The Miami Seaquarium has and will always have a very special place my in my heart. Opened in 1955 I have such fond memories coming here as a child. Now with a family of my own, my children have been coming here for decades. Miami Seaquarium is located on beautiful Virginia Key and spans across 38 acres. The highlight of our visits have always been the Dolphin and Sea Lion shows. The Marine Life Encounters always very nice too. I do love learning about marine conservation and how we all can help the animals. Thru the years Miami Seaquarium added events to the calendar , like Summer Camp for the kids. I always wanted my kids to come here for Summer Camp, but we live in Broward so the distance was to great. However we looked forward to Bunny Palooza at Easter Time each year along with other special events throughout the year. While I understand the Miami Seaquarium has faced financial challenges along with some pretty severe allegations, I do pray for a solution for help. The Miami Seaquarium has served generations of students on school field trips, offering a rare chance for hands-on learning about marine biology, ecosystems, and conservation. "For many local kids, this is their only chance to see marine life up close." I Pray for Help to bring this long time Marine Park and Oceanarium back to it's glory. I pray for Help that measures may always be put in place for the health, safety and well being of all the animals. I Pray for the Miami Seaquarium. read more

See all

When we were there a few years back we saw how poorly it was handled compared to the price. We saw a lot of sea animals sad and just pretty much all over the place. I did not like how everything was so expensive so if it is really closed I would not be surprised.. read more

See all

Swim with Dolphins Miami Seaquarium Dolphin Encounter I have always loved dolphins since I was a little girl. I have seen them swimming in seaquariums and in the ocean while on boats. I have always wanted to swim with them. I had a dream come true during my last visit to Florida thanks to the Dolphin Encounter at Miami Seaquarium. Can you tell by my expression how excited I was?! When you arrive they give you a towel and a wetsuit. There are lockers you can store your belongings in while you enjoy your encounter. You sit down and watch a movie that talks about what you should and should not do and also about oceanic conservation. They then split us up into smaller groups and assigned one trainer and one dolphin to each group. Meet my new friend, Ripley. Our trainer was so knowledgable and just really good with all of us. And Ripley was the best! It's an experience I'll never forget. The Dolphin Encounter is a part of the Miami Seaquarium. You should totally give yourself time before or after (or both) to check out their shows and exhibits. I had such a great day! read more

See all

We went here for my sons 7th birthday. He has non verbal autism and he loves animals and being non verbal he can't tell me what he likes but he was happy stimming and clapping and smiling the ENTIRE time. The Dolphin experience is $179 for adults and for children $139.00 this includes posing with the dolphins, petting, learning some commands and tricks to do with the animal, as well as lots of pets and splashes. The facility provides wet suits and there are actually clean showers and bathrooms for you to change and getting ready in. The trainers are all so nice! They helped me show my son soft touch on the dolphin and were so understanding and sweet. My favorite was feeding the dolphins the jello. Our dolphins name was Caymen and talk about a beautiful and smiling creature. The facility is old but it has so much potential and you can see the staff here have a love for the animals. We also pet some nurse sharks, got to watch the seal show, flipper show. We spent a day here and felt like we needed more but until next time! read more

See all

I would not recommend visiting this aquarium- it seems to be in serious disrepair. Most of the exhibits were empty. I've also never been to an aquarium where none of the tanks had a accurate listing of what fish were being conserved in the tank. Many of the indoor exhibits were empty or filled with alage. If you're looking for a park with a playground and alot of concessions I guess this might be a good choice but I saw more aquatic species by just taking a walk in the nearby park and looking into the water. There's plenty of food options, parking, and a gift shop- but the fish are missing. read more

See all

The Seaquarium was a lot of fun for my toddler, however the exhibits could use some updating. Things felt like they would have looked exactly the same as they did in the 90s. I was also disappointed with the mermaid/man show. This was billed as a show, whereas it was really just someone with a mermaid tail blowing bubbles and making hearts underwater while others looked on. There was an immense line to enter for this show and it was squarely placed in the sun. The whole facility could use more shaded space. But having stood in the sun for a significant amount of time, we were extra disappointed by the show. The dolphin and sea lion shows were a lot of fun though and my toddler had a blast watching them. She also really enjoyed the flamingos. read more

It's weird cause the place looks abandoned but a lot of people go. I guess they mostly go for the children but it's not an actual good place it's kinda sad. read more

