Blue Reef Aquarium
Blue Reef Aquarium
3
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Take the ultimate undersea safari at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Portsmouth. Enjoy close encounters with everything from clownfish to fascinating frogs and adorable otters!
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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See what travelers are saying

  • Carmy
    Winchester, United Kingdom2 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    I wouldn't waste your time!
    The venue is in serious need of a refurb and at ÂŁ14 per adult I cannot understand why it hasn't happened yet. It's dark, smells of damp, tanks look dirty, printed labels under tanks are peeling off! Within 30 minutes we had walked through and out. Very disappointing!
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written January 14, 2024
  • Colin D
    West Drayton, United Kingdom867 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A pretty decent aquarium with quite a lot to see
    A pretty decent aquarium with quite a lot to see. Some of it was in need of a few decorating upgrades but they appeared to be doing that while we were there. Lots of variety of different fish and sea life to see and in general there were hood viewing areas for wheelchair users. The gift shop was reasonably well stocked, though the prices were a tad higher than I would normally pay. The actual entrance price was well worth it.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 31, 2024
  • Ken W
    Derby, United Kingdom7 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    Animal welfare is not a priority it seems
    Went to visit the aquarium today - very dark and dingy in places. How is it acceptable to have an iguana and turtles living in solitary confinement in small dark environments - poor creatures! Wish we hadn't gone. Animal welfare at its poorest.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 3, 2024
  • Sian T
    3 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    High entry prices, poor experience, very dirty with broken play equipment
    I’ve not visited in 8 years so was sad to see the aquarium in such a sorry state. The high entry price does not reflect the experience you’ll receive. The aquarium is in my opinion very rundown and dirty. There are some nice bits for a one off trip in bad weather and the animals are interesting for little eyes. Nothings been cleaned for many years by the looks of it. But my gosh the toilets were absolutely filthy, I mean beyond filthy. There’s an outdoor area with very unsafe broken play equipment (please don’t let your kids on it). I would never visit again. I hope the owners invest in it or rehome the animals before they all perish!
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written June 25, 2024
  • David S
    Woking, United Kingdom3 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    A poor aquarium.
    Sadly very disappointed. Went years ago and recall a good experience. Looked tired and in places scruffy. Overpriced and not enough to see. You can do it in 45 minutes tops. Poor graphics. At one talk the guide talked fast and failed to engage children by doing so. Some interesting tanks but nothing really out of the ordinary. Had to go to the helpful café next door to fill child's water bottle on a hot day. Advice - save your money.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written July 24, 2024
  • Tulah77
    London, United Kingdom189 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Too expensive
    We stopped here on our way home as we love visiting aquariums. Sadly this place really wasn’t worth the money. If it was cheaper then it would have been ok but £50 for a family of four although I did use my Tesco vouchers to get £11 off was steep. We got through the aquarium in around half an hour and that included the little park and the gift shop. The aquarium itself looks nice and the animals seemed well cared for, staff were friendly too. Probably wouldn’t visit again.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written July 25, 2024
  • Mikehorner14
    Stroud, United Kingdom4 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    Poorly illuminated, it is impossible to read information about the fish
    Very disappointed. Expensive 1 hour experience. As a family we have visited several sealife centres, so were really looking forward to our visit. There are several tanks with fish to look at , but overall it was disappointing. The majority of the information labels on several of the tanks are difficult for an adult to read as they are so dark with signs asking not to use flashlights etc which I understand but a little bit of illumination on the information labels is not too much to ask. I would not recommend or make a 2nd visit unless several simple improvements were made first
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written August 1, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

3.0
3.0 of 5 bubbles809 reviews
Excellent
120
Very good
158
Average
236
Poor
145
Terrible
150

Chelsea
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Family
Really run down and needs a complete overhaul
The floor is always wet and dirty, which is concerning really. The cafe outside is EXTORTIONATELY price and the quality doesn't reflect that.
Its about ÂŁ50 for a family of four and you can walk through it in about 45 minutes. Nothing particularly fascinating or interesting there other other the otters which smell really bad and never come out.
OK for children under 5 who are easily fascinated by the lighting and recognisable fish and sea creatures.
Couldn't fault the staff. They seem very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions and friendly.
But it's a real shame that this aquarium in a prime location is so dingy and boring.
Written August 16, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Arnold 5
Waterlooville, UK95 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Seems to me that this venue needs to increase it's footfall, & the current prices being charged are not encouraging repeat visits. Given the time it takes to get round the place then £2.50 per adult & free entry for children for a trial period may give you an idea as to the potential here, which in turn may well encourage those in charge to increase investment in updating the place. The biggest assets seem to be the staff & sea-life. Make the café part of the experience & don't overcharge for your captive audience, it generates resentment & again increases the likelihood of people not coming back.
This should be a money-spinner in this location, but read your feedback & it's easy to see that many visitors don't feel that it represents value for money in it's current state, so if you don't want to invest money in the facility, reduce the entry charge!
Written March 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fibanes
Southampton, UK147 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
I feel bad rating it a 2 but honestly when it comes to value for money it's terrible. We paid ÂŁ75 for 6 adults and a 18month old. We were out in less than half an hour and believe me we tried to linger where we could.

