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    Long Island Aquarium

    3.5 (355 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

    Long Island Aquarium Photos

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    Tarantula
    Natasha P.

    We stayed at the Hyatt West End because it was recommended if we wanted to spend the day at the Aquarium. We were so disappointed at how small the Aquarium was. The entire experience took 25 mins max. There was morning special and it was so crowded. I wouldn't recommend driving hours to come visit or doing a staycation here.

    Turtle
    Salvador Z.

    I'm in town on a business conference and our planners organized an after work event at the Long Island Aquarium which included dinner appetizers and an open bar. We had the entire aquarium to ourselves. We were informed to walk around at our leisure and there would be appetizers in various locations within the aquarium. I got to see turtles, sharks, sea lions, and various species of fish too. Very cool venue to be able to network with colleagues and have an ice breaker discussion about the aquarium. Everyone had a blast.

    Samantha C.

    We made our yearly trip to the aquarium to celebrate my niece's birthday. Fun fact is that no matter how old you are, you could get in free for your birthday. Reminder: bring proof of date of birth. Since my sister and my niece are days apart, they both got in free. Planning it out this way is great because it helps offset the cost. An adult ticket will run you $50. A child above the age of 3 is about $32. Is it worth it for the kids, totally. We loved our visit and got to actually see the penguins this time! One of the things to definitely do when on the Island.

    Meri L.

    Hard to say. I found it to be expensive, $50 per adult. I highly suggest getting discount tickets at the library. You can finish your entire time in about two hours or so with seeing everything. It can also be very crowded with strollers everywhere so it's hard to navigate and look at different exhibits. As soon as you walk in you can pet stringrays and feed them. Just be careful as they do splash water. There's things to see both inside and outside. There's also shows to attended as well as different experiences for an extra cost. Overall, the day was good. I just feel it's a bit overpriced.

    Barred Rabbitfish
    Harris L.

    BLUF: 3.5 out of 5 stars. A good experience, best for pre-teens and younger. Long Island Aquarium (LIA) is a solid regional attraction. While not as impressive as larger aquariums, LIA can still fill an hour or two of one's time, or longer, depending on one's enthusiasm for the exhibits and attractions. Long Island Aquarium offers some personal experiences that some larger world-class aquariums don't. Subject to extra cost and seasonal availability, it is possible to feed stingrays, dive in a shark cage, and get personal photos with penguins, seals, and sea lions. Feeding / petting stingrays -- generally characterized as the ocean's puppy dogs -- is the lowest cost and most accessible of these experiences. The stingray pool is straight in from the aquarium's entrance. Long Island Aquarium also has a number of attached attractions, including a gaming arcade, and a giant play tree set. Most of LIA's displays are compartmentalized short experiences, which makes it easy to go exhibit to exhibit with breaks in-between. The aquarium is pricey, with adult tickets costing $48.99 per person plus tax and credit card fees. Discounted tickets are available for locals at local libraries, and for those staying at the attached hotel. AAA New York offers a minor discount ($2 per ticket, up to 5 tickets) for those unable to take advantage of other discounts. The cost is mostly understandable, as it takes significant resources to maintain healthy and enriched environments for all the lifeforms at the aquarium. Long Island Aquarium has its own parking lots, about two blocks north. LIA does have a cafeteria, but those not visiting as part of a school trip should consider dining elsewhere, as there are several options within walking distance, including some with riverfront seating.

    Sea Lion Presentation
    Tracy D.

    We took my daughter to the Long Island Aquarium when they were having their 25th Anniversary promotion where adult tickets were $25 on the 25th of the month in the summer months (which is pretty much half price). General Admission on a normal day is on the expensive side at $50.99 for adults and $35.99 for kids considering the small size of the aquarium. It had been quite a while since we had been to the aquarium since it opened so many years ago. You can easily find parking on the street in the neighborhood streets. The aquarium was nice with lots of sea animals to see. There are both indoor and outdoor exhibits. My daughter loved looking at the penguins and turtles. There was a short sea lion show, but I remember it being longer in the past or at least I remember them doing more tricks to impress the audience. On the other side of the aquarium there was a butterfly exhibit that was really fun. Lots of butterflies that flew all around and very close to you. It was funny that when we were trying to leave the experience room that there was two blue butterflies that were trying to make a break for it. They have a secondary exit room in case some butterflies attempt to escape and they can easily catch them to bring them back to their habitat. Overall we had fun time and my daughter took home an axolotl puppet home.

    Cafe
    Donathan D.

    We had a great time! We started off with the seal show. It was shorter than I remember but still a great show. Only two seals performed but my daughter loved it. After that we walked around he got to go in the crab pit and put them up. We went in a play area that was an extra $12 but it has slides and stuff a cool thing that was extra. We ate in the cafe chicken fingers fries and a drink was like $20 it was enough to share as I wasn't that hungry. After we seen everything we ended it with a shark feeding show which was mad cool!

