An aquarium is a fantastic outing for all ages, and since most are indoors, the weather doesn’t usually matter. Their vibrant displays captivate even the youngest visitors, who are mesmerized by the colours and movement of the marine life. Spotting different creatures is exciting, and aquariums also offer a fun, educational experience.
My daughter, Amber, was eager to visit Bristol aquarium, and since we hadn’t been in a while, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a fun and educational day. As she’s home-educated, I wanted to make the most of the experience. While checking their website, I discovered they offer home education days with special talks, but you can also simply purchase a home-ed ticket during term time on weekdays which costs £8.50.
The aquarium is located right in the city centre, so if you’re driving, you’ll need to use one of the nearby car parks of which there are plenty. Be aware though that Bristol has a clean air zone so you may be charged to enter it. However, there are a number of park and rides across the city you can use to avoid this.
Your ticket is valid all day and you can leave and return to the aquarium anytime throughout the day. The aquarium open at 10am and we arrived about 11. There was a small queue but soon after entering people dispersed as you’re free to walk around at your own pace. After looking around we went out to grab some food and look around the shops. Later in the day when we returned, it became much quieter.
At the entrance, there’s a board displaying feeding and talk times for those interested in learning more about specific creatures. These details are also available on the aquarium’s website.
Accessibility is good, with no steps, making it easy for wheelchair users and buggies. Most displays are positioned at floor level or low enough for everyone to see comfortably.
The aquarium hosts school trips (one was taking place during our visit), birthday parties, and home education days. They also run special events throughout the year, as well as extra activities during school holidays. In addition, they offer “calm days” with a quieter environment for visitors who prefer a more relaxed experience.
There’s a small café serving drinks, snacks, toasted sandwiches, and pizza, but plenty of other food options are available nearby. At the back of the shop, there are picnic tables for those who bring their own food. Facilities include toilets, baby changing areas, and a gift shop, all of which are accessible without a ticket. Near the entrance, there’s also a VR experience where, for an additional £7, you can “swim” with manta rays or whales.
The aquarium uses the former Wildwalk attraction and they have kept some of the plants that were here. It gives the building a natural feel and there is lots of information about the plants featured. There are also a few model dinosaurs which give information about their role in evolution. The attraction is split into 7 areas:
Sunken shipwreck
This first part of is quite dark and features a huge tank mimicking a sunken shipwreck in European oceans. You can view this tank from different angles and there are seats for viewing. There are also a number of smaller tanks so you can look at creatures from this sort of habitat close up. We particularly liked the European lobster
Bay of rays
This area is surrounded by plants and is much lighter. There’s a large open tank with clear side so everyone, even very young children can easily see what’s going on from above and below the water. We liked to see the rays swim along the glass. As you follow the boardwalk up and around the tank so you can view it from different angles as you walk up to the next part.
Ocean floor
In the centre of this room you can look down into the sunken shipwreck. There are lots of tanks and things to see around this centre piece including edible crabs and an octopus although it is very elusive and we never saw it!
Learning lab
This is a more hand on area. There are lots displays with things you might find around the coast and a tank with rockpool creatures in. This is also where the seahorse nursery is and there is a green screen photo opportunity if you wish to buy one.
Edge of the rainforest
This area is quite dark and there are straw roofs above the tanks with twinkling lights as if in the amazon at dusk. There were some interesting animals here including piranhas, axolotls and poison dart frogs. In the centre you can look into the biggest tank with more tropical creatures which you’ll see more clearly later in the coral seas area.
Amazing amazon
This is another room in part of the old botanical gardens. Its warmer again and full of natural light – a jungle in an urban jungle as you can hear the sounds of the city outside. This time you walk down the boardwalk overlooking a tank full of turtles.
Coral seas
This is a darker area but has some spectacular colours and familiar creatures in smaller tanks, such as clown fish and puffer fish. There are large windows which allows you to see in the huge main tank which has rays, sharks and eels in. There’s a tunnel to walk though so you can view the creatures above you. It was quite quiet on the day we visited and there was plenty of space to stand and watch but it probably gets on weekends. The final section features a huge viewing window with seating, offering a chance to relax and watch the tropical marine life. We were particularly impressed by the giant grouper, which was enormous and moved much more slowly compared to the rays and eels.
Our verdict
We really enjoyed our visit to the aquarium. It was a calm, clean space with bright colors and plenty of fascinating things to see. It took us about an hour to walk through, but if you wanted to read more, attend talks, or take your time, you could easily spend longer there. I also liked that you can leave and return throughout the day, which is great if it gets busy or you want to revisit certain exhibits. My daughter enjoyed taking photos, which are allowed, though visitors are asked to turn off the flash.
Since it’s a relatively small aquarium compared to some others, and the visit doesn’t take a full day, the general admission price felt a little high. However, we still found it worthwhile, and considering the costs of maintaining an aquarium, the pricing makes sense. If you’re in the city, it’s definitely worth a visit, especially as there’s no longer an aquarium section at the zoo. Below are the main good and bad points for a day at Bristol aquarium:
Good points
Enjoyable experience
Accessible for all (buggy/wheelchair-friendly, school trips, home education)
Well-designed displays
Good variety of animals and exhibits
Informative talks and learning opportunities
Easy to get to
Bad points
Not a full-day activity
A bit expensive for the time spent inside
Smaller than some other aquariums
For more information about Bristol aquarium, including tickets and how to get there visit www.bristolaquarium.co.uk
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