Galway Atlantaquaria - Tourist attraction in Galway, Ireland
Galway Atlantaquaria in Galway
Description
Privilege
My wife and I love visiting aquariums. Though small, the Galway Atlantaquaria is a special place because of the focus on native aquatic species.Tara, one of the educators on staff, was especially friendly and helpful. She taught us some shocking information about the unprepossessing male seahorses!We found the animals to be much more active than we expected. I was entranced by the octopus especially. She seemed to almost dance with visitors and appeared content to have visitors at her tank.IMHO the only area that could use improvement is the gift shop. Theman who helped me was very kind, its the merchandise that could use work. Despite a large exhibit upstairs about plastic pollution, the goods are about 90% cheap plastic. I bought postcards with photos of aquarium residents, but I would have loved to see art by local students or artists for sale. There was a cool fish sculpture made of upcycled plastic trash in one exhibit, something like that or a 2d wall art version would be cool. How about a contest for GTI Fashion students to design tees, totes, etc.to sell there? Or even small handmade stuffed sea creatures or jewelry/magnets made from local shells or other materials.Again, love the museum and staff! Will definitely visit again the next time were in Galway!
MoreLoved it. Great for families. Very accommodating. Will definitely be back. Went around twice. Children didnt want to leave. Lots to see and located in a great place
MoreFantastic place. Very interesting and exciting. Lots to see. I really enjoyed the experience. Will definitely visit again
MoreIt was a beautiful experience to go there. A different atmosphere and something different.
MoreIts a small aquarium, but the most personal one I have experienced in a very long time. Ive been to Zoos and Aquatic centers throughout the world, and I truly enjoyed this one.
MoreI really enjoyed this aquarium, particularly because it had mostly native marine species rather than exotic, so was amazing to see how diverse our seas are. Tanks were specially designed with species needs in mind too, especially the ones which live in rough waters, fast flowing rivers/ canals, deep sea ect which I thought was very positive.
MoreBest quarium in Ireland. Feeding fish by hand is so much fun. And the stuff there are very friendly they also deal perfectly with kids of all ages 👌❤2 yrs old, 6 yrs old and adults all enjoyed
MoreVery good staff nice and place well set out
Grate aquarium. Didant even know it was there. Parked up and see it. Boy am I glad me and my family did. For two adults and 2 children it was £40. 90% of viewing tanks were open which made viewing super easy and grate experience. The children was overwhelming with all the different types of see creatures and fish there was. Grate little place to ho qith the family and a fairly priced gift shop. Oww and free parking.
MoreIt was ok, we were over charged at the door on the way in , asked what age our youngest was and were told then family pass for €40 when my youngest should have been free and even if we paid for an adult fare for my 5 year old it should have been €13 cheaper, some interesting fish species but not a huge place nor a huge variety of fish either . It only takes about a half an hour to see everything.Its fine if you have a half an hour to spare if your on that side of the city but certainly wouldnt travel to visit it again.
MoreIts quite small but turned out perfect size for the toddler. You can get very close to the fish. Probably closer than any other aquarium Ive been to.
MoreFirst time to visit and loved it,very big aquarium with two floors with loads of huge tanks and plenty of information about speciess of fish and the environment.❤️❤️
MoreKids really loved it - perfect way to spend a very rainy Bank Holiday Monday! Pleasant staff, lots of sea life, and all at eye level for kids so they werent bored. Worth a visit if in Galway
MoreWe, 2 adults and 5 kids, went to the aquarium and it was €61 which I felt was excellent value. They say you could do it all in 45 minutes but we stayed nearly 2 hours. The kids loved it from the minute we walked in the door at the first tank. Theres a great variety of fish from Irish waters and they look really well cared for and healthy. The feeding times were a hit also and the caretaker was extremely informative and had no problem spending extra time answering our questions. If I have one complaint it was that some tanks didnt have the names of the fish on them and the big fish tank had more types of fish than mentioned on the display. Apart from that, I highly recommend it for a family morning or afternoon.
MoreWe had a wonderful time. The kids very much enjoyed it. It might be nice if there was someone to explain a little. In person.