    Amanda K.

    We loved coming to the aquarium! You can get a free ticket if you come within 7 days of your birthday so we were able to get one ticket free! Definitely keep that in mind as sometimes ticket prices can be a bit high. We spent several hours here and really enjoyed seeing the different shows/feedings and walking around on our own. I definitely recommend!

    Sting rays
    Maureen C.

    I can't believe in my four decades of life I have never been to this aquarium! My son has been driving me crazy to touch sting rays, I saw the LIA had this feature and as soon as you walked in. So off we went! I got tickets from my local library at a 20% discount, so check your library before going! The aquarium is right on Main Street. There is a parking lot about one block away which is $12 to park all day (cash only). There is a shuttle between the parking lot and the aquarium which literally takes less than a minute, but it is nice that they offer that especially in the winter months. The aquarium was not busy at all on a Saturday morning, we were able to touch the stingrays as soon as we walked in, which made all the difference in the trajectory of our day because that was my son's one thing he wanted to do, and as soon as we walked in they were there. for three dollars you can get little mini fish to feed the stingrays. there was also an interactive turtle feeding that they had fun at. There are a couple of seals outside, which are really fun to watch. The aquarium is really cute themed and was easy to navigate. Outside there was even a treehouse play area whic was really nice for them to go up and burn off a little extra energy. There's a small café, we brought our own lunchbox of food, but we're able to sit in there and enjoy our lunch out of the cold. There is also a really nice butterfly area that was included in the admission, wear bright colors if you want the butterflies to land on you. My son wore an orange sweatshirt and they were literally following him around. There are a couple of gift shops that are also reasonably priced, overall it's a really cute day trip and if you wanted to make a night of it at one of the hotels for swimming or something in the winter, the Hyatt is connected right next-door. We will definitely be back.

    Victoria C.

    10/10 experience for my sons 3rd birthday that we just celebrated this past weekend at the aquarium ! Jacqueline and Mary were super attentive via email prior to the party and when we got there everything was well taken care of, I did not have to think of a thing because it was handled. The food options were straight forward for the buffet and plenty of soft drink options. Our guests had a blast walking around and seeing the different animals/fish. We even had one of the staff come in with two critters for us to touch and educated on us on them. I would definitely recommend this venue for future parties and to friends/family. I think the price was very reasonable for everything that was offered and my 20+ guests stayed an extra hour to explore the aquarium with no additional costs.

    Andres A.

    A really interesting place, it seems small but they have a lot of areas and tanks to explore a diverse array of fish and sea life. Unfortunately, because we visited in January, some of the outdoor amenities were not available to visit (some were open, but it was too cold to see). One of the most interesting part of the aquarium was the butterfly display. They had many unique and beautiful butterflies flying around in a habitat which was conducive to their needs. Highly recommend this place if you are looking for something to do with either adults or kids.

    Antoinette P.

    We visit the aquarium at least 12 times a year & the season passes make it so worth it! We love all of the exhibits especially the butterfly room & it's become such a fun family outing both my kids enjoy

    Andie E.

    This was my first visit to the Long Island Aquarium. I was surprised that it was actually a small-ish aquarium but they definitely make the most of their space. So many different sections to explore! And it never felt overcrowded when we were there. Prices were pretty steep: $45.99/adult weekday. But if your birthday is within 7 days, you get in free! (Must provide proof of bday). Also, if you search, there are weekend discounts. There are many interactive events in this aquarium! You can pet stingrays, feed the Koi, and even get ankle deep in the water with the shoe crabs and crabs. For an additional charge, you can get into a wetsuit, and deep dive in the shark tank (you're in an enclosed cage). So many fun activities and displays! They also have scheduled shows, so plan accordingly. We had someplace to go after the aquarium but if we were free, we could have easily spent the whole day there. Staff was friendly and informative. There is also a little cafeteria there; offering both hot and cold meals. A great aquarium! Highly recommend!

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    1 year ago

    Fun way to spend some time if the weather outside isn't great. Would definitely come back

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    2 years ago

    Amazing place for the family! Not a whole day adventure, but I'd say about 4-5 hours of fun activities!!

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    Came down today with the family to see all the animals amazing place and great place for the kids

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    Page 1 of 9

    Ask the Community - Long Island Aquarium

    Does the aquarium have a cafe?

    Yes. There is an indoor cafe and outdoor seating. They also have an outside snack stand open in the summer

    When does reservations for the shark dive close? Im trying to reserve for Friday but it says no times available? I thought it was 11am friday-sunday?

