Sea Life Manchester
Sea Life Manchester
4
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 - 7:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
SEA LIFE Manchester Aquarium transports you into the amazing underwater world. Prepare for astonishingly close views of everything from humble starfish and seahorses to graceful rays and powerful sharks. With an amazing ocean tunnel, 30 display tanks and more than 5,000 sea creatures the aquarium is the perfect stop for family fun! To get any closer you would have to get wet!
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
2,555 reviews
Excellent
1,098
Very good
526
Average
423
Poor
279
Terrible
229
John K
Barrow-in-Furness, UK2 contributions
Dec 2021 • Family
Today we did a Post Christmas visit to the sea life centre Manchester for the snorkel with sharks experience and wow we're we amazed!
We arrived and were taken by our amazing host Joe through the hussle and bustle of the crowds to the changing areas where we were given everything we needed! He then took me, our eldest 3 kids and my partner and youngest daughter up to the top of the tank to give us our brief and give us his extensive knowledge of all the sealife within the tank. By the time we descended the ladder we knew most of the fish, sharks and the turtles by names.
We had 20 minutes in the tank which was amazing and such a fantastic experience as the sharks, rays and turtles were all quite inquisitive and came up close to give us all the best experience.
After we got out Joe was really helpful and didn't rush us giving us chances to get plenty of photos.
Admission into the aquarium was included in the price so after we were showered and changed we went for a walk around which was just as much fun as the snorkelling itself. Lots of stuff to see and lots for the kids to interact with.
Overall we had a brilliant experience and would like to thank our host Joe for his time and effort today, he had a great knowledge and was fantastic throughout ! Perfect end to our little getaway. Thank you Joe and all at the Sealife Manchester!
We arrived and were taken by our amazing host Joe through the hussle and bustle of the crowds to the changing areas where we were given everything we needed! He then took me, our eldest 3 kids and my partner and youngest daughter up to the top of the tank to give us our brief and give us his extensive knowledge of all the sealife within the tank. By the time we descended the ladder we knew most of the fish, sharks and the turtles by names.
We had 20 minutes in the tank which was amazing and such a fantastic experience as the sharks, rays and turtles were all quite inquisitive and came up close to give us all the best experience.
After we got out Joe was really helpful and didn't rush us giving us chances to get plenty of photos.
Admission into the aquarium was included in the price so after we were showered and changed we went for a walk around which was just as much fun as the snorkelling itself. Lots of stuff to see and lots for the kids to interact with.
Overall we had a brilliant experience and would like to thank our host Joe for his time and effort today, he had a great knowledge and was fantastic throughout ! Perfect end to our little getaway. Thank you Joe and all at the Sealife Manchester!
Written December 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello
Thank you for taking your time to leave a review.
We are thrilled to hear that you and your family enjoyed your snorkel experience and that joe was great from start to finish making your experience more memorable. I will be sure to pass on your kind words to him.
We hope to see you again soon.
Kind regards
Sea Life Manchester
Written January 16, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Emma N
Newcastle-under-Lyme, UK60 contributions
Dec 2021 • Family
Had a BOGOF ticket so took advantage on a rainy day. Plenty of free parking which is always an advantage. Doesn’t take too long to walk around and I wouldn’t consider this to be a “day” activity.
However what we did see we really enjoyed. There are plenty of windows and space so you can see all the animals that the sealife centre houses with ease and there’s no rush to get round.
Staff are knowledgeable and answer all questions. We enjoyed stroking the star fish at the end of the visit.
I have rated 4 out of 5 because I believe if I had paid full price I would have been disappointed. Manchester sealife isn’t quite up to par of Birmingham in my opinion yet they cost the same. The shop could also be better.
But overall would go again if I had an offer and was in the area.
However what we did see we really enjoyed. There are plenty of windows and space so you can see all the animals that the sealife centre houses with ease and there’s no rush to get round.
Staff are knowledgeable and answer all questions. We enjoyed stroking the star fish at the end of the visit.
I have rated 4 out of 5 because I believe if I had paid full price I would have been disappointed. Manchester sealife isn’t quite up to par of Birmingham in my opinion yet they cost the same. The shop could also be better.
But overall would go again if I had an offer and was in the area.
Written December 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello
Thank you for taking your time to leave a review about your recent visit.
We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your visit with us and took your time to see all of our wonderful creatures and get up close and personal to some of them at our interactive Rockpool.
We are smaller than other aquariums that you may have visited in the past, however this is due to us being situated within a shopping centre.
We hope we will see you again in the near future.
Kind regards
Sea Life Manchester
Written January 16, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Emma T
Gamlingay, UK121 contributions
Oct 2021 • Family
Visited with my 7 year old daughter. One of the best sea life centres we have visited. Loads to see and do and heaps of photo opportunities. I really liked that they seemed to have restricted how many visitors they had at a time so you had plenty of space to move around without being too close to other people. Really enjoyed ourselves.
Written October 28, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hi, thank you for the lovely review, glad you enjoyed your day out with us :)
Written November 4, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Michael N
Blyth, UK11 contributions
Aug 2022
After a two hour drive I took the grandchildren last week and oh what a disappointment, first for a 77 year old there was no signs saying how far it is to walk from the main shopping center, (it took me 20 minutes) with rests.
Then after queuing we were told 'we are full and you should of booked'.
My granddaughter managed to book tickets for another visit one hour later only to join another queue at check in (no seats) .
Then even worse had to join another queue (no seats) to get into the beach presentation (no seats) and compared to other sea life centers we were in /out in 35 minutes as some tanks appear to have the same fish in them.
So for £80 as NO concessions for pensioners sorry cannot recommend it and some tanks quite small compared to other aquariums like 'The Deep' in Hull who do have concessions for seniors and others and well worth a visit
Then after queuing we were told 'we are full and you should of booked'.
My granddaughter managed to book tickets for another visit one hour later only to join another queue at check in (no seats) .
Then even worse had to join another queue (no seats) to get into the beach presentation (no seats) and compared to other sea life centers we were in /out in 35 minutes as some tanks appear to have the same fish in them.
So for £80 as NO concessions for pensioners sorry cannot recommend it and some tanks quite small compared to other aquariums like 'The Deep' in Hull who do have concessions for seniors and others and well worth a visit
Written August 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello
Thank you for taking your time to leave a review about your recent visit to Sea Life Manchester.
I am so sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your visit with us.
We do recommend all guests booking tickets online to avoid disappointment on arrival. We do sell out very quickly for certain slots which is why we recommend pre booking tickets to guarantee entry at time of arrival.
I am afraid we don't have enough space for seating around our admissions area, however once inside the centre there are lots of seating areas. We are more than happy to provide a chair should a guest need one during the start of the centre.
I am sorry that we do not do concession tickets, however there are lots of promotional vouchers around that can save you a considerable amount on your admission ticket price.
We do hope that you will reconsider us in the future and thank you again for your feedback.
If you wish to discuss anything further please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards
Sea Life Manchester
Written August 28, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
ManchesterRatty
manchester6 contributions
Oct 2022 • Family
Absolutely disgusted with the treatment given to my daughter in law and grandchildren today.. They mistakenly booked half price tickets for next Tuesday instead of today and did not realise the error until they got to the Sealife centre.. Obviously they got refused entry at the time so after realising the mistake my daughter in law offered to pay the full entrance fee as my 5 year old grandson was crying his heart out… they had to take 2 bus journeys and a tram ride just to get there and the staff seemed oblivious to the efforts they had made and refused to sell them the tickets for today.. I understand that their is a capacity for safety reasons but also know that people do not stay for their full allotted time so I’m sure they could have been allowed to enter. For the staff to just be so blasé whilst a child is crying and a mother is trying to do anything to help but they just did not seem to care..
