Hastings Aquarium

Fantastic experience: Really nice and friendly staff. Plenty of choice in the gift shop.

Negative experience: Do not eat here. The young folks manning the restaurant can't cook or serve, I'm sorry to say. Waited 25 minutes for a dry dressing-less baguette. Was asked back to the counter three times for a refund (because of a roll they couldn't make).

Fantastic experience: One of the best aquariums I have been to. Lovely clean tanks, great lighting and a huge variety of sealife and even some reptiles which were a great bonus! The tunnel has such a great variety of sealife to observe and the layout is spacious and wast to navigate around.

Fantastic experience: Amazing costumer service at the desk with manager and staff members cery kind and smily. Recommended

Positive experience: There's not much to see but quite expensive from my point of view.

Fantastic experience: Visited Hastings Aquarium with my 4-month-old baby and really enjoyed it! Even though it’s a small aquarium, they have a lovely variety of sea life to see — from colourful fish to interesting marine creatures. It’s definitely worth a visit . There was plenty of parking available, which made it super convenient. We went on a weekend afternoon and it wasn’t busy at all, so we could take our time and enjoy everything. A nice little spot for a relaxed family outing!

Fantastic experience: A fun place to dive into the underwater world! Great for kids and adults alike – you can see sea creatures up close, from colourful fish to sharks and rays. It’s got a cool, calming vibe and feels like stepping into a different world. Perfect for a family outing or a chill day away from the everyday hustle!

Positive experience: Fantastic collection of marine life and explanations. All livestock appears to be very healthy and the tanks clean. Not huge but good fun. Cafe could be bigger and better organised

Fantastic experience: We bought a family ticket to gain entry. It's a smallish aquarium compared to the big chain of sea life centres we have previously visited but as an independent business I was impressed. It has beautiful walk through tunnel where you can see rays, sharks puffer fish, there's also a reptile area which added a nice bit of variety. There's an on-site cafe with books for the kids to look at and the gift shop is quite reasonably priced.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic place for kids and families. Especially great when the weather isn't so good and you need a place to hide from the rain!

Positive experience: Nice place for the kids with some great features. The glass could be cleaned better on the main tank, but the experience was great for the kids.

Positive experience: A nice little aquarium with a variety to look at. There isn't staff throughout though so there were some people banging on the glass and noise within quiet areas which was frustrating.

Fantastic experience: What a beautiful place Hastings is. Fish and Chips shops, interesting authentic shops and bars in the Old Town, fishing huts on the beach. A must see

Positive experience: An Aquarium right on the sea front to the East of the town centre. Handily placed next to a car park, which is useful. The place itself is good but not sparkling. The fish all looks in tip top condition, which is pleasing to see. Some big open tanks for on top viewing, but don't touch the fish. There is a small reptile area with a couple of snakes & lizards in it too. The tunnel you can walk through gives a reasonable view of the large tank, but can get crowded if busy. The staff offer some interesting talks throughout the day & are well informed & enthusiastic. A day ticket allows multiple visits during the day, so if you need more fish...then come back later in the day....

Positive experience: Nice,but not much for the amount you pay.Frinedly staff!

Fantastic experience: I really enjoyed my visit, this one of the smaller aquariums in the country. Paid for tickets in advance, and you have up to 6 months to use them. Check in , is straight forward. Everything is one way to walk around the aquarium. There is also lots of species on display and I'm sure they are looked after. The gift shop also has lots of items you can buy to still continue to contributing supporting the aquarium.

Positive experience: My son is autistic and he loves this aquarium, its peaceful. We had lunch there for the first time and unfortunately the £15 pizza had no taste.

Fantastic experience: It's not large, but nevertheless, good value for money. The highlight is a large tank that you can see from above and through the sides and then walk through an underwater tunnel. This is full of all manner of fish, including reed sharks (why don't they eat the other fish)?

Fantastic experience: Lovely time at the Aquarium, you can come and go throughout the day once you have bought your entry ticket. We popped back a couple of times for the feeding and talks. The Seahorses and Sharks were magnificent.

