Austin Aquarium

Fantastic experience: I had bought tickets online which were overpriced.. Got there and they did a refund and gave me way better ticket prices. Macus handled the entire process and was absolutely wonderful! It’s a one of a kind experience we really loved it. We stayed forever and had a blast. All the employees were very helpful and friendly and plenty of washing stations for your hands. I would definitely recommend if you’re in the area!!!

Negative experience: I went yesterday with my husband and even though an amazing time petting the stingrays and fishes, I was still disappointed. We went to the photobooth and for some reason paid for someone else's photos. I had no idea about this until after I heard them being printed. The instructions in the booth were extremely unclear and I am disappointed that it stole my money. Nothing on the screen said anything about to complete a payment, it never specified what kind of payment. I am highly unsatisfied and I will NOT be returning our children. I will not let this place scam me again

Negative experience: My wife and I went to the aquarium yesterday for our 10 year anniversary and mostly enjoyed it, until that was shortly ruined by a man keeping the birds. He had not informed us to not pet or move with the toucan and whenever I barely stuck out my hand to adjust my shirt he instantly got upset at us and told us to leave. We had spent 20 minutes waiting in line to see the bird and interact with it and whenever we went in there we only stayed for 30 seconds before being asked to leave when he said "I told you my rules" with a failure to explain them to us from the start. He also ran the parakeet exhibit and was yelling at some children for moving their legs slowly when they were unable to touch the ground. I am unsure if I will return again with my children if they will get treated the way that we did. I was highly disappointed by this and left after.

Positive experience: This place was a fun walkthrough while we were in Austin but I wouldn’t go back due to the price. It’s quite expensive, all of the side activities also cost money on top of the high entrance fees. The entrance gets backed up due to the counter being right at the front doors. The staff are very friendly and welcoming though.

Negative experience: I was excited to visit as an avid aquarium hobbiest, but I left within half an hour because of how upset I was with how the animals are being cared for. Animals should never be subjected to unsupervised touching all day, among other neglectful conditions. This is a roadside zoo masquerading as an accredited aquarium.

Fantastic experience: It's not a large place but it's big enough. By the time we neared the end my little girl was clearly pushing herself for the last few things. She was tired. I had fun and took a lot of good photos but they all feature the kid so I won't post them here. She fed some stuff, pet a porcupine, took many pictures of the jellyfish, and became a bird lady for about 5 minutes in the aviary. She just sat there and happily let 5 or 6 little birds eat the seeds she had.

Positive experience: Nothing super fancy but good quality for the family and very convenient.

Positive experience: Don’t forget to ask for a military discount if you’re eligible! There are lots of different animals to see—check out my photos. It’s a fun spot for kids to learn and play at the same time. That said, I wasn’t too happy with how some of the animals are kept. A few tanks seemed really small and overcrowded, probably so visitors can easily feed or touch them. I even saw a small fish that looked like it had been dead and its body got torn up in pieces other fish. There was also a noticeable smell when I walked in. On the bright side, the staff were super friendly, professional, and really knowledgeable about the animals.

Fantastic experience: We were there the second week of June. I am so sorry it has taken me this long, but I just wanted to mention that your employee John is AMAZING!! He made our trip sooooo fun and memorable. So kind. So gentle with the littles using redirection to keep the animals safe. I was super impressed and, as an older person, I was VERY PROUD of him. World needs more people like him. Thank you! We had a GREAT TIME!!

Fantastic experience: Wow wow wow! What an unexpected, incredible experience! We are visiting Texas while our daughter visits a local college and decided to visit the aquarium. We were expecting it to be a 1-hour visit but were very surprised when we noticed 4 hours had gone by. The place has so much more than fish and should probably consider a rebranding as the current title is very limiting compared to what is really going on. If you are in the area, you need to visit this place! Ty and Jay were both knowledgeable and willing to share more than what was scripted. They made the experience extra special!

Fantastic experience: Very fun and interactive. Ty was very educational about the octopus :)

Negative experience: Adults price is NOT $24.95 There are HIDDEN charges that are not clear. The ADMISSIONS SURCHARGE is something that is unclear and should already be INCLUDED in the ticket price.

Negative experience: Not a registered aquarium, privately owned by animal traffickers that charge predatory prices but worst of all abuse the creatures they supposedly built a “sanctuary” for. Horrific how animals are handled by visitors all day, many reports of injuries to animals but even guests. Horribly crowded, reaks of animal waste, poorly maintained facilities. Just awful. How this place is still operational is astounding. Do not support this organization. Praying these animals find a better home.

Negative experience: The animals (mammals, primates, birds, fish, sharks, stingrays, reptiles) at this business, an unaccredited aquarium, are on display and forced into touching encounters all day every day all while lacking appropriate veterinary care. Many of these animals have suffered injuries and died at the hands of the owners, convicted wildlife traffickers. There have also been numerous animal attacks reported.

Negative experience: I visited this aquarium over the weekend. The animals (mammals, primates, birds, fish, sharks, stingrays, reptiles) at this business, an unaccredited aquarium, are on display and forced into touching encounters all day every day all while lacking appropriate veterinary care. Many of these animals have suffered injuries and died at the hands of the owners, convicted wildlife traffickers (the Covino family). There have also been numerous animal attacks reported. Do not support this place and help place the animals in reputable sanctuaries.

Negative experience: Absolutely heartbreaking experience. My neighbor had to go to this place for work and showed me videos and photos. Horrible. The conditions at the Austin Aquarium are appalling. The animals are kept in small, overcrowded enclosures that don’t come close to meeting their physical or emotional needs. It feels more like a petting zoo crammed into a strip mall than an actual aquarium. Many of the animals looked stressed, lethargic, or unhealthy — it’s honestly hard to watch. This place should not be operating like this. It felt more like exploitation than education. Please reconsider supporting this kind of cruelty.

