Aquarium Of The Bay

★★★☆☆ 27 Reviews Write a Review

415-623-5300

The Embarcadero & Beach St San Francisco, CA 94133

About Aquarium Of The Bay

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Arts & Entertainment
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Insider Pages Reviews for Aquarium Of The Bay

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Again this is not a bad place and it's not really a great place either. The problem is that it is simply not a great value at all. Way over-priced for what you really get. You down and elevator walk through a few tubes of fish and take the elevator up. That would be great if it was $8.95 instead of $15.95. The core issue is space. Honestly, they have done a good job of cramming as much of an aquarium as they could in the space allowed, but from a value experience perspective, it is just missing the mark.

April 09, 2010

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This is a nice little gift shop to visit after you go to the aquarium. You can pick up little gifts of the fish you just saw. Spend some time looking around I am sure you will find something to take home.

February 13, 2009

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I was not impressed with this aquarium. Not very big. The kids were even kind of bored with it. It is a major attraction in the city but I would not recommend it.

October 17, 2006

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Although small in size, this attraction in San Francisco packs a wallup. This is the first aquarium we went to where you walk through a tube surrounded by the tank. It is the strangest feeling to see the fish almost completely around you. A bit pricey but worth it for one trip. They also have some good historical snipits.

May 13, 2006

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My kid loves to walk through the tunnel surrounded by all the sea creatures. Though it is not as big as the Monterey Bay Aquariam,it is very well maintained and is very educational. We love going there.

March 14, 2006

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The Aquarium of the Bay is okay. I went there a couple of times with my family while we were visiting Pier 39. It pales in comparison to the Monterey Bay Aquarium but it does have its merits. It has a great view of the San Francisco Bays sea life as you ride on this moving thing on the floor that takes you across to the other side. Youll see sharks, starfish, jellyfish and more. Its probably a good for 15-20 minutes of your time..

November 28, 2005

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Most of the creatures that are living in the bay waters of San Francisco can be seen here at the Aquarium of the Bay. This is a very exciting place to visit with the children to see all the creatures that we rarely see every day. You'l be surrounded by all of this when walking through the tunnel walkway which is an awesome experience.

November 27, 2005

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My children love to visit the Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39 in San Francisco. Although it' gets pretty busy during the weekends because of all the tour buses it's definitely a place to visit. You can see all the sea creatures from a tunnel of glass. The staff are very knowledgeable of all the animals and can answer any questions you have.

November 20, 2005

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A notch or two down in quality from the venerable Monterey Bay Aquarium, but still worth visiting. Facilities are kept clean, and the glass is seldom smudged or cloudy. Also, since it's on Pier 39, you can hop out to eat some of the best seafood in the Bay Area after a visit. Admittedly a strange experience to first marvel at the creatures of the ocean and then eat them.

November 17, 2005

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Aquarium of the Bay is a wonderful museum to visit especially if you have kids. They have so many exhibits of every sea creature that I can think of there. Their childrens area upstairs is a lovely area full of interactive activities for kids. The drive to Monterey itself is a beautiful drive where you can see the ocean views from the freeway.

November 16, 2005

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I recently went here with my Mom and her boyfriend. It was very cool! And educational too boot! There were all sorts of wild life to check out and many exibits. The whole place was pretty cool. An adult cost $7-. That seems to be the going rate every place I have been recently. The staff if very helpful and they all seemed to know alot about all the animals and the aquarium itself. Check this place out if you get a chance!

November 10, 2005

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Aquarium of the Bay is located on the right side of Pier 39 and you have to pay to go in. It is kind of a strange aquarium in that you have to ride elevators to go down to where the exhibit is. Theres even a guy that works the elevators, just rides in there up and down all day long. The exhibit itself is nothing spectacular, just a short glass tube where you see the bays sea creatures. After you go through it you ride back up the elevators and thats about it.

November 09, 2005

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I tried out this museum when I was at Pier 39 with my kids a couple of years ago and though it would be a neat and educational place for them to see. Unfortunately, I thought it was a waste of our time and a waste of my money. It was just a short tube of some sea creatures you see through the glass and that was the whole museum.

November 07, 2005

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It's a very nice environment with a lot to see but it could be better. They have a variety of sea creatures, mainly those native to San Francisco. My favorite is walking through the tunnel and being surrounded by all the sea life. Not as large as some other places but still great. Would be great for your kids to check out at least once.

