The Florida Aquarium : General Admission
Product ID: 72055
Supplied by: The Florida Aquarium
Please note: Xplorie Voucher Tickets are valid only for your chosen date of reservation. To ensure a smooth experience at the ticket gate, we recommend purchasing tickets in advance for your entire group for each day you plan to visit this attraction.
Your visit will begin at your selected time.
Go from tree level to sea level at The Florida Aquarium! You can get up close and personal with many of Florida’s diverse aquatic and terrestrial animals and ecosystems, as well as others from around the world. You can see how The Florida Aquarium’s research, conservation, and education outreach efforts are making a difference in Tampa Bay and beyond!
Highlights
- Animal exhibits from Sharks, Eels, Sea Turtles, Pythons, Otters and more! 3 Touch pools: Moon Bay, Sting Rays, and No Bone Zone
- Discover Madagascar with animals: Lemurs, Chameleons, Tortoises, and marine life found in the Indian Ocean.
Additional Information
Hours of Operation
Monday – Sunday 9:30 AM – 5 PM
Closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day
Cancellation policy
If you need to make changes or cancel reservation, you will need to do so no later than 24 hours in advance.
Know before you go
Parking at The Florida Aquarium
The Florida Aquarium is located in the heart of Downtown Tampa in the Channel District. There are several parking options within walking distance to the Aquarium. Parking is $10 per vehicle, not including buses.
Valet Parking
The Florida Aquarium Main Entrance (located on Channelside Drive)
Valet parking is available most days to all guests during regular hours of operation†. Take advantage of this service, provided by The Car Park, at the main entrance of the Aquarium, located at 701 Channelside Drive. Regular valet rates are $20 for up to 3 hours and $40 for over 3 hours*.
*Please note that we cannot offer valet parking on days when a cruise is in port at Terminal 2. Pricing is subject to change during peak periods.
† Subject to availability.
Other Local Parking
Channelside Parking Garage
City of Tampa Parking Lot
Cumberland Garage
Overview
Exhibits
Mosaic Exhibit Hall
The Mosaic Exhibit Hall is a continuously changing space creating new experiences for guests and members. With a focus on interpretive exhibits, guests will engage with digital interactives, augmented reality, hands-on activities and, of course, engaging wildlife. The exhibit hall debuts Summer 2023 with the MORPH’D gallery.
TGH Animal Health Care Center
Get a firsthand look at what it takes to provide world-class care to thousands of animals! Visit the Tampa General Hospital Animal Health Care Center to get an up-close view of the unparalleled medical care animals receive from The Florida Aquarium’s veterinary staff. Located on the second floor, this state-of-the-art facility partners with Tampa General Hospital to provide the highest level of care to the residents in our community, from the smallest of creatures to the largest.
CIBC Aquatic Lounge
Slow the pace of your visit in the tranquility of the CIBC Aquatic Lounge. This gallery space features a rotating variety of imaginative and educational works of art as well as a variety of small aquatic species.
Restoring Florida's Coral Reefs
By engaging with this new interactive digital display featuring a set of stunning short documentary films, guests will learn more about the third largest barrier reef in the world – Florida’s Reef Tract, the Aquarium’s ongoing and innovative Coral Conservation and the 100 Yards of Hope Project. Witness the Aquarium’s amazing technology and coral spawning via high-definition video and narration from the scientists themselves.
Restoring Florida’s Coral Reef debuted amid the excitement of Super Bowl LV with support from NFL Green, the Tampa Super Bowl Host Committee, and FORCE BLUE. Located on our 2nd floor lobby, the exhibit is free for members and included with general admission.
Habitats
Aquarium Habitats
Dive into the amazing sights, sounds and experiences from tree level to sea level at The Florida Aquarium! Explore animal habitats featuring animals from right here in our own backyard to exotic locations throughout the globe. From mysterious sand tiger sharks and playful otters, to tiny seahorses and inquisitive sea turtles, you’ll never know what you’ll discover when you visit the wide variety of animal species at The Florida Aquarium.
Wetlands of Florida
Birds soar overhead in our iconic 80-foot-tall glass dome, turtles bask in the sun and freshwater fish dart through the water as you wander the Wetlands trail. Enjoy the lush mangrove trees that have grown at the Aquarium since opening in 1995. Lock eyes with an alligator, run alongside the playful river otters and marvel at the beautiful plumage of the roseate spoonbills and white ibises. Explore Florida’s freshwater and brackish environments in this immersive experience and gain a new appreciation for the animals that live in Florida!
Journey to Madagascar
Take a Journey to Madagascar to hang with ring-tailed lemurs, explore a tropical coral reef, gawk at hissing cockroaches and so much more. Enter the world of species native to Madagascar to learn not only interesting facts but also the threats that they face in their native habitats. Get inspired to take action to help create a better life for them in our own backyard.
Shorelines
Get acquainted with animals that make their home under rock pilings and bridges in coastal Florida. Spiny lobsters peer out from their rocky refuge, garden eels poke their heads out of sandy burrows and curious pufferfish flit around below the surface.
Stingray Beach
Roll up your sleeves for this Aquarium must! Touch the slippery and velvety wing tip of a cownose ray. It’s an experience like no other when a stingray slowly glides within your reach. Florida horse conch, blue angelfish, porkfish and doctorfish also reside in Stingray Beach.
No Bone Zone
Dip your hands into the No Bone Zone to touch sea stars, anemones, sea cucumbers and more! These Pacific species thrive in icy waters, so brace yourself for this bone chilling touch habitat.
Coral Reef
With over 500,000 gallons of water, the Coral Reef is the Aquarium’s largest habitat. As you wander your way through the habitat, you’ll catch sights of sand tiger sharks, sea turtles, giant Atlantic stingrays and hundreds of reef dwelling fish. This habitat will have you gazing upward in awe. With so much to see and explore, you’ll want to spend hours in this relaxing panoramic window.
Reef Secrets
Your fascination will grow as you discover the variety of species in our Reef Secrets Gallery. Filled with a variety of seahorse and pipehorse species – from pot-bellied to dwarf – you’ll want to get up close to these amazing habitats. Learn how seahorses reproduce, eat and survive, and how these animals have inspired millions of years of folklore and fairytales.
Waves of Wonder
Take a trip through the Waves of Wonder habitats to experience a diverse variety of colorful species. Enjoy the sight of oscillating and undulating jellies, clownfish, and anemones. There’s even a great Pacific octopus. This gallery also features the Heart of the Sea, home to many Florida favorites like a loggerhead sea turtle, hogfish, spotted eagle rays and bonnethead sharks.
Moon Bay
The Aquarium’s moon jelly touch habitat, the only one of its kind in the Southeast, is sure to wow kids and adults alike. The star of this touch habitat, the moon jelly, is named from their translucent moon-like circular bells and have lived in our oceans for more than 500 million years. Come see these beautiful animals up-close, as they drift gracefully through the water, bodies illuminated by the changing-colored lights. Learn from Aquarium educators about their importance in the ecosystem and discover why moon jellies aren’t ‘jellyfish’, they aren’t fish at all!
