational stuff... one criticism is that there didnt seem to be many staff around to ask questions, but still very enjoyable !
Great exibits , easy access . Very good value for money
Good fun for the kids but doesn't take long to get round.
Cafe prices are really cheap, but the exhibits took about an hour to bumble around. Glad the passes they give are for free entry for the next 12 months.
Very good. Expensive, soon mounts up for a family but interesting and something you need to see at least once. Take your time because you could get round it too quick without realising it.
Wildly over priced & very disappointing. Exhibition was small & we went round it in under an hour
I love coming here, such a calming place. There is an outdoor picnic area too with a lovely view of the sound.
Not to be missed if you visit Plymouth. Excellent for adults and kids. Need st least 2 hours. Cafe is ok too.
Visited for the first time today with my toddler. She loved seeing the fish ect. I was a little disappointed, ticket entry is quite expensive (I know you can return for free), saw soft play advertised and thought it would be great for my daughter to play while I had a cuppa. Well, we had to pay. I think your first visit (when you pay to get in!) soft play should be free then on your returning visits you should pay? I feel this would be better. The member of staff who admitted us wasn t very helpful either- I got the feeling he didn t want to be there! Didn t tell us which way to go, didn t tell us there was an outside area or anything really- good customer service is not hard!
Incredible central display tank, but compared to other aquariums in the UK is rather overpriced for what it is. As others observed in reviews, there is scant signage to tell you what the fish are, and before you know it you've reached the end.
Well laid out. Plenty of happy fish. A great way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Fascinating and inspiring. Especially informative on conservation
The staff on the floor are superb at engaging the little people to give fascinating facts about the marine animals. An especially good place to visit off season as you can view everything in any order you like then.
We love it here and think the years entry is fantastic. We like to come early on weekday mornings as it's so peaceful and relaxing (even with a 10 month old!). NMA is our current favourite day out in Plymouth!
This is probably the worst aquarium I have been to we got round in 20 minutes to see some bored fish not doing alot
Interesting, well kept and nice staff but way to crowded and not as much wildlife as we thought.
Really good, cafe good prices and very informative. Staff all great and helpful too
Very good if you by membership you can visit as many times as you like in a year and it's only a few pubs dad more thea the entry fee. Takes about 1.5 hours to complete
Quite an enjoyable place, the duration of the tour changes from person to person. Perfect place for children, only problem being the closed bridge that stretches the way to the aquarium quite a lot.
Great afternoon, made even better by the soft play area for kiddies where we were able to enjoy a cuppa!
Very helpful and friendly staff, will definitely go again.
Brilliant day out for the family very informative and great displays. Overall a bit pricey for a bigger family but we thought it was worth it but nice cafe could do with better parking nearby
Great value for money, especially if you're intending to give multiple times a year. There is always something new going on. Try and come during the feeds and/or talks as they make the whole experience even more enriching
This is the place to bring kids of all ages , I love it and my son does too
A great place to visit, better than the National Sealife Centres that I've been to so far. The walk up to it via The Barbican waterfront is good as well. Child friendly with little portable steps to take round to see into the higher tanks, picnic area and softplay.
Great visit, the staff were really friendly and knowledgeable... Loved it
A truely amazing place to visit.
Plenty of species to see, many close up above and below you as well as in separate tanks. Staff were pleasant and knowledgeable always on hand to answer questions. Well worth a visit.
Once you go, you're tickets valid for twelve months!
An amazing place to go you can't help but become a little child again and wonder at the beauty and Majesty of nature in the tanks
Who doesn't get relaxed by watching fish swim around? Knowledgeable staff, lovely fish and marine life to look at and the biggest massively impressive aquarium in the UK
A great day out for all the family. We really enjoyed our time here and will make use of the free entry for the next year. All the kids loved it and can't wait to come back
Great aquarium, sizable and with good facilities and reasonable entrance prices. Friendly and knowledgeable staff, all willing to engage with younger visitors. The signage is all in good repair and the collection of sea creatures is impressive, particularly the main Atlantic tank. Even the gift shop was impressive - not just cheap tat (though there was still a bit of that).
I don't know why I've not been here before, it's well worth the visit and once you have paid the entrance fee you can visit all year, really good value for money.
There is something quite relaxing about watching huge fish swim round in the tanks.
Always a fantastic day here.
Suitable for children and adults of all ages.
Clean and tidy even though it was very busy.
There is so much to do and see here.
Well worth a visit.
Our favourite place in Plymouth. Lots of different sea creatures and fish. Nicely spaced out
Great aquarium but like most places it used to be much better when it showed the journey of water from rain moorland river to the sea.
A fun and interesting place to visit for a family. Children can do art's and crafts with adults support. Loads of fish, big and small.
Love it and the fact it comes with an annual pass makes it great value for those who visit Plymouth regularly like me.
It's okay to bring smaller children, older teens might get bored.
national-aquarium.co.uk