SEA LIFE Loch Lomond Aquarium Review

SEA LIFE Aquarium
Loch Lomond

www.visitsealife.com/loch-lomond

Reviewed by Debbie Douglas

The SEA LIFE centre is located on the shores of Loch Lomond and is in a stunning location. It is a gorgeous part of the country located just 30 minutes from Glasgow. The SEA LIFE centre is just a 5 minute walk from Balloch train station and has full disabled access.

The SEA LIFE centre has 7 themes zones and flows really well. I don’t want to tell you about everything as that would spoil your visit so I will just mention our favourites.

There are 3 otters (Lilly, Pickle and Cub) and they were asleep when we went in – all you could see was the straw moving. A very helpful member of staff advised us to come back in about an hour as it was nap time for the otters but they would be playing later. Our next favourite was my personal favourite the seahorses – I love these animals and the aquarium manages to breed these successfully which I found wonderful and exciting. One of the kid’s favourite animals was the blue lobsters – they looked almost luminous in the dark. I should also mention that there is a kid’s quiz which was ideal as it wasn’t too long or tricky and both my two enjoyed doing it. They also received a pretend medal at the end much to their delight!

Another hit was the interactive rock pool. Again the staff were really good telling the kids about the empty shark and ray pouches and how they would hang up with their tendrils. They could also touch a chocolate chip star fish and put their hands in for the shrimps to nibble on. My son loved this!

The SEA LIFE centre also boasts both the only Cow Nose rays in Scotland as well as Cammy the only green sea turtle in Scotland. It was amazing to see the majestic turtle swimming above our heads and we caught her getting fed too which was an added bonus. Other animals which get fed at certain times were the otters, the cow nose rays and the sharks.

The centre has a large well equipped café and the food looked good, the views are stunning from here over the loch. There is also an observation deck at the top of the centre so take your cameral as the views are just majestic. There is also a well-stocked gift shop.

The great thing is as well is that you can get your hand stamped and pop in an out all day which is what we did. We went out for a lovely walk along the loch shore then went back in and the otters were awake and playing. We did this a couple more times as the kids kept thinking of things they wanted to see again and because the location is so great it is entirely possible to spend the day doing this.

We had a fabulous day and are already talking about coming back in the summer. The staff are fantastic and a credit to the centre.

Rating: 5/5 

Single tickets cost £13.95 per person (£9.77 per person if booked online in advance, saving 30%), tickets for 2 or more people cost £12.30 per person (£8.61 per person if booked online in advance, saving 30%), children under 3 go FREE.

Want to visit more than once or other SEA LIFE centres? Take advantage of the SEA LIFE Annual Pass with prices from £35 per person or the Merlin Annual Pass to visit all Merlin attractions throughout the UK with prices starting from £99 per person.

For more information or to book tickets visit www.visitsealife.com/loch-lomond.

Loch Lomond Aquarium SEA LIFE, Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch, G83 8QL