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Home / Type of trip / Attractions / Sea Life London Aquarium

Sea Life London Aquarium

November 29, 2013 by Gretta Schifano 4 Comments

Sealife London Aquarium. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Sealife London Aquarium. Copyright Gretta Schifano

The Sea Life London Aquarium is on the city’s South Bank near to the London Eye. My children and I often visit the South Bank with my sister and her boys during the school holidays. There are lots of things to do, the kids enjoy watching the street entertainers and it’s a mostly car-free walk there along the river Thames past Tate Modern from London Bridge station, our gateway to the capital.

One of my nephews has been asking to visit the Sea Life London Aquarium for ages but there are always huge queues outside it when we go. For our last London visit my sister booked tickets in advance so she and I sailed past the queues with our youngest kids in tow. The boys loved walking over the transparent floor above a tank of sharks to get in to the aquarium. Once inside we saw that there was a schedule of talks and feeding times running throughout the day. We were just in time for the octopus talk. The octopus was hard to spot at first as it was hidden away at the bottom of the tank: but it came out for food. We learnt that the octopus is a very intelligent creature which can change colour to match its surroundings.

Next stop was the Ray Lagoon where the children loved feeding the fish with the food we bought from one of the keepers. Rays are fascinating to watch as their mouths look very smiley and they swim close to the edge of the pool as if they want to be touched. The keeper there warned everyone not to touch them though as it would be too stressful for them. Just beyond the rays is a rock pool and a starfish which could be touched, very gently. The children queued up solemnly to do this and said the creature felt quite soft.

The aquarium houses thousands of sea creatures from around the world including 12 different species of shark. One of the highlights is a 25 metre-long underwater glass tunnel through a tropical marine environment. As you walk through the tunnel you see beautiful turtles and tropical fish swimming in the water above and around you.

The boys said that their favourite part of the trip was seeing the penguins. The London Aquarium has an adorable gang of gentoo penguins and they’re very entertaining to watch as they jump in and out of their pool and speed around in the water.

Just before the exit is a display about local underwater life. The boys thought this sign was hilarious:

Sign at Sealife London Aquarium. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Sign at Sealife London Aquarium. Copyright Gretta Schifano

It was pretty crowded at the aquarium when we visited during the school holidays and the space feels enclosed and is dimly lit. This is probably to maintain the correct environment for the marine creatures inside, but I was glad to see daylight and fresh air outside at the end of our visit.

Family travel lowdown: General entry to the Sealife London Aquarium costs from £18.63 for adults, £13.50 for children (3-16 years) if booked online. These prices are correct at the time of writing.

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Categories: Attractions, Things to do in London with kids
Tags: Sealife London Aquarium

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  1. Kate, Baby Routes says

    October 2, 2014 at 2:23 pm

    We’ve been meaning to visit here for a while too – looks great although a little apprehensive about the crowds. That’s London though I guess! Must make most of having pre-schoolers and visit out of holidays!
    Kate, Baby Routes recently posted…September RamblingsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      October 2, 2014 at 2:25 pm

      It shouldn’t be too busy if you go midweek during term time. Definitely make the most of the preschool years!

      Reply
  2. Fran says

    November 29, 2013 at 8:50 pm

    We’ve been here before and the kids loved it! It does get very crowded in the holidays though. Another great aquarium is the one in Brighton. Also just wanted to say that I love the new website look, it’s lovely!

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      December 1, 2013 at 9:11 pm

      Thanks Fran, I’m glad you like it. We love the Brighton aquarium too.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Top 10 things to do with kids in London says:
    July 18, 2014 at 7:09 am

    […] an entire marine world to explore at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium. This summer from August 2-31 the attraction is looking at Warriors of the Sea. Children can pick […]

    Reply
  2. Sea Life London Aquarium says:
    November 29, 2013 at 9:20 pm

    […] Read the rest of the post at it’s original source by clicking here. […]

    Reply

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This is a personal blog written and edited by me, Gretta Schifano. Sometimes I’m given products or sent on trips to review, but I always make this clear and give my honest opinion. See my About page for full details.

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