Miami Seaquarium - Dolphin statue - Aquariums Near Me - Miami, Florida

The animals appear depressed and neglected. The grounds and tanks are very dirty and unmaintained. The staff weren't engaging or friendly and appeared unhappy to be working. There is no air conditioning and no seating for the dolphin show. No wonder protestors were outside. A lot of the attractions are closed as well but you still have to pay full price + $20 for parking. I didn't see any penguins or manatees. Fish were in the wrong tanks. Never been here before but it's clearly falling apart. I will honestly say I will never be coming back and do not recommend at all. This was so sad to witness. I left feeling so bad for the animals. :( Absolutely horrible. read more

I didn't hate it, but didn't love it. It's too bad they don't have the whales anymore. Honestly that experience would have earned another star. I was able to get a discount through Groupon that was easy to redeem when I got there. I didn't think I'd have to pay for parking but I did, so that $20 basically wiped out the discount. The dolphin and seal shows were fun. A lot of people spent $5 to feed the sting rays but I didn't really see the rays eating the food. The best part in my opinion was watching all the fish get fed by the diver. There are a couple food options that are priced as you'd expect. There's a playground area if your kids get bored but not a lot of spots for shade in that area. The staff was polite. We didn't use the bathrooms. The gift shop looked pretty empty. Also, we were harassed outside the entrance by a older couple that were lying to people that there was free parking down the street (just to make it inconvenient for people wanting to go). Then they yelled through megaphones about how horrible we are for going there. That was really annoying but I guess the staff can't do anything about it. read more

See all

Visiting Miami Seaquarium was a nice experience. They had most things a regular aquarium would. My reason for visiting was to see the Flipper show, (not really, but it was still a plus), and i actually got selected to dance with the dolphins, which was fire! So much fun! It is a nice place to walk around and see what there is to see, and there is some food shacks around as well. It was overall quite a fun time! read more

See all

Over priced, felt like a ghost town, most tanks are worn down and abandoned and all the main attractions were closed off. A single churro (dry & stale) was $4 lol My son was so let down after leaving the park. read more

I really wish I'd thought to look at the reviews before spending over 100$ to get in and 20$ more to park (what a racket). most of the tanks were empty. the "main attraction" I guess was the dolphins, and that was closed off: you couldn't access it. save your money!! read more

My family visited here 5/25/25 and what a disappointing experience. We are originally from Miami and used to come here all the time and have a lot of fun. We hadn't been here in years and must say, that we couldn't believe this place was still open. Most of the exhibits are empty; those that do have mammals, they look starved or sickly. We saw fish that looked as if they were dying, baby sharks in the bottom of the tank not moving, penguins that were in a warm exhibit, no ice or snow and there were maybe six total. There weren't any manatees and a handful of dolphins The park was mostly empty and hardly any employees. Most of the food spots were closed; mind you, this was not even 1 in the afternoon! To make matters worse, as we were leaving, not even an hour later, because it was so bad, there were people outside with signs and bull horns letting people know how bad the conditions were, about animals dying and how they were starving. Had we known about any of that, we never would have known. I would seriously take a second look before going here. Had we known the conditions were this bad and animals were treated so badly we never would have come. This is NOT a good environment for any living creature. read more

We visited (young adult couple- no kids) during a recent trip to Miami. Tip #1) buy tickets ahead of time on Groupon to save $20 per adult ticket. Tip #2) follow event schedule given at ticket check in--super cool including up close and personal with penguins and dolphin show. Tip #3) go early! We almost had the park to ourselves at open time. We enjoyed ourselves. Some of exhibits are closed or had only a few animals. Would be good for kids! I do not think it is worth the full price of tickets, however more worth it for the Groupon price :) read more

Man, how things have changed here. I'd like to say this before I continue any further. My rating is for the park and it's ownership only. The staff that I saw there are all 5's. For those individuals to show up every day and work in such a sad looking environment with what I can really see as true love in their eyes and genuine smiles on their faces is amazing, Bravo!! Now to the meat and potatoes. You pay $50 to see a bunch of flamingos 3 dolphins and a couple sea lions and seals. The place is in serious disrepair and looks surprisingly like it should have been the west for the first zombieland. I can see how things are kept clean here and that's all thanks to the staff. But the organization as a whole are definitely letting things go to ruin. Broken attractions, sooo many empty aquariums, playground access blocked. I grew up down here and would go there often during the 70's 80's and even 90's. If I was a tourist visiting and spent my hard earned money expecting to be entertained I would be seriously disappointed. If you go there, it should be with the intention of supporting the efforts of the staff to care for the animals. Your not going to get a wow out of the place. read more

See all

Only two shows (flipper dolphin & sea lion) left, nothing like they used to be, the trainers don't even swim with the dolphins. Obviously no Lolita the whale but even top deck dolphin show is closed. Employees look pitiful, everything is dirty, rusty and sad. Do not give them your hard earned dollars!! read more