Fantastic experience: Is a great place to take children, and the adults enjoyed their time here, too. The person at the reception was very polite and welcoming.

Positive experience: We spent an hour wandering around, and enjoyed seeing all of the different fish. We spent about 10 minutes at one of the tanks where they had rays and larger fish that was an open top so you could really get closer to them, the rays in particular kept getting so close to us and were obviously really curious. I would say it's a little expensive for what's there, but we enjoyed ourselves nevertheless. Our 6 year old particularly enjoyed going through the tunnel and getting to see the fish swim over and around her.

Fantastic experience: Great to see the sharks and all the fishes. Lady in a pirate costume was very engaging with the kids and made balloon swords which the kids loved.

Fantastic experience: Brilliant! Kept our 12 year old grandson fascinated for 3 hours incl lunch

Fantastic experience: Amazing experience! Brilliant for those with additional needs. Awesome to see a Mantis Shrimp as well.

Positive experience: Lovely little aquarium. We took our baby for the first time on mother's day and she really enjoyed it. Not the biggest, and like most aquariums the walkthrough tunnel is the main attraction, but perfect size for little ones and very easy to add on to a day at the seaside. A tiny bit disappointing that some of the classics are missing, like jellyfish, but overall a good range of species

Negative experience: Devastated to see the tiny space available to the Octopus, I agree with the previous person's comments with a 1 star review related to the Octopus, how on earth in this day and age are we keeping animals trapped like this, the enclosure is barely the width of its tentacles. I won't return and I hope an animal welfare organisation is able to take this matter further, awful.

Fantastic experience: Can't fault the place at all! Around £15 each for entry, which for an aquarium seems cheap (I'm not complaining!) and the value for money too you really can't knock it. Upon purchasing a ticket, it also plays as an all day ticket so if you decide to go back later on you don't have to pay again It's not the largest aquarium in the world, but for the size of the building it has a large amount of tanks and attractions all of which were interesting, and not over crowded (which was great to see) I really do recommend this place, you won't regret visiting! Definitely coming back when I'm next in the area.

Fantastic experience: We love a visit here, always fairly quiet when we go so we get to enjoy the fish without noise. Watched the fish feeding and sharks- nice gift shop very clean. Staff friendly and helpful

Positive experience: It’s an ok mid sized aquarium. If you’re in the area and you’re looking for something to do for the kids or if it turns rainy, then this is a great little spot, but it only lasted about an hour. Would probably visit again for one of the above reasons, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to ‘must visit’ again. Also, we were upselled a bundle ticket to include the caves and castle but we’re not informed about a lift to get to the other two attractions, which I was not impressed with. I also had a 1 year old with me and neither of the other two attractions were suitable for him, meaning we wasted a lot of time and extra money, even though we asked if they would be suitable before purchase.

Fantastic experience: We had a great time at Hastings aquarium, thank you so much for being so kind during our visit and we can't wait to visit again in the future!

Positive experience: This is a great little aquarium. we had fun with the family ! The staff were very friendly and helpful

