They do have some interesting displays and a nice play area for smaller children/toddlers but overall did not feel the admission price was worth it given all the other fun things to do in Auckland. Just down the road are some great playgrounds on the beach! They do have a lot of penguins and there is an option to swim with sharks if you plan in advance. I do think some areas were older/torn fabric etc and could use a good clean up! read more

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A gift. Have you ever gone to a place that you knew would make someone else happy, just to make that person happy? Although Kelly Tarlton is not that big or impressive of an aquarium, it made my parents so happy and that was priceless. This was the last stop on a trip to celebrate my parents' 60th wedding anniversary and to fulfill my dad's lifelong of going to Australia (with a cruise to Australia and New Zealand). My mom loves animals. Dogs. Cats. Koalas. You name it, she just loves all animals. Going to the aquarium and just watching my mom and dad watch the penguins be fed fish was....priceless. So many penguins. Gentoos and King. Happy Feet. You can't help but smile. Second favorite part. The moving tunnel aquarium. We went around and around and around. Capturing moments in time as the sharks, stingrays and fish swam overhead. Magical! Also loved the jellyfish. Mesmerizing. The octopus. So cool. The sea dragons. One of my favorites. The turtle talk. The snack shop sells a drink with a coffee cup or a cute little blue fairy penguin finger puppet for $15 NZD. Guess which one I got?? As an aquarium, maybe not so impressive and a bit overpriced at $40 NZD, but life is about experiences and this was one that was truly amazing. So happy to make my parents so happy. Note: You can borrow a wheelchair by leaving an ID card at the front desk. We used one just to get my dad down the long and winding ramp, but he was fine with his rollator otherwise. There are lifts located throughout the aquarium except at the entrance which is as quite helpful especially as we explored and exited the aquarium. read more

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Staff was very friendly and helpful. The interior was a bit smelly and small and dark. There weren't really any exhibits, but the penguins were cool to see. I loved the underwater tunnel. That was our groups favorite. I liked the children's play area/cafe. read more

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I love aquariums, sea creatures, and penguins...so this review is definitely biased! :) But it is a small aquarium, and even the enthusiasts like myself probably won't spend more than an hour here. The penguin exhibit is moderately sized but still appears to have plenty of healthy room for the limited of number of penguins living there. The best and longest aquatic glass tunnel I've ever visited is here as well. The conveyor belt gently and slowly carries you along through the tunnel, giving you ample time to relax and see everything. The adorable local New Zealand Porcupine Puffer fish are abundant here as well, and they all seem to be smiling at you. $39NZ for adults is a bit pricey for this short experience, but still very enjoyable if you're a sea lover, and all the animals seem to be very well cared for. read more

UGH. Was on our tour, but was a waste of time unless you have kids under ten. I did enjoy seeing the king penguins (they're HUGE), the shark encounter situations (might have went around three times) and the gigantic lobsters, but overall, this is another aquarium. Hard pass. read more

