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SEALIFE London Aquarium Review

Reviewed by David Savage

We visited the London Aquarium by tube and it was very easy to get to by going to Westminster and crossing over the River Thames on Westminster Bridge to the aquarium which is situated next to the London Eye. When leaving the tube you are greeted by Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and a statue of Boadicea so straight away is some great sight seeing for all the family. There were four members in our party with the youngest 9 years old and the oldest 60 years old.

Opening hours in summer are 9am to 8pm (last entry at 7pm) and in winter 10am to 6pm (last entry 5pm). They are open 7 days a week except Christmas Day.

Upon arriving we were greeted by very friendly and helpful staff and were in the lift ‘diving’ into the aquarium within a few minutes.

Walking through the aquarium is very easy and spacious with hundreds of different species to look at from colourful fish, rays, tiny sea horses, large crabs and turtles and best of all the penguins and sharks.

There are several talks and feeding times throughout the day from feeding the rays to the sharks with educational talks and if you are lucky you may even get to help with feeding time.

The penguins and the sharks were the favourite parts of the aquarium with the youngest enjoying the sharks and the shark walk most with the oldest loving the penguins.

The penguins attracted a large crowd especially watching a very timid penguin trying to decide and attempt to dive into the water but after several aborted attempts gave up and walked away. While all the other penguins were diving into the water and swimming around before jumping out again the timid penguin would walk to the edge, look in, attempt to dive and then walk away before coming back for another go. Even with the crowd willing it  on from behind the glass it decided to give up and walk away all while his mate stood there with his head back as far as it would go and mouth open looking like it was laughing. It was also my favourite part of the aquarium.

As there are so many different species to look at it can take some time to get around but even while busy it was not so packed that you could not see anything and you got to look at everything for as long as you needed to.

There was informative information on display next to each tank to help you know what you were looking at. This was needed most when we came across a large tank that appeared to be empty but the information said there were alligators in there and after carefully searching for them we found them blending in to their surroundings. They were quite hard to spot as they were perfectly still and we thought they were not real at first.

At the end of the aquarium we took the Shark Walk where we walked across a glass floor with the sharks swimming beneath our feet, this was the favourite part for the youngest of our party while the oldest did walk it while wondering if the glass was going to break and she would end up swimming with them.

A very enjoyable experience even if just for the comedic antics of the penguins.

Priority and VIP tickets are also available along with combi tickets to other London attractions such as London Eye or Madame Tussauds.   Annual Passes can also be purchased for other Merlin Entertainments can also be purchased so you can enjoy all their attractions while saving money.

General admission in to the aquarium costs (if bought online):

Adult General Admission (16+)

£17.14 (Saving 10% from Ticket Office)

Child General Admission (3-15 yrs)

£12.66 (Saving 10% from Ticket Office)

Child General Admission (under 3 years)

FREE

Concession General Admission

£16.20 (Saving 10% from Ticket Office)

Family of 4 General Admission(2 adult & 2 child)

£54.00 (Saving 10% from Ticket Office)

Carer General Admission(Accompanying Disabled Person)

FREE

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