Negative experience: Don’t go here. It is well known and documented they neglect and abuse animals here. Look it up for yourself. Please go entertain your kids elsewhere. Preferably a place where they don’t abuse animals.

Fantastic experience: To the balloon artist who gave my son a Spider-Man creation— that was awesome! He absolutely loved it and carried it everywhere he went for the rest of the day. You made his weekend! The aquarium has a ton of fun exhibits, and the employees are always available to help you see an exhibit. If you’re lucky, you can come at a time when they’re changing the water/food of an animal’s pen and you can touch or pet the animal outside of their terrarium! We got to see Louis the crocodile today.

Fantastic experience: We actually love this place for the kids and ME. The little ones love it and want to go back again and again. I think the negative reviews may come from people who are not used to being around animals. The snack bar only sold CLEAN food and drinks. Things that we are used to feeding the kids so that was really nice.

Negative experience: Terrible! My kids got sick after going here. It was dark and grimy everywhere. The animals seemed so stressed out. I wish I had taken photos to post the crude conditions these animals are kept in.

Fantastic experience: This place is awesome! My sister and I took my grandchildren ages 8 and 11, they had a blast. We stayed for several hours and just kept going back. To touch the fish and stingrays and sharks. Very educational. Make sure you do some of the encounters especially the Octopus, that was our favorite! Kaylee was super informative about the animals and we really enjoyed her expertise!

Negative experience: Interesting place… but not what we expected. I had a teacher discount and my child was under 2, so we didn’t pay for admission—which I’m thankful for, because I would’ve been pretty disappointed if we had. It just didn’t live up to what we were hoping for. There are definitely better spots in the area to take kids or explore marine life before choosing this one.

Fantastic experience: My second visit here and we abosolutly enjoyed it! It seemed a little small, but I was amazed at how much they had to offer, and definitely worth the cost of admission and some tokens. Got to meet and talk with Zane and he was outstanding and very knowledgable. We had a great interaction with the eels and learned.

Negative experience: I asked two friends if they have been here because I wanted to go with my husband and baby. They both warned me not to go and said the conditions for the animals were horrible and that they both left in tears. I'm surprised the city of Austin allows a place like this to remain in business. I didn't even bother going. They should use their over priced tickets and use the money to better the environment for the animals or get shut down!

Fantastic experience: Great place for kids and adults. Many opportunities to have animal encounters and plenty of hands on experiences. Staff and trainers very knowledgeable.

Positive experience: What a fun experience! It's small aquarium, but I loved the interactivity of it! You have to pay for some of the interactivity but well worth the experience. Teachers get a discount btw!

Fantastic experience: Wonderful experience all around! Very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff. Great hands on experiences, paid and free. And a large array of animals, aquatic, mammals, birds and amphibians! Highly recommend!!!

Positive experience: Cool place to go once one a date or for your kids but compared to 90% of other aquariums this place ain’t it specially because of the cost. Otherwise, a nice place to go and do some interactive exhibits.

Negative experience: This “aquarium” is some kind of horror show. You can see the staff mistreating the animals. Is it ok for 50-100 people to go touch the animals everyday?! Is that ok now? I am very surprised that this place is allowed to be open. I think it should be shut down. The name “Austin aquarium” is very misleading. It’s not run by the city. I don’t understand how it got the 4 star rating.

Negative experience: I visited Austin Aquarium on Thursday May 29 2025. It was very underwhelming. First off it’s in a strip mall, which should have been a sign not to go. Then my family (F/65,F/35,F/10,M/9) & myself (M/45) went in to pay & was approximately $150 for the 5 of us. Which wouldn’t be bad if the Aquarium was good/great. Got to the Capybara, which was supposed to be interactive. The handler said he wasn’t available. We did get to interact with several (Koi Fish, Rays, Turtles, Birds). Highly overpriced for the experience. Would not recommend!

Fantastic experience: we are visitors from Canada and came on holidays to be with our grandkids . This is the first time I have visited the Austin aquarium, and I visited with my grandkids. They were thrilled. I was thrilled they could go and touch every animal which were permitted for petting . Employees and volunteers also offered a free spot and did not charge any fee for a couple of items Our kids were happy to do shopping at the gift store. Prices were reasonable. Food cost was reasonable and affordable. One should never miss Austin aquarium. a good 3 1/2 hours we spent and we enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you very much to the management of Austin aquarium for organizing such a flawless show.

Fantastic experience: An excellent variety of underwater life, as well as several land animals. Buy tokens, and there are several exhibits where you can interact personally with the animals. You can also buy food at several locations and feed the animals. Very hands-on. Supposedly, all animals on exhibit are rescues. Great for anyone from kid to old!!

Fantastic experience: Gianni was an amazing tour guide. He hosted our sleeping with the sharks party. He told us a lot about the animals and was overall a fun guide. He also SLAYED at the line dances we taught him, he was one of the girlies for the night. give my boy a raise!

Fantastic experience: Gianni is a really cool tour guide. He hosted our birthday lock-in and did amazing for it to be his first time. For my first time being at the aquarium it was super fun! The animals were so fun to be around

Negative experience: Out of the three locations ( Houston, San Antonio, Austin) over been to, this has to be the worst one. Looks like none of the aquariums have ever been cleaned.

