Cairns Aquarium

Fantastic experience: I hadn't been to an Aquarium for years and remember them as drab places with bored fish swimming back and forth in cramped tanks. How things change. The tanks in this aquarium are huge and there are plenty of them with no end of different types of fish. There are guided tours at certain times but if you miss them, then there is ample written information. Only disappointment was that the 'Turtle Rehab Tour' was fully booked, although you do get to see tours in the main aquarium.

Positive experience: Amazing Educational Experience of Aquatic Environment of Great Barrier Reef. However, timings of superb educational sessions to be reviewed

Fantastic experience: fantastic experience like diving underwater to meet the diverse sea creatures, because of the "glass tunnel" in the tanks user-friendly arrangement to have experienced guides to explain the seat creatures and stories

Positive experience: A good experience. If you get the opportunity to go on the turtle talk, do so. The attached restaurant is overpriced and basically not as good as they would have you think they are. Eat somewhere else.

Fantastic experience: Small and compact. If you time things right, you can follow a series of talks as you make your way through the venue.

Fantastic experience: It has so many different beautiful species of marine life and rain forests of FNQ must visit once if you love to explore and know more about marine world

Fantastic experience: We did the night at aquarium guided tour experience when we were in cairns about 2 weeks ago as a group of four and we had the most incredible time. From start to finish it was the most beautiful, interesting and engaging time. We loved the journey from freshwater to reef and we have to give credit to one of the best tour guides we have ever had, Christine, just made the whole night. After travelling around the world, we’ve done lots of tours, very rarely you come across a tour guide so engaging, knowledgeable and professional. A real storyteller, and her passion for conservation left us feeling deeply moved. As she said, if we fell in love with a fish on her tour, then she did her job, and I think we fell in love with the lot. We were really blown away, we can’t recommend this experience enough. Thank you to Christine and thank you to Cairns Aquarium!

Fantastic experience: Proper big aquarium with a lot of diversity. It was impressive to see all the different fish in the two massive tanks.

Fantastic experience: Amazing place. My family did the night tour and dinner, massive shoutout to our tour guide I think his name was Calvin he was the Irish guy. He was amazing he had so much knowledge on the place and had a few really good jokes. He definitely made the whole experience even better. After we went to the restaurant where we have a 2 course feed that was included in the package deal. For the entree we got prawns the only thing was it was massive it was a meal in itself so when the chicken came out for main I only finished half of it. Although it was delicious food. I definitely recommend doing this it is such an amazing experience and it doesn’t matter if you are 5 or 50 it is amazing.

Fantastic experience: Loved the Aquarium definitely a good insight into what you may be lucky enough to see snorkeling the GBR. The talks were great as you could just listen and didn’t need to plan to much around the start times. Great day out.

Positive experience: My partner and I did the aquarium tour at night and it was such a unique experience! We did really enjoy it, does get very dark towards the end but overall it was really good, especially the dinner right next door, both of our meals were delicious and we would go back there again.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful sea life from the great barrier reef and surrounding rivers. A great aquarium with wonderful educational opportunities throughout the day.

Fantastic experience: Great exhibition the kids loved it

Fantastic experience: Lovely aquarium with native species exhibited. The presentations really made it with key points about conservation being highlighted!

Fantastic experience: Well worth the visit

Fantastic experience: Calvin was a great guide and the Aquarium was well kept and highly educational. There's something for everyone

Fantastic experience: Wow! What an amazing attraction. So much thought has been put into the design and layout here. The links and essential relationships between the various habitats are explained as you travel through them and one leads very naturally to the next. We only caught one of the educational talks, but that was really interesting, lots of information and enthusiasm from the presenter and at 20ish minutes it didn't drag on. We stopped for lunch at the aquarium restaurant, great food and service with a front row seat of a floor to ceiling tank which was fabulous. I highly recommend a visit if you're in Cairns!