An average experience. I think one visit is sufficient. On a winter holiday to Auckland, the weather was just sketchy enough that I didn't feel like taking a ferry to Rangitoto, so I chose to take my not-quite-two-year-old here for the day. I will assume that it was crazyhouse because of the July school holidays, that it isn't like that on most days. If it's always madness, I'd give it fewer stars. The good: - it's located underground, so it doesn't stick out in the natural environment as much as an above-ground building would - free shuttle from the ferry building (but also on the Bad list - read on) - a decent variety of sea life on display, several educational feeding programs during the day - the tunnel The bad: - the crowd. Oh, the humanity. - NOT pram/stroller friendly. Some places it's just awkward to have one, twice I had to take my son out and carry him and the stroller up steps. They do have wheelchair elevators, but I wasn't going to be That Girl using it with a stroller. There is an accessible bathroom with changing table in which we fit - the regular bathrooms looked pretty small. - I waited a while before an employee discovered the family/accessible bathroom wasn't occupied, just never got unlocked. Grrrr. - there is very much an order of operations - it's not like most museums and aquariums where you can visit whatever you like in any order. There's a distinct pathway through the place, and it's difficult to backtrack. - the value. My little guy was free, but I paid $35. I've been in world-class aquariums - this one was very good, but it had some negatives. First, we arrived about 5-10 minutes before the scheduled shuttle departure across from the ferry building. Up pulls a large van, with only 11 seats. The driver explained that their regular bus was undergoing maintenance and that he'd take as many as he could, then turn around and pick up everyone else. He left it up to us to determine who had been waiting the longest. Well, everyone crowded up to the van, and it was clear it was everyone-for-themselves. So I had twenty-plus minutes to kill in the cold with a toddler. So things were already off to a rocky start. You get a discount if you buy your ticket online and the entrance fee is variable depending on when you go. Naturally, during school holidays, the discount was small, but hey, at least it's a discount. They have a separate line for those who have pre-paid. The first area is a south-pole exhibit, then on to viewing the penguins. This was the first place where the stroller was clunky. Large viewing windows, but I recommend moving on to the 3rd or 4th, since everyone tends to cluster at the first one. Other highlights include jellyfish (relatively small display) and seahorses. There was a Finding Dory promotion going on at the time we were there - my child was a little too young for all the activities. I would have preferred to see more colorful reef fish. There is a large manta tank, near the cafe seating. There are a couple small touch tanks, too, where we touched some starfish. The highlight is the underwater tunnel. There's a people mover and a stationary walk. This was another place where the stroller was awkward, but we finally just stood on the people mover and let it take us around. You have sharks, rays, and all kinds of fish swimming around and over you. And it's a pretty long tunnel that loops back on itself. At risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, I reached my saturation point with Other Peoples' Children pretty fast. There is a nice looking play space, but my little one still needs some attention on playgrounds - and it looked way too crazy for me to try to keep him safe in there. It also took a while to get him a spot up at the touch tank. Also, the mere architecture of the place was hard to navigate. I had to backtrack to the bathrooms, which meant swimming upstream against the crowd. I couldn't find anything I needed to have in the gift shop (shocking for me!), so we left, and of course, to exit, we had to climb more stairs with a stroller. Had my child been smaller, I'd have put him in a carrier and worn him, but he's just in between walking well and getting tired easily. If you're considering taking a pushchair, you'll probably wish you hadn't. When we exited, I realized we still had twenty minutes before the return shuttle downtown, IF we even got on it - city buses pass by every 5 minutes or so, and that was $4.50 well spent. Maybe I just went at a poor time, but it seems like the kind of place you could go to once and not need to go again. read more

We came here on a rainy day in hopes of something to do as our New Zealand vacation came to a close. We saw it had a few interesting exhibits and my family was very excited to go. None of us besides our 7 year old are fans of aquariums bc we feel bad for the little creatures and because of how unclean they can get. We've been to a few aquariums (Georgia, Long Beach, etc. in the USA and weren't too disappointed) and were hoping for a good experience. Boy this aquarium checked off all the hatred of aquariums boxes. Prices were reasonable for the amount of exhibits it had. We entered and already it looked pretty dirty and they had us take a photo after the little museum about Antarctica. We refused and headed on into the penguin exhibit. I love ALL animals and this was just sad. It smelt like dead fish+poop and the enclosure was VERY tiny for the amount of penguins there were in there. We had to put our jackets over our noses. There was green poo all over the ice and on the edges you could see the ice was VERY thin. All the penguins were crowded and it was sad. The walking through sharks thingy was good. I'm glad that they had the moving walking pathway thing. Good addition, but they could've used that money in use of making the other enclosures nicer. Long story short, I was pretty disappointed with our experience. Hoping if we do ever come back to New Zealand and we stop by, it looks and smells a bit nicer. read more

Such a shame how this aquarium has become after 10 years between my visit. The fish life is far from diverse think I spotted 2 snapper one was very sick plus other fish on their last breath. The king penguins was heart breaking to see so many frustrated and lost within them selves and to add insults people and kids teasing through the glass. Horrible things to see even my 3 year old son didn't want to be there. Waste of money and so crowded. Food over priced. Tickets way over priced. And pushy attitude of staff to take your photo at entrance just to sell it back to you at exit. 0 stars shame this place has obviously changed hands since I was here last very poor and unhygienic. read more

My first visit in over two years & they have really done a great job giving the aquarium a makeover. Currently you can buy an Annual Pass online for $70 (usually $75) which gives you unlimited access for an entire year. There are some great interactive educational exhibits for the older kids, the only thing missing for a 5 star rating is a proper cafe. The automatic coffee machine (one touch button) does not cut it!! If you haven't visited since the revamp you should definitely pay them a visit. read more

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I went here at the end of last year with some overseas relatives, and enjoyed it far more than I did a few years back. The penguins were adorable and the variety of fish totally jaw dropping. Going around and around on the moving conveyor belt was great fun. However, having been to other underwater worlds, Kelly Tarltons really needs to expand so much more. The price is fair considering it's a private establishment, but you can't help but feel there should've been more to your ticket. Nevertheless, a good place to go in all forms of weather to learn more about the sea and enjoy its creatures. read more

