We have lived across the street for 27 years. We are…read moreyearly supporters at the Grandparents level. This is a small City aquarium not to be compared to the facilities in San Francisco, Monterey CA or Seattle WA. Waikiki Aquarium has many exhibits in smaller tanks to exhibit individual species of fish and local coral. Come learn about the protected Monk Seals seen on the local beaches. Im discouraged to read all the negative comments. The aquarium is undergoing renovations and modernization. Young kids still get excited in seeing the exhibits. The time spent may be short due to the renovations, but Great Memories can be made with Great KODAK moments. Entrance prices are a fraction of charges at the BIG Aquariums. $5 for Seniors. $5 Children Come early for up close parking. If the lot is full, drive around the park. Everything is walking distance. Bring Lunch, and a blanket to have lunch on the grass.

After spending the morning at the beach + pool, my husband and I decided to get out of the hotel…read morelife and head to a local favorite (according to the various front desk folks) - the Waikiki aquarium! We walked from our hotel, which was about a mile and allowed us to soak up additional sun and steps. The views along the way were so pretty, so we didn't mind the trek. The majority of the aquarium is outdoors, which I wasn't expecting but was cool, nonetheless. The various tanks filled with fish were cool to see and gorgeous in color, but our visit featured many exhibits under construction or remodel, which limited the amount of fish and marine life we expected to see. After about 20 minutes ($12/tickets) we left feeling a little underwhelmed by the entire experience - and determined we'd see more snorkeling, which we can confirm was indeed, the right choice. :/

Sea Life Park has changed a lot since I visited as a child. It's no longer about animals performing…read moretricks, and I actually appreciate that. The park now feels more focused on education, conservation, and treating the animals with respect. Many of the animals are older or rescues, and I commend the staff for allowing them to interact naturally rather than forcing them to perform. The park was quiet during our visit, which made for a relaxing experience, but I hope they find new ways to attract families without relying on the animals. A splash park or Hawaiian cultural activities could add to the experience while staying true to their mission. As a kamaʻāina, admission was $25 per person. Some may feel that's expensive for a smaller park, but I left feeling like my ticket was supporting a worthwhile cause. In fact, knowing what I know now, I would have gladly purchased the $55 annual family pass just to help support the park and the animals in its care.

Park was ok. Booking was easy enough. But I would have just…read morerather not done it. Didn't seem worth it afterwards. I love dolphins but for paying a little more I could have had a better experience elsewhere. I should have since it costs about $100 round trip with Lyft. My hotel said there were no shuttles. And groups of "6" which on the website.... is what I thought I would be in turned into 14. Minimal time with the dolphin and just waiting for your turn for 20 seconds total of interaction with a trainer that seemed annoyed with us most of the time and wanted to get us in and out of there. Won't be returning. Very sweet dolphins though.

Local Hawaiian news said fishing ban may end soon so I went to closest shop near my hotel to get…read moresome info. Maybe fish prices will go down in California. Very small place but clean, in an industrial area. Young lady at counter very pleasant and answered some questions. She feels fish ban may end soon. Very small inventory but all fish look healthy. They quarantine fish here. She will check if they can ship to California. There was a beautiful gem tang in the display tang, big bucks wow. Asked about corals, corals are illegal in Hawaii. They can do custom fish orders.

Went in today for some Marine salt for my Opae Ula set up and they didn't have any, but Skylar was…read moresuper helping in that they do have salty water that you can buy for $2.00 a gallon. So I popped on down the the Orange Home improvement store and grabbed a 5 Gallon "Menehune" type water bottle so I could bring some home. They have all kinds of fish to choose from from Koi to File fish and a lot in between. Skylar was very helpful and knowledgeable in answering all my questions. She is super friendly immediately stopped what she was doing when I walked in to help me with what I needed. Definitely gonna go back again and again for all my aquarium supplies (fresh and salty kine) needs.

I bought a mated pair of apistogramma and they just bred in my home setup. Here's the mama with…read morefree swimming fry.

Excellent customer service, affordable prices. Can't go wrong! Helped me out with a tank I was…read morelooking for. For sure gonna come here to get more fish!

This is an awesome experience if you want to swim with the fish, but stay away from the sand at the…read morebeach... Not that I think most people coming here would want to stay away from the sand, but then again there are some who may want to. Or even if you're not afraid of the sand and you don't mind to get Sandy... This is still a great place to go because it's a small controlled environment where children of all ages can essentially get in the water and they are able to get right up close to the fish and have a great experience seeing all kinds of wonderful tropical fish. There's no need to swim and the experience is fantastic! My kids and wife and I really enjoyed it and we paid for the full experience for the entire length of our stay which means you can go each day during the hours that the location is open for as long as you want to stay! There is also an option to feed the fish and we did that one day of our stay too!

My family and I did a day of Rainbow Reef while we stayed at Aulani. It was cool that the resort…read morehas its own manmade reef with local fish for people to swim with and see. We went in July and we paid $30 each for the day of rainbow reef. Once you pay, you can come and go throughout the open hours (10am-3pm). You don't need a specific time slot. You go to the booth and they give you equipment to use (snorkel mask, breathing tube, and life vest). You then shower off and head into the reef. The water of the reef is 76 degrees, which actually felt pretty chilly, but you get used to the temperature pretty quickly. I did notice a lot of kiddos didn't want to go in because it was too cold for them. My niece was crying because of the cold, but the employees all went over and beyond to make her feel comfortable and help her. She ended up doing a lap in the reef and then heading to the jacuzzi lol The rainbow reef was cool, but we felt that $30 each for the day was pretty pricy. We only swam once and felt like we checked the box.

The owner Faraz is a stand up guy. Thus far all my interactions with him have been of a caring,…read moreexacting business owner. It helps that he is very experienced, energetic, and truly loves what he does. Without reservation I highly recommend him.

I recently got into saltwater and setup a reef tank at home and in the office. Came across Aquatic…read moreExperts and I'm so glad to have found Faraz and his staff. We looked at Custom Aquarium setups and decided to go with Red Sea tanks with a medium sized one for home and a large one in the office. Faraz's crew handled the full delivery and installation. This thing weighs over 500 pounds before filling with any water and they took the time to set it up right and make sure it was level on the floor. They did some custom plumbing work so that one pump can handle the return and reactor. They also installed a RO/DI system in the office so I don't need to lug water around all of the time. We use them for livestock and maintenance. They can handle 100% of your tank or can work with you as a partner. In the office, we have them come for service every 2 weeks and they give us tasks to complete on the weeks they aren't here. The tanks have never looked better. Faraz has tried (unsuccessfully) to teach me patience and has proven to be right with his advice. This week he saved my home tank from a devastating crash. I was thinking I wanted to make some changes to the aquascape and was about to pull out a few rocks in favor of some others I had at home. Fortunately I called Faraz first and he suggested that I perform a few tests first. Turns out those rocks would have been lethal. The ammonia readings were off the chart and if those rocks went in the tank poor Nemo would have been swimming with the fishees... What really makes these guys deserve a top rating is their responsiveness. Faraz is great at responding to texts and emails. I'm trying to learn and grow in this cool hobby and am glad to have Faraz to turn to.

The luau was set in a beautiful location within Sea Life Park in Hawaii. The performers were great,…read moreand the views during the show were breathtaking. The only thing I was not impressed with was the food selection. The buffet was disappointing. The drinks were okay, but I feel the food could have been much better. Other than that, it was an unforgettable night, and I would definitely recommend it. The experience is especially worthwhile because of all the activities that come with purchasing tickets for the luau.

This entire situation has honestly left such a bad taste in my mouth…read more We paid for transportation to and from the luau as part of our package. At the end of the night, we stood outside in the rain waiting for the shuttle for about 40 minutes, only to then be told the shuttle had broken down and it would be another 40 minute wait. My husband is disabled and sick, cold, wet, and exhausted, and we were basically left with no real option other than paying out of pocket for a Lyft/Uber. Manager Lisa was very kind and told us we would absolutely be reimbursed, so we trusted that it would be handled. Since then, it has been weeks of being bounced around through emails, empty apologies, promises that reimbursement was "approved," and claims that management would contact us directly, yet nothing has actually been resolved. What is most upsetting is that this could have been fixed so easily. Instead, we've had to repeatedly chase down a company over reimbursement for a problem THEY caused. It feels incredibly disrespectful and dismissive, especially after spending good money to support their business and after the stress of trying to care for a disabled spouse in the rain while stranded after an event. The luau itself may have been beautiful, but this experience afterward completely overshadowed it. Not sure if I'll ever get a refund, save yourself the headache and go to another luau.

Disclaimer: While I've never been employed by the Sanctuary, I have served as an alternate on its…read morecommunity Advisory Council for both the Education (2008-10) and Honolulu County (2010-12) seats. The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary was created by Congress in 1992 to protect humpback whales and their habitat in Hawaii. The address listed is for the Sanctuary's main office on Oahu which is not open to the public. The Sanctuary itself encompasses shallow (less than 600 feet), warm waters surrounding six of the main Hawaiian Islands (Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii) and constitutes one of the world's most important humpback whale habitats . Click here to view a map of the Sanctuary boundaries: http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/documents/images/boundary3.jpg While the Sanctuary's various education, outreach, and research initiatives differ somewhat from island to island, it's best known for hosting an annual "Ocean Count" event on the last Saturday of January, February, and March (peak whale season) of each year from 8:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. During the event, over 2,000 volunteers on Kauai, Oahu, and Hawaii islands simultaneously record whale sightings and behaviors from over 60 coastal sites. Click here to view results from past Ocean Counts: http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/involved/ocprojectresults.html It's website is updated regularly with information about public lectures, research results, and other helpful information regarding whale watching within the Sanctuary as well as opportunities to get involved as a volunteer.