Fantastic experience: Awesome and sensational Aquarium situated in the Old Town area of Hastings with a variety of Fish and other aquatic animals to see. The Aquarium is of a decent size and the best advice is to take your time going around to allow time to see the wonder of the animals that live in our oceans and rivers domestically and throughout the world and there are a variety of stunning animals to see as you around, which makes this place very memorable from other Aquariums that you visit. There are a number of exhibits you see as you around the Aquarium and these include The Native Zone, Nursery, Ray Tank, Ocean Tank and Tunnel, Rivers & Estuaries and the Jungle Room and all of these areas have a diverse range of fish and other creatures to see and all of the displays are truly amazing and wonderous. In the Native Zone it talks about the UK and the Temperate waters and you can see Sea Bass, Ballan Wrasse, Thornback Ray, Lesser Dogfish, European Lobster and Grey Mullet. In the Nursery you can see a large number of fish that have just been born and they look very much home in their tanks and appear very quickly adapted to their new environment and the animals that can be seen include Seahorses, Domino Damsels, Black & White Clownfish, Majestic Anglefish & Hambug Damsel. In the Ray Tank you can see Sea Bass, Thornback Ray and Nursehound. In the Ocean Tank it covers about the fish and creatures found in the world's oceans and in this section you can see Pufferfish, Blacktip Reefsharks and Blue Tang amongst others and with the inclusion of the Ocean Tunnel you can catch a great glimpse of these magical creatures swimming overhead. In the Rivers and Estuaries it talks about the creatures found in the Rivers and Estuaries in the world and in this section you can see a Fly River Turtle and Archerfish. In the Jungle Room you can see animals from the Jungle areas of the World and the animals you can see include a Green Tree Python, African Bullfrog, Argentine Tegu and Boa Constrictor. The best places are the Ocean Tank due to the breathtaking spectacle of the sharks and other fish swimming over you through the tunnel and also the Jungle Room as the Green Tree Python and Madagascar Day Gecko just look so amazing. There are talks throughout the day at set times talks and feed for the animals where you can learn further interesting facts about them and also how they feed. Vistors can also a purchase joint ticket for this place, The Smugglers Adventure and Castle for £24, which is useful and value for money.There is a cafe selling a variety of food and drink at affordable prices and also there is a gift shop with a wonderful range of gifts at affordable prices. Overall this is an amazing and tremendous place to visit and makes for a throughly wonderful and enjoyable day out. Well worth whilst in Hastings.

Fantastic experience: Kids loved the aquarium. Staff were really nice. Love that the ticket is a day ticket and you can go round as much as you (the kids) want

Fantastic experience: Impressive collection of aquatic animals and other species. Would have loved to see more reptile collections. Definitely worth visiting if you’re in town with family or friends.

Fantastic experience: Really good attraction. Great for kids. It's only small but wasn't busy so we walked round a couple of times

Positive experience: Small aquarium, nice but overpriced. Some of the fish had injuries. The crab was dead. Fortunately, the sharks were not as fat as in other aquariums. It's a shame there weren't more local fish

Fantastic experience: Not a huge aquarium, but a lot in a small place. Highly enjoyable with smaller and our bigger kids with lots of information about and readables/interactivity. Great visit if you have a couple of hours.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic little Aquarium, I've not been here in years and glad to see it's still just as I remember - Lovley and well kept (if a little small) and only 5mins from home

Fantastic experience: A good size aquarium if you visit with a child. It wasn't too busy, so we enjoyed the experience overall. The shark feed was super cool!

Fantastic experience: Not very big and some tanks need some more enrichment but overall a lovely experience. Staff were friendly and more than happy to answer any questions and the creatures were beautiful.

Fantastic experience: Nice little gem is a great way to spend a few hours on a rainy day. Excellent variety of fish and animals. I recommend buying the mixed attraction ticket it's great value. Big carpark but chargeable.

Positive experience: Great relaxing walk around the aquarium. Informative reception staff and talks on every hour.

Fantastic experience: Great for for kids. Plenty of cool fish to see

Fantastic experience: A wonderful 1-2 hours spent looking at amazing fish. There are also reptiles and snakes. Nice ice cream, and a comfortable cafe. Very friendly and helpful staff.

Positive experience: A lovely place to visit, with friendly staff. Very enjoyable for children and also has a well stocked gift shop and a relaxing cafe.

Fantastic experience: Loved this place!! Really friendly octopus, tube under sharks & rays, and a whole tank of sea horses!!

Positive experience: Was really interesting experience, at every next zone you always can find creature that catch your attention more than others

Fantastic experience: There are many different aquariums with many different types of fish or other water creatures. There are also reptiles such as snakes etc. It is a very small aquarium so you can be done in about 10-15 minutes.

Positive experience: A small aquarium with variety of fish and mini jungle area. The tunnel is nice for children, a bit dirty glass though. Go when the shows are on as it is more engaging. The ticket allows you to go back there, if you wish to, for example for the specific talk or encounter. Not many staff were there when we visited.

Positive experience: As many others have said, it's flaw is value for money. It's a good aquarium, it had a good number of animals on display, but it was £15 / adult and we were in there for 15 minutes. Yes, you can go back all day with your ticket to see the various talks / feeding sessions, and then it may be slightly better value. Otherwise, it's just a bit too pricey.