The website and the actual facility don't match. This is kind of like a conservatory as they house injured animals from the wild. The buildings are lackluster at best, but the shows and enthusiasm of the staff made up for that. I can't say that it's worth the 49.99 price tag, but for conservation purposes, why not. It's best to get a city pass so you get your bang for your buck. The aquariums are not pictured because there were only a handful of aquatic life in the tanks. The building reeked of mildew as well, but again repairs are needed. read more

See all

I am so sad that I went to this place! I should had made my research before taking my daughter here! This place should not exist, the way they have this poor animals is so heartbreaking, I have never seen something like this, I hope something gets done and this place gets shutdown, it should not be operating in this conditions, it was filthy dirty and no animals should be in this conditions. They should be ashamed of themselves. read more

One of my FAVORITE places in Miami! Every time I visit, I buy the annual pass so I end up going for four days out of my week- $95 for the year, or $23 per day! Absolutely worth it!! When you walk in you can see so many beautiful flamingos then walk into the Dolphin cove. You will be given a schedule for the Seal and Seal Lion, Dolphin Flipper show and Above Deck Dolphin show. All of them are a must see experience. All of the animals are rescued and well taken cared for. Every show has an educator or trainer which makes the experience worth while! The dolphins are SO energetic, curious and happy- they wil come right up to you! Denise and Sunny are so sweet! The seals and sealions are incredibly talented, silly and fun too! Budd is HUGE and also very cute! At every show you will also have an opportunity to take pictures with them- also totally worth $20! The turtles are in Discovery Bay with the sting rays and sharks. Miami Seaquarium has rescued hundreds of Manatees in Florida and you get to see them too! You can also visit the touch tanks of the Sting rays, nurse sharks and see the colorful parrots too! They also have adorable penguins. The best part about this park is the educational, hands on programs such as the Seal swim, Royal Swim with two dolphins, swimming with one dolphin, interacting with penguins, diving with fish underwater, etc. these programs range from $60-260 and are worth it! You can spend more at SeaWorld but Miami Seaquarium offers Seal Swim! I had the opportunity to swim and interact with the seals and take pictures. The trainer, Bianca was amazing and made our experience incredible! I never knew seals were so sweet and playful- Coco is adorable. I am also incredibly grateful to also celebrate my 30th Birthday doing the Royal Swim swimming with two dolphins. I swam with Onyx a very silly and playful dolphin! The trainers were informative, enthusiastic and engaging. We took fun pictures, fed them fish and rode both dolphins at the same time and then swam on their bellies too! What an experience of a lifetime!! Special thanks to the incredible staff and trainers who are incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Bianca, Alex, Veronica, Ariel all love the beautiful animals and it shows. Alex really engages the crowds and claps so loud it's always a party! Bianca and Veronica are both very helpful with navigating around the park and know the personalities of the seals and dolphins. Anika and the front desk staff are also very helpful. Everyone here from the staff to trainers are friendly and welcoming. Pre-covid they had the Lolita Killer Whale show and that was incredible, but she is currently retired at 75 years old. She is amazing and hope she is spending time relaxing with her trainers. She is safe and her tank is currently being renovated. If you ever have the chance to stop by after visiting Viscaya Gardens, Wynwood Walls, Versace Mansion, Mangoes, Little Havana, South Beach and if you LOVE animals, Miami Seaquarium and the Zoo should be your next adventure!! Miami Seaquarium has a special place in my heart and I hope you get to experience seeing and meeting dolphins and the many beautiful, rescued animals here! read more

I took my family there for my son's birthday this past weekend and had no idea how abandoned this place is, the facility and the poor animals were not in a great environment. It was sad and huge improvements need to be done or just close the Seaquarium down and not have guests pay and move the animals to a better environment. read more

Save your money! Only a few exhibits were open and the rest were closed for maintenance including sea lion and manatee. Very expensive and I was in for less than an hour. read more

Miami Seaquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Miami, Florida

See all

Overall, the experience was OK, for someone who's not essentially a environmental conservationist. I had serious concerns about the cleanness of the fish tanks and other habitats that support animal life. Everything was really dirty, the fish tanks, animal enclosures, water tanks all were unfit for animal life. The dolphin show and the sea lion show were really cool, but again the concern around the animals overwhelmed my heart with concern and sadness for the well-being of the animals. There wasn't one single clean animal or fish tank enclosure. Literally every tank was full of poop and overgrown algae. read more

Not a lot of animals or things to do, and looks quite outdated. The shows are enjoyable, and it was a decent way to spend an hour, but I expected something a bit more. read more

