Downtown Aquarium - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)
Downtown Aquarium
Downtown Aquarium
4
Architectural BuildingsAquariums
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Monday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
About
This new innovative aquarium offers self-guided tours through two separate ecosystems, the Colorado River and the Indonesian River.
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.

Top ways to experience Downtown Aquarium and nearby attractions

See what travelers are saying
  • Susanne A
    Colorado Springs, Colorado74 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great food and fun environment
    We decided to celebrate my husbands birthday at the restaurant. We’ve been there before but something was different this time. The food and service was good before but this last time it was great. We all really enjoyed our meals and look forward to going back.
    Visited April 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written April 29, 2023
  • Aliah
    Mount Dora, Florida17 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Absolutely beautiful!
    I think the aquarium is large enough to be worth the price. There are multiple interactive exhibits. You can pay for extra things, but I think just the basic ticket was a satisfying experience. There were multiple large glass areas to view the animals. They also have two tigers which were fun to see! Don't go during peak hours because it can be rather crowded. Definitely great for children but adults will enjoy it too. From the fun mermaid show to the mesmerizing jellyfish, this place has it all. The food is iffy, but one doesn’t go to the aquarium expecting great food. The staff who do the shows are wonderful and really know their topics and do an excellent job. Worth a visit! You also get to pet and feed the stingrays, and swim with the fish or sharks!! They also have a gift shop, face painting, a 4D theater, and two otters I think! I also really enjoy the jungle/rainforest part of the aquarium! So many species of fish, sharks, and manta rays to name a few. There is also an added bonus of seeing a very colorful macaw. There’s also a flash flood exhibit, interactive learning, and so many tanks! The acoustics aren’t necessarily great for keeping the noise down.
    Visited January 2023
    Written May 3, 2023
  • kballtraveler
    Canton of Basel, Switzerland74 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    A fine outing
    It was okay for an outing, but certainly not near the top on my list of aquariums visited. The highlight was definitely the sting ray pool at the very end. I was glad we had our sons rain gear along as we were able to keep him dry while he touched the rays.
    Visited May 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written May 15, 2023
  • Katie C
    Indianapolis, Indiana511 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Strange experience
    This was a very strange experience. The building is nice, and the restaurant is nice, but something seemed off. The tanks seemed very very full, and the available information on labels and otherwise very limited. We were constantly wondering what type of fish we were looking at or curious about a behavior we were seeing. There were very few, if any, staff members to be found to ask questions. One of the main questions we had was why this aquarium has tigers (??), but the labels did nothing to explain and there wasn't a staff member in sight. Overall we enjoyed our time, but we would have loved a more educational experience.
    Visited May 2023
    Written May 20, 2023
  • Rebecca B
    Mount Pleasant, North Carolina701 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Aquarium has unusual fish
    We chose the aquarium due to having some extra time to kill. The aquarium is setup adequately and easy to find your way around to each exhibit. This aquarium seemed to have fish my bestie and I had not seen at other aquariums so that was pretty cool. The aquarium needs a restroom and water fountains on more than just the first level. They do have a cool looking restaurant with views of the tanks throughout, they also have a snack bar like eatery with coffee and drinks. (nonalcoholic and alcoholic varieties) The gift shop is pretty nice with lots of gift options for children. The parking is across the street with a short walk to the aquarium and the cost was only $8 so not that bad for downtown Denver.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written July 1, 2023
  • Matthew H
    Los Angeles, California28 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good for the family, great fish tanks!
    Charming and fun and unique. We got to sit right next to one of the big aquariums and the kids loved watching the fish in the huge tank. At first, we thought this was a museum-aquarium, but it's not. It's a theme restaurant with massive fish tanks and cool views. It's fun for the family, great to do after spending a hot day at the theme park, Eliches.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written July 20, 2023
  • Lynn S
    Weston, Missouri6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good size, plenty to see
    I liked this aquarium, plenty of things to do and see, but not too long that you get bored. We only had a few things to point out, they have tigers, cool but a little weird, they had a board that said they were going to add some toys in with the tigers at 130. well people started showing up and hanging around , finally we asked when it was going to start, there were 2 employees there showing items the tigers play with. They didn't know why we were all there, I told them the sign says 130, she said that was at 1130, they need to put this where the other "1" can't get erased.
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written August 4, 2023
  • Megan L
    Rock Springs, Wyoming63 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great aquarium!
    Beautiful, well planned Aquarium. The fish tanks were enormous and full of cool fish! Loved the flash flood room, that was incredible! I am a little weary about the tigers. They have been raised in captivity, but I think they need more room than what was provided. The stingray touch pool was great and you get to feed them!
    Visited August 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written August 24, 2023
  • CMD915
    El Paso, Texas379 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice aquarium
    Very nice aquarium with lots of species but not enough explanations of what we were looking at. The stingrays were also lots of fun. We stayed about three hours because our son loves sharks, but two would probably be enough for most people.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written September 23, 2023
  • jrzj42
    Ellicott City, Maryland1,563 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Must see
    I've been to many aquariums across the U.S., include the National Aquarium in Baltimore MD. This aquarium is by far one of the best in the country, nearly on par with the National Aquarium. My favorite is still the Monterey Bay Aquarium, as it has by far the best Jelly fish exhibit anywhere in the country. This aquarium caters to kids, but its also a good experience for adults.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 22, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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
4.0 of 5 bubbles2,262 reviews
Excellent
801
Very good
739
Average
469
Poor
169
Terrible
84

