Central Coast Aquarium

A great community educational resource with a mission on informing the public on the local kelp forest and marine ecosystem. Great staff, excellent small exhibits. A resource for kids, school age kids education, summer camps and more including learning after dark.

For younger kids, this place is awesome! Staff was friendly. The touch tanks are very cool. It's small. But for $10, it's all good.

Hosting our wedding reception at the Central Coast Aquarium was truly a dream come true! Working with Christy was an absolute pleasure. She was incredibly helpful in coordinating everything and worked seamlessly with our wedding planner to ensure everything was set up and taken down without a hitch. The option to book a private tour during the event was a unique and special touch. The venue itself is breathtaking, and the raised cement area for the DJ was perfect. Overall, the aquarium made our wedding day something we never thought possible. We are eternally grateful to them for creating such an unforgettable experience. Even if you’re not planning an event, we highly recommend visiting the Central Coast Aquarium. It’s a hidden gem and a truly magical place.

Everyone there was so friendly and informative. It's a very small space, but it's a nice quick stop to check out.

We could not love this little aquarium more! Everyone was so knowledgeable and friendly. We were there for the pier feeding and it made all the fish get very active. The crown jewel is Mitch, the octopus. He is fabulous. Thank you for curating such a nice little exhibit.

Nice little aquarium. Great for kids. The staff were very accommodating, making sure my busy 3 year old was able to touch all the little critters. It is very small but a great little stop during the rain or to pass a bit of time. $9 a head can get expensive for what it is but I understand what they are doing takes money. We enjoyed it.

Cute and small. It has been open for 14 years and is apart of the museums for all program. Which if you were not aware of this program it is where card holders of Medi-cal or Ebt can have low cost discounted admission to these places. It is a program that gives those in poverty the chance to learn just like everyone else. Definitely donate to this aquarium. their staff is lovely and so are their marine family. We all should help small places like these grow. I am so glad to have included this Aquarium in my itinerary. My mother, sister and two children loved it as well. Small in size but everything inside leaves the greatest memory.

Amazing! Informative and friendly staff, all the animals had a lot of personality and the aquarium had a wide variety of sea life as well for how small it is. Will definitely return.

Randomly stumbled upon this little ~10 ish tank aquarium this past Saturday while we were walking around on the beach, and it's the cutest place ever! $10 per person! Pros: - despite being a tiny aquarium, it has A LOT of fun personality. And because it's small, most people get through it really quickly in less than half an hour. - There's tons of super friendly volunteers (a lot of marine biology students from cal poly apparently? very cool), and they're down to answer any and all questions. I learned so much new info about sharks, octopi, and got to touch a bunch of other sea creatures (sea urchins, etc) with their supervision! It was so fun - Really cute gift shop with cute stickers - Everyone was really kind and patient with us! Cons: - parking in this area can be tricky, so I would recommend you do this as part of the rest of your day in this area. Overall so grateful to find this little place! Hope more people get to support this gem!

Really cute little aquarium! It's small, but the staff and volunteers make it a fun and interactive experience. I got to touch sea stars and urchins, and the exhibits were well put together. Great stop if you're already in the area, plus it's right next to the beach and a park, so you can make a whole afternoon out of it. Definitely worth checking out!

Small aquarium, but still great for young kids. There are two main areas with animals, as well as a little coloring station and gift shop. You could easily see everything in 15 minutes, but my toddler enjoyed the aquarium for over an hour and would have loved to stay longer if we let him. The staff were friendly and good with kids. Since it's so small, the aquarium itself is not much of a main attraction, but it's right next to a playground and the beach so you can definitely make a day out of all those activities combined.

It's super cute! Kinda small but it's has some nice exhibits.It's super cute! Kinda small but it's has some nice exhibits.This place is adorable! It's a little on the small side, but that's okay. They've packed a lot into the space they have. The exhibits are really well done and interesting. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area!

Verrrrry small quick stop but cute! Volunteers were very helpful in showing us some sea animals including a sea star, urchin and crab. We got to pet all of those. They have a tank with some baby sharks and also a few tanks with moon jelly fish. Great spot especially if you add in the park or beach just down the road.