Fantastic experience: Definitely worth the experience and I really recommend the turtle hospital as that is very informative and the experience we had was amazing. We were there when green turtles were classified as non endangered ❤️

Fantastic experience: I love this place

Fantastic experience: Worth the entry fee,amazing selection of snakes, lizards and fish. Lovely and cool amazing tanks with rays,sharks turtles etc.

Fantastic experience: I can recommend the guided tour .

Fantastic experience: Excellent display and presentation. Check the map for special feeding times etc. Take your own water for drinks. It's close inside, if that sort of thing affects you. Lots of photo opportunities. Good restaurant nearby.

Fantastic experience: Nice aquarium to spent time with your kids or alone.

Fantastic experience: Hubby and i visited. Was a great experience. Loads of fish and aquariums to look at. Loads of information if you want to learn about rainforest to deep sea life. Several talks to listen to . Very knowledgeable staff happy to answer questions. Kids paradise. Lots of interactive exhibits.got to see feeding which happens on Mondays

Fantastic experience: We absolutely loved the twilight tour. Our guide was very informative and the small group was the perfect way to see everything up close. The dinner afterwards at Squire Loft was sensational, highly recommend this experience.

Fantastic experience: Fun place to visit with family and kids Fun for everyone

Positive experience: We went on the night tour on a Saturday and it was not bad, little pricey but I think that's just Aquarium stuff. Tour did feel like it stopped and started and dragged. Kinda stopped alot on random small stuff then speeded past the cooler stuff. Worth a look if you like fish. Mabye not so much otherwise

Fantastic experience: Great family outing, you get a glimpse of the reef Make sure you book your turtle rehab tour in advance

Positive experience: Nice aquarium but definitely not worth the $58.

Positive experience: Pretty good, but I've recently been to the Singapore one which is incredible. Great that they are all local species, and inexpensive, which Singapore wasn't.

Fantastic experience: Great experience at the Cairns Aquarium. Location : Centrally located, walking distance to most accommodations in the city. Curation : plenty of local sealife. Very suitable for children, my 3 year old niece had a ball. Recommend getting tickets in advance so you can skip the queue.

Fantastic experience: We did the Night at the Aquarium tour. Our tour guide was fantastic, knowledge and gave informative insights into all of the aquariums animals. We were in a small group of 20 people which made it intimate and easy to hear and ask questions. The aquarium is well layed out and the displays are beautiful. We had dinner afterwards at Squires loft and it was a fantastic experience eating in front of a large aquarium display.

Positive experience: amazing place, didn’t let my brother back in when he accidentally went out the exit thinking it was another display (idiot but still he was only in there for an hour and they wouldn’t let him back in despite his $50 entry fee…). pretty disappointing management decision

Fantastic experience: What a great experience. Lots of small sea turtles, sharks, reptiles, fish and even sea horses.

Fantastic experience: AMAZING The Cairns Aquarium is a great place for all ages it has lots of fish, lizards and snakes. The tickets are a bit pricey ($58 for adult pass) but they are the money's worth. Make some time for a good hour in the aquarium and exit through the gift shop afterwards. If you get in at opening times there is not much of a wait but after that you can be waiting for a half hour.

Fantastic experience: Night toor was amazing! Felt like we had the place to ourselves. The exhibits are really great and our guides Cameron and Ruby were so knowledgeable and enthusiastic! Thanks a lot guys!

Fantastic experience: A terrific exhibition highlighting the importance of the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest to our planet. Thoroughly enjoyable. The talk at 2.00pm in the GBR exhibit was exceptional with the best dad jokes I've heard in a long time.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful and relaxing ⛱️ I found Nemo and Dory and their extended families

Positive experience: Steep price for size of venue, however not overly crowded and some unique viewing opportunities

Positive experience: Would've been a five if it wasn't for a rude staff member and the way she spoke to tourists. Telling us to move out of the way. There is a way to say things nicely! Then being overcharged at the gift shop, yes, it was fixed, but no apology nothing. There were truly beautiful marine life. And Calvin made the experience more interesting and enjoyable. So thank you to that man. But as for that staff member. Learn how to be nicer to people especially since we were visiting cairns for the first time.