Shirley P
Springfield, IL5 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020
We were traveling to Estes Park from Illinois and had time to stop in to see the Denver Aquarium. As we approached the parking attendant he asked if we had tickets because we had to purchase them online. We had not! There was no indication that tickets MUST be purchased in advance, and when we tried to do so, nothing was available. The site did show you could do so, but not that it was required. Very disappointing and a waste of drive time. As we headed home a week later we tried again, purchasing our tickets 15 minutes in advance as we pulled into the parking lot. . (It looked like they would expire if we had traffic or other issues causing a delay one hour after The designated admission time) unfortunately the walk through the aquarium only took a little over an hour and was not even worth the cost of admission for four adults in a city the size of Denver we were expecting so much more. Only If you have small children who had never been to an aquarium, and had a coupon, it would be worth it
Written October 1, 2020
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.

david m
Chubbuck, ID456 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021
When we first arrived to Denver before we headed to the hotel, we went to the Downtown Aquarium. It was an awesome attraction. We loved seeing the fish from around the world and Denver. Our kids loved it. Also the restaurant was awesome too! We would recommend anybody who has kids or loves aquariums to pay the price and make reservations because this attraction was indeed one of the best ones we experienced.
Written June 7, 2021
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.

Chantel B
Aurora, CO1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022
We went to check out the Denver aquarium with our small son. We paid for tickets online (roughly $52.00) for two adults and our son is under 2 so he was free. Parking is $8 a car (couldn't find any other available parking and we had "timed tickets" for 3pm. Not sure why the tickets have time slots as you still have to wait in the very long line and then once inside it is VERY crowded. Our stroller was bumped and pushed. You couldn't really see anything in the tanks due to the overwhelming amount of people. The enclosures/tanks need A LOT of upkeep as they are dingy and look as if they haven't been cleaned in a while. Now for the worst of it.. THE TIGER enclosure. This animal does not have access to fresh air, outdoors and is in this make shift enclosure. (Mike the tiger at LSU stadium is in better conditions then this poor animal).
This was a very overpriced family day out. We decided to stop at the gift shop to see if they had any ocean books or any books really as we encourage our son to look at a lot of books. WELP I should have known that there would be none based on how the whole atmosphere felt like a pet store with exotic animals and fish. The employees were very unfriendly and looked as if they were bored/miserable. I understand working on the weekends is not ideal but come 'on show a little compassion for your job. Oh well this is a one and done for us and we will detour any family that comes to visit from visiting this establishment.
Written April 2, 2022
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.

N0rmalee
Bossier City, LA675 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021 • Couples
This is a unique aquarium in that it’s not just fish tanks but really they did a good job with the backgrounds and tanks. There is even a tiger (?), a macaw, and a demonstration of a flash flood with lightning and the whole works. There are sharks, turtles, frogs, and snakes. And a large tank where you can touch manta (?) rays. Parking is nearby and costs $8. Be aware that you must purchase tickets online in advance and that not all the events, etc are still not open again.
Written May 19, 2021
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.

eatsleeptour
Dallas, TX750 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022 • Couples
I have never been to the Denver aquarium and so we decided to take my mother and check it out. It was on a Saturday and we had reserve tickets for 2 PM. When we arrived it was a little confusing to figure out where to pick up our reservation and still had to wait in the ticket line so that was frustrating. Once inside we enjoyed seeing all of the fish tanks and large variety of fish and sea animals. It was a Saturday so it was very crowded. The tanks all seemed pretty clean and the fish healthy. We spent about two hours going through the aquarium. We had dinner reservations at the aquarium restaurant so finished and had to wait about an hour for our reservation, which we sat in the bar and had a drink. I felt the gift shop could have used some more unique items featuring clown fish since finding Nemo is so popular. I also felt ticket prices were a little steep as it would be an expensive outing for a family with children.
Written April 25, 2022
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.