Written October 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hi,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review for your recent visit. We are sorry to hear about your experience. We have been in contact with our admissions team and can confirm that the family were offered a refund of their tickets, a reschedule of their tickets, and were also offered by our Admissions Team Leader to honour their tickets within the day's allocation. As we were in our peak time, our allocation for our time slots meant we only had space for 3pm onwards on this specific day. Due to health and safety, we can only allow a certain number of people into our attraction at once. We apologise for the inconvenience this caused on the date of your visit. If you would like to get in touch further, please do not hesitate to contact info@sealifemanchester.co.uk.
Kind regards,
SEA LIFE Manchester
Written November 8, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ophelia_J
2 contributions
Aug 2022 • Friends
First I’d like to say to sarita and the ginger or pink haired girl with short hair rude don’t ever knock violently and tell us to hurry up when you were 20 minutes late in the first place.
On the website it didn’t say anything about Guardians having to pay a entry fee to watch after the kids
We came five minutes early so we’d be on time and waited a good 20 minutes for them ( we even asked members or staff where the team was all they said was “they’ll be with you shortly what a lie”) to start they took that off our actual time even though it was their fault so we only got 20 minutes in the tank which wasn’t enough for £155 or however much it cost.
Also a member of staff walked in on me while I was exposed and getting dressed which made me very uncomfortable
The snorkels didn’t work properly meaning we couldn’t see the sharks properly
After we got out we only had 15 minutes and they continued to bang on the door hurrying us up
DONT waste your money what a tragic way to celebrate a birthday
On the website it didn’t say anything about Guardians having to pay a entry fee to watch after the kids
We came five minutes early so we’d be on time and waited a good 20 minutes for them ( we even asked members or staff where the team was all they said was “they’ll be with you shortly what a lie”) to start they took that off our actual time even though it was their fault so we only got 20 minutes in the tank which wasn’t enough for £155 or however much it cost.
Also a member of staff walked in on me while I was exposed and getting dressed which made me very uncomfortable
The snorkels didn’t work properly meaning we couldn’t see the sharks properly
After we got out we only had 15 minutes and they continued to bang on the door hurrying us up
DONT waste your money what a tragic way to celebrate a birthday
Written August 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello
Thank you for taking your time to leave a review about your recent visit to Sea Life Manchester.
I am sorry to hear you wasn't happy with your visit and shocked to hear your didn't enjoy snorkelling with sharks experience, as we always get such amazing feedback about this.
I do apologise that there was a slight delay with getting your experience started, however this did not affect your experience time length and you will have still had the full experience with our team. Our website does advertise when booking that the experience is approximately 1 hour long and within that hour you get 20 minutes in the tank. This is the same time that all of our guests get inside so i can assure you that your time in the water wasn't cut short at any point and you did receive the stated time as advertised in our tank.
I am shocked to hear that you found the staff to be rude as all of our team members are extremely friendly and professional towards all of our guests. Sometimes we do politely have to knock on the door to ask how long guests may be finishing up getting ready, but this is just so we can make sure that all our snorkel experiences run smoothly for the next group taking part. I can assure you that the girls would not have been knocking violently and they will have asked politely how long you may be.
All people entering the centre do have to pay to come inside. Guests taking part in the snorkelling do get entry to the centre within their package however anyone else who wishes to enter with them do need to pay for an admission ticket.
If you do wish to discuss anything more about your visit then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards
Sea Life Manchester
Written August 28, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
ferrariwa
Bradford, UK131 contributions
Oct 2020 • Family
We have visited this sealife centre numerous times but first time in a while.
Owing to the pandemic there are are missing features such as the usual introduction before entry into the main centre.
It was extremely quiet during our visit (all slots were available even when booking on the day). There were no Merlin annual pass holder slots until late on so we decided to pay the daily ticket price. We were however able to get the 20% discount on the photos and gift shop.
We must have caught a good crowd as everyone was wearing a mask and social distancing. Being sparse made it easier and we were able to comfortably see every section and not feel rushed.
The centre also made an effort for Halloween although it was mostly visual without much interaction.
The photo opportunity is still there and you can get some decent souvenirs both from this and the gift shop at the end.
We did make the most of it so took our time and created many photo memories. For this reason the cost was probably worth it as the kids left happy.