Fantastic experience: Had great time at the Sea Life center in Hastings. My grandchildren absolutely loved it! So much to see and lots of interesting facts for them to learn as well as having fun!

Fantastic experience: Always worth a visit, staff are very friendly great for all ages. Plenty to see

Fantastic experience: Really enjoyed seeing different types of fish.

Positive experience: Great aquarium and good value if bought with the super saver to see Hastings Castle and Smugglers caves too. I always feel aquariums aren't long enough, but if you read all the info on your way around and take your time it's well worth it!

Positive experience: It was a really beautiful aquarium with some wonderful exhibits full of very happy fish and also some reptiles. The only thing that I feel let it down slightly was the size of it as it is quite small compared to some other aquariums for the same price.

Positive experience: Great little aquarium, it's not huge but you can go around as many times as you like. We spent a good few hours there and the kids really enjoyed it (aged 12, 14 & 5). It's obviously not as big as a sealife aquarium but if you go with that in mind it's good. There is a good selection of fish including an octopus, black tipped reef sharks, rays and some interesting reptiles too. It's not cheap (£53 for family of 4) but if you plan ahead you can use tesco clubcard vouchers.

Fantastic experience: Great little aquarium. Nice to know we can pop in again the same day if we wanted to. (Included in ticket price). Lovely water tunnel too.

Fantastic experience: Great Aquarium, despite what some people say, well worth the money, and we took 2 and 1/4hrs to go all the way through!

Fantastic experience: Lovely aquarium! Lots of beautiful fish as well as a reptile area!

Positive experience: Cute burt very expensive. The ticket entitles you to come back as many times as you like, but its so small it's probably nor worth coming back for the feeding times. Walked around it in ten mins, 2 tickets were over £30!

Fantastic experience: I'll recommend this aquarium. It's so lovely to go around and see all different species of fish and tropical animals, too!

Fantastic experience: Lovely hidden gem! Staff were really kind and helpful. Great day out. If you pay for a day ticket they mean it, if you want to leave and then go back in you can.

Fantastic experience: Good morning activity. The aquatic tunnel was very good. We got to pet a snake (called pretzel !) who was very cute. Moderately expensive - but worth it IMO

Positive experience: Good day out, loved seeing the fish, wish the octopus was there though

Positive experience: A good selection of native and other fish that are clearly well cared for. I had to carry a four-year-old a lot, which was tiring, as there weren't enough places for her to stand to see things at her level. Excellent that the ticket could be used for re-entry all day. The cafe was very comfortable and fairly priced.

Fantastic experience: Lovely aquarium. We visited in the rain, so was on the busy side. Plenty to hold us. All the tanks were clean and looked well cared for. Busy little cafe. Offered hot and cold drinks. Toasted sandwiches and pizza. There was ice cream there as well. There was a large pay display carpark about a 5 minute walk away.

Positive experience: Really nice location right near the beach front but was kind of a pain to get parked not a lot of parking near the place but lots of pay parking further down the coast if need be. Only down side is that its kind of a small aquarium to be honest but still fairly good, good for a short little trip but spent the best of the day at the beach.

Fantastic experience: Great day. Very interesting lots of information about the fish on posters near the tanks , the fish were awesome and well cared for. The staff were welcoming and friendly.

Fantastic experience: We love it here ! Our second time here today, we drive over 1hr and 30 minutes but we think it's worth it. My little boy is only 8 months so it's a huge sensory experience for him ! yes it is small, however we do one trip round sit in the lovely cafe for a coffee and a feed and then walk back round ! Personally better than the bigger other seaside aquariums.... Very clean changing facilities and the staff are very very polite ! Also super close to parking which is a bonus with a little one ! Perfect "rainy day" day out.

Positive experience: I went on a field trip here and the staff were great. I don't particularly like aquariums due to the issues with welfare but the bigger fish had a lot of room and overall it was a good experience. the loss of a star is simply due to the gift shop being far top overpriced, I understand if the toys are made locally but they were not.