Fantastic experience: Great Place! Floor level interactive tanks. You will be ready to spend a lot of money here. Feedings and extra interaction is based on a token system that you need to pay for. If you are bringing young kids and multiple adults, I would recommend going to "Catch Air" next door. If you save your receipt from "Catch Air" you get half off admission at the Austin Aquarium. Great business strategy. Cause we took our Autistic toddler to the sensory room and foam playground at "Catch Air", and when they were tired we took them to the aquarium to interact with the animals. We fed the animals and they loved the canary cage. They also have annual memberships, so you can save if you come often. The aquarium has a mermaid that comes in to take photos with, and can host birthday parties.

Fantastic experience: My kid (2-3yr old) really likes it. We can touch bird, fish, monkey, Capybara, turtle, and he is so excited with animal interaction. Though the aquarium is a bit small but maintains very well.

Negative experience: Tickets should be half the price of what they are. I understand that it probably costs a ton of money to keep a place like this open but it literally took us about 15-20 minutes to walk through the whole thing and look at all the animals they have. It was mid.

Negative experience: Not what I expected. Very pricey. Bought tokens to go into the interactive rooms and took over 30 minutes to even get someone to help us. There was no point in getting tokens with not being able to go into the rooms due to lack of assistance from the workers. Just not worth it for the price.

Negative experience: I’ve been to aquariums all over the world and this was by far the worst. Wasn’t expecting much when we pulled up and saw it was in a strip mall but definitely disappointed inside. Immediately could tell they are all about making money. The animals are in tiny tanks/enclosures. I am not a marine biologist but it made me incredibly sad to see how over crowded the tanks were with no room for the animals. The octopus is stunning but again, in a tiny tank. Which is so sad. I am incredibly disappointed we gave them our money. The staff seemed friendly and I am sure they are doing their best but the whole place should be shut down. $45 for me and my 1.5yr old w/ a military discount since I am active duty and 5 tokens to feed the fish. Incredibly disappointing and overpriced.

Fantastic experience: Amazing Experience at Austin Aquarium – Shoutout to Hunter! I had such a wonderful time at the Austin Aquarium! The exhibits were beautiful, and the animals all seemed happy and well-cared for. But what really made our visit special was Hunter, one of the employees. Hunter was incredibly kind, fun, and knowledgeable**—he shared so many cool facts about the animals that we never would have known otherwise. You could tell he genuinely **cares about the creatures** there, and his enthusiasm was contagious! Whether it was explaining the behaviors of the stingrays, the personalities of the birds, or fun details about the reptiles, he made the whole experience engaging and educational. Thanks to Hunter and the rest of the staff for making our trip so memorable. If you're looking for a fun, interactive aquarium experience, I highly recommend visiting—and if you see Hunter, say hi! He’s the best! 5/5 stars, will definitely be back!

Positive experience: The aquarium is pretty small. There are a few cells with lemurs, parrots and other animals. You may enter to a cell for additional price and even feed them. There are a few aquariums with fish, small sharks and you can evem touch them. The initial ticket costs >30$. I don't know the prices in the area, but a ticket for entry costs >30$.

Negative experience: Terrible place with terrible customer service. Not only were the tickets ridiculously expensive to begin with but “animal encounters” cost an additional $20-$50 per person and they charge a hidden service fee of about $4 per ticket. We ended up purchasing the capybara encounter. The so-called animal encounter was a less than one minute step in the cage with the animal and a single two-finger pet. When asked if we could take a picture with the animal, the worker rolled her eyes and pushed us out of the enclosure. There was a birthday party going on while we were visiting and therefore we were unable to view most of the animals without being trampled and pushed out of the way by little kids, which the birthday party worker did not seem to care. The entire “aquarium” took 5 minutes to walk through and many of the enclosures were dirty. After quickly walking through the building, we asked for a refund because it was a waste of money and we didn’t even get an animal encounter like advertised on their website. One of the girls at the front desk completely ignored us and when asked again about refunds the other girl just smiled and shook her head. We then emailed the company to ask for a refund and they responded with “all tickets and tokens are non-refundable,” a tactic used by crappy businesses when they know their products aren’t worth the money. I would not recommend this place to anyone unless you have $50+ a person to throw away. The Dallas Aquarium is a real aquarium and will cost you less money.

Negative experience: Came here with high hopes and was highly disappointed by how the female employees treated us with rudeness and disrespect. I wouldn’t waste your money on the tokens either, they are extremely overpriced and you only get to see them for 1 minute while being rushed out. I think the best thing about the place was the monkeys fighting in their tiny cage or the depressed capybara. Also the bearded dragon hopped out its cage and almost got stepped on. Ps they don’t give refunds.

Negative experience: A bit underwhelming & really expensive for what it is. It's located in a strip mall, easy to find. Smells bad inside. Alot of interactive petting areas and feeding areas but the enclosures and tanks are small. One of the lizzards kept getting out of his enclosure. The parakeet enclosure was our favorite. The capybara looked sad, alone in his small enclosure. Reminds me of a petting zoo. Little to no employee supervision at the touch tanks. Left feeling bad for the animals & fish.

Fantastic experience: Small but mighty! Multiple open tanks for feeding and petting rays, sharks, turtles, sea stars, etc. Several immersive experience options (extra $). Science & animal loving almost-6-year-old had a blast. Knowledgeable & friendly staff. Could use a couple more handwashing stations .

Positive experience: If you really really really are in the mood to see animals then this could be an option. Not a great one, mind you. This place has some cool things to see, but is generally pretty unsafe and questionable in practice. My wife and I watched a teenager get bit by a baby shark and scream, and no staff were even nearby, nor came to help. The place is also not very clean or nice, but if you really are itching to see and experience some animals (that are in questionable habitats), then maybe this could be a place for you to visit once.