Would advise to book in advance to get cheapest price and slots for Merlin pass holders.
Owing to the pandemic there are are missing features such as the usual introduction before entry into the main centre.
It was extremely quiet during our visit (all slots were available even when booking on the day). There were no Merlin annual pass holder slots until late on so we decided to pay the daily ticket price. We were however able to get the 20% discount on the photos and gift shop.
We must have caught a good crowd as everyone was wearing a mask and social distancing. Being sparse made it easier and we were able to comfortably see every section and not feel rushed.
The centre also made an effort for Halloween although it was mostly visual without much interaction.
The photo opportunity is still there and you can get some decent souvenirs both from this and the gift shop at the end.
We did make the most of it so took our time and created many photo memories. For this reason the cost was probably worth it as the kids left happy.
Would advise to book in advance to get cheapest price and slots for Merlin pass holders.
Written October 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
We are so pleased that the kids left happy and had a great time, we look forward to seeing you next time and we will take on board your comments.
Written October 27, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
rachelteddy2018
Halifax, UK321 contributions
Jun 2021 • Family
We purchased the Combo pack SeaLife Centre and LegoLand.
We have visited SeaLife Centre before, two years ago and very much enjoyed our time their, its a short walk around but still worth doing when you are taking your time and enjoying the moment with the sea creatures.
Our son really enjoyed himself as the first time we went two years ago he was a little scared, the staff were lovely and polite and the centre itself was clean and well managed. Our son was disappointed that when you arrive you see a short virtual play of turtles crawling to the ocean, this was on the last time we came but today it wasn't which was a shame.
On arrival your pictures are taking to view half way around, they were brilliant pictures and would loved to of purchased two, but for £15 a picture I don't think so!
Overall it was another great visit.
We have visited SeaLife Centre before, two years ago and very much enjoyed our time their, its a short walk around but still worth doing when you are taking your time and enjoying the moment with the sea creatures.
Our son really enjoyed himself as the first time we went two years ago he was a little scared, the staff were lovely and polite and the centre itself was clean and well managed. Our son was disappointed that when you arrive you see a short virtual play of turtles crawling to the ocean, this was on the last time we came but today it wasn't which was a shame.
On arrival your pictures are taking to view half way around, they were brilliant pictures and would loved to of purchased two, but for £15 a picture I don't think so!
Overall it was another great visit.
Written June 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hi, thanks so much for your 4 star review and your lovely words about our staff members!
Great to hear your son enjoyed himself,
The paid pictures are optional as you say, but we hope you took plenty of snaps yourself around the attraction.
Best fishes,
SEA LIFE Manchester
Written June 15, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Dlell
Sale, UK18 contributions
Nov 2021 • Family
We had been looking forward to this on a term time weekday with our toddler but we’re sadly disappointed. There were a lot of people crammed into small spaces which even in non covid times isn’t great. It made looking at the different animals difficult and frustrating, the facilities also not great, we were there not long after it opened but the toilets were in a dreadful state already so we could only assume they had been left like that from the previous day. Most of the soap dispensers were out of order, again not good in current times. While there a couple of areas where the view was quite impressive, overall it was a disappointing experience given the cost and we’d had enough and left in around an hour. We won’t be visiting again.
Written November 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello
Thank you for taking your time to leave a review about your recent visit to Sea Life Manchester.
We are sorry to hear that you was not satisfied with your visit.
We can assure you that we do follow covid safe regulations and we limited to the amount of guests we can have in the centre at any one time.
I am sorry that the toilets were not up to standard, our cleaning team do hourly checks on these facilities as well as checking the hand soap / sanitiser dispensers so i am very sorry that these were not up to scratch during your visit and i will make sure that the cleaning team are doing thorough checks of these areas.
We do hope that you will change your mind and visit us again soon.
Thank you again for your feedback.
