Back to other Famous Aquariums

The Melbourne Aquarium is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. Entertaining as well as educational, an excursion to the aquarium takes a couple of hours or more and is fun for the whole family.

Exhibits include displays of bioluminescent fish, an octopus display, sea jellies, and rock pools where visitors can touch live sea stars and crabs. The ponds of the Billabong and Mangrove exhibits feature rays, whiting, catfish, eels, long neck turtles, and water dragons. The Coral Atoll is a fantastic round tank, 10 metres across and stretching from floor to ceiling. It displays a coral reef inhabited by brilliantly colored fish and sea snakes. The Sink or Swim exhibit teaches visitors about survival with displays of sea horses, moray eels, and crabs. In the Fishworks, visitors discover how fish see and much more through interactive, hands-on displays.

The crowning jewel of the aquarium is the 2.2 million litre Oceanarium. 70 species inhabit this huge tank, including giant marine turtles, schools of snapper and salmon, rays, and three different species of shark.

One of these shark species, the Grey Nurse Shark, is highly endangered. The aquarium is working on a breeding project with these sharks as well as providing education for visitors in an effort to halt the extinction of this Australian animal.  

Observe the sharks and other creatures in the oceanarium through the underwater tunnel, or watch divers work with the animals while sitting in the comfortable chairs of Tattersal’s Ocean Theatre.

The aquarium offers an amazing way to observe the animals in the oceanarium: a 45-minute glass bottom boat ride. Visitors can talk to marine biologists and learn more about the aquarium and the creatures that live there, plus get close-up views of the thousands of animals swimming in the oceanarium. Tour tickets are AUD$13.50 for adults and $7.50 for children. Children must be at least four years old to ride.

Perhaps the most daring adventure offered by the aquarium is the opportunity to swim with the sharks. This is a guided tour that takes place underwater in the oceanarium. The huge grey nurse sharks in residence give visitors an up-close-and-personal thrill, along with stingrays, gill sharks and schools of fish. Diving Headquarters provides the instructors that guide this tour. Visitors who are not already dive certified will get a resort-style course in diving before the tour. Friends or family not diving may watch the dive tour through the oceanarium walls. Certified divers with equipment pay $124.00 for the tour, divers without equipment pay $184, and non-certified divers pay $264.00 for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Daily feeding activities take place for the freshwater fish, the oceanarium, and the rock pool. Check times and exhibits for feeding at the main desk. Also, don’t miss the wonderful educational programs the aquarium offers. There are sessions designed for children of different ages that will teach them more about underwater life and provide fun at the same time. There are programs for adults too, and the aquarium educates tens of thousands of school children each year as well.

Enjoy meals and snacks at the Moorings Café and the Upper Deck Café, and don’t miss the Aquarium Shop. Toys, stuffed animals, educational materials, T-shirts and more are available in the shop, making it a wonderful place to find a souvenir or pick up a present for an aquarium enthusiast. 

Aquarium admission is $23.00 for adults, $13.00 for children. Family tickets are available. The Melbourne Aquarium is open daily from 9:30am to 6:00pm, with extended hours during January. It is located at Flinders St. and King St., Melbourne. Phone: +61 3 9620 0999. www.melbourneaquarium.com.au.