Fantastic experience: My toddler and I went on a rainy Monday afternoon and we were almost the only ones there. Got to see and have fun with all the animals. Will definitely be back

Fantastic experience: This place was sooo wonderful to us on my daughters birthday, today! I had called ahead to reserve a table, and they couldn't because it's a holiday. But that didn't stop Emma and her whole team from going above and beyond for us to make our experience an incredible one! She took our cake and put it in the fridge, gave my daughter a whole gift bag with tokens, and got us an annual pass for the family! I'm beyond grateful to Emma and the staff at Austin aquarium! Y'all are seriously amazing! Thank you so much! We can't wait to come back and see everyone and all the animals! The place is clean, staff is very friendly, and everything we did was interactive! Come check them out! Update* went to Houston for free and they are amazing too! Get the membership it's sooo worth it and the employees are just incredible! keep up the AMAZING work! Thanks austin aquarium!

Negative experience: I was really disappointed by my visit. The staff we interacted with were super polite and helpful, but beyond that I don’t have much positive to say. The place was dirty and the animals seemed stressed and sad. Small tanks stuffed with fish and no visible staff in the floor to ensure touch tank rules are followed and animals are respected. There are 3-4 cages of lemurs that periodically set off on screaming fits that are incredibly loud and pretty scary, especially for young children. Everything about the place gives off a strong vibe of profit prioritized over animal welfare. I really wish we hadn’t given them our money, and we certainly won’t be doing so again in the future.

Negative experience: I visited the Austin aquarium recently with my family. I can say that the experience was okay. Most of the aquatic animals seemed to have clean habitats and food. One thing that did bother me was that three staff members entered the habitat that contained the four baby Nile crocodiles, they caught them, taped their mouth's, and let people touch them. While I’m sure. A lot of people enjoyed that. It seemed to stress them out unnecessarily. The staff weren’t really offering any real/new information about the animal either. Nothing that couldn’t be read about them from their information plaque on their enclosure. Maybe it didn’t bother them. Just seemed a bit weird to disturb them so people could touch them. ‍♀️

Negative experience: This is a depressing, gross and sad place to visit if you like animals - the decorations are tacky, the enclosures are dirty, run down and neglected. I wish this place did not exist, I regret taking my kids here, what a horror show. Go to a real accredited zoo that actually cares about their animals instead of this sleazy strip mall embarrassment.

Fantastic experience: We had such a lovely experience here recently! The tanks and building appeared clean, no smells, and the animals appeared healthy! The experiences they offered were so cool and easy to participate in. My daughter (5) got to feed a lemur, feed all the fish, feed shrimp to rays and sharks, feed birds, touch sea stars and even got to privately meet an octopus. The whole staff was warm, welcoming and very helpful with questions. Whenever anyone say us looking at an animal, staff would jump in to teach us more about them and let us know their names. A special thanks to Zane, Tyson and Spencer because they all went out of their way to really make sure we had a good experience. My kiddo can’t wait to go back.

Fantastic experience: This place is a blast! The staff are kind and knowledgeable. Shout out to Zane for showing us Nellie the octopus! We got to interact with a sloth, starfish, birds, fish, stingrays, wallabies and more! 10/10 recommend. I’ll be back!

Positive experience: I am so saddened by walking into your building and the abuse of the animals that you have. Why are they in such small enclosures? It looks like a prison for animals not a beautiful aquarium. Your Pacific octopus should be an aquarium tank much bigger. I am extremely disappointed by the living arrangements you offer the animals.

Positive experience: Pretty cool wasn't as much variety as other aquariums I've been to but was fun! But the hours posted online and the hrs they are actually open is different and we couldn't go the day we had planned but thankfully we got in with the tickets from the day before and it was fine

Negative experience: We had been in the Houston one and we had kind of the same expectations for this one, but this one it’s way to less interactive lol, all the areas are mostly closed or there is no one available to come and open them for you to interact with the animals. But other than that yes you can just walk it through

Positive experience: When we entered, the place was very clean. The water in the tanks was very clean and was clearly cleaned and filtered often. There was fresh lettuce and salads left in enclosures for lizards and tortoises. There was fresh hay and bedding left for lemurs and other land dwelling animals. But, that was those were the only things good about this terrible place. Animals were held in insanely small enclosures and were stressed. Lemurs were constantly fighting and were aggressive, and they had no sunlight and were kept in darkness. The animals are clearly becoming so aggressive as they have zero access to sunlight. Lemurs are normally calmer than this. The fish are kept in overcrowded environments. Sturgeons can barely squeeze between all of the koi fish. The turtles couldn’t even reach the top of the tank because of how crowded it was. There was even a baby alligator kept completely in a tank that it would grow out of. There was an adolescent saltwater crocodile kept in an enclosure made for small lizards. That crocodile will outgrow it and start curving its jaw into absurd shapes that will ruin its life. The pool inside of its enclosure was full of dirt, mold, and was slowly drying out and was very very tiny for a crocodile. There was a random black jacket left on top of a tortoise in the tortoise exhibit, and was not removed from the enclosure the entire time. The stingray petting area was not large enough and did not give the bamboo sharks, hound sharks, and stingrays enough space and privacy for them to be comfortable. A few of the stingrays tails were bent in spirals, which is a clear sign in animals that something is wrong. When we went into the “shark room,” there was a Galapagos tortoise sitting in the dirty concrete floor. It was just sitting in a corner IN THE DARKNESS, not even surrounded by any sort of border, free to roam and able to be kicked or pet. It was clearly depressed and bothered, as children were free to crouch down to it and scream in its ears. It had a metal bowl of hay and some lettuce in front of it, as if that helped. The special petting areas for the kangaroos and wallaby’s was just devastating. The enclosure for them was tiny and poorly lit, and they had hay for substrate and could only roam in certain sections of the enclosure due to the benches on the sides. Children were free to pet them whenever they wanted, and weren’t instructed to give them any privacy whatsoever. The capybara being completely alone was just as devastating as capybaras are social animals and live in groups in the wild, and socialize well with others animals. The pool for it was drying out and TINY. They had an entire flock of budgies living in an under decorated enclosure, and so did their parrot, toucan and lemur. All the enclosures in this terrible “aquarium” were under decorated and barely had any enrichment. This aquarium is more of a petting zoo for toddlers than an actual aquarium made for educating children and adults on the beauty of nature. It sickens me to see animals kept in conditions like this. The fish, sharks, eels, and stingrays were so incredibly disrespected. Fish are constantly treated as stupid and deserving of no respect, and that is shown incredibly well in his excuse of an aquarium. The audacity to say you are the official “Austin” zoo is insane. This place was like a restaurant or a fish store where people can choose fish they’d like to eat for dinner. I could write so much more about the various reptiles. The snake at the front of the zoo is somehow the luckiest animal, at least it gets to see the sun and hope one day it’ll be saved and live in a better environment. Do not go to this “aquarium,” don’t buy anything from them, and don’t go here.

