We headed up to Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo this past Saturday. They were having a Party for the…read morePlanet Day. They threw a party for the animals and celebrated Earth Day. There's a lot to see at this little zoo. We saw lemurs, a tree kangaroo, Visayan Pig, squirrel monkeys, gibbons, Caracals, owls, a beautiful bald eagle, Herons, Cranes, Emus, Kookaburras, Gila Monster, tortoises, a Wood Stork and more! Hard to get photos through some of the fences. What a fun time!

Well worth visiting if up in Gainesville for a medical appointment as we were…read more Cleo the caracal was our favorite. Many exhibits with much vacant land awaiting "The Master Plan". Numerous helpful staff who I think are students at the college. Paths are unpaved and leafy, not wheelchair friendly, but fine for walking. Gift shop had minimal adult sized shirts and none featuring caracals. Yellow parrots nice eye candy.

If you're looking for a calm, educational, and genuinely enjoyable experience in St. Augustine, the…read moreSt. Augustine Aquarium is a lovely hidden gem--especially for families and anyone curious about marine life. This isn't a massive, overwhelming aquarium, and that's actually part of its charm. The space is clean, well-organized, and thoughtfully designed to let you slow down and really appreciate the exhibits. You'll see a nice variety of sea life, from colorful reef fish and sharks to stingrays and local Florida species, all displayed in a way that feels both engaging and approachable. What truly sets this place apart is the interactive experience. The staff is incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and clearly passionate about what they do. They take the time to explain, answer questions, and make the visit feel personal rather than rushed. The touch tanks are a big highlight--hands-on, educational, and fun for kids and adults alike. It's a perfect stop if you want something relaxed, informative, and family-friendly without the crowds. Whether you're visiting with children or just want a peaceful break from sightseeing, the St. Augustine Aquarium offers a refreshing and memorable experience. A great little spot that's well worth the visit.

Such a cute smaller attraction off the beaten path of the Main Saint Augustine area. Definitely…read moreworth going for a small educational look and see of aquatic life. They offer snorkeling and their Upground aquarium along with a ropes course strung above the area. There's a smaller trail behind the facility that you can walk and explore on your own. Restroom is available and a small gift shop. You can purchase food to feed and or pet the sharks and stingrays. Great facility for smaller schools to visit they do offer summer camps as well .

My parents were reminiscing about when they were middle school aged and came here for field trips…read more I was surprised to find out that Silver Springs State Park and the glass bottom boat tours have been around for that long! It was about a 1.5 hour ride from Orlando. Woke up real early on a Saturday (on honestly one of the coldest days of the year) to arrive at the park around 8am. I highly suggest purchasing glass bottom boat tour tickets online about a week in advance atleast since time slots fill up! We purchased the 1.5 hour tour on the boats. Our tour guide was incredible and shared so much knowledge and facts about the wildlife and park. I got to see tons of manatees! Plus getting to see gators, turtles, birds, and even monkeys! The glass bottom gives such a cool perspective on viewing the wildlife and plants underwater. Aside from the tour, we walked several trails to enjoy the great outdoors. Also, we had coffee in the morning when we first got here and lunch after the tour. The food was pretty good and filling. At the gift shop I made sure to leave with a magnet and Christmas ornament to remember such a great day here.

What a breathtaking location! From the parking lot, it doesn't look like much. They are redoing the…read moreentrance sign, and from the outside, it seems like the place might be pretty rundown. However, once you walk through, you are quickly transported. The entrance to the park is only two dollars per person, and honestly, in my opinion, they could charge just a little bit more. The glass-bottom boat tours run faster than you might expect, so if you have the time (which we didn't during our visit), opt for the longer boat ride; it doesn't cost much more. They also have little shops to explore and plenty of outdoor seating so you can take in the beautiful surroundings. If you're a water lover, make sure to plan ahead and reserve a crystal-clear kayak or paddleboard to enjoy the water--it'll be worth every penny. The only hiccup in our plan was that we booked everything on the day of our visit, so we ended up with a shorter tour on the glass-bottom boats and got locked into the last kayaking time slot. The woman at the reservation desk for the kayaks was not very pleasant. She told us that despite showing a 5 o'clock slot, they were no longer taking reservations. I showed her the option on my phone, but she still refused to let us sign waivers. Luckily, we found the manager in charge of the rental hut, who advised that we could still make our reservation online. I showed him on my phone, and although we'd have to pay full price and probably have less than an hour, that was perfectly fine with us since we were in the last slot. The lake was practically empty, so we had the entire waterway to ourselves--so beautiful and peaceful. Honestly, it felt like we were in another country, surrounded by nature. If you don't have the chance to kayak, there's also a walking path where you can see monkeys left behind from one of the movies that was filmed on location. We walked part of the path, and it was just as beautiful. Any chance my kids and I get to be outside in nature, we gravitate towards it, putting away our phones to enjoy everything around us. What a great way to spend your day and your vacation!