The place was absolutely freezing cold (all the doors to outside were wide open). The ambience is tired and looks like nothing has been done to the place since we were last there 10 years ago.

The staff were friendly and we took comfort in the hope that the pricey fees had gone towards conservation.

I wouldn't recommend a visit to this attraction.
Written October 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

EnGbudd
15 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Family
Very very disappointing for the money paid, I remember visiting Blue Reef about 10 years ago, when there were Sharks, Otters and a much larger range of animals. However this time round half of it was boarded up and given the guise of a UV adventure, when in reality it was plywood painted in black with drawings of fish in UV pen. We finished our visit within 45 minutes and that was with an 18 month old who is rather slow at walking and very interested in everything. You can honestly see more going to a local aquatics centre for free.

Unfortunately, really not worth the money.
Written April 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SUvcha
Northants129 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Family
If you have an hour spare on a rainy day it’s a good place to go but I agree expensive for the amount of time you are in there: the all day ticket is a good idea as we were able to go back later on in the day. Hand gel available at stops and a one way system: masks are worn and available to buy on entry: staff were all lovely, nice range of tanks and species to see, my son enjoyed it, shop is expensive thou £35 for his Octopus teddy but to be fair this did make his day. We would return but I do agree this place needs some TLC ( especially the toilets they are really bad)
Written August 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sarah C
90 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
good little aquarium trip room for improvement in places . very covid safe good one way system and all day entry come and go

we enjoyed a trip to the small aquarium it had lots and lots varying fish not many other wow creatures though

our 3 highlights were
ray tank
tiny turtle
otters
also nice fish tunnel but a bit short

our areas for improvements would be
not so many empty tanks
good deep clean of tanks and spruce up of paint
having a cafe that opens at your opening time so you can get a morning coffee trade we would have gone but you were shut so walked to the tennis club cafe nearby
inform your staff correctly we were told ray talk was 11 so after arriving at 10.50 we wandered there to wait 20 mins and nothing happened we later on second walk round of the day found a sign not very viewable which said 12 too late for us as it was 12.30 by this pont . pretty annoying as we would have enjoyed that
also have toilets at the start of the one way system would be really useful after a 90 mins journey

overall nice visit as a one of but will not be returning in a hurry unless major investment is had
Written October 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Philip H
Herefordshire, UK11 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Family
Although not large, this is a fascinating aquarium with a good narrative about Solent sea life.
The entrance fee includes a whole day re-entry, not cheap but reflects the cost of operating and maintaining the exhibition and animals.
My 12 month old Grandson was fascinated.
Food, the cafes are not within the building, but just outside. Parking, lots in a car park just next door.
Written September 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tracy D
5 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020 • Friends
This is a lovely little aquarium. We thought we would probably be in there less than an hour but we spent much longer enjoying the exhibits. There is a good variety of fish and other species and the tanks are very colourful. We especially loved the stingrays and the puffer fish. The playground looked like good fun (and has fabulous views) and I will certainly be returning with my grandchildren. We found the staff to be cheerful and friendly, and the Covid precautions made us feel confident that we were being kept safe.
Written October 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chloe R
3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2022 • Family
This place has gone downhill so much in the past few years.
It use to be a lovely little place to go, but they’ve got rid of so so much!!!
Needs a really good clean!!! On top of covid being around I’d at least expect it to be clean.
As a family of 7 and paying almost ÂŁ70 to get in we were very disappointed.
No large fish tank, otters didn’t come out at all, there was nothing exciting , the large walk through tank was dirty , the place is not worth the money at all , get round the whole place in 30 mins , kids were bored and we feel robbed !
Written February 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Santtu10
Basingstoke, UK349 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2021 • Family
I fail to understand why this place has received so many negative reviews!

Yes it is a bit old and yes the building could be updated…. however no, it does not take 30 minutes to visit it! IF you spend some time reading some of the numerous explanations and facts which are all around the museum and IF you take the time to check what is really in the aquariums (like a hidden crab, a specific type of shark etc….) THEN you can have a good time! We stayed there an hour and a half and enjoyed our visit.

It could be a bit cheaper considering you have to pay for parking as well.

Toilets could be updated however they were clean.

Staff was pleasant.
Written September 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Blue Reef Aquarium - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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