Fantastic experience: This is a great Aquarium. Alot better than I expected. Great layout and exhibits. The fish where so Lively as well. I really enjoyed myself

Positive experience: The Cairns Aquarium is an amazing experience! The exhibits are stunning, the marine life is well cared for, and it’s both fun and educational for all ages. A must visit in Cairns!

Negative experience: 2 adults 4 kids 270 dollars...are you for real.... Id better hire a boat... Snorkel and see it without the glass....

Fantastic experience: We had such a great experience at the aquarium. It is not only a place to see sea lives but also a venue to learn about the natural history of the surrounding area. A lot of animals and detailed information on them are available. Highly recommended for all ages.

Fantastic experience: The night tour was amazing! Very informative and a good size group.

Fantastic experience: Great aquarium. Highly recommend. Very friendly and helpful staff

Fantastic experience: Made me hungry went for fishing and chips after and sat in Dundee's restaurant and showed them i fear no fish mwhahaha

Fantastic experience: Thank you so much for an amazing experience. We both had such a wonderful time during the twilight tour with Christine. My son was so enthralled with everything. I loved the way the exhibition works in order from rivers to the ocean. We went from Cairns to Fitzroy Island and it made such a different to have the knowledge we had gained from this tour.

Fantastic experience: A fantastic show, not only a big tank with fish, as many others. Enthusiastic staff! Best aquarium I ever visited.

Fantastic experience: Great place to visit, well presented and displayed info. Few nice places to sit and just take in the larger aquarium displays.

Fantastic experience: As a local with an environmental and marine background - I can highly recommend the twilight tour. Our host Jordan had exceptional knowledge of the animals and ecosystems on display. The twilight tour was a peaceful and intimate way to visit the aquarium.

Fantastic experience: We came as tourists and my children, their father and I had an absolutely wonderful and educational experience.

Fantastic experience: What an amazing and fantastic attraction in Cairns I’ve been to many aquariums around the world, but I must say how wonderful this aquarium is. We also paid extra to go to the turtle hospital. You can easily spend 3 to 4 hours here. Congratulations Cairns on having such a wonderful attraction .

Fantastic experience: Incredible aquarium! So many animals, interactive exhibits, and presentations- make sure you sit and listen to a few, they are at set times throughout the aquarium and you can find the info on the map they give you at the ticket counter. Along with all the sea life you can learn about the history of Australia’s geology and flora and fauna. Set aside a half day or even a full day for this aquarium because you will probably be here for hours!

Fantastic experience: Was so much fun, tickets are on the pricey side but so worth it

Fantastic experience: Had a great experience at the cairns aquarium this evening . Booked a twilight tour with family and it was one of the best experience we have ever had at any aquarium . A big thanks to all the wonderful staff but special mention to Cameron who has every single detail about all the aquatic life . His expertise are second to none and the way he explains will make even a non interested person to listen . Thanks Cameron for sharing such wonderful information and admire you passion towards the aquatic life. A must visit to any aquatic life lover . Thank you team . We thoroughly loved it . Regards Raj

Fantastic experience: Excellent aquarium. Great mix of fish and other animals e.g. water dragons, monitors...make sure you check out the amazing emerald monitors. Really good written info on rainforests too Staff very friendly and pleasant to deal with. Recommended.

Fantastic experience: We booked a twilight tour and dinner experience via Red Balloon. The price of that option may seem steep, but when you are getting a 2.5 hour guided tour (our group had 11 people in total) across an empty aquarium and a 3 course meal included. Our tour guide was very entertaining, enthusiastic and knew his stuff. He made the experience very enjoyable and could answer everyone's questions. The experience was truely magical as there was no crowds and we got to know each and everyone of the sections across the aquarium. The food at Dundee's was also very good! At first I thought the food would be mediocre, but when I realised that the restaurant was its own segment and had significantly good ratings that it would be fine. The food and presentation of it did not disappoint. The staff were all attentive and the food came out surprisingly quick.