Good for an hour long of entertainment. The show was a little silly and my 4 year old instantly…read moredeclared it wasn't a real mermaid, but we had a good visit. I loved the scavenger hunt with the checklist of animals to find.

We happened upon the mertailors booth at the manatee festival and when the weather turned cold we…read moredecided to spend the afternoon checking them out. What an absolutely pleasant surprise. Not knowing what to expect we were so impressed with the space. Very kid friendly and super interactive. The rays were my favorite as they are like little puppies wanting to be petted. The mermaid show was so impressive. Swimming in salt water with live animals and staying in the water for 30+ minutes straight is wild! I look forward to our next visit to the area and enjoying Mertailors again!

Definitely on the smaller side for an aquarium, but I appreciate how it's around so many other…read morethings which is why I'm giving it a higher rating than if it was just standalone. We have free passes with our Legoland annual pass, so we checked out this place, the Orlando, Eye, and Madame Tussaud's. There was a lot of things to read, I made my older son practice reading by reading a lot of the plaques. There was also some fun interactive screens. And the highlight was a mermaid that was swimming around in the tank that came up to wave at everyone. It must be somewhat common place because we saw the mermaid a couple of times and only in one area where people rushing up to get pictures. The aquarium is broken out into sections, they had quite a few different species. My son also liked the touch tank. Overall, it took us about 45 minutes to get through so it's not a full day thing. If you read more, you could maybe make it last a couple hours, but for young children, I would say about an hour. Parking at icon park is easy. There's a free parking garage that has free parking on the upper levels and pay to park on the lower levels. When we came at about 5 PM on a Saturday there were tons of spots. I don't think this place gets that busy until nighttime.

While this place is beautiful! It is a one time experience…read more We came to visit on a Saturday. We were instructed to go to the box center and purchase tickets. For 2 tickets it's was coming up to almost $80. I looked online quickly and found they have Florida resident discounted tickets. For 2 people it ended up being around $65. Thankfully I looked online, because for $80 it is VERY overpriced for the experience. While it is an immersive experience and they have lots of views, interactions and beautiful marine life, I found that walking thru the aquarium lasted maybe an hour and that's with kids stopping and looking. They have lots of add ons and it seems that if you don't do the add ons then you pretty much just walk around, look at all the tanks, and do a touch tank that's pretty much it.

If you love marine life and animals, this is the place to go. You will be able to see many…read moredifferent types of animals. Some you will get to touch and interact with.

The only reason I didn't read it five stars is I feel like there's some things that could've been…read moredone a little bit better. Overall, I was happy with the experience my son had a fabulous time. Any of these places are always gonna be a little pricey. The aquarium portion was nice. There was no really over the top viewing spots. They felt kind of small. I did not care for the rainforest portion that they have included. It felt very cold and cruel for some of the animals. They do allow stingray feeding and then they do have a spot where you can touch starfish as well as having a small arcade for the kids. We spent around an hour and 20 minutes taking our time here. Not sure if I would come back but definitely a good option to spend a rainy day here.

Had a great time on their dolphin boat tour ! It's a nearly 2 hour boat ride that takes you down to…read morePonce Inlet and it's well worth the money ! I do need to start carrying cash on me so I can actually tip.

Had a good time on our recent boat ride. Saw lots of dolphins and all types of birds…read more The tour guide did an awesome job describing the history of New Smyrna Beach. We also had the opportunity to taste some honey made by the local bees!!!