Lisa H
Woodland Park, CO102 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2023
We visited the aquarium many years ago. Wow, it has gone seriously downhill since then. Many of the tanks were so dirty and algae filled you couldn’t see the fish. You are herded through like cattle with huge crowds. Large strollers were everywhere taking up a ton of space. If your kid is small enough to be in a large stroller they are not going to enjoy or remember it. The large tank with the sharks and large turtles have obviously lost a lot of animals. There are very few of them in the tank compared to the past. Water is incredibly murky. They were feeding the tigers when we were there. That was cool to watch. However, there are 3 big tigers in a very small area. 2 of them were fighting for 1 spot to rest. The 4 women that were feeding them were not giving any information to guests. They feed them and then just stood there talking to each other in the way. Didn’t give info to guests about them. The only employees we saw in the aquarium were at the tiger area to feed them and 1 to touch the starfish. Then at the end there were employees everywhere working all the extras at the end. Extras were a Starbucks, hurricane tunnel, build a bear, face painting, feed the stingrays, etc. 3 adult tickets cost $84 ahead of time with the service fee. $8 for parking. We went through the whole thing in about 1 hour.
Written January 15, 2023
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.

MyersFamilyTravelers
153 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
We are a zoo/aquarium family and this was one of the best we have been to. We went in the evening during extended hours so there were very few people there. They had very nice exhibits with local fish and fish from all over the world. They even have a tiger which we have never seen at an aquarium. The large tank at the end is really cool and they have some fairly large sharks and two very large barracuda.
Written August 11, 2022
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.

Sillieguze
Saint Louis, MO15 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022
We visited the aquarium with our 11 and 14 year old kids. We all enjoyed the aquarium but made it through the entire thing in just under an hour. I wish there had been more to see. Luckily we purchased the City Pass since we were going to visit other museums too so that helped us save some money. I would have been upset if we paid $25 a person for this visit.
Written July 5, 2022
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.

stapelady
Albuquerque, NM41 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021 • Family
We did not know this was a chain of Aquariums. My son in law kept stating he waiting for “Joe Exotic” to come out from hiding. We were so angry that we wasting our money and time. It was dirty, over crowded, and seriously not a good time. The beginning was trying to be forced to take a picture at the entrance, that it created a long line to get in. The girl (employee of another company) blocking us from entering was rude and angry that we did not want to take a picture. The restaurant (Landry’s) was not worth the money. Also we sat there for 45minutes waiting for our food. The manager had to track it down to have it brought to us with hot Cole slaw and tarter sauce, because it sat under the heat lamp. He was given the food that was not to be cooked and asked for a appropriate temp. We were really sad that we wasted over $100+ for this waste of time and realized it’s just a money making side show.
Written July 18, 2021
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.

Steve C
Aldershot, UK755 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Couples
Surprised by the reviews as we thought it was good. Ticket desks a bit chaotic as there are multiple queues but not all in operation and it is difficult to see what tellers are open due to the reflecting sun.

Once inside it was very busy - push chairs everywhere and difficult to get a good view of some of the earlier exhibits. However once you go through the tunnel the crowds disappear (where do they go?) and it was quite calm on the rest of the tour. Nice to relax and sit to watch the sharks.

We didn’t go to the restaurant but we did go to the bar with nice views of one of the tanks.
Written July 2, 2022
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.

Showing results 1-10 of 2,192
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Downtown Aquarium - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Downtown Aquarium


Restaurants near Downtown Aquarium: View all restaurants near Downtown Aquarium on Tripadvisor


All Denver HotelsDenver Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in Denver
All things to do in Denver
Day Trips in Denver
RestaurantsFlightsVacation RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesRental Cars
© 2024 Tripadvisor LLC All rights reserved.

This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu.