When you arrive at Aquarium of the Bay, located on San Francisco’s bustling Embarcadero (also home to other attractions like Fisherman’s Wharf, the Pier 39 sea lions, Boudin Bakery and the ferries to Alcatraz Island), head inside with your general admission ticket and begin your self-guided exploration of the aquarium. Your admission allows you to visit the aquarium’s main exhibit areas. With a focus on the marine life of San Francisco Bay and its surrounding bodies of water, the Aquarium of the Bay is home to 20,000-plus animals that live in 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) of carefully maintained bay water. Stay at the aquarium as long as you like to learn about sea creatures like jellyfish, octopus, and sharks. Discover the Bay exhibit: See orange garibaldi, green moray eels, colorful rockfish, and other wildlife native to the San Francisco Bay. Learn about how anchovies stick together and avoid predators, and find out how the bay acts as a breeding ground for perch and many other fish. Under the Bay exhibit: Walk through a 300-foot (90-meter) tunnel system of clear glass for a look at the fascinating fish and other sea life in the bay and nearby Pacific waters. See mesmerizing jellyfish, a giant Pacific octopus, graceful rays, sturgeon, and multiple local shark species like sevengill sharks, leopard sharks, soupfin sharks, and spiny dogfish.
Absolutely not worth the money one floor was the tunnel and the second floor was some touch exhibits and some other displays . Took us 45 min and that was stretching it. Sad that for the 5 of us. That it cost us $150 and it was sooooo small
We were disappointed. The aquarium is somewhat limited in it exhibits and the day we were there several were closed off. In addition, we found it challenging to navigate, we are still not sure we saw all the exhibits. One good thing, amazing displays of jellyfish which were fascinating. Last, if you have younger children they would probably enjoy the tour.
Interesting! There were a few volunteers who when asked had facts about the exhibits. I liked the touching ability of some of the animals. The fish tunnel was fun too! They need new "entrance" markers...they were so faded that we walked all around the aquarium looking for the entrance! We went back to the ticket booth to ask where it was!
More inclusive for a date I Anna bring a girl here to celebrate and I wanted to order flower otherwise great
I live in Arizona my sister lives in Salinas I thought this was the Monterrey aquarium so when we went they said this was in San Francisco not for Monterrey i honestly had no idea Is there away for me to get my money back
The aquarium was great!! The kids had so much fun & they really enjoyed being able to touch the manta rays.
We had a complimentary pass with our BigBus two day ticket so we went along but it was not a good experience, lots of the fish were pale and just sitting on the bottom of the tank or on the shelf by the glass, so clearly they are not being well looked after. It was all very sad to see.
It was GREAT till the kids came for a field trip and Serenity no more! Lol The tunnels are amazing. Could spend all day just in the tunnels.
Clean, organized, laid out well, lots to see, multiple floors, family loved it. Good experience. Otters, sting ray touch pond, starfish, jelly fish, sharks, etc.
I was so disappointed I took my granddaughter to the aquarium in San Francisco what a waste of money it's only one room the bathrooms are bigger than the room it was sad I had been to the aquarium in Monterey and I thought it would be something more like that I'm just warning people don't waste your money
Visited here on a holiday, first mistake....long lines. Could not use the stairs so everyone had to wait for an elevator to go to the first floor & then back up again. Without the lines you could have seen the entire place in 30 minutes, not worth the almost $30 admission.
It’s definitely small and not truly worth admission price . Not easy to navigate as you are only to access exhibits via elevator which means more waiting than enjoying the experience
No matter how many times I’ve been here, the experience is always like the first. This time we went on 01/27/26, and they were in the tanks, cleaning. The divers waved at us, and showed how they clean the tanks and feed the sharks. The jelly fish exhibit, is my absolute favorite. I can spend hours there. And the staff are so amazing. They have wheelchairs available and you can bring a can/walker. If you’re checking this place out, and have kids, or just love ocean life, this is the place for you!
It was really nice! Small but really nice! It was a little pricey for the amount of time you got to be there, but it was beautiful
My dad was a good tourist and professor ...marine science since 1990s old traditions fun ..turtles otters ..small aquarium at the wharf pier
Explains a lot about the San Francisco Bay 3 year old enjoyed it 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Really great aquarium that doesn’t take too long for a child’s attention span. The only downside was the elevator wasn’t working at the front entrance
Loved the jellyfish and tunnels of fish and sharks. Really fun and interactive. Enjoyed our time so much
My kids, myself and my mother were super excited to see lots of otters and bigger/more sharks, but there was very few. We also thought it was a lot bigger but this aquarium is pretty small. We loved all the creatures but really were hoping for more of them. The tunnels were cool! It says it takes 3-4 hrs to complete but we were only there for 1 1/2 and that includes the gift shop as well. This was my very first time at an Aquarium. I do love that it's on the pier with all the shops/ restaurants
Wry small and not worth the money. Otters were the cutest thing there. Suggestion —go to California science museum in Golden Gate Park -fabulous aquarium among lots of other exhibits!! Way more bang for your buck!!!