Positive experience: Workers are great but honestly it was pretty sad to see. The animals did not have very much room and the tanks are quite small.

Fantastic experience: What a surprise! Didn't know what to expect of an aquarium located in a shopping center that looked very small and unassuming. But it's the coolest aquarium I've been in and I've toured many across the country. So many touch tanks and Hands-On exhibits! You can buy tokens to go into areas and have one-on-one experiences with many different animals. The staff was very helpful and the layout was great for moving around even with quite a crowd there on a sunday.

Fantastic experience: Hunter was our navigator for my friend and I, and his daughter though all the fun-filled exhibits. His knowledge and passion for the animals was comparable only to the love I feel when I hear progressive metal band "Tool" play time signatures in the Fibonacci sequence. I feel like my new found knowledge of lemurs and pythons has made me a more interesting person at parties, where typically I only talk about Tool and the mathematical genius of their records. Thanks Hunter.

Positive experience: Decent aquarium. About 5 big rooms of various aquatic life. What was surprising was the land animals on display. Capybara, lemurs, wallabies, etc. The extra tokens to interact with the animals is quite sneaky and makes the price jump up quite a bit. Be wary about the "hidden cost".

Fantastic experience: This place was a great and fun experience all around! John was the best and we really appreciated him for being the best part of our day with the animals! Thank you John! We really hope that the company sees how lucky they are to have you working for them. We can’t wait to take the grandkids back to visit and we may even call to make sure John is working that day too haha!

Fantastic experience: Our family’s visit to the Austin Aquarium was truly unforgettable! From the moment we walked in, we were surrounded by vibrant marine life and hands-on experiences that made the day exciting for everyone. The interactive exhibits were a huge hit—getting to touch stingrays, feed sharks, and even hold exotic birds made it more than just an ordinary aquarium trip. The kids were in awe of the glowing jellyfish and colorful tropical fish, while the otters kept us entertained with their playful antics. The staff was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, always ready to share fun facts about the animals. One of the highlights was the walk-through aviary, where parrots landed right on our shoulders! It was a magical experience that made us feel truly connected to nature. We left with smiles, great memories, and plenty of pictures to look back on. If you’re looking for a fun and educational family outing, the Austin Aquarium is a must-visit. We can’t wait to return!

Positive experience: This place was a experience! Not at all what you think when you pull up. You walk in to a horrible smell! I'm assuming it was the snake exhibit you walk by when coming in. But once you are past that, there isn't a horrible smell. You purchase tickets to walk through and have a option of tokens to have more interaction and purchase food for the animals. Don't worry, if you get too many you can use them at the gift shop. There was things here for everyone! Almost everything here you could interact with! It was wonderful! They have sinks to wash your hands, but no towels. I recommend bringing some to hang on your pants. It was a tad humid there, so if you have heat sensitivity, I would recommend a little fan to make it more tolerable. There is plenty of seats and also room! Even if there is a lot of people in one area, we never felt cluttered. Definitely will make another trip here! You cant hold or allow the animals to crawl on you. The exhibit wasn't swept before we walked in. So we had to watch our step a lot. The penguins looked scared and miserable. And the random chicken! Gotta find him! He must've lied on his job application for sure! Hahaha have fun y'all

Fantastic experience: Such a cool interactive aquarium that has so much more than just fish and aquarium things! Sloths, porcupine, birds, wallaby! You can feed them! Highly recommend visiting and getting the full tour!!! Tons of fun!

Negative experience: I didn’t read the 1 star reviews, but I should have prior. We thought it was just an aquarium. We didn’t know there were other animals there like penguins, lemurs, and a capybara. As soon as we walked in, the smell was a red flag. It only gets worse as you proceed through this place. I had to hold back my tears so I wouldn’t ruin any children’s experiences, but this place absolutely broke my heart. The penguins are in terrible shape and that was the saddest I’ve ever seen an animal. The spaces these animals are in are extremely small, smelly, & I will never support this place again or recommend anyone to spend their money here. Not sure how they’re still open and how people don’t cry seeing these animals. What a sad awful life. I hope these animals see the freedom they deserve soon instead of this smelly ghetto place.

