SEA LIFE London Aquarium Review
SEA LIFE London Aquarium
Reviewed by Rachel Osbourne
On Sunday our family headed to London to visit the SEA LIFE London Aquarium. In our party there were 5 very excited people – 2 adults, and three children aged 10, 8 and 7.
As we live outside London, we decided to drive down to East London and get the tube in. The aquarium is located just a 5-10 minute walk away from Waterloo Station (or you can use Westminster tube station), so is served very well by public transport. When we arrived at the station, we found it well signposted and had no problem finding our way to the entrance just past the London Eye and the London Dungeons and across Westminster Bridge from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
We picked up our tickets from the very friendly lady on the counter and bought a guide (for a reasonable £3.50) which is full of information, some vouchers, and also some children’s activities. The day we were there was the last day of a special Moshi Monster event, which was great for our little Moshi fans! They were given a Moshi Monster activity book and a pen, which contained some questions to find the answers to as we went around the centre, and also a treasure hunt where they had actually hidden some Moshi Monster figures inside some of the tanks. If they found them all, they were given a special code which they can use online, and also a special certificate. There was the opportunity to swap moshling figures if you had brought them with you. The lady on the desk also gave us some colouring sheets and coloured pencils to bring home with us.
We set off into the centre, crossing over the top of the shark tank, walking on a glass floor with the sharks swimming directly below us, which is a very strange feeling, but also amazing to see them from that angle.
As we made our way through the aquarium, we were very impressed with the way it was set out. It did get a bit crowded around some of the tanks, but that is to be expected at such a popular attraction. Next to the tanks there were information screens which showed information on all of the creatures in that tank. We thought they were well set out with the major points about each in larger font, then more detail written a bit smaller if you were interested. The screens scrolled through between creatures at a speed that was just right, there was enough time to read the information, but not so slow that you got bored waiting for the next screen. All the tanks were at levels that children could see into quite easily, and we liked the way that some of the tanks which contained smaller creatures used magnifying glass. We also liked that the larger tanks such as those containing the sharks and the turtles and rays, could be viewed several times on the way round from different heights and angles.
There was an informative talk given at the ray tank, which was very interesting, however we didn’t listen to all of this – the girls were getting restless, so we took the opportunity to get ahead of the crowd!
There were toilets on every floor, and there were a couple of places where you could buy ice creams, drinks and sweets. There was also a cafeteria by the exit.
The range of species at the aquarium was amazing and I could have happily spent all day wandering round, there is so much to see, from the penguins (my personal favourite), through all sorts of fish, sharks, frogs and turtles, to the Japanese Spider Crab, which were huge! There was a lovely display showing examples of what you would find just outside in the River Thames, which was a nice touch after seeing creatures from all over the world.
Before the exit, there was of course, a gift shop. This was well stocked with not only a good range of gifts and keepsakes, but also a good range of prices. We were able to buy the girls a gift each without breaking the bank, and there was also a voucher in the guide which gave us some money off which we were able to use. Although the girls said they would pay any amount of money to visit again(!), when we do I will definitely be booking online in advance as you save 15% on the walk up price, which we think makes the price about right for a central London attraction. We spent around three hours there, although we could have spent more, so we found it good value for money.
Rating: 4.5/5
For latest ticket prices and special offers or to book your tickets online visit www.visitsealife.com/london/ticket-prices
SEA LIFE London Aquarium, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7PB