Kelly Tarltons - fishy attractions - Aquariums Near Me - Auckland, AUK

Some places just seem so much more exciting, impressive and simply bigger when you are a kid, and Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World is definitely one of these places. Is it just me, or did there used to be a much larger variety of fish? Certainly my last visit there was not the same experience as I so fondly remember as a child, but for sure this place is for kids and the kids that I saw were having a great time. Nothing much has changed there over the years in terms of layout, and it does look to be somewhat rundown and tired. Some renovations are what this place desperately needs. The penguin enclosure is sadly rather small and could do with better upkeep. Kelly Tarlton's is pricey and I wouldn't go there again or take any friends from out of town, unless I knew children who wanted to go. read more

Kelly Tarltons - Aquariums Near Me - Auckland, AUK

Sad to say: 1. Appalling pricing. We expect to pay at the higher end for such a facility but the current prices are shameful. 2. Insult to injury: the poor state of the cafe and embarrassing state of the toilets and changing facilities. We expect better for somewhere supposedly aimed at kids. On the upside staff were mostly friendly. Fish were clearly the stars here. We will be back, but with wet wipes and a discount voucher. read more

I went here on a Saturday morning as part of a cruise ship tour. I was impressed with the place. It had several very impressive large tanks and animal exhibits. I especially liked the Scott exhibit about his Antarctica expeditions, the "walk-through" shark aquarium with a moving walkway, the very large penguin exhibit, and the octopus and jellyfish tanks. It wasn't very crowded and I thought the cafe and bathrooms were clean. Given the size and variety of exhibits, I thought the price was reasonable. read more

It's been a few years since since our last visit, but a lot has changed since then. It's a pity that penguin tank was misted over and was hard to see them swimming. The new glass compound seems much better for them compared to the previous one with the little train ride. We did enjoy the ray tank too. The main tunnel tank did seem a little void of fish in places. The recreation of Scott's Hut and the relevant information was a welcome insight to the valuable and essential conservation work that NZ is a major contributor too in Antarctica read more

Such a magical place. The exhibits are REALLY well designed, and I loved the interactive features. The last bit of aquariums are amazing in their biodiversity! NEGATIVE: dude, it was packed full of kids - I love kids - but kids screaming, running, yelling, and literally pushing people out of their way. That sucked. POSITIVE: the set up of the building allows you to believe you are entering this different environment. It is so intelligent in it's set up. Also, it's a creative blend of zoo/museum/information. Unique and well executed. SUPER POSITIVE: four people a day are allowed to go INSIDE THE PENGUIN EXHIBIT!! DO IT!! You have to book it way ahead of time, and it's costly. WELL WORTH THE COST for fans of penguins. I always visit this place when I visit NZ. Kia Ora! read more

The price is $39 for an adult, which I think is high for this place. The Auckland Zoo is so much bigger and more impressive and I believe it cost us only $28 per person. Not to say that this place is bad; it's got a lot of cool sealife you won't see in other aquariums. But keep in mind that there are a LOT of children here. As a woman with no kids, this was not the best place for me. The children don't behave themselves well and it's hard to enjoy the peacefulness of the aquarium with screaming children everywhere. The cafe is not very good, so bring your own food!! I did appreciate the free shuttle bus from Britomart. Although this place was not spectacular, I would recommend tourists to see it; perhaps spend 1/2 a day here. read more

This aquarium needs a rehabilitation. The downs were the penguin exhibit where the animals appeared unkempt and stir crazy, the general overall appearance of walls and displays, and lastly very overpriced!! On the upside was the children's area where they were able to sit at a table with a small stocked aquarium in front of them and draw and color what they see. read more

I've been doing the whole tourist circuit thing up in Auckland for a while now, so naturally I couldn't surpass Kelly Tarltons. This is an easy review, Kelly Tarltons has everything you would expect from an aquarium. Fish of course! Hopping on the moving conveyor belt while having huge sharks float around above you is a pretty awesome 360 degree panoramic experience! these sharks really are too cool for school and don't pay too much attention to the hordes of raucous schoolchildren tapping on the glass, which is good because I'm happy viewing these guys from behind my perplex shield thank you very much. If you've got smaller kids in tow, they will go absolutely gaga over the cutest penguins ever, waddling around in their three piece suits. The only criticism I have of the place is that that the attractions seem to end rather abruptly, I don't know if that's just because the last time I was here I was a little kid myself so everything felt bigger, so I had expected more to come when I had reached the end of it. I would be interested to hear about your guys experiences here anyway! read more