Fantastic experience: The Cairns Aquarium is absolutely incredible. We were tossing up whether to include it in our itinerary, but I'm so glad we did. I was blown away by the range and quality of the displays, with so many distinct and beautifully presented sections covering everything from freshwater habitats and lush rainforests to vibrant coral reefs and the mysterious deep sea (my personal favourite!). It's a fascinating journey through Far North Queensland’s ecosystems, all under one roof. The highlight was definitely seeing sharks, stingrays, and crocodiles up close — and safely behind glass! An unforgettable, educational experience that's perfect for all ages.

Fantastic experience: How interesting! Watched the fish and shark feeding. The talk by the so knowledgeable marine biologist was so informative. And she showed us prove: there are Unicorns...... So glad we were here.

Fantastic experience: Loved it! We spent a few hours here, mostly due to the fabulous free talks (by marine biologists and scientists) throughout the day. Lisa and Charlie’s talks in particular were fascinating, educational, funny and entertaining. They were also happy to talk to you and answer any questions as you wander around the exhibits too. Highly recommend a visit, particularly if you are visiting the reef, so you can get to know more about the creatures you will be seeing!

Fantastic experience: Went for marine encounter experience tour. Our guide Cameron was amazingly knowledgeable and patient with all my kiddo's questions. Definitely would recommend to anyone.

Fantastic experience: Unforgettable proposal location! We hosted a proposal at Cairns Aquarium and it was absolutely magical. The Oceanarium made the perfect backdrop, and the private tour plus dinner created such an intimate vibe. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a unique proposal in Cairns – it’s romantic, memorable, and totally one of a kind!

Fantastic experience: Excellent aquarium, only privately owned one. Well worth a visit, give yourself at least 2 hours...

Fantastic experience: We loved it. We did the turtle hospital option. It was incredible to see these beautiful creatures being nursed and cared for by such amazing people.

Fantastic experience: It is a must to visit this Aquarium it has one of the best displays. Very educational and informative. Great number of sea creatures. Spent 3 hours just watching and listening the presentations. Easy walk from our hotel near the harbour.

Fantastic experience: This is 1 of my favourite aquariums in Australia, it has a great array of local fish unique to other aquariums. There is a fantastic variety of fish and great interactive displays for little kids. I've taken my toddler here twice now and each time she has an absolute blast. Due to the size it isn't squished and over crowded like many capital city aquariums. 1 of the top attractions in Cairns

Fantastic experience: booked a night tour of the Aquarium whilst visiting Cairns and I can honestly say its the best Aquarium I've been to. Going through the different ecosystems and learning so many awesome things about the sealife and other species that inhabit the area. You will not be disappointed if you book this tour! Also a MASSIVE shout out to tour guide Cameron! An absolute assest to the Aquarium. He was so informative and really knows he's stuff. We wished we could have stayed longer!

Fantastic experience: We love having a date day at the aquarium, taking full advantage of our yearly pass. It would have to be up there as one of the best aquariums in Australia... Thanks Cairns...

Fantastic experience: Fantastic aquarium with a great variety of fish and reptiles to see. Presentations were easy to join and informative. Very infant and stroller friendly.

Fantastic experience: Great aquarium with multiple habitats: creek, rainforest, mangrove, coral reef, coral sea and a variety of tropical animals and plants. It's conveniently located near the Esplanade and has a restaurant.

Fantastic experience: Great afternoon with the kids, nice to sit in on the session talking about all the fish in the aquarium. The tunnel is so fun and we had a great day! Staff were also so knowledgeable and friendly!

Fantastic experience: Great place to visit, on the expensive side of things but that depends on your point of view. The displays were excellent and looked very well maintained. Overall the visit was well worth it and don't let the cost put you off.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful facilities! All tanks are clean and full of beautiful sea life! Highly recommend, 10000 times better than Sydney Aquarium

Fantastic experience: A great aquarium, really good selection of animals to see with good interpretation. Some nice large tanks as well as a handing opportunity. Definitely worth a visit if you are in Cairns.

