Macduff Marine Aquarium

Fantastic experience: One of my happy places, I can't wait it to reopen with the upgrades. ❤️

Fantastic experience: All good with the grandkids. We'll worth a visit.

Positive experience: Marvellous! However we're visited on the penultimate day before it closed for a complete rebuild. Should reopen next spring and we can't wait to see it

Fantastic experience: Excellent aquarium with brilliant viewing experience. Staff great very friendly and also a very good price compared with other aquariums.

Fantastic experience: Very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time here. I would certainly go again.

Fantastic experience: An unexpected delight, focussing on marine life off the coast of Maccduff. Excellent dedicated staff providing visitors with hands-on experiences. Deserved upgrade (and resultant closure) about to start.

Fantastic experience: The girls love the aquarium they are never bored

Fantastic experience: Great little place that the kids love.

Positive experience: Small but nice & informative aquarium. Has a small rock pool for kids to touch and feel some crabs, star fish,etc. Can spend 1-2 hour and attend a few talks/demonstrations as well. Apparently going to go through a major refurbishment from Sep 24 so looking forward to see the new aquarium next year.

Positive experience: Took a grumpy 7 year old. I enjoyed it, lots of fish and things to touch and feel. Feeding time was busy. Looking forward to the refurbishment and reopening in a years time. It shuts on the first of September.

Positive experience: Not the biggest of places, but you can go round as many times as you like, and there are times for feedings and info on the different sections . Reasonably priced entry keeps the little one entertained for a while. He loves the rock pool

Fantastic experience: Loved it, we saw 2 feeding times because we were there for an hour and the talk that both staff members did was very informative, pointing out many things that we would have missed, like seeing a day old shark! I especially enjoyed the fact that everything was native to Scotland, who knew our coasts were so busy!

Fantastic experience: Great visit here today with our granddaughters 8 & 6yrs. Staff are very helpful. Great that you can go round as many times as you like as you can be sure to see something different each time even if it isn't all the sharks fins you have to find for the activity sheet!! Well worth a visit. Look forward to returning in the future once the refurbishment is completed

Fantastic experience: Very interesting and an enjoyable visit. Glad to see there was free parking.

Fantastic experience: The staff are very knowledgeable and we really enjoyed our visit. I was there with teenagers and we stayed for 2-3 hours, including listening to two interesting talks.

Fantastic experience: A great place to visit what ever the weather. The staff were so friendly and the welcome was so warm. As we did out tour there's plenty to see!! Even an area you can interact with the starfish, we made it for the 3pm talk at the interactive pools very informative and inclusive. Great selection of fish and even some baby sharks !! We will be back again soon.

Fantastic experience: Superb aquarium. Weather was looking iffy so we looked for something to do indoors. One of our teens chose this so off we went. Friendly staff and a large variety of fish. What made this especially interesting was that all the species were Scottish. Staff were excellent and the presentations informative but also child friendly: the staff obviously knew their stuff. We spent two hours here but would happily have spent longer.

Fantastic experience: Great place! Lovely staff and I cannot wait for the expansion plans to come into place one day.

Fantastic experience: Really enjoyed the visit. Very informative and helpful. Great staff.

Fantastic experience: What an amazing place...enjoyed the sight of the fishes running around in their tank. The staff are so warm to visitors and receptive.

Positive experience: Very good and interesting, small but educational, friendly place, nice staff, good gift shop

Positive experience: The macduff aquarium is great! It isnt the biggest aquarium I have been to but there is lots to see here. I visited with my wife and my 18 month boy. We visit often as he loves watching the fish. For his size and age group the fishtanks are perfect. He can wander round at his own pace and is able to see most of the fish. The aquarium will be perfect when they have the eating facilities after the renovation.

Fantastic experience: Loved our visit! Great views and wildlife sightings. Very friendly, helpful, welcoming staff. The kids loved the touch tank and the nursery the most. Nice selection of books in the gift shop. Bundle up - it’s chilly

Fantastic experience: Great for kids and very educational. The staff were informative and most helpful.

Fantastic experience: Been a few times over the past few years. Always a fun place to go. Petite but very large on sealife

Fantastic experience: We enjoyed our visit to the centre to find the staff all experts. It was wonderful to see the creatures in their element. I was impressed by the very cold water and the kelp growing so naturally. The fish are tame too.