Positive experience: Great day out with the kids. Not as much as it should have in the aquarium for the price, it's relatively small. It is fun tho and worth a trip at least once. You can also pet a snake in the reptile enclosure. There is a cafe and bathrooms as well in the building so ideal for ppl with kids or anyone who gets hungry lol.

Fantastic experience: Lots of interesting sea life to meet. Plenty of choices in the gift shop. Photo wall at the end where you can get a print, magnet or keychain. It doesn't take long to walk around so take your time and enjoy the different species. Brought tickets inside and paid cash.

Fantastic experience: Not too busy, nice to stroll through + ticket is valid for unlimited same day returns, they do talks and got to touch a snake so that's a nice bonus

Positive experience: It was okay.. was looking forward to coming and drove a long way, was surprised to be in and out within half an hour.. I think prices should be lowered.. didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. This being said, my toddler loved it!

Positive experience: Good small aquarium, friendly staff. Admission price is quite high I think for what is there. Also the gift shop is quite expensive. But it's a good place for young children as it's not too big

Fantastic experience: Had a fantastic time with my partner. It wasn't very busy when we went on a Monday morning. We very much enjoyed all of the tanks and found the information around the aquarium very interesting. The reptile area was also pretty good. All of the fish and reptiles looked well cared for. The gift shop was small but a fairly decent price wise. Would absolutely recommend

Positive experience: Nice little venue. Smaller than I remembered but the grandchildren enjoyed it. Took approx an hour to explore including the gift shop.

Fantastic experience: Lovely little aquarium my 18 month loved it especially the windows into the big tanks, the tunnel and the bubble windows, it's not huge but makes for a lovely afternoon or morning and you can go round as many times as you like! Car park right next to it and little cafe and toilets in the building with a cute gift shop

Fantastic experience: Very nice place, beautiful marine animals with a lot of info regarding them. Nice place for children and parents to spend the day out

Positive experience: It's not big but there are activities for kids. #AngeReview

Fantastic experience: I love coming here with the littleies, it takes about an hour to amble around but if you time the day right and come and go there is lots to take in, today we were stroking the python in the animal encounter. There are regular displays throughout the day though.

Fantastic experience: We visited the aquarium while on holiday, and so glad we did! Lovely little aquarium, the sting rays seemed to want to get up close and personal. We all loved the shark tunnel We took our 8 month old twins and they seemed to really enjoy themselves. Baby changing toilets were large enough to fit a double pram in, which is great! All very clean and tidy. The café attached was nice too.

Fantastic experience: Only a small aquarium but think that is perfect, there are some steps to go down then up but other wise it is all flat services. Tickets are reasonable priced and u can use them all day too.

Fantastic experience: There are numerous photos available in other reviews, and I must say that this place is truly delightful. I highly recommend paying it a visit when you're in the area. It offers an educational experience, especially for children. However, it's worth noting that younger children might become bored depending on their interests. Apart from that minor consideration, there's a wealth of marine life to explore, and the aquariums are quite spacious with a lot to see. I would suggest taking your time to leisurely stroll through the exhibits and read the information about the various types of sea life. Rushing through it won't do justice to the experience, as you could complete the visit in just 10 minutes if you do so. Additionally, it's convenient to purchase your tickets online about an hour before your planned visit since they offer all-day tickets. Furthermore, there's parking available in the Rock and Ore car park located beside the Blue Reef Aquarium. Enjoy your visit!

Fantastic experience: Lots of great fishes. Good Cafe, interactive elements for small children throughout the aquarium

Positive experience: Read a few reviews about this place before going so didn't expect much upon arrival. You can easily do this aquarium in 20 mins (if you don't read all the informative signs about the fish) However unlike some places, you are welcome to come back and visit throughout the day to watch the staff feed the fish. Nice range of fish on display even a little tropical reptile/critter area. Staff very friendly and will help you if you want more information. Few steps inside that you can't seem to get around if you want to do the whole aquarium, although they might have a way around that if you are in a wheelchair.