Negative experience: I understand people enjoy the aquarium with their kids, so they can touch the animals and get to see them up close. However, the animals aren't observed when this is happening and there aren't enough hand sanitizing stations for the kids or animal safety. We had no idea what to expect and didn't read the reviews before going, so it's on us. With all the animal safety concerns already reported, I can't believe this place is still in business. Please read the 1 star reviews and teach your kids to respect nature and that wild animals shouldn't be touched or hand fed.

Negative experience: This would have been a five star review, unfortunately 2 things prevent that: #1)treatment of larger animals including birds and smaller mammals(like wallabies) is completely cruel/incompatible with these animal’s basic needs(including sunlight, which doesn’t exist in the strip mall they are located in. #2)pricing structure is completely dishonest. They advertise a price, and when you show up to the door they charge you an ‘entry surcharge…’ I am mid Gen Y, and never once encountered price dishonesty in the USA where one price is promised and you get up-charged at the door. Absolute shame! I hope they go out of business and get forced to sell to an entity that takes better care of animals and is more honest with money.

Positive experience: Crowded. Lots of school groups. Bought the sloth experience (50$ per person) right when we arrived. We were first on the list. I had to inquire about when we get to do it 3 times with the reply being that weight & health check need to be done. After two hours, I asked for a refund as we had to leave. They immediately said we could go in. It was very controlled & the worker was the one interacting with the sloth. My mom got to offer it a piece of cucumber and stroke the side twice before being told that was enough. I was able to touch it once. While the handler continued to feed & pet it. My mom and i were calm, quiet, and respectful. The wait & experience was not worth it. The sting rays & the bird experience were enjoyable. There was a good variety of animals to see. We purchased tickets on line, but you still have to wait in line at entrance.

Negative experience: Aquarium was in a plaza, so I figured it might still be a decent size. But it goes in a small loop inside. But for $57 for two military adults, it felt a bit overpriced (of course, including processing fees and such). There were a few places you can touch the animals like the starfish and stingrays for free. But there was a tank that had 2 obviously dead fish. Since the place is small, it did feel a bit crowded and we went at 10a on a Friday. I wouldn't recommend this place unless if you really want to kill a whole 45min (which is how long it took to get through with a 2year old).

Positive experience: It was ok. I thought it was gonna be like those places designed for what it's intended for. Once I drove up here and saw it was one of those places where a store closed (Academy or Albertson) I wanted to turn around and head somewhere else. But I decided to give it a try... and sorry nope to small.

Fantastic experience: What a phenomenal and affordable experience! So much more than an aquarium even. I'm very happy to have come and will make this visit every time I'm in Austin

Negative experience: This place should be closed because of the condition it was in. Read the 1 star reviews and trust them- that’s what’s actually happening at this place. If you have ANY compassion for animals at all, this is not a place to take your kids to. I went with my family a couple years ago and I STILL can’t get the image out of my head of the poor animals in the tiny cages. And it’s clear that nothing has changed because people are posting the same concerns in recent weeks. There was a poor otter that was CRYING so loudly and sucking his hand like he was ripped too early from his mom. It was the worst thing I’ve ever seen or heard. I didn’t capture it on video but got a quick glimpse of it. An iguana was being hit aggressively by a kid who wasn’t being supervised by his parent and there were no worker supervising the animals. The animals looked miserable and were not in remotely acceptable conditions. If you google this place, there are also reports of kids getting bitten by animals. There are multiple reports to PETA of animal cruelty. Animals are dying because of this place. I’ll be reporting this place anywhere and everywhere I can to get this place closed for animal abuse. Don’t waste your money here! It’s so upsetting and WRONG and should be illegal. I don’t understand how they are still open after they’ve had multiple investigations. DO NOT support this horrible place.

Fantastic experience: It was an absolutely wonderful experience. There is a beautiful color scheme throughout the aquarium and the variety of fish & aquatic creatures was very nice. Great price for the experience. I went on a Wednesday afternoon with my boyfriend (great date!). It was not too crowded inside and there was no wait.

Fantastic experience: I was dubious about the strip mall location, but worry not! It makes sense in the best way. Check it out: the place is a series of pretty great experiences with animals. The octopus experience will change you and your perspective on the species as a whole. They have a wallaby experience. They have a porcupine experience. The smell is so powerful! It loves asparagus! In true Austin form, they have a boat on land and have used it a an animal habitat. They have tree Lemur troops in their own enclosure. They will periodically communicate with each other, which is loud and stimulating. I enjoyed it but it can be loud. The Rays were also very playful. Take some time with them and don’t be afraid as they are gentle. You can’t miss the capybara which is a good thing because they make you instantly happier when you look at them. To get the octopus experience, you need to wait by the door behind the animals exhibit an after requesting an encounter. Each octopus encounter lasts a really long time and you learn about him on a personal level. It is intimate, cold and wonderful. It is a truly wonderful creature and it can share your emotions. I don’t want to go into more detail, just trust me on this one. It will make sense. Be patient and do this. It is important. I had a really good time and I feel better for going! I hope you get the same experience!

Positive experience: Small and not very many animals, but cute. My kids loved being able to feed the fish, birds and watching them feed penguins. Coins must be purchased to feed some animals, from 1 to 20 coins. A little on expensive side, but worth the experience.

Negative experience: This is not an aquarium in any real sense of the word. It is a sad petty zoo at best. Animals are treated poorly and have terrible living conditions. The fish are kept in tiny tanks much too small and dirty for them. Employees have told us many animals die from these circumstances. I would not recommend giving them your business until they have improved their practices. For now it seems to be a money maker with no regard for the animals.

