Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, FL

Garage attendant man flung around the corner with a sandwich in his mouth, arms in air "What are you doing?" {sign said see attendant for parking] then Ms. Roach started yelling at us too. Paid the $80+ to see Manatees and they had NONE! This should have been on the website. Large dolphin window leaked, other fish glass so old/obscured hard to see. Dreadful time here.

1) This was very expensive.. nearly $200 for my family to go. 2) It was extremely crowded. I had to lift my daughter on my shoulders & she could barely see. They let WAY too many people in for it to be a comfortable experience. I was feeling claustrophobic. 3) The tanks were small & dirty. At one point there were 5 dolphins in a small circular tank. The bottom of the tanks had peeled paint. The glass was dirty & difficult to see in the fish tanks. There were 3 sister seals in a small enclosure that the staff told us was temporary. Honestly, it just felt sad. The photos on the walls had more stimulation than the tanks for the animals. I would not go back. I would not recommend it.

If it is a cold or rainy day and you can afford the money it is an ok place to spend an hour or two. If you have been to big city aquariums, be prepared, comparatively this is expensive and very small. Their mission of education, rescue and rehabilitation are worthy causes and one our kids should be exposed to.

Disappointing and overpriced for what it is - a dark, dated, rather run down, maze like facility. We’re all for supporting animal rescue operations, but this place needs new management or something. There are no paper maps. You can hardly hear their animal presentations. Parking is $15, senior admission $40, and lunch $15 (without a drink). $70 to wander around dark hallways & around tanks. They try to sell you extra things like a behind the scenes tour and a boat ride. It’s not a place for the handicapped or if you have trouble walking; lots of long hallways & stairs. And not a place for kids under 8 years old because they’ll see very little and be bored. There are 4 floors but really nothing to see except on 1st floor, where animals are. Other floors have maybe one thing of brief interest. The movie theater had interesting 1/2 hour films, but strangely bright lights near the screen, which was a distraction. Would be a shame for families to waste their limited funds on this less than stellar facility. Recommend going to Tampa or Sarasota aquariums.

After reading the reviews, we were happy with our visit. We were there for a couple of hours with a 4 year old and enjoyed our time. It is more outdoors than we expected, so be prepared for that. It is hard to see in the aquariums, but we were still able to see a lot. We also got to pet sting rays. Recommend this as long as you know it is not a "sea world" type of venue.