North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher Review

Great aquarium. They have a wide variety of animals (sea otters, alligators, turtles, snakes, sharks, sea horses, jellyfish, lion fish, large fish, tree frogs of various colors) a huge shark jaw. We also enjoyed the walk out on the trail seeing wildlife on the walk from a bald eagle, turtles, fish, birds, frogs, etc all outside. Great family stop. You can do this in 1-2 hrs. It took us around 2 hrs included the sites outside. They do have a gift shop with lots of great items if you enjoy shopping. No food and drinks inside and masks were required when we went in April 2021. They are limiting the amount of people inside (which we enjoyed). Be sure to reserve tickets online to ensure your time slot.

I have been to several aquariums and this is one of my favorites. The exhibits maximize viewing and are also educational. There is so much to see here, we spend hours inside. We love the interactive exhibits like getting to touch the horseshoe crabs and starfish. The staff seem to be extremely friendly and happy to share their knowledge with you.

So Nice & Cool on inside, Refreshing while walking around looking at lots of Sea Creatures.. Very Friendly & Helpful, & Informative staff..Kids Loved It, Well Adults kinda Did Too!Gift Shop on inside & small Playground on outside.. Stingray touching..Free Parking!

Great place for adults and kids of all ages to learn about our friends in the ocean deep and shallow. Wonderful displays and things you can touch like horseshoe craps . Look at an albino alligator...otters...and many other types of fish. Fun place

My kids loved it just like i remember when i was younger.. Things have been updated . the animals have all been took care of. I highly recommend

Wow... what a great experience! We took a trip down in February and needed to keep the kids busy on a rainy day. We booked ahead online (very easy) and showed up during our time slot. There were plenty of Covid awareness signs and hand sanitizing stations throughout the whole complex. Everyone was masked. We felt totally fine spending the day here!

My wife and I kept remarking to ourselves how much better all the exhibits were than other well known aquariums we'd been to. Very interactive for kids of all ages. My little ones loved it and we go through all of our pics every few days! It was a hit and we'll definitely recommend and visit again!

This place was quite amazing. My children loved the different exhibits and my personal favorite exhibit was the Asian Small-Clawed Otters. The staff and volunteers were incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.

Absolutely worth it! As of May 2021 you have to reserve tickets online and come at a certain time. The ticket is not expensive but there's SO MUCH to see inside! The aquarium, you can touch some creatures, a huge fish tank with sharks, and a park with an eagle, turtle pond, bamboo and incredible nature.
Worth a visit with kids, adults, on a date, by yourself and however you want it.
Also the cutest gift shop!
Expect to spend around 2 hrs there

Due to the pandemic not all the exhibits were open. However, it's a good place to take young kids. One thing that impressed me on my recent visit (April 2021) was how much the pandemic precautions were emphasized. There are still many adults who need constant reminders about how to wear the mask correctly. This place actually makes announcements reminding people to do just that.
The Bald eagle is now outside. It was great to see this bird close-up. The information about the turtles was very interesting. They actually have to rescue some of the turtles that can't crawl out of their nest. One of the exhibits that kids enjoyed in the past was the travelling dinosaur exhibit outside. It's kind of like a mini Jurassic park. Check to see when it will be back as your kids will love it. This adult also enjoyed it.

Very nice, smaller aquarium!
Neat, clean with a good variety of exhibitions..from otters to sharks, jellyfish to seahorses and turtles!
Everyone was masked, and following the posted social distancing methods.
The employees were friendly, and available for any questions. One told us about sea turtles and environmental dangers and a gentleman was explaining about stingrays, hermit crabs and sea anemones. Both were very informative!
The outside play area for kids appeared clean and well maintained.
My five year old granddaughter loved it.
The nature trail is small but very relaxing.
Would definitely recommend.