Positive experience: Not the biggest or most comprehensive aquarium in the world but pretty good for the fairly small town of cairns. Easily comparable to aquariums in bigger australian cities and focussed on tropical north queensland species. Staff are helpful and enclosures are neat. Nice that they also display various reptiles as well as fish.

Fantastic experience: Visiting from South Australia. One of our party is in a mobility scooter. Aquarium is wheelchair accessible and easy to navigate, with lift between sections The aquarium is privately owned. Friendly informative staff. Well maintained. Diver in tank cleaning. Google says 1 to 1 1/2 hours, we spent an easy 3 hours. Plenty to see, read etc. Congratulations to owner and staff. Top notch job, glad we visited.

Fantastic experience: Fabulous entertainment especially a visit to the turtle hospital. Wow! Our hostess Sharlee was a passionate advocate for our beloved turtles. Her knowledge and her ability to impart it was impressive!!!

Fantastic experience: Beautiful marine life can be seen at the museum. I enjoyed my time there.

Fantastic experience: Such a great place for all ages. Perfect for tourists and visitors to the area. Well presented with an easy route to take the beautiful sea and water life surrounding the Queensland area and Barrier Reef. Seeing everything up close in a replica of their habitat, with explanation of their history and future in life. A special addition was to visit the turtle hospital with Brett and meeting his hungry mate Tommie the turtle was a highlight. The work they do to save and protect the turtle species was a humble experience to life and our surroundings. A must to visit in Cairns

Fantastic experience: Great experience, I came here on holiday and it is the best Aquarium I have been too. The owner always talks during the short shows throughout and it's very engaging.

Fantastic experience: Amazing experience at Cairns Aquarium! My favourite part was the turtle tour, the turtle rehabilitation centre was so beautiful and obviously a massive amazing team working so hard to help our beautiful turtles. Brett was such an amazing guide. The exhibits are well-designed and highlight the unique marine and rainforest ecosystems of Tropical North Queensland. Loved the underwater tunnel, reef tanks, and the giant groper! Staff were friendly and knowledgeable, and the whole place was clean and easy to explore. A great way to experience the beauty of the reef without getting wet, perfect for all ages. Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: What an amazing aquarium. Plenty of fish, and reptiles to see. Everything was super clean and animals all look in amazing health. On of the best aquariums I have seen around Australia If your in Cairns, you must come visit. Kids and adults will love it

Fantastic experience: It's one of the better aquariums I've been to. There are a number of informative talks throughout the aquarium. There is more than just fish to look at as well. The aquarium was a great way to escape the heat for a while, too.

Fantastic experience: I did the night tour which I think Jade and Cameron. Wonderful guides! Very informative and had some humour and even being up the back, Cam was giving out nuggets of information that was great learning. Great displays and such a huge variety of marine life. I would go back again for sure!

Fantastic experience: One of the must-do experiences when visiting Cairns! We were really impressed with how well the aquarium is maintained. The kids had a fantastic time exploring and watching the wide variety of sea creatures — it was both fun and educational. Tip: If you’re an RACQ member, you can buy discounted entry tickets through their website. We paid $146 for a family of four (2 adults + 2 kids), which was great value.

Fantastic experience: This is a great place to bring the family, my Lil girls loved it

Fantastic experience: My granddaughter was visiting from Brisbane, so my wife and I, who are locals, took her to the Cairns Aquarium because she does not like going out in boats. It was great decision because not only did our granddaughter love it, but we loved it as well. Highly recommended.

Fantastic experience: Awesome, beautiful, Highly recommend to visit the aquarium before a tour to Great Barrier Reef. I really enjoyed it. We booked a guided tour for $85 and we really enjoyed it. For me it was like visiting great barrier reef without any effort yet quiet and seeing all creatures very close to you.

Positive experience: Nice clean fish tanks but very small for the money. There was not much to see for $140 (2adults, 1 kid). Might as well go to the local pet shop for free. The lady in the gift shop (Rachelle) is the rudest condescending person I've met. She needs training on how to speak to customers.

Fantastic experience: Was staying in Palm Cove and it was an EASY BUS(110)RIDE to Cairns, bus stop is 1-2 blocks from the Aquarium and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Bought tickets on the day so I’d recommend buying tickets online before you go. My kids enjoyed it

Fantastic experience: A beautiful aquarium and marine learning experience. The facilities are clean. The family and locals rates are a little high but it’s a great place to bring family. Or visit to see our unique aquatic life from queensland. We liked the calm cool environment. The staff are amazing and very knowledgeable and in true local attitude very relaxed and laid back! The Dundee aquarium is fantastic too. We usually get a take away coffee to walk through the aquarium with! Well done very clean and friendly. And the fish are so amazing. Each animal is beautiful. The aquarium is two levels and you can bring your wheelchair or prams because they’ve a lift. It’s not a very big aquarium. But we’ll used space. Thanks we will come back often!

Fantastic experience: What a great visit. We loved the displays and fish/ creatures in excellent condition and busy. Lots of families with young kids at Easter holidays - the guides were really good with them. Noisy for us, but super to see them all so engaged. The attached cafe if very good - but you can’t go out and back in so go first or afterwards. Toilets were spotless - clearly these guys are on target. There was a queue out of the door and down the street - but actually it moved really fast as a good proportion were pre booked - took only 3-5 minutes to get in.

Fantastic experience: World class and a great few hours spent here. Learning while enjoying the experience. Awesome.

Fantastic experience: Great aquarium, filled with a large variety of sea creatures, a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere, friendly staff and a good learning environment. Staff here made this occasion very memorable. From the ticket counter to the informative presentations, their customer service was impeccable. I would however just add that my only gripe was that the ticket prices were insanely high. $52 per adult. Recommend to families and couples.

Fantastic experience: Did the Night time tour group. Fantastic displays, especially the tunnel section, it looked like the sharks and stingrays were just floating above you and you could reach out and touch them. The guide, Rowan, was super informative, making it much more interesting than just going through it alone.

Fantastic experience: Daytime in the aquarium is beautiful however the night visits are spectacular. Seeing colours you can't see through the day and of course Dundee's restaurant attached is a fabulous seafood experience also 10/10

Fantastic experience: Soo good! We loved this. Such a big exhibition and variety of species. The kids loved every bit. And the Big reef tanks are very impressive.

Fantastic experience: Five Stars – Bigly Impressed! I just visited the Cairns Aquarium in beautiful Queensland, and let me tell you—this place is doing it HUGE. It’s one of the best aquariums I've ever seen, maybe the best. People are talking about it. Tremendous. You walk in, and you’re greeted by very friendly staff—some of the nicest people, really. They smile, they help, they know everything about the fish. Not like some places with sad staff who don't care. These people? They care bigly. Now let’s talk about the tanks—massive, immersive, and filled with the most incredible Rays and Sharks you've ever seen. It was like being under the ocean without getting your hair wet. You’ve got Rays on one side, Sharks on the other—there was good fish on both sides, folks. I’m not picking. They were all terrific. The kids’ exhibitions? So good. So educational. The kids were learning, having fun—no boring stuff, just pure excitement. I even learned something myself. Smart exhibitions, for smart kids. We love that. And then you’ve got Dundee’s Restaurant—very classy, very tasty. You’re eating amazing seafood, and guess what? They’ve got their own display tanks right there! You’re dining with the fish, folks. It’s beautiful. It’s elegant. It’s seafood with a view. I left the aquarium thinking just one thing: Make Ray Sharks Great Again. And Cairns Aquarium? They’re doing it. They really are. Five stars. Would visit again. Maybe buy it someday. Who knows?

Positive experience: Pretty reasonable aquarium! Better than Melbourne's tired and overly gimmicky place. Deep reef tank was beautiful.