Heal the Bay Aquarium
Heal the Bay Aquarium
4
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Friday
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
About
Heal the Bay Aquarium is a marine education facility, which inspires understanding and conservation of Southern California coastal waters, watersheds and marine life through education, interaction and discovery. Located beach level, just below the Carousel at the Santa Monica Pier, the Aquarium is open to the general public daily. Over its 18 years of operation, the Aquarium has welcomed more than one million visitors during public hours, and in-house education programs have reached close to 200,000 students. Heal the Bay is an environmental nonprofit dedicated to making the coastal waters and watersheds of Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy and clean. To fulfill our mission, we use science, education, community action, and advocacy.
Duration: < 1 hour
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Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Santa Monica is a coastal town that maintains a balance as a tourist destination and as an area with a thriving local culture. On the beach, bikers, roller-bladers, runners and walkers move along the famed bike path enjoying the beautiful Los Angeles weather. The solar-powered Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica pier spins high above the water, while park revelers scream with delight riding the roller coaster. Inland from the beach, Third Street Promenade bustles with shoppers and street performers, where every block seems to have a musical or acrobatic act drawing crowds giving Santa Monica both the feeling of a laid-back beach town and a major commercial hub.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
274 reviews
Excellent
75
Very good
103
Average
70
Poor
16
Terrible
10
Frank R
Las Vegas, NV390 contributions
Jun 2018 • Family
It cost us $14.00 per day at their public parking, if we had done our home work on the pier itself is $3.00 per hour. We only stayed for about an hour. I thought the pier would be more besides the rides. I liked Venice Beach a whole lot more
Written June 9, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bill1241
Santa Monica, CA2 contributions
Apr 2018 • Family
Yes, its a great please to take the kids to. I recommend it. Easy access and just the right size for young kids attention spans.
Written May 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bossy075
New York City, NY90 contributions
Aug 2017 • Couples
Didn't actually go in. It looked like the type of place that if you had small children it would be worth the entrance fee, otherwise I wouldn't and didn't bother.
Written September 28, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
angelcindy
St. Petersburg, FL215 contributions
Aug 2017 • Business
We were really looking forward to going to the aquarium as we have seen some great ones across the world. The entry fee is cheap, as it should be, as it will take you about 10 minutes to read everything and be done. Not what we were expecting at all.
Written August 29, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MIke23693
Yorktown, VA108 contributions
Jul 2017 • Family
I'm not positive but this place appeared to be shuttered and closed down. In leaving the Pier we walked down some concrete steps and past signs saying aquarium. The place appeared shuttered and closed. Could be wrong.
Written August 10, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stavreez
Montreal, Canada309 contributions
Sep 2016 • Family
Pleasant and well organized venue. Some interesting species so a visit is a must especially with small kids.
Written August 7, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mmikko
Joensuu, Finland1,655 contributions
May 2017 • Couples
Small aquarium at Santa Monica pier, or under it. Entrance fee was 5$/adult under 12 years old free with parents. Good fun for kids, not much to see for adults, a few fish tanks and info signs..
Written May 29, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lo B
Castle Donington, UK403 contributions
Mar 2017
We visited using our LA go card, so we didn't actually pay out right for this visit, which I am very pleased about as I would have been very disappointed. The aquarium firstly was very difficult to find, and once we found it we were shocked - it was very small, unclean and there were hardly any animals - those that were there were not in what looked to be clean tanks. I would not recommend visiting.
Written May 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
brothermoses
Camano Island, WA122 contributions
Apr 2017
This little aquarium under the Santa Monica Pier is quite nice--just don't expect it to compare with the one down in Long Beach. There are several ceiling-high tanks with local critters including various rockfish, small sharks, morays and wolf eels. Several open, hands-on pools with knowledgeable helpers will keep the kids (and the inquisitive) busy. Sometimes smaller is better...
Written April 12, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Melanie G
Santa Monica, CA2,746 contributions
Dec 2016 • Family
This is a sweet aquarium with hands on stuff for the kids. Supports the awesome Heal the Bay charity that focuses on what they call 'the locals' i.e. the creatures that inhabit the bay. There are fun things for the kids to do and lots of great staff to answer any questions you might have. We love it. We live here and visit often. Oh and they have different things going on different days...check out the website. Starfish feeding anyone?
Written January 24, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Debbie V
Manhattan Beach, CA53 contributions
Does anyone know if the building is heated?’ I was invited to a pop up event there in the evening and I’m wondering if it is going to be cold in there. Because the temps have been in the 50’s and it’s on the beach level so it could be cold. Thanks in advance.
Hello, may I ask what entrance price would be?
sarah v
Watford, UK23 contributions
5 dollars each
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