My husband loves aquariums and was really looking forward to this one. It was a little bit disappointing. The fish and animals we saw were nice, but the place was very small and unremarkable. We did like the employees with demos, answering questions, etc.
Parking close to the aquarium can be very expensive, but walking around the warf was convenient and a great experience.
Sadly this was a waste of time and money. It is not run very well. Small aquarium and just a few animals and sea life to see. People are left waiting for an elevator ride and we wait like cattle to get through the small tunnels. It’s pretty dated.
Was a great trip. My kids had a blast got to do way more stuff then we even planned. The only thing that sucked is that the dog covered the golden gate bridge
I really liked the docents. So friendly and helpful…all of them. The young man with the shells even shared his stool so I did not need to hold my toddler to the counter. The exhibit was nice too!
Great fun and educational! The adults enjoyed it too! Would go back! The kids loved the sharks Highly recommend
Not very friendly for the mobility challenged. Discovered elevator stays out of order. Not physically challenged friendly. Had speak with management to get assistance. They did end up assisting so our entire family could attend. Would not recommend for those who tire easily or have mobility issues because of elevator issues and limited wheelchairs
It was indeed a very good experience. The sharks were small but they are very beautiful to see as they will swim close to you and over you
I booked this for the wrong Aquarium, I arrived at Monterey Bay Aquarium with my family and told I had the wrong tickets. Is there anything you can do for my next trip, can I still use this purchase for the correct trip?
This place is very nice and we enjoyed our visit. The tunnel is cool. My only disappointment was that it’s very small - only two floors - so it’s a quick tour.
Nice place, great to see the sea life. But I thought it would be bigger. It didn’t take long to walk around.
Excellent aquarium clean and very nice exhibits would definitely recommend loved the otter experience the best
Bought tickets online right before went into aquarium. Went in and tickets were free for moms. It was 4 of us. My daughter was a first time mom we were with our husbands Ask for refund for us two and front desk said no manager will not allow. Moms all around excited how nice it was for them to get in free but couldn't give us a refund. Very disappointing.
It was boring and did not have anything exciting to see.. I was expecting to see more fish. It was very basic
I paid for this twice. I had gotten tickets Saturday, got sick, and then when we went back I had to pay again. I paid o A ridiculous amount of money and will never go back
We Didnt get to go. They shut early. We are very disappointed we didn't get to go since it was for my birthday
Very fun for kids. Staff very friendly. I purchased tickets online. Attendant not able to scan or receive email of tickets so I ended up spending an extra $50 as it was taking way too long to process the tickets I purchased previously. Hummm
A well laid out and easy to navigate aquarium, with plenty of sea creatures and fantastic tunnel under the sea. Easy to find jelly fish, lobsters, sardines, small sharks and rays, and even a small exhibition of mammals and other creatures local to the San Francisco bay area.
It would have been great but they wouldn't except our tickets. They said they don't except them from the viator app any longer.
Not worth it for the price. Took about 30 minutes to get through and wasn’t very memorable. I would save your money and do something else.
Allow 2hrs minimum to walk through the aquarium perfect for people of all ages. Ability friendly. If you have vertigo be cautious it may be a difficult experience!
We really enjoyed visiting the aquarium and seeing the diversity of animals they have, it was a unique experience and we are happy to have gone.
A must see attraction for any Aquarium lovers that visit the SF Bay Area. The Aquarium has a large underground tunnel in which you can walk through and witness sharks and stingrays in all their glory. Highly recommended
I cannot believe that I paid so much money for so little. The aquarium is a cool experience, but not for the prices they are charging. The otters were not even home on the day I went and I was looking forward to it.
The day I was there was terrible the elevator didn’t work I have stroller asking people to help me at the scalator I t was terrible
I rate it a 3/5 it was cool but the tickets are overpriced, it was a quick & fast experience. Not too many sea animals to see.
I liked being able to touch the stingray! It was nice walking through the water tunnel Learning about the different kinds of fish and sharks was pretty cool
Not as good as we expected. Only small - we’d done it all in 45 minutes. Augmented reality section shut. Not many different species. I heard one mum ask if they had an octopus as her son loved them and they’d come to see one but they didn’t have any despite having a large painting mural of an octopus outside! Have other things like a squirrel, snakes, tortoises which have nothing to do with aquariums. We paid £106 for a family of 4. Waste of money and would not recommend.
A small attraction but enjoyable, it felt like a break from the crowds at Pier 39. The otters were amazing and a family favorite.
A fun, clever, informative experience that we would gladly do again. The walk through tunnel was an incredible immersive adventure!
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