Me and my family went to this aquarium to go swim with dolphins and I have to say it was a total ripoff. If I could give this place zero stars, I would. This was hands down the worst "experience" I've ever paid for, and at $150 per person, it's nothing short of a scam. We went expecting a fun experience to swim with dolphins, but what we got was 20 minutes of standing in shallow, dirty, poop-infested water. The interaction with the dolphins lasted maybe two seconds--you just get to wave your hands and touch them very shortly. That's it. The rest of the time was spent standing around while the staff focused entirely on taking pictures that they charge you extra to get. Seriously, the entire thing felt like a money grab. On top of that, the staff were incredibly rude and dismissive, which made the whole experience even worse. And to add, adults who weren't even participating had to pay an extra fee just to come in and watch us do absolutely nothing. This experience was entirely underwhelming and a completely different experience than what is marketed and expected. we didn't swim at all nor ride the dolphins. they claim that they train the dolphins so hard to interact with us while there tricks are not even that cool and the dolphins don't even want to be there. This aquarium is a complete joke, and their "dolphin experience" is nothing more than a boring, overpriced tourist trap. Save your money and your time--find a better place to enjoy marine life because this one is a total ripoff. read more

If I could give 0 stars I would! This place tortures animals by keeping them in quarters smaller than a Coral Gables studio. Right before they killed Lola, with their negligent care and not releasing her into the wild as they said they would, I visited with two of my friend's daughters. They were horrified by the treatment of the manatees, and even questioned an employee on the size of their tank being inappropriate for these animals. The employees have obviously been trained to deflect and ignore all protests to the animals treatment, and told us that it was more than large enough for the manatees despite the fact that the tank would barely fit three of them end to end. Please release these animals and stop trying to profit off of their pain! read more

See all

Come on.. you can do better than this Miami! Abandoned, outdated and not what most would expect, especially in Miami. $20 for parking. $47.45 for adult entry when buying the ticket online. Most of the exhibits are either closed or nothing is in them.. no manatees, nursing sharks, lots of empty tanks.. and no, the aquarium does not tell you this on their website or prior to entering. It's not fair to customers paying the price to go here. The most exciting part about this place was the 15 minute dolphin show. I hope this place makes a come back in the future! read more

Went here the other day. Not worth the price. There were very few sea animals. Only a few tanks of fish and the giant dolphin tank had 1 dolphin. Manatee section was closed. We saw half of the sea lion show which was kind of fun. After that went to the Flipper dolphin show which was awful. Less than 15 minutes long and they didn't even really do anything. After the show, tried to go to dolphin harbor but it was closed already at 4:20 when the place closes at 5. This place is not even worth $20, forget about the $35 that I spent per person. Now there also say they have the ability to swim with dolphins and seals. I did not do this so maybe this would be worth it but I cannot speak to that. Otherwise avoid this place. Frost aquarium is so much better. read more

This is the saddest place ive been to. I had heard mixed reviews and wanted to find out myself.. it was a cloudy day, after buying tickets we were told if it rains shows go on / park operates as usual and the tickets are no refundable so we proceeded to go into the park. Greeted by teenage employees on their phones. We grabbed a snack before the first show and all that we were able to find were mediocre high priced hot dogs and pretzel. The tanks are filthy and it smelled like dead fish. The sea lion show we went to continued to be postponed for 40 minutes before they decided to cancel, and the second show the top deck dolphin show we went to was also continuously postponed until it was cancelled, we didn't get to see any of the shows and decided to leave. We saw flamingos when we arrived, three dolphins, three sharks, and a couple sting ray. The turtle habitat had no turtle, everything was so... sad. I was really curious on Lolita the whale and her captivity space and i was so upset.. it's completely rubbed down and blocked off. She gets no attention from any guest and it's very sad you don't even see her on the parks map anymore it's like she's not even there.. This place has so much potential but it has really failed me. You can tell everyone there was wandering around wondering what else they can do as everything was closed/ run down. It truly felt abandoned, and the sound the crows made as they were flying around didn't help. A little paint, high energy educated staff to give the guests a good experience and music throughout the park can go a long way. read more

First visit to the seaquarium. After visiting firsthand I now understand why there are numerous poor reviews. First, if you arrive before opening you may not have to pay for parking as the attendant did not arrive until after 10am. So that was a plus. On the flip side the young lady at the ticket counter appeared as though she did not want to be there. Thanks for the complimentary pass for military veterans. As for the sequarium itself. Relatively smaller that I expected. Took about 1.5 hrs to see just about everything. Facilities are not well maintained. Very dirty restrooms for the park just opening. A few exhibits are under construction. So no killer whale and a few others. But, the dolphin show was totally cool. I got splashed by them 3 times or more. Very good host, hosting the show and cool 80's rock added a neat vide. Overall ok. Not sure I'd come back. But I'm glad I've come here at least once. read more