Kelly Tarltons - Aquariums Near Me - Auckland, AUK

I feel like I remember Kelly Tarlton's being so much cooler when I was a kid. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's awesome to see all the sea life as you rotate round the conveyer belt and they've upgraded the Antarctic experience so you can get to see the penguins much closer up (which means they also got rid of that really naff way-too-fake killer whale that used to pop up at the end of the ride: good choice Kelly Tartlon's). Seeing the penguins (and their chicks, when I was there) at that range is a pretty neat experience although whether or not I fully agree with the idea is another story. With that in mind I think this is an excellent place for kids but a bit disappointing for adults. A word of warning, school holidays at Underwater World are pretty hectic and busy so if you're imagining a nice wander around the facility taking in the experience, do it during the school term. I can say this with confidence as I was there with a holiday programme group (contributing to the madness!) but it did give me the opportunity to experience excellence from at least one staff member who aided us - I believe, beyond their call of duty - with one of our group who had gone awhol. read more

Our wheelchair got stuck in the antiquated lift-platform, we could not fit in the main exit lift and even if we could we would have exceeded the weight limit for the lift. The staff kindly explained that because we had not asked at the ticket office this was all our own fault. You really should not bring a wheelchair here. The staff are not trained to cope and the facilities are antiquated and in my view dangerous. read more

I find myself agreeing with the general consensus here. Kelly Tarltons was all the rage when you were a small child, when everything just seemed bigger and you'd never seen aquariums in other countries before. In fact I think it was one of the first aquariums to have the whole big pipe/conveyer belt thing going on. Fast forward twenty years, you're bigger, uglier, and you've seen much bigger aquariums and Kelly T's is looking a bit tired, a bit rundown, and in need of more stuff to keep you interested for the purchase price. It's never good when you can remember everything that a place has to offer simply because there isn't that much there. At the same time, you've gotta love the adorable penguins and the endearingly naff snowmobile ride. read more

1. There is no written Terms and condition regrading on returning expired annual pass. 2. However, the staff at the counter refused to return my card (I gave it for fast process) when I purchased new annual card. 3. I asked the term& condition, one of staff gave me a piece of infomation sheet but there were no clear comment regarding returning expired card. 4. When I pointed this and the other staff excused as she didn't said it but her colleague did. very premature attitude being blame her colleague' mistake. 5. We raised voices and the staff shout at me to leave the place but i refused till untill get my card back and refund. 6. The staff said the reason of collecting expired pass is that I may use it again. - insulted me as a potential theif or fraud. Even though I had just purchased $135 two passes. 8. The staff may think that I am an Asian so she can insult me and tell whatever she wants without any proof. 10. The staff promised to give it back outside but she changed her word and didnt want to give it without vaild reason. Absolutly insulted. I felt like they treated me like a dog with treat and said NO. 9. This is the term&condition Terms & Conditions: Each Annual Pass purchaser will be issued his or her own Annual Pass and as a condition of purchase, they will be required to supply the following - 1) their first name and surname; 2) their date of birth; 3) their residential address; 4) a contact telephone number; 5) a contact email address; and 6) a photograph which must be a true likeness of the holder.Annual Passes are non-transferable and cannot be sold, loaned or given away to or used by any person other than the Annual Pass holder.An Annual Pass is only valid for standard entry to the attraction.Pass holder must present a valid Annual Pass at the admissions office.Possession or use of the Annual Pass does not guarantee immediate entry of the Annual Pass holder to any Attraction during peak times. read more

I remember visiting this place when I was a kid - a truly magical, immersive experience, where I pranced around with unadulterated joy, marveling at the wonders of the deep sea. Fast forward a few decades, and I am driving back to Kelly Tarlton's with a car load full of overseas relatives. They are all quite excited. How could they not be after I had so convincingly explained to them that this would be be a great way to spend one of their precious two days which they had set aside to see Auckland? To say this place was not up to standard would be a kind exaggeration. It was absolutely awful. I could go on and on about the cleanliness or the rude cashier, but these things might have been excused if there were some good fish to see. Maybe we went on a bad day, where they happened to be poorly organized, but the aquarium was almost empty. There were quite a few penguins, but there enclosure was so crappy, that all I could think about was what a horrible existence they had. Nice day of sightseeing Chris! read more

From all that we read in planning our days in Auckland, this seemed a "must do". Now we are not so sure. It seemed crowded: narrow walkways added to the feeling. There were many running and screaming kids and impolite adults. The parking lots were not full and there were not many tour buses so I hate to think what a truly busy day would be like. We felt as if an aquarium ought to skip antarctic exploration even though it was a nice transition to antarctic sea life. Penguins were nice though I would have expected more than 74 from the buildup. Sharks and other fish were nice in the tank but it and they were not that big. Stingray exhibit was sad: I hated to see them come out of water to beg for food and it was a small exhibit. There were lots of other small exhibits which interested me a little but I agree with a reviewer from last year who says that it suddenly ended. I expected more for what we paid. I was also disappointed not to have more food available for purchase. The gift shop was nice and we found maori fish hooks which we wanted for gifts. I admit I am unfair in comparing it to other aquariums with much bigger budgets read more