Fantastic experience: This was such an awesome little aquarium. Practically everything inside you can touch. It's so neat that you don't only see the fish and animals threw the glass but you can touch them as well. It is extra to do so for feeding and interacting with some of the animals but so worth it.

Negative experience: This place is an absolute disappointment—dirty, disorganized, and a complete rip-off. They advertise countless animal encounters, but once you arrive, you’re met with nothing but “Not Available” signs or workers who are mysteriously missing. When we did manage to find an employee, we were repeatedly told, “I’ll be right back,” only for them to vanish without a trace. We specifically came for the capybara encounter for my daughter’s birthday, but despite seeing him awake multiple times, the excuse was always that he was “asleep.” Funny how he was wide awake every time we passed by, yet not a single worker was around to actually facilitate the encounter. Save your money and go somewhere reputable—like the Snake Farm in New Braunfels—where you’ll actually get the experiences they advertise instead of being strung along with empty promises.

Fantastic experience: Small place but it's amazing place, costumer service the best and Ballon guy no words to describe is incredible service and amazing job.

Fantastic experience: Initially, I rated this place a 3, but I changed it to a 5 after a specific experience that truly impressed me. When we paid to visit the capybara enclosure, the staff member gently tried to invite the capybara over, treating it with respect and care. She didn’t push or force the animal in any way, and when the capybara declined, we weren’t allowed to enter the enclosure. This approach really stood out to me. It showed that their priority is the well-being of the animals rather than rushing tourists through for profit. The thoughtful treatment of the animals made a big impression and shifted my perspective on the place. The facility itself is small but engaging, with a variety of fish, open aquariums, and animals like kangaroos, birds, lizards, turtles, and snakes. There’s also a token system for feeding or interacting with certain animals. While some animals, like fish, can be touched without tokens, rare ones like the capybara or kangaroo require tokens to feed or touch them in specific areas. Although the enclosures and tanks are small, making it hard not to feel sorry for the animals, the staff’s respectful treatment of them helped offset this concern. It’s a mixed experience—great for kids with interactive opportunities, but bittersweet due to the animal conditions. Still, the gentle care shown to the animals left a lasting positive impression.

Positive experience: My 5 year old and I recently visited, and we had an absolutely good time! The aquarium is incredibly interactive, which kept my little one engaged and entertained the entire time. He especially loved to interact and feed the porcupine. 4 out of 5 stars just because, unfortunately, there was a slight wait to interact with some animals that require tokens, as there seemed to be a shortage of staff. However, the staff members present were all very kind and attentive.

Fantastic experience: Nice place. I working on the hvac units Nextdoor and saw 4 of the aquariums units door panels were off letting the hot air out of the building. We reinstalled them for y’all. Aire Serv of Round Rock

Positive experience: The interior has been cleaned up significantly since the summer, and Sundays are usually the best days to visit. They've usually just wiped down all the glass on the enclosures and tanks, so you can see everything nicely. Floors look cleaner, carpets don't look nasty, and it actually smells clean. Very glad to see that the facility is being taken care of and improving over time. The new sturgeon fish are SO BIG! What a nice surprise!

Fantastic experience: Great interactive experience for kids & adults. It may not be as big as the other city aquariums but you will have more fun here getting to pet & feed the animals and fish.

Fantastic experience: This place is great and well worth the money! The staff is so friendly and helpful. Jai, Jason, and Marcus were especially accommodating and really worked with my daughter to help her enjoy the animals the best . My daughter had the time of her life feeding the turtles and the fish and a porcupine. She loved seeing the penguins and did not want to leave the stingrays.

Fantastic experience: Really awesome place. I loved that they had a ticket discount for disability, which made our visit much cheaper. You are able to feed and touch the animals, which makes it a very memorable experience. I took my two kids and they had a blast. Will definitely visit again when in the area.

Fantastic experience: Lovely place, besides fish they have reptiles, birds, monkeys and a few other species, a great place to spend some time with a kid.

Positive experience: Seriously, this is a much underrated venue. Great for kids birthday parties. Children get an unusual interaction with animals and sea life they don't get anywhere else in the world, or in the USA. Believe me, I have been to aquariums in almost every state. Amazing.

Fantastic experience: My dad and I had a blast! My dad is in his early 70s and I’m 30-some but we both had a great time letting our inner-kid come out and be curious! I recommend going during school hours if you’re able to. (I believe the tokens for animal experiences are a bit more affordable that way, and there’s not much of lines like we were expecting.) We really enjoyed all the aquatic animals, and all the interactions, but Nellie and Matthew deserve a shout out. Nellie is their Pacific Octopus, and Matthew was the handler during our interaction. He was super knowledgeable and friendly and you could tell Nellie loved him, which was what made the experience such an experience! She even tried blasting him with water a few times. I’ve never heard of an octopus doing that. Also feeding the parakeets was adorably hilarious. My dad and I split 25 tokens and that was more than enough for what we wanted to do! The sloth experience was significantly more tokens, so that’s the only thing I was kind of interested in but skipped. All the staff was really friendly and knew the animals well! There might be some wait time and searching for a staff member to do an experience. Definitely plan for 2-3 hours here if you’re the curious type and want to do a lot of the experiences.

Positive experience: Too Small but nice exhibit because you can pet and touch the water and mammal animals. It was terrible with the food because they were out of all the food items except for burnt pretzel bites. The pretzles were way too hard. The lids for the large icee cups didn't fit. It took staff a long time to come let us inside an exhibit at times. It was a bad experience overall.