Fantastic experience: Great place to visit with lots to see. Really enjoyed the octopus feeding which included lots of explanation of the very unusual anatomy of the octopus, all delivered really well by Hannah.

Fantastic experience: Omg this is such an amazing aquarium. They have a show feeding the fishes in the huge tank. All the variety of fishes showcase in this aquarium are indigenous the Macduff. The varies of star fishes was amazing.

Fantastic experience: What a lovely aquarium. Definitely need at least half a day to properly appreciate it. Staff are very helpful and knowledgeable, and the exhibits are great. Nice interactive stuff for kids too, and a brilliant gift shop.

Fantastic experience: I've taken my kids to this aquarium several times now and each time, we've had fun. The animals are absolutely beautiful. I absolutely adore the octopus and the rays that pop up out of the water. It's not a large place, if you take your time to enjoy the place, you could be in there for 2 hrs or so. Well, assuming you don't rush it, like I've seen others do. I would say the prices are pretty fair. There's plenty of parking. There's also plenty of places locally to visit. The sea side is quite fantastic.

Positive experience: Really nice wee aquarium. Not a shark in sight, other than dogfish, but well maintained, clean exhibits, friendly staff and a waving diver! Great spot for kids on a wet day.

Positive experience: The only problem we had was when they fed the crabs on the 1st tank ,it just holds everyone up as they come thru the doors .Other than that, it's a good place to take the kids or even grandkids

Fantastic experience: A brilliant look at the sealife from the Moray Firth. Great displays of fish, jellyfish etc. and what really is noticeable is the staff's enthusiasm. Early afternoon visits might coincide with feeding times.

Positive experience: Nice small aquarium with good public transit options. Entry is reasonably priced, however it is worth mentioning that there are limited dining options in the area apart from a nice café just next door.

Fantastic experience: Great place to take children, had a fantastic time. Macduff and Banff are lovely places with good beaches. Can't fault the place, great little aquarium with super helpful and friendly staff. You can visit, go explore the beach and then go back inside.

Fantastic experience: This is one of the best aquariums I have ever visited. It may not be the biggest, but you'll see a lot in the space that is there! Very friendly and knowledgeable staff- we caught the jellyfish feed, and the feeder, Hannah, was very knowledgeable and was happy to answer questions. The Price Is super reasonable, and there's definitely something for everyone to enjoy- a great attraction!

Positive experience: Nice small aquarium, seen the feeding show reasonably priced

Fantastic experience: Fantastic aquarium, great value and very enjoyable. Kids loved it and the feeding and diving sessions were fun to watch! Staff were knowledgeable and friendly.

Fantastic experience: Was a great experience. Staff were very knowledgeable and layout of the aquarium is great.

Fantastic experience: The kids absolutely loved it! We stayed for 3 of Frazer's talks and he did a fantastic job of making them engaging, entertaining and informative. My boys (9 & 11) couldn't get enough. Great job!

Fantastic experience: Awesome aquarium! Fantastic place to take the kids on a rainy day, or even a nice day as benches outside for picnics and a decent car park. Nice little gift shop too

Fantastic experience: It is quite a small museum full of interesting facts about the marine ecosystem. The staff are very friendly and dedicated and the aquariums are well equipped. The special thing was the feeding of the octopus.

Fantastic experience: Small. Not very modern. But so interesting and educational. Lots and lots to see. Small details around every corner, in every tank, abundant range of specimens. Can easily spend hours there. Will gladly go again. There is still more to see and to learn.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful time at the aquarium. Great way to celebrate my son's birthday and to make it more special the VIP tour with Abbey was excellent. So informative and fun. Highly recommend.

Positive experience: Really well used space. But it did feel quite expensive for the price of a single visit. Definetly recommend the season or annual pass if that's an option.

Fantastic experience: What a lovely little aquarium! Even though the building is quite small, it is very well laid out to fit in as much as possible. Each area is clearly well thought out. We were given a leaflet at the beginning to find all the fish in the aquarium, though this was a little beyond my 2 year old. The staff were very friendly and clearly passionate about the aquarium. The “windows” into the kelp reef were a firm favourite with our toddler. There are toilets and a baby change area in the disabled loo. There was a scheduled talk about baby sharks during our visit but our son was too excited to be looking in all the tanks to stop and listen. Lovely gift shop too. We will definitely be visiting in a few years time when our son is a little older.