Kind regards
Sea Life Manchester
Written January 16, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
TJ0425
Rochdale, UK55 contributions
Sep 2022
We took our 3 1/2 year old Grandson to Sea Life and paid over £62 for 3 tickets. As an adult I found it very bland and uninspiring. Many of the same species throughout the centre. From our Grandson's point of view, it was a complete waste of money. There was nothing to keep them interested and only a very small interactive pool where children could stroke a starfish. We were done and out of there in a little over 30 minutes
Written September 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello
Thank you for taking your time to leave a review about your recent visit to Sea Life Manchester.
We are sorry to hear you weren't completely satisfied with your visit and the admission price you paid to enter the centre. We are competitively priced with similar attractions, with most of our guests spending around 45 mins-an hour inside seeing 3000+ creatures, our interactive rockpool and soft play area whilst visiting.
We do hope that you will reconsider us in the near future.
Kind regards
Sea Life Manchester
Written October 17, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I got a voucher an booked it admits 2 people under 2s are free anyway would it be ok to bring another adult with an under 2?
Can you pay on the door? Cash
ManchesterCluster
Manchester, UK
Hi Steph, at this time we are pre-book only online and are cashless throughout the attraction. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
Ann B
Penrith, UK19 contributions
Can I purchase a gift voucher please fir Sea Life
Daisy Chan A
Manchester, UK122 contributions
I think you can
Are we aloud whit dogs?
ManchesterCluster
Manchester, UK
Hi!
Unfortunately we do not allow dogs in our attraction unless they are assistant dogs,
Thanks!
Lee Blackman
Duty Manager
Can you get from inside the Trafford centre to the sea life centre without going outside?
ManchesterCluster
Manchester, UK
Hi, There is a bridge which crosses from between boots and H&M in the Trafford centre and brings you over to barton square, go down the escaslators, and follow the pathway til you reach Sealife :)
Paula Y
2 contributions
Can you use Kellogg’s voucher at weekends
ManchesterCluster
Manchester, UK
Hi Paula.
Yes! You can use these vouchers, the only exclusion is the expiry date.
Thanks!
Lee Blackman
Duty Manager
Sea Life Manchester
Becki W
Leicestershire, UK26 contributions
Can you still book the sea Trek ?
ManchesterCluster
Manchester, UK
Hello, thank you for enquiry regarding SeaTREK.
The lease for the equipment ended a year ago, and there are currently no plans to renew the contract for the equipment.
There are similar experiences at other Merlin sites, if you want more information on these then please email us.
hdm235
Manchester, UK8 contributions
I'm bringing a 11 kids next week and planning to arrive for opening at 10am. Please can you advise how long should we allow to go round the attraction and whether we're allowed to re-enter the attraction if we nip out for dinner? Also do you have a picnic area?
Thanks in advance and apologies if the answers are already on here or on your website, I've looked but not had much joy.
Laura W
Manchester, UK61 contributions
I'm sorry got myself muddled up with legoland. Sealife doesn't have a picnic area but you can go in as many times as you like
AmandaM
West Yorkshire49 contributions
Where is the nearest train station to SeaLife and how far is it to the attraction
Steven L
Oldham, UK70 contributions
Urmston. Then 30 min walk. I drove. Unless you want to shop also at Trafford centre I would recommend Blackpool. Sea life at Intu TC is overpriced and not good value for money.
Sea Life Manchester (Stretford) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Sea Life Manchester
- Sea Life Manchester is open:
- Sun - Sun 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
- Mon - Fri 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- Sat - Sat 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
- Hotels near Sea Life Manchester:
- (0.32 mi) Holiday Inn Express Manchester - Trafford City, an IHG hotel
- (0.40 mi) Premier Inn Manchester Trafford Centre North hotel
- (0.88 mi) Travelodge Manchester Trafford Park
- (0.61 mi) Premier Inn Manchester Trafford Centre West hotel
- (0.51 mi) Premier Inn Manchester Trafford Centre South hotel
- Restaurants near Sea Life Manchester:
- (0.03 mi) Primarket Café
- (0.11 mi) EAT - Trafford Centre
- (0.11 mi) Starbucks
- (0.30 mi) Oh You Pretty Things Champagne & Cocktail Bar
- (0.10 mi) Tim Hortons