MoreNice aquarium right by the ocean. Possibility to touch the animals. There are certainly bigger and better ones, but this one really has something going for it. Good price - for 5 people 46 Euros in high season. The wave simulation is nice.
MoreNice place to visit on a rainy day in Galway, lots to see and interact.Nice to see a local range of aqua life but limited overall.Note: There may be a touch tank but no signage and not really anything to see in that area.Access for wheelchairs/ pram via lift available and easy viewing via glass panels on the sides of most tanks.
MoreNice aquarium with different kinds of fishes! Its small but has lots of variety in it. You can see, that they put a lot of effort into the aquarium of the fishes. There are also lots of different informations on boards written, very interesting stuff!
MoreI visited here today with my daughter. It took approximately an hour to go round everything. Its quite a small aquarium but there is plenty to see and we enjoyed our visit. The whale skeleton was very impressive. We had a good lunch in the café next door afterwards.
MoreLittle but fun aquarium! Highly recommended for a rainy day with family
Yeah we liked this place! Our daughter enjoyed looking at all the fish. We didn’t stay too long, I always think these places are quite overpriced with just a quick visit with a downstairs and upstairs, probably better if you time it right for one of the shows. Didn’t need to buy a ticket in advance. It was €28 euros for 2 adults and children under 2 are free.
MoreWe arrived mid Sunday afternoon and the Salthill prom was pretty full but we kept looking around a found free parking right opposite the Galway Aquarium. We went in for a look and really enjoyed our time there. It cost us €32 for two adults and one child and it really was a lovely way to kill and hour or so. It’s not a big Aquarium but it has a lot packed into its limited space. It was clean and if you can believe that fish can be happy you really do get that feeling here. The fish are more checking you out as you are of them. They have loads of variety from our own waters and shores to more exotic fish like the piranha. As I said we took about an hour to go around and have a close look at everything but if you wanted you could fly around in 20mins but that would be a waste of time and money. I would definitely recommend a visit to the Galway Aquarium.
MoreGreat Aquarian to visit..one way system that nothing is missed ..very informative and get so close to fish tanks and learn all about the different species.loosing a * just for 1 adult with 2 kids 28 euro bit pricy.
MoreGood place to take the kids and spend an hour. There’s also a park next to the parking lot to play, Gratton beach just up the street, restaurants, amusement park, and other attractions close by. Parking is free.
MoreGreat spot for the kids to view the fish and also get to know the many different species we have. Staff were really friendly and we even had a 20 min talk with one of them about what was under the microscope display.
MoreThe aquarium is small if to compare with Acquario di Genova, for example. But its nice anyways. Our 8 years old son was happy to visit it, he wants to become a marine biologist.
MoreI dont know what to say 😕 just we were expecting more
Great for a visit especially with kids. Loads of tanks with salt and fresh water creatures. Great way to spend some time in Salthill
MoreAbsolutely brilliant. Irelands waters are extremely rich in life and the displays here are top notch. I learned a *lot*. Thanks to very helpful staff member Laura, I learned that the lumpsuckers – beautiful fish -- need to be "burped" occasionally, in their tank! The variety of wrasses was amazing, as was the anglerfish and the seahorse. I plan to dive on Monday if the weather cooperates but I am sure I saw more here than I will in the wild!An informative and professional small aquarium. Worth the trip to Galway all by itself.
MoreIts fine for a small coastal town aquarium, but it being the national aquarium of Ireland had slightly raised my expectations. But it really is just a small coastal town aquarium and everything you would expect from that.
MoreCoolAverage priceKids will enjoy the flat pools and the different fish typesThere is an outdoor play ground
MoreIts small but still a very nice aquarium and definitely worth the price of admission (which is very affordable). They have a good variety of aquatic creatures and they seem to be well taken care of. The layout prevents too much crowding, as you can only go in one direction. Overall, its a very educational experience and definitely worth checking out!
MoreTerrific experience. Lovely friendly and helpful staff
It is a small aquarium with a limited variety of fish, the staff is quite friendly and allows you to interact with some species. The price of students does not apply to language schools.
