It is funny to read other's reviews of the Florida Aquarium. It seems that some of unrealistic expectations of what the Florida Aquarium is. Yes there are currently no seals or captive dolphins, but this is one of the finest aquariums in the U.S. Frankly, the staff do a great job, and the exhibits are very well maintained. For adults, the best features are: the wetlands dome - sitting there in an indoor Florida Wetland is a renewing experience; the Coral Reef Panoramic Gallery is incredibly peaceful, just sitting in the provided rocking chairs for minutes refreshes the soul. For children, especially young children, the Explore A Shore is just GREAT! The Florida Aquarium is not all about shows and dancing fish, it's about real nature, conservation, and enjoying the experience, but you need to take your time, and take it in - each exhibit offers a unique experience. What I found very helpful was the free photo tour on TampaBayAquarium.com - no other aquarium has a website that shows itself off like this! It is a must see before you go!

The Florida Aquarium is perhaps the best aquarium we have ever seen. It certainly isn’t the largest aquarium but they did an excellent job of presenting fish and other aquatic animals in very natural settings. The coral reef displays were especially impressive. Unlike most aquariums, it was set up as a sequential tour so that all the people were moving in one direction and we didn’t miss anything. We spent quite a bit of time there and enjoyed it immensely.

September 18,2005

We are new residents of St. Pete Beach and thought it would be a nice to spend the day at the aquarium. We were wrong. We were also disappointed. After waiting in line for 15 minutes to get ticket there was not really much to see for the cost. Some of the fish were not even in the tanks. We think it is time to up grade this place. We have seen more sea life just living on the beach than we saw in the aquarium. Please, We were even thinking of asking for our money back but elected to never going back. Sorry.

It was $17.00 to get in the door and not worth the money.... there was not really much to see at all. If you want to see dolphins you have to pay more to go out to sea and if you want to see manatee's they tell you to go to the Lowry's Zoo...... It would be worth approx. $7.00.