Fantastic experience: It is a lovely aquarium that is located just by the seaside. You can park at the area (at a fee of course), finish the tour, and head to the beach if you want. Friendly staff, although part of the aquarium was under construction when we visited, we still enjoyed the tour. Also, there are lots of eateries nearby and other places to visit all within walking distance.

Fantastic experience: Really enjoyed our visit in April. There is a lot to see and do. Not to big, so perfect for little kids, they even have little stepping stools for them! Not really accessible with a stroller or wheelchair. Really nice visit and very well kept! Parking is very close and a walk to the old town is also really nice. There is also a small nice café.

Positive experience: Despite its size, there is a surprising variety of things to see, including feeding times, and your ticket is valid all day if you need to leave and come back. You can save money by buying a 3 in one ticket for the aquarium, Smugglers Adventure and Hastings Castle.

Positive experience: Really enjoyed it here, lots to see and really well layed out. Took us less than an hour to visit though.

Fantastic experience: Myself and little granddaughter got there early but still busy, but it is summer. She liked to see all the fish swimming about in the big tanks. We loved the tunnel with fish swimming above. We walked quite quickly round, you can take as long as you like. Then a nice cuppa next door.

Fantastic experience: As someone who has a autistic daughter obsessed with sharks it was definitely a treat to visit this place we got to see them eat and there’s so much cool aquatic life to explore kept them happy all day and the gift shop was full of shark stuff which made my daughters day everyone was very friendly and it wasn’t busy for a summer holiday definitely going to visit again when given the opportunity!

Positive experience: A different experience, as never been before. Having spent 82 quid for the family, I actually expected a lot more for my money. It's a small aquarium and no sooner have you started, you're quickly at the gift shop and out. You can come and go during the day, but once you're been round once, there's not much point going back again, unless you want to catch a specific show. We're sure there used to be a touch pool years ago, that would be cool. Overall, it was borderline ok, but we wouldn't go back simply for the cost vs what you get as an experience. At times, it felt no different than going to see the fish at the local garden centre.

Positive experience: A compact but neat, tidy and interesting aquarium. A day ticket lets you revisit multiple times on the day which is handy with young children as the first time they will likely run through the attraction in about 10 minutes. Good range of aquatic life including tropical and also local species

Fantastic experience: Lovely little aquarium and staff are very friendly but can get bombarded with little kids when children go on school trips there but is understandable

Fantastic experience: Situated in the Rock-a-Nor part of Old Hastings sea front, The Hastings Aquarium is part of a group of attractions that also include the Fisherman's Museum and Shipwreck Museum opposite the aquarium. Tickets are for all day, allowing visitors to come and go as they wish throughout the day, though it can be busy on cold and wet days. Apart from one small section of the aquarium which involves steps down to the underwater viewing tunnel, there is disabled access across the rest of the building as it is on one level. Some areas though as darkened to suit the various fish species. In addition, there is also a display of insects, amphibians and reptiles. Furthermore, there are also feeding times for the fish and reptiles at various times of the day. Parking is nearby on the sea front and is all day, but can be expensive. There is also a beach area as well. There are a few shops in the area that also sell gifts and refreshments, with plenty of restaurants in the area, including one next to the aquarium. There are also fresh fish kiosks near by. The lift nearby to the country park is out of action upon my visit, but the West Cliff lift is working up to the castle and Smugglers Adventure caves.

Fantastic experience: With something fascinating around every corner, from sharks and rays that poke their heads out the water to look at you to tarantulas, scorpions , giant clam shells, river turtles and all sorts of fish, this visit was short but sweet. Its compact but was perfect for a 4 year old’s attention span.

Negative experience: It's a nice place and could be seen in 20 minutes. As I have been to other sea life aquariums, this one is very small, not informative or educational, has no sounds for entertainment and is not as exciting to see something new/ different. I don't feel the price was correct either. I wouldn't visit again, especially for that price. It was something different to do in Hastings.

Positive experience: A little expensive for what it is. Immediately, I felt pretty sorry for the animals, the main tank was nice. Wouldn't go again

Fantastic experience: Went there with my niece and baby also with my Granddaughter, had a hot drinks in there cafe before going in but we all loved it