MoreNice visitor attraction. The splash as you go in was a real adrenalin rush. Plenty to see and do, including (for usspot the flat fish. The children in there all looked to be having a good time too. It wasnt too crowded first thing. Loved the sharks
MoreRanks as one of the best in Ireland.Knowledgeable staff, well kept premises with great displays.Plenty of information on hand.Teenagers may be a little bored to be honest but younger children and adults will find plenty to interest them.Some massive tanks that are very well stocked.Dont rush through, take you time to explore and read the well presented information and you wont be disappointed.Well worth a visit.
MoreReally enjoyed walking around looking at all the fish, reading the information about them.
Morefor one time it will do, the aquarium does not pull so-so for 5, but it is interesting for children.
MorePopped in here with the kids yesterday. Wasn’t expecting much, but we all enjoyed it. The splash tank gave us all a little jump when we went in.The highlights were the baby stingrays and moon jellyfish
MoreGreat place to visit.Many fishes and animals, good place to show how the ocean and water works ;We spend there over 3 hours watching every scene and exhibit.Hundreds of stories that explains how this ecosystem works and how we can help it to exist.
MoreIts a fantastic place to bring children. Couldnt believe the variety of different types of fish 🐟 that were in the Galway aquarium. Beautiful colours and very interesting learning about the different types of fish. Well set out
MoreSmall scale, but fun little aquarium. Not the most exciting aquarium, but some interesting fish and a good way to kill an hour with kids if it’s raining or cold.
MoreIt was an interesting experience visiting the aquarium, we visited as a group and it was a one way system which guided us around a number of big tanks and some really rather small. There were small information cards next to each tank explaining what was inside with it’s diet and habitat along with its conservation status.I did enjoy looking at a number of the fish however I did noticed a number of the tanks were rather empty looking and I wondered to myself if this was a suitable “mock” habitat for some of the animals. It just looked a bit sad. The sizes of the smaller tanks looked rather “pet shop” rather than aquarium which was a tad surprising.Just as we were headed to leave one of the sharks managed to somehow launch itself out of the tank and landed about a meter from me and starting convulsing on the floor. I ran to get someone to help and the staff member rushed off to get someone else. Was quite the adrenaline rush and I really feared for the animal but eventually a staff member came and threw it back in the tank. It seemed fine and swam off.The staff member commented that it might be time to move it to another tank but that it has never happened before. I hope not. Was not fun to watch.I think the aquarium is great as a place of learning and I did enjoy it. But I would like to come back and see that a number of the animal tanks have been expanded in size and have a bit more decoration in them.
MoreExcellent day out , for young and adults gift shop,lift if needed ,very friendly staff,good price lovely cafe at entrance, lovely ice cream 🍦🍨 available in gift shop well worth a visit ,book in advance 🍦🐠
MoreLoved this place. Pre-book tickets and just show up. Suitable for adults and children. Well worth the visit.
MoreEnjoyed the time we spent at the aquarium completely. The fact that most of the tanks are based on Irish waters and what lives in the surrounding waters made it all the more enjoyable. Learned a lot which I never knew before and from start to finish could not complain. Pre book your slot before arrival as limited spaces available due to covid restrictions, also free car parking at the aquarium.
MoreThe Aquarium was very interesting. Very educational in terms of local /Irish fish. I had expected there to be more tropical fish. The tanks for the fish are mostly open tanks where you could almost reach in and touch the fish. Bar one large tank everything is in small easy to see tanks. There is a one way system in place due to the covid restrictions and booking is required.
MoreThe aquarium was fun a little short and a bit grim. The fish are beautiful but theres something sad about watching the fish in a tank away from nature. Recommend for families.
MoreFree car park available. Early time slot booking preferably as no crowd then, you can have the whole place to yourself. Some exhibits were empty, probably as they just started reopening. However some of the aquariums are very visibly dirty, hopeful they will address this issue. Otherwise pleasant visit, enjoyable. Can spend almost 30min in there with current display.
MoreVery interesting but too many people in at one time, would have preferred to see staff inside as kids not controlled by parents and certain people taking videos for way too long it might have moved people trough a bit quicker. The exhibit itself was great, very informative and colourful for the kids! Definitely feel like the exhibit should refuse entry without face masks as there is a small one way system with some people on top of you as you walk through.
More