Situated in Cockle Bay, just across the water from Darling Harbour, Sea Life Sydney Aquarium is one of the city’s most popular attractions. Architecturally designed to resemble an ocean wave, the aquarium is home to more than 13,000 animals and 700 different species, and is divided into 14 themed zones.The star of the aquarium is the Shark Walk and Shark Valley, which houses Australia’s largest collection of shark and ray species. Walk through glass tunnels as sharks glide slowly above you, sometimes only inches away! Check out the tropical Bay of Rays and the interactive Discovery Rockpool. A favorite with kids and families, the Rockpool lets you actually dip in and handle the urchins, starfish and sea cucumbers. Staff rotate the animals during the day to ensure these fascinating creatures don’t suffer from “petting fatigue.”If you don’t have time to visit Australia’s most famous coral wonderland, don’t fret. The aquarium’s Great Barrier Reef exhibit captures all the color and beauty of the world heritage listed reef. Watch clown fish, lion fish, sawfish and reef sharks swimming harmoniously through the coral outcrops in this 530 000-gallon (2-million liter) aquarium.The South Coast Shipwreck is another exhibit popular with families. Designed to look like a sunken ship, this display is home to animals that typically live in cooler southern waters. See kooky pineapple fish, green eels, octopuses and weedy sea dragons. Be sure to stop by Dugong Island, where the resident dugong orphans Pig and Wuru are crowd-pleasers. The aquarium has two cafés, a snack bar and three gift shops offering souvenirs from the cute to the educational. Sea Life Sydney Aquarium is open daily, including major holidays. It’s easily accessible by train, bus or light rail, and nearby parking lots offer discounts to aquarium patrons. Darling Harbour is within walking distance from downtown.
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Reviews of SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium
5/5 - Excellent
My friend and I planned our entire trip around going to the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium for my birthday. My favorite animals are penguins, and I found out from my friend who is a local that they do penguin experiences. When I found that out, I immediately bought myself a plane ticket! An addition to the penguin passport, the aquarium itself was amazing. The underwater tunnels were truly breathtaking with huge manta rays and sharks. We sunk many hours in the aquarium, and we loved every moment of it. I truly recommend going. From the outside, the aquarium may look small, but it is very well organized and well decorated. I truly recommend!
5/5 - Excellent
We had a blast swimming with the sharks!! Check it out!!
4/5 - Good
You can catch a nice discount ticket when you do a Hop On Hop bus. St first i wss very disappointed. Then once you head underground to see sharks etc it is very good. Allow at least an hour. St the end of Dsrling hsrbor.
2/5 - Disappointing
It didn't even remotely compare to the aquariums in the states. If you're going to go, buy your tickets online to skip the wait to purchase. That way you'll only have to wait in line to enter the aquarium.
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