    Give us a call. We're having some technical issues with our e-commerce. You do need 48 hours to reserve, so please call today. Our reservation team is at 631.208.9200, ext. 426. If you get the VM, leave a message, mention that you do want to… Read more

    I see that shark diving starts at 11am daily but when does it end?

    The program begins at 11, but the end time depends on how many participants there are. Only 2 people can dive at the same time, so if we have 10 people booked, and you go last, you won't be done for quite a while. You are in the shark habitat… Read more

    What hotels are in the area?

    There's a Hyatt attached to the building and the Preston House and Hotel is right across the street!

    How is the food at the aquarium?

    Overall, pretty bad. Bring snacks. It's got the basics, soft drinks, pretzels, French fries and a few other things but they don't taste very good and are on the expensive side.

    Is there a cafeteria where I can purchase food?

    Yeah! But you can also leave and eat somewhere else. There's tons of good places to eat around there.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - Long Island Aquarium

    My husband did the shark dive as part of the celebration of the 145th anniversary of our church.

    Mentioned in 15 reviews

    Read more highlights

    The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

    The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

    3.9(279 reviews)
    41.6 mi

    This was our second visit to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, and we really enjoy coming back…read more It's on the smaller side, but there's still plenty to see and do. For its size, they have a great variety of touch tanks -- from jellyfish to sturgeon to stingrays -- and my son felt brave enough to touch almost everything this time and loved it. I also appreciate that there are hand-washing stations everywhere. We love the jellyfish exhibits, and the shark tank is very cool -- this visit we even got to see a diver inside answering questions. They offer short 4D movies for $8, though it may be better for older kids (my 2-year-old got a little scared). Paid parking is across the street, and overall it's an easy, fun outing for families. We've heard they offer overnight experiences too and might try that next time!

    Norwalk, CT - this is a nice daytrip from NY/NJ. The aquarium is of a manageable size, just two…read morefloors and not too big, with many interesting exhibits, animal encounters, and a kids play area on the upper level. We especially loved the shark demo in front of the dramatic shark tanks where you can watch these majestic creatures glide by, the touch tanks (sting ray and Atlantic sturgeon), and the reservoir near the entrance where a large turtle would playfully swim up and seemingly interact with the humans staring up in awe. It makes quite a first impression! Also very cool is the interactive digital display on the ground floor, where you can paint a sea animal on a computer screen and transfer it to the large screen as a 3D rendering swimming in the Long Island Sound. There's a snack bar right by the entrance which is perfect for a quick break or a pre-game feed as in the case of my child who cried hunger as soon as we stepped in. There's also a proper café upstairs - really nice, with an open and airy layout and exposed red brick, à la an industrial Brooklyn loft. We only ate fries & ice cream (ha!) so I can't tell you how the food is. Parking: there are a couple of options. The Maritime Aquarium parking garage is $2/hour with a maximum of $8 + tax. Or street parking via ParkMobile which costs $4.85 but is limited to 3 hours. The Stepping Stone Children's Museum is very close if you have bandwidth to make a full day of it (we didn't!).

    Photos
    The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk - Jellies

    Jellies

    The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
    The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

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    Mystic Aquarium - King Crab

    Mystic Aquarium

    3.7(671 reviews)
    48.3 mi

    It's always nice to come visit this aquarium. Tickets are about $40 ish for an adult. Depending on…read morewhat days you visit the prices changes. The animals look happy and healthy and I love coming to see Juno. We notice there was some renovation happening is some of the area on this day. They had to move some of the sea lions. It was nice talking to the care takers of the animals. The aquarium can be walk through quickly but people should take their time reading about each animal. I haven't been here awhile but I see they are findings ways to make more money. I see there is arcade now and other activities for kids. I believe those activities an extra cost on top of the tickets.

    We had a great time at Mystic Aquarium! We bought tickets online ahead of time and arrived before…read moreopening. There was already a line to get in, but once the doors opened it moved pretty quickly. The biggest slowdown was the photos being taken right at the entrance. There was so much to see throughout the aquarium. My son especially loved the jellyfish exhibit and the water play area -- he had so much fun there he refused to leave. They also have beluga whales and African penguins, which were fun to see up close and hear facts about from the docents. One of the highlights was definitely the sea lion show. It happens every couple of hours, and we caught it right before leaving which ended up being the perfect way to finish the day. A heads up that a large portion of the aquarium experience is outdoors, so we were very thankful the rain held off during our visit. Overall, a fun family outing with plenty to explore!

    Photos
    Mystic Aquarium - King and Heir. Sculptor Kent Ullberg 9-6-1997 In memory of Roger Tory Peterson, Artist and Naturalist

    King and Heir. Sculptor Kent Ullberg 9-6-1997 In memory of Roger Tory Peterson, Artist and Naturalist

    Mystic Aquarium
    Mystic Aquarium

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    Long Island Aquarium - aquariums - Updated June 2026

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