New England Aquarium

The aquarium is dead easy to get to on the subway, just hop off at Aquarium. Once off the subway, the aquarium is easy to find.

We decided to go first thing in the morning as it's a popular attraction and the queue quickly builds up. They open every day at 9am.
General admission for an adult when we went cost $18.95, which we felt was reasonable.

The main exhibit is a Giant ocean tank which contains hundreds of fish, and rises up over three floors. Probably the most popular inhabitants of the tank are the giant sea-turtles, Giant rays, barracudas and sharks. You also get to see the divers who hand feed the fish five times a day. As the giant ocean tank is so large, and there are so many fish everyone can get a good view of what's inside.

There are many different exhibits at the aquarium, however we particularly enjoyed taking photos of the amazing jellyfish, seahorses and seadragons. (You don't have to go into the aquarium to see moon-jellyfish though, we saw hundreds of them in the harbour at high-tide).

The aquarium is home to three types of penguin: Rockhopper penguins; African penguins and Little Blue Penguins. Plus several harbour seals.

On site is one of very few aquatic medical centers in the US.
The vets here provide expert care not only for the aquarium's inhabitants, but also for sick marine mammals and sea-turtles.

All in all we enjoyed an educational and pleasent few hours, before the aquarium became packed with people.

If it is your first visit to Boston,
stopping at the New England Aquarium should be a fun time. It is located on Central Wharf, on the waterfront downtown, meaning if you take in Quincy Market/Faneuil
Hall you can simply walk over to enjoy!


The New England Aquarium contains the usual fascinating collection of exhibits you find in most aquariums, with their Giant Ocean Tank setting it apart somewhat. The tank is four stories tall and you can
spend quite awhile circling it at different levels to gain distinct
perspectives. There are also whale watching tours which depart right from the aquarium as well as an IMAX (both extra
$$$’s), neither of which my family sampled despite three or so visits across a ten year span.


There’s no question the place can get crowded, but it is one of the better designed (i.e., more spacious) aquariums we’ve been to. The
in-house diner seems okay, although we’ve never had more than a snack
there…mainly because there are plenty of delicious waterfront eateries waiting just beyond the exit after you’ve enjoyed the fishies!