Positive experience: Good, not great. I'd say using the word "Aquarium" in the name is a bit of a stretch. It's more of an interactive zoo. Touch tanks and animal encounters are nice. The issue is you need to ask for an employee then wait for them to get there then wait for prep for the animal encounter. It is all a bit of a waiting game that can easily be made more efficient (-1 star). Perhaps more employees or better communication is needed. Overall, quite fun. The price + the tokens aren't crazy expensive, but for the price I would have expected a better overall experience. Would I go back? I'm not sure. I hear there is a larger of these close to Houston, we'd likely try that first when we are in the area. Also, we went on a weekday morning and still felt ourselves waiting despite the fact it wasn't crowded.

Fantastic experience: Highly recommend going here! The volunteers/staff are incredible. I cannot thank Marcus and Ryan enough for making it memorable and giving great encounters with the animals :) From the outside you’ll probably think this is as a small non-descript passable store - inside its wonderland turning you into a child all over again :) Lots of activities (we even had someone celebrate their birthday) and experiences with the different animals- this isn’t just an aquarium- it has several other species - so you can easily spend 2 hours and not know how time flies :)

Fantastic experience: TL;DR: Highly recommend if you have kids! It's a great and interactive adventure for 1-2 hours. From the outside it doesn't look like much and we were a little hesitant at the cost, but this place is not just an aquarium. They have many other mammals, reptiles, and birds, almost all of which you can interact with inside their exhibits! There wasn't an obvious distinction between zones so there didn't seem to be any specific grouping of the creatures, but it was still very entertaining. Almost every exhibit allowed you to enter with supervision and interact with the animals there, which was remarkable. We took our 1 year old and we all had a blast. I recommend getting a single yearly pass (comes to about the same cost as 2 adults, let's up to 3 people in plus kids under 2 are free). We will definitely go again! Oh, and watch out for the speedy tortoise that runs laps around the facility alongside you!

Negative experience: !!!PLEASE READ THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! My entire experience was just full of heartbreak and disappointment. This is supposed to be AN AQUARIUM. Where an assortment of aquatic creatures USUALLY live in tanks the right size and are clearly healthy. There were so many animals, MAMMALS that were here in enclosures WAY too small, in enclosures that compared to their natural environments look HORRID. This place is NOT equipped with the right space that these poor animals DESERVE. The animals aren’t there so that people can learn about them, not there so they can live in a better place then where they were before, not there for rehabilitation or to keep them from becoming endangered! Those animals are there for them to be TOURISTS ATTRACTIONS. I was on the verge of tears the entire time, my face wretched with disgust, the face I was making, a 15 year old girl, SHOULD have raised questions from the employees that were smiling and dancing to the music, right next to the pythons that were up to 23 feet long and in an enclosure that wouldn’t even fit me if I was to lay down in it. Smiling next to the Eel that was trapped inside a TUBE that it couldn’t even stretch out fully in, so small I could wrap my arms around it and hold my own hands around the back of it. SMILING next to the African Penguins that were looking in despair in their ‘enclosure’ that consisted of some rocks and disgusting looking water that would only come up to my waist. This place is a disgusting money trap, but more importantly than the money a WRETCHED place for poor animals to live in. Another thing about the penguins, I read that one of them was recovering from a surgery. LIVING IN THAT ENCLOSURE?! This place is horrible, if I could give zero stars I would. They NEED to give these poor animals to an ACTUAL rehabilitation center for their assorted needs. Not some ‘aquarium’ that is just using these living creatures for pure money gain. I will NEVER come back and I’d advise everyone to go to an ACTUAL aquarium that has the right sized enclosures/habitats for AQUATIC LIFE. An aquarium where you can ACTUALLY learn about aquatic animals while they are being cared for PROPERLY. I am repulsed that it takes a TEENAGER to see how horrible this. Do better, get educated. This is animal cruelty. I hope you people actually take my view in account and give them a BETTER LIFE. Put yourself in their places. You wouldn’t want to live in desolation when you have so many more opportunities right at hand, ones where you wouldn’t have to live in FILTH and despair 24/7, 365. I am begging you, give them a better life!!!

Positive experience: It’s fun place for ages 1 to 4 ! It’s very small but can spend around 2 hours max ! The feeding options are many. Encounters as well. There are extra things like balloon shaped toys, face painting and kid friendly temporary tattoo. Over all it’s a 8/10

Fantastic experience: My daughter and I got there an hour and a half before closing and it was pretty empty of visitors. But that’s totally ok because our capybara experience was fun - we got to feed Cherry and pet him for a minute or so - but our octopus experience was AMAZING! Zane, his handler, hadn’t seen him in about four days so Nelly, the octopi, was super happy to see him and very active which was amazing to see since i only ever see them hang out in a corner of their aquariums when I get the chance to visit any. We got to touch Nelly and feed him a small crab and watched him change colors while he ate. We fed some krill to the rays and saw some lemurs and marsupials and fed a tank full of beautiful, massive koi fish. Such a fun experience!

Fantastic experience: Visited Austin for a wedding and needed something to do between AirBnB check-out and my flight. My girlfriend and I came to the Austin Aquarium and were delighted at how many animals and interactive activities there were. We spend a few hours here and did several animal encounters, including the capybara encounter. I believe that the Capy's name is Cherry Pinacollada and she was quite sassy. We loved her. The staff was kind and attentive. I will say that the aquarium isn't as high end as some of the others that I have been to BUT the animals seem extremely well taken care of. All the animals seemed happy and were a joy to see and interact with.

Fantastic experience: The workers were the nicest people I’ve ever met. My boy Marcus helped us out and he was an absolute baller, My man deserves a raise. They have an amazing array of animals and you can walk in with them and pet all the sea animals. 10/10 experience I will be coming back when I’m in town.