I must start off by saying this place is extremely old and dated. The shows are your average aquarium demonstrations. The unique thing about the place is it has many species other aquariums don't have. If your into movies and TV google flipper cause this place is the filming location. read more

If I could give this ZERO stars I would. What a miserable experience especially for $50 per adult. I DO NOT recommend this park. It's mostly outside (very hot), the animals are confined to the smallest places, the food is over priced, and the animals look unwell. We saw a bird with a fish hook through its leg, alerted staff, and they did anything about it? Aren't they there to help animals? On our way out I noticed the jellyfish tank was leaking! I alerted staff they never came so I told someone else and they just took their time walking over to look at it while water was pouring out everywhere. This park is a prime example of the documentary black fish. This place should be closed down. I don't think any of the staff is qualified to even work there. Looked like a bunch of young clueless people. read more

See all

Miami Seaquarium is a must for any child growing up in South Florida. My friends parents would pile all of us in the car and we would head there during school vacations in the Summer. I took my daughter and went a lot with groups of children. The shows are great to watch. I'm especially fond of the Dolphins. Most of you know what you will see in a underwater park. There's no shortage of marine life here. I am still a big kid so I visit whenever I'm in South Florida. This place is very well kept, clean and has plenty of amenities for visitors. I'm recommending you visit if you are nearby. It's the best Marine Park in the State of Florida in my opinion. Bring your wallet with cash and credit cards. read more

Definitely needs an update. Half the attractions are closed. It's kind of a tourist trap. WAY OVERPRICED, $78 for two adults, not worth it. read more

I really wanted to go to this place after I saw a picture of someone on social media with the Penguins so I called in to see what was the price on that so per person it was $120 that includes the ticket to the park so we drove out there because they told us it started at 1:30 the only time you could touch them and interact with them we got there at 1:20 we paid parking $10 when we get to the front they tell us there is no more ticket for today with the penguins but the lady on the phone didn't tell me that I was so upset so we were there for 1min and couldn't get a refund back on our parking $10 for free . Gave this place another try and it was the worse thing I did the fish tanks were empty with nothing inside all the food stands were closed just one was open and the restaurant inside with one cashier working in both so you had to wait in line for more then 10 mins if there was a show on you will miss it because every show is no longer then 20 mins They never explain to you anything you purchase the picture they take are the worse bad ink and painter the picture cost $25 so it was me and my partner they told us we will have to purchase both picture packages for the penguins if not we will not be able to see the other half of the picture they never tell you this plus you can't take your phone inside with the penguins so they could make money off of you soo sad the worse place ever read more

Miami Seaquarium - Outside - Aquariums Near Me - Miami, Florida

The website does not match the actual location of the seaquarium. This place can be so much better if the owners put some effort into restoring and cleaning up the facility. We got there right when they opened and the bathrooms looked like they haven't been cleaned all weekend. The tanks were dirty and rusted out and the animals looked depressed. Half the exhibits weren't even open like the children's playground. They only had one restaurant open and that was pizza. Save your time and money. This place is run down and very expensive. Just don't go. read more

It's an okay aquarium; will run you $50/$40pp for you and your kids. The open space is nice, very little that's indoors, so make sure you go on a nice sunny day. My kid loved the areas where you can touch the stingrays and zebra sharks. They charged us for an extra ticket which I didn't catch till I checked my credit card statement; the ladies at the cash register was able to credit me back without much trouble. Went on a Monday, pretty empty with most of the snack stands closed. read more

Great place to visit! If your looking for some place to take the family this it! They have many different shows, you can swim with the dolphins or sea otters, different aquariums throughout for you to see the animals, gift shop and plenty of food options. You have to pay to park. Get here early so you can do everything. read more

Miami Seaquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Miami, Florida

The tanks are FILTHY and the conditions these poor animals are in is terrible. These poor SOCIAL animals are way too isolated, and these animals and their exhibits are not being taken care of. I would leave 0 stars if it were possible, this place should be shut down. read more

Not worth the exorbitant price. $50 per person. Place is dilapidated. Go online to get better pricing at least 24 hours advance. If not for the dolphin, orca, and sea lion shows I would give one star. read more

See all

Terrible experience with awful cleanliness and poor management. Would never advise anyone to come here and will tell everyone I can to stay away from this place. read more