December 08, 2005

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There wasn't anything here that surprised me. Nothing I haven't seen already in the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet on T.V. I have also been to the Montery Bay Aquarium which has enormous tanks bigger than here. If you have children then they would enjoy it more than you will. The sharks always bring a freight and fascination to young children.

September 15, 2005

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Not at all blown away with this place but it still has its mark in the Bay Area. Its mainly a tourist attraction and for kids. If you want to see something more spectacular than this, I suggest a visit to Montery Bay. A couple hours drive from SF but well worth the trip.

September 15, 2005

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If you want to see sea life take the 2hr trip down to Monterey Bay. That aquarium is truely world class and worth the money. The Aquarium of the Bay is not worth the money unless you have a huge discount and desperate need to see fish. When I went to the Aquarium of the Bay, I was truely disapointed. The variety of creatures and the overall experience are nothing compared to that of Moneterey. If you want to see animals in SF I would recommend the SF zoo, which is a better value and experience. Please don't rip yourself off, goto Monterey it's way way better!

September 06, 2005

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The Aquarium of the Bay is definitely smaller than the Monterey Bay aquarium since all it is is a glass tube that you go through and see the see creatures from within the tube. But it was pretty neat to see all the creatures almost surrounding you from the sides and above. Unfortunately my daughter cried when she saw the sharks swimming around so close like they were just on top of you.

September 04, 2005

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Aquarium of The Bay is really small for an aquarium. I spent a lot of money for attendance and it was not worth it. There were only several exhibits and it bored me. Luckily, I had friends with me at the time so we could joke around and have some fun. This place would be perfect for little kids. However, for me, I would have spent that money for something more interesting. Overall, I would not recommend this place.

September 04, 2005

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Even though the Aquarium of the Bay is no Monterey Bay Aquarium, it's still a fun and fascinating experience nonetheless. You get to walk across these long, clear, 150 foot tunnels that offer an awesome view of sharks, rays, and other aquatic creatures that inhabit the San Francisco Bay. You can listen to an audio tape in your headset, which gives you some detail about the exhibits you're looking at. It's fun to be able to peer up at the sharks swimming around and over your head, but at $14 per adult, it might be a bit overpriced for its relatively small scale compared to the far superior counterpart in Monterey.

September 03, 2005

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But still good if you live in the bay area and would save you lots of mula since the gas prices went up high if you were planning on driving down to Monterey. I would of thought Aquarium of The Bay would be big but its not as what I expected. Wishful thinking I guess. Its definietley a good place to take children and ocean lovers. I took a date here and thats a plus too!

September 02, 2005

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This aquarium is on the small side, but houses a great variety of local San Francisco species. It is the only aquarium in the area that specializes in species that are native to the San Francisco Bay. Also, their interpretive naturalists are always a source of good information. It is great to take a walk through the tunnels and be surrounded by fish.

August 15, 2005

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My family went here once during an excursion at the Pier 39 area. It's a relatively small aquarium but they do have this underwater tunnel that you go through that was pretty awesome. The walls of the tunnel was made of glass and as you go through it you can see all the sea creatures swimming all around you. It was pretty neat. My 2 year old daughter cried her eyes out though because she got scared of the sharks seeming so close.

August 08, 2005

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The Aquarium of The Bay is a fun place for a lot of people to go to. There are a lot of things to see and learn and everyone can have fun. I would recommend this place for children.

July 28, 2005

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This Aquarium is much smaller than the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but it has a nice underground aquatic tunnel that young kids love to go through. My son was 18 mon. when we first took him, and he was enthralled with the sharks that swam over our heads. Besides the tunnel, though, there is not much of an exhibit. Small tanks and aquariums hold specimen local to the Bay.

July 26, 2005

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This place is on one of the Pier's, one of the most touristy places in SF. It's a small aquarium but there is an area where you can touch the sea creatures and there is a cool tunnel where you are walking under the fish and sea life. It's pretty cool but it is fairly expensive and not very big. It doesn't compare to the Monterey Aquarium but as an aquarium, it's fine.

July 25, 2005

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I actually worked at Aquarium of the Bay for a while and nearly every guest that came through had the same disappointed reaction: "That's it?" It's just too short for what you pay for. The exhibits are nice. The first one is a room with several tanks that let you see fish native to the bay. The second exhibit, the biggest one, is a very cool tunnel built under a gigantic fish tank, so it looks like you are walking under water. The third one are touch pools where you can touch bat rays, sharks, starfish, and more. If you have an hour and some money to kill, fine. Go. Otherwise, it really isn't worth it.

July 07, 2005

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