This small aquarium is great for young kids. They can see some small sharks, large fish and jellyfish. They can also pet some starfish and sea urchins. While there isn't too much to see, you can't beat the location where you can find a ton of stuff to do.

This aquarium is very small but has a nice variety of exhibits. The touch tank is fun for small kids. The volunteers are all so kind and welcoming. Our 5 & 8 year olds spent about 45 minutes there and then were off to the nearby beach.

We had a 1 year old birthday party here last weekend. Haley the coordinator was amazing to work with. The staff and volunteers were all so sweet and good with the kids answering all the questions. The party room, was nice, clean, cool. Tons of room for the kids to play around, enjoyed music, pizza and cake. Two of the staff had a craft table for the kids. Absolutely amazing! 1000% suggest this place to visit for the day or have a birthday party. Also the funds are going to a good cause.

For a little, local aquarium, this is a treasure. Local docents do a very nice job in explaining all the creatures and an hour is sufficient. Outside is a fun playground overlooking the beach.

The workers are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. We stopped by here to walk on the beach and found this little cute aquarium. There was a petting area where i aas able to pet the starfish and a shark. Had a fun time. They have events at certain times. We werent able to stay for it but im sure it would have been great! $9 per person for entry and you get a pass for the whole day.

Small aquarium, but cute. They allowed us to pet some of the sea life. We like that they offer different prices for entrance fees (see thier webpage).

" Very Small For The $$$ " The Central Coast Aquarium at Avila Beach California is a very small venue. They charge an $8.00 fee to get into the Aquarium and it only takes about 10 minutes to walk round and see everything in the Aquarium. The staff was very nice, but you expect a lot more for your money than you get. The Aquarium is located right on the Avila Beach and is close to other restaurants , stores, etc.

Highly recommend this little gem of an aquarium in Avila. The docents are extremely knowledgeable and there is lots to see and experience. They also have a nice little gift shop.

Very cute little 2-room aquarium. The price of entry is a fraction of what you would pay at a larger aquarium, so adjust your expectations accordingly. The aquarium is really just 2 long rooms with lots of different tanks along the way and a small gift shop on the way out. Considering the price paid for entry though, I would say it was well worth it. I loved that they had interactive tanks where kids could touch hermit crabs, sea stars, and other small sea creatures. The staff are also incredibly informative and helpful - answering any question your kiddos can think of. They also had a scheduled feeding in one of the tanks while we were there and they gave a talk with lots of interesting facts about the fish inside. They also had a scheduled session where you could touch a shark later, but we didn't stick around long enough to do it (would have loved to though - will have to visit a bit later in the day next time for that). They also had a few tanks with shark eggs, and it was so cool to see the baby sharks wiggling inside. You could also see baby sharks that had recently hatched. Overall - don't expect the experience to compete with a larger aquarium, and don't expect to spend too much time, but for the very low price and hands-on experiences that the larger aquariums don't allow - it was well worth it in my opinion.

Located in the small park with playground as you enter Avila Beach, this is a really cute aquarium. Took our grandchildren here (ages 7 &10). There are a few displays about the ocean and how it influences piers and the land. Lots of reading, which is informative. The big hit are the actual glass tanks containing live creatures. One is full of jelly fish. You can watch them propel themselves and float about. A large tank has a number of sharks and other fish swimming around. Another has a few varieties of sharks. the docents, on a schedule, give a little talk and feed the sharks. What they eat, the stacking order as to who eats first (the male) and how much of what go to each shark. And these are patterned sharks, the largest about 18 inches long. So they are manageable and you can see them clearly. The guys loved it and we enjoyed the experience. It costs a few dollars to enter and you can come back if your hand is stamped. Our guys loved the playground and then would come back inside, especially if there was another demonstration taking place. A nice break from beach and fun. And you might even learn something.

I read the other reviews and was hesitant to bring my elementary age children because it sounded like the experience was geared to younger children. Much like the Atascadