Considering its status as Britain's national Aquarium, its selection of marine life was not very…read moreencyclopedic. For instance, just one octopus, two crabs, no squids. Also, the cafe food quality/value for money was what you'd expect for a British family venue, so I don't even need to elaborate on that point... The large tanks of fish where sharks live with sting rays, a turtle and large fish was very relaxing and fascinating to view. It's all laid out and organised well. I'll give it 7.5/10

On a wet day in Plymouth, the girlfriend and I headed for the relative indoor comforts of the…read morenational marine aquarium. It was thoroughly miserable and this is where the aquarium loses one star. There was a queue all day and everyone was forced to queue outdoors in the cold and rain It wasn't helped by the slow selling of tickets. When we finally got to the ticket desk, a contributory cause to this lack of speed became obvious - after we had purchased our tickets (£13 for an adult), we were asked whether we would sign a form to qualify for free attendance for a year. After we had done this, it became clear why they needed our signature - we were asked if we minded if the aquarium reclaimed tax on our tickets. I would have said yes if they had asked that at the beginning but doing it this way round made it feel a little like subterfuge. Especially as it slows the queueing process down for cold, wet customers outside Anyway, enough moaning. Our visit did improve considerably after the slightly iffy start. We did struggle a little to find the entrance but basically, just keep going up and up and you'll enter the first room, which covers the plants and wildlife from the local seas around Plymouth. This room is dominated by 2 large rockpools. A shame that it's stricly see, no touch though - there's no petting pool, which you sometimes see in other aquariums. The small tanks were well labelled, enabling us to find the little residents in each tank. Throughout the aquarium, you'll find a lot of information. You can really feel the educational emphasis here In the next section, you'll encounter the first of the aquarium's starring huge tanks. It's mesmerising to just watch the sea creatures swimming and also interacting with each other. The shark and ray tank is cool in that there are overhead ports, through which you can them swim over you. They've also sunk a whole biplane in another tank to create a habitat for warm water fish That's not say that the small tanks are dull. Au contraire. One of the prettiest creatures were the delicate jellyfish. I also loved the clown fish (Nemo!!) fiercely defending their anemone We lucked out near the end of our visit when we arrived just as Octavia, the aquarium's octopus, was being fed. The staff were really informative, explaining that octopi are as intelligent as 3 year old humans and love to play. They've been known to sneak off to other tanks to eat fish before returning to their tank and acting all innocent. Hence the elaborate access to Octavia's tank. She was given a live crab (she's the only animal which gets fresh food in the aquarium) inside a jar with a screw top. They set Octavia tasks to keep her stimulated and it wasn't long before she had the top off. It's definitely worth finding out when they have feeding times A final tank to see the turtle swimming round before the exit through the cafe or gift shop. A good way to pass the time in Plymouth, once you get in!

This may not be a huge aquarium but it is lovely and does still take a while to work your way…read morearound. We took our son a while ago and he was totally transfixed by the fish, and we thoroughly enjoyed it as well. I was particularly taken with the sea horse and could have stood and watched them for ages. It does seem a bit expensive, but then a place like that must take some running. There was a cafe and shop with a wide range of gifts from pocket money to quite a bit more money. Definitely worth a look in with or without kids if you like fish, and the setting right next to the beach is beautiful too.

A good aquarium in Newquay with lots of facts to read and lots of interesting sea creatures to look…read moreat including sharks! They have a great gift shop with lots to choose from and a good cafe. The staff all around the aquarium are very friendly and helpful and give talks to people on the creatures and will answer any questions you have. The only downside I found was we got around a bit too quickly as with small children they didn't want to hear many of the details they just wanted to look at things, so perhaps best for older children I'd say if you want to make a day of it, as with small children you could be in and out in an hour which makes it expensive. x

This was the first place I wanted to go on my birthday! When I was younger, I wanted to be a marine…read morebiologist. I still have a passion for sea life which made this spot a great start to a special day. I believe it was about £8 to enter but your ticket is valid for 12 months which is awesome. What I really enjoyed about my visit is how this place focused on education and Marine conservation. It's quite small with two floors but they pack the walls with info boards next to the lobsters. There was also a great video they showed upstairs about the lobster hatchery and lobsters in general. The upstairs room aside from the video was a great area for kiddos as well! I really enjoyed hearing the hatchery is increasing the lobster population by keeping the juveniles safe until releasing them to the wild.

It's certainly worth supporting in theory who doesn't want to help a charitable organisation like…read morethis. It's five star in theory but three star in reality. It's not expensive to go in - £8 an adult buys you a year entry. So good so far but I suspect many like us are only there on holiday so unlikely to return within a year. But there's not a lot to see or do and if you don't get someone to guide you to what you are seeing it's likely you'll not stay very long, and be a tad annoyed at the cost/stay ratio. We had the advantage of a very knowledgeable chap who certainly answered all my questions and revealed lots of fascinating facts about these blue blooded creatures with complex life cycles who rely on urine for survival and procreation so it's vitally important. Who knew? We saw real small lobsters, born a few days earlier, that were remarkably tiny, we saw them roll in the water eating each other - survival of the fittest Darwinian theory right before us - and some old timers. We saw right and left handed lobsters, those with two crusher claws rather than one crusher and one cutter. As I said our guide was a wealth of knowledge and he even persuaded me to buy a lobster tea towel which he thrust in my hands. I just loved the sales pitch and the brass neck. I very much doubt though that anyone would still be there after 45 minutes unless there's a thunderstorm outside, even with a guide. As we left post £25 paid over we reflected that we were subsiding fisher folk who go catch lobsters, sell them locally to very wealthy restauranteurs who pay minimum wages and I have the pleasure of handing over £56 for a cooked one in a town with a food bank. It's a funny old world and a visit I doubt I'd ever repeat.

Fabulous food, fantastic staff and knowledgeable shop staff, what more could you want…read more We are looking forward to coming back soon, well done to everyone

I am sure the garden centre itself is absolutely fine. However I visited solely to look to buy a…read moreselection of marine corals for my reef tank. what an absolute disappointment . whilst the marine fish look OK, although the tanks look a bit uncared for the coral tank is just dire. I have been keeping marines for over 30 years and anyone who keeps a tank like this should be ashamed, let alone someone who expects to sell the inhabitants for were top prices. There was a lot of rock that probably had some life on it long ago and a sad selection of softies that looked in very poor condition and overpriced for what they were. The best thing they could do would be to sell off what is still alive, sort out the water quality and re-stock, or just pack up. Why waste my time driving to look at a sad unhealthy collection. Give it up or pick it up, apart from anything else it isn't fair to the animals in their care. The hobby doesn't need these people. Steve

LAst year I had a chance to visit this lovely aquarium which is located near the Hoe in plymouth…read more This is a lovely place to visit with your family, kids as you get to know more about marine life. There are so many different fishes of all varieties like star fish, clown fish and other species of water creatures like octopus, sea turtles, the shark. I was fascinated to see the shark as they were really huge and they would respond to you when you try to point your finger through the glass. This is a very big aquarium and in one of the sections you could see some marine people diving in the water to feed the water creatures. That was really awesome.