Fantastic experience: As a diver who regularly dives in the Moray Firth this gave a great picture of the local sealife to share with my family and especially my youngest son. For the space they have the exhibition is very informative well put together and my family loved it.

Fantastic experience: A wonderful experience to see the marine animals so close. The living shark eggs were impressive. There were a lot of explanations about the human impact on the marine ecosystems which were appropriate for my 10 year old kind as well as for me as adult. Unfortunately there were lots of plastic toys in the shop. I expected that they'd walk the talk. I would have bought educational items and books for my kid but no toys.

Positive experience: We enjoyed it & it helped get energy out of our near 2yr old. It was great seeing all the sealife. We felt for the size of the place the price was a little steep.

Fantastic experience: Fascinating life and information. Grandkids were as mesmerised as I was. It's a fun place with questionnaires available to focus interest. The little gift shop has mementos at reasonable prices. I would easily go back. Great place and the informed staff give talks at certain times.

Fantastic experience: An excellent attraction, very large fish tanks spotlessly clean and a great selection of all creatures to be found in Scotland's seas and lochs. Worth a visit for all ages.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful aquarium. Really informative with different sections telling you about parts of the sea. Sounds like there's plan to renovate the building and add an extension. It'll be wonderful to see if the plans have come to fruition in a few years time

Fantastic experience: Used to come here when I was little and now I'm bringing my own children. A small aquarium, Can probably get around it in 20 minutes. You can go round as many times as you want. The kids loved the big tank. The feeding of the sharks was great to see. Lovely little place to pass an hour or two!

Fantastic experience: Very nice, informative and fun wee place.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful little aquarium and friendly staff. Lots of little activities for such a small little aquarium. Definitely worth a stop over if you are in or near the area. Ample parking too.

Fantastic experience: The aquarium was great. My daughter loved being able to touch the starfish and hermit crabs etc. it’s well worth a visit!

Fantastic experience: Fun and lots to see. Not huge but well laid out. Staff were very friendly and informative. Great for 2 -3 hour visit especially if feeding shows are on.

Fantastic experience: Kids really enjoyed them self's as did I

Fantastic experience: Very informative and interesting. The kids really enjoyed it. Good family program. Worth a visit.

Positive experience: Been a long time since last visit but was a good stop over on a family road trip. Staff were very informative when asked any questions and was enough to see with the large tank the best of the lot. A way of clearing condensation off some glass on some tanks would make it easier to see the inhabitants clearer.

Fantastic experience: Great place to visit and it's good to see what fish and creatures live in the waters of the Moray coast. Staff are very informative and interact well with the kids. Be prepared to wait for the touchy feely area but who wouldn't want to wait to touch a starfish

Fantastic experience: Still a hit with the kids, lots of different species to see. Some new bits and bobs since we were here a couple of years ago, as well. Managed to catch the show this time, too, good for kids and adults.

Fantastic experience: Love this place great for the kids informative and also fun. Can spend a good 2 hours or come and go while waiting for different events to take place. The little kids get to touch starfish and crabs watch feeding of the big fish. Staff are forever patient with endless kids asking the same questions! ‍♂️

Fantastic experience: We visited the sealife centre yesterday, 4 adults and 2 under 5's. It was well worth the visit and were met by warm, friendly and well informed staff who knew their stuff about the sea creatures. Very informative and fascinating feeding time. The wee ones loved it as did the big ones! Great range of sea life and underwater creatures. Thank you lovely staff for your hard work. See you soon. Ross and Sweeney families xxxxxx

Fantastic experience: It's good to see all the native marine life .

Fantastic experience: Took my 3 years old daughter here today. Lovely experience for her and the staff were very friendly and accommodating. Fair price given the running costs of the aquarium. Thanks for making out visit memorable :)

Fantastic experience: Kids and parents enjoyed it. Had to go round twice just so it wasn't over too quick. Gift shop isnt as pricey as I thought it would be. They are getting an extension in the near future which I will return to see.

Fantastic experience: An amazing aquarium with a super dedicated team. The ultimate collection of native marine fish!! Always worth a visit whenever I'm in the area. Would thoroughly recommend doing the same.

Positive experience: This was a nice little aquarium right on the North Sea with a lovely staff and layout. While it seems geared more for children it was still a wonderful experience. You never know what you will see when dealing with wildlife and we happened to be there when one of their fish decided to eat it’s lobster neighbor. Oops!

Fantastic experience: A great little aquarium with a focus on local waters and species therein. Staff were welcoming, very knowledgeable and helpful and greatly encouraged our little boy’s enthusiasm for the displays and talks. They were fantastic with him, especially Hannah the diver. She really made his day. It was also really good to be able to come and go during the day with our tickets, allowing us to ensure our boy was fed, our dog got out of our campervan for exercise and we could attend all the planned talks throughout the day. Well worth the entrance fee and we will definitely be back again when we return to the area.

Positive experience: Macduff Marine Aquarium is located in Macduff, Aberdeenshire, and features marine life from the Moray Firth, Scotland's largest bay . The aquarium offers visitors the opportunity to meet all kinds of sea creatures that live in the Moray Firth. The exhibits lead you from the coastal waters and out to the sea floor, and on the way, you'll discover the amazing diversity of native marine life . The aquarium also offers daily talks and feeding shows . In addition to the exhibits, the aquarium has a gift shop where visitors can purchase souvenirs and a cafe where they can enjoy a meal or snack. Personally, I have found it very small, but just because I have visited quite a few already.

Fantastic experience: A brilliant museum with warm and welcoming staff who are expert guides. Macduff Marine Aquarium presents the marine ecology of the local seas, rather than tropical fish. As a result, I learned far more and enjoyed myself more than a visit to Seaworld.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful family day out! We visited again with our toddlers and we all had a wonderful day out. The highlight were the talks and feeding sessions throughout the day (which we had missed due to COVID restrictions during our first visit). Big thank you to Jon who was very knowledgeable and spoke brilliantly to our two sons, answering their questions wonderfully. The Kelp tank talk was fantastic too. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip - beautiful exhibits with clearly well taken care of animals, extremely knowledgable and welcoming staff. Very engaging for adults and children alike.

Fantastic experience: Good place to spend an hour. Lots of tanks with different species of fish and sea life and information boards to help you identify the various types of fish etc. Wouldn't be a full morning/afternoon visit but still worth it.

Positive experience: Cool place to visit a bit small for the price but lots to see and experience.

Fantastic experience: Lovely aquarium, with very helpful staff and a series of fantastic displays and different tank habitats showing local sealife species. Aquarium is fanatically stocked with a wide range of native species including ling, cod, dab, scorpionfish and many others. Entry price is very reasonable, and we thought it fantastic value for everything you could see. Toilets clean, gift shop well-stocked and always a favourite with the kids, only thing missing is a cafe for the adults but your ticket allows exit/reentry throughout the day so can always nip out for a local lunch before returning. Well worth a visit!

Fantastic experience: Brilliant high quality family experience. Accessible for all. Packed with wonderful sealife viewing areas, informative displays and interactive features. We were very lucky and had opportunity for a hands-on experience with the starfish, crabs and anemones. A memory that will be with us forever. Thank you. Super scientific information and equipment such as digital magnifier and microscopes to use. Fun checklist sheet to do whilst going round. Challenged the adults too! Best of all, the most welcoming, knowledgeable and friendliest of staff! A thoroughly great afternoon out.

Fantastic experience: Yep loved it. The kids and I drove two hours to get there. I was a bit reluctant as I had thought this would only be an hour visit after reading other reviews. However we managed a good 2.5 hours. The place is far better than I had imagined. Staff were polite upon arrival, didn't queue to get in. Kids were given a find and seek sheet after I paid a very reasonable fee to enter. There are many different marine animals to see in well managed and well presented pools and tanks, there's also a touch pool which my daughter was obsessed with. They have also included loads of interactive and educational displays and screens throughout so lots to read and learn. And plenty more touchy feely things for the kids. We had missed the bit where they had someone meet the guests and tell them further about the marine life they have there, but that was only because we were busy finding and seeking. We did however catch the feeding time in this large room where the main massive tank is the main focus, a well informed and entertaining member of staff put on a great show telling us about the marine life in the main tank, it was educational, humourous and included audience participation. As she spoke the divers would enter the tank which the kids were amazed by. Afterwards you could then have photos with the divers behind you which was brilliant and a great photo op. We will be back and it is well worth the trip from wherever you might be.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely love this place. Great for grown ups and kids. Growing up along the coast, there's still so much to learn, see and do. Great time.

Fantastic experience: Loved it here. The 1pm show is the best!

Positive experience: I liked that you could touch some of the plants and starfish in the touching pools. It was a very small place so we were in and out in a small amount of time. Not too expensive and a nice little gift shop. Shark talk was good.

Positive experience: This wonderful little marine museum shows you all the sea creatures that live in the North Sea. It is impressive to experience the diversity that this rough sea has to offer. A visit here is definitely recommended.

Fantastic experience: Lovely Aquarium, we visited when the diver was feeding in the central aquarium. It was lovely and my daughter loved it. If you are in the area it's definatly worth a visit :)

Fantastic experience: Highly recommended! You can get up close to the sea life. So interesting! Our two younger visitors aged 10 and 8 really enjoyed it.

Fantastic experience: Had a day at the MacDuff Marine Aquarium and to sum up in one word........ Brilliant. The fact it has a 22kW EV charger in the Car Park is the first bonus for me. The staff were fantastic, professional, knowledgeable and engaging. So much to see with the large tank and all the smaller viewing tanks. Every day is a school day and it was so interesting. Last time we came here it was nearly 20years ago and still enjoyed our visit. A great day out and well worth the money.

Fantastic experience: Not been in some time but was brilliant. Not the biggest but it’s focus is our waters and they have done an absolutely tremendous job. A great catalogue of local marina. Was a good day out and the wee man had a smashing time. The staff are all so friendly and helpful and the feeding times were nice, get to learn more about the fish etc. will be back sooner this time.

Fantastic experience: Nice place very cheap and shows some of the local wild life.

Fantastic experience: I’ve been to the biggest sea aquarium in the world but it was not as entertaining and educating as this small aquarium. We really enjoyed the diving show and the enthusiasm of the girl who explained all the fish in the show tank was absolutely fab. The staff even got us out to see a pod of dolphins in the North Sea. Really worth a visit

Positive experience: Very good views of the fish with lots of sorts swimming together. All British ones so not colourful. A bit hard to identify the types. The paper chart was not to scale and the electronic display showed one at once so not easy to compare. Fairly small attraction. No cafe but some nearby.

Fantastic experience: Really enjoyed our visit. Nice clean environment with loads to see. Feeding time was exciting. A must see if you're in the area. Followed a pod of dolphins in the estuary to boot.

Fantastic experience: Incredibly beautiful and clean aquarium. Friendly staff and handy fish finder to keep older kids interested. The informative talk on wrasses and lumpsuckers by Frazer was excellent and peppered with fascinating facts. Different zones showing reefs, deep sea and coastal sea life and there is even a touch zone tank for kids to feel interesting sea creatures. Dazzling gift shop at the end too. Highly recommend for a couple of hours - fun for the whole family: kids to grandparents.

Fantastic experience: We have been to the Aquarium so many times now but never tire of it. The staff are always lovely, the fish are so well looked after, it's never dirty and every time we go, we learn something new! Definitely worth a visit for children and adults alike!

Fantastic experience: A sweet place. A small but great spot to visit. The staff were just fantastic and their obvious enthusiasm came through in the 2 talks we were lucky enough to be there for. All topped off with a pod of dolphin just off the waterside as we were leaving.

Fantastic experience: Had a good time after a few years away. Tanks do look like they could use a clean however.

Fantastic experience: For the price of admission I'd say it's a good deal. Lots of things to do and see for the kids , highly educational as well. Not as big as some aquariums but nicely done and friendly staff.

Fantastic experience: Fascinating to see all the sea life from this part of Scotland. So much more exciting than I thought it might be. Nice staff. Great gift shop. I wish I had more planned to see up in Macduff. So worth a visit.

Fantastic experience: Great day out for the kids and very informative.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely amazing place to visit! The kids and adults loved it! Nice to see local see animals and get info on them. It really is lovely there

Fantastic experience: This is a quirky and wonderful experience. All the creatures here are from the seas around Britain. You receive a checklist so you can identify whose who. This is a great few hours for children and adults. Staff here were brilliant too. There are toilets but no café.

Fantastic experience: A little gem on the East Coast, welcoming school children or retired seamen and sailors, very well designed, with tactile stimulation for all children and a great pic-nick area just outside its door, plus a good souvenir shop to allow you to bring home not just good memories but a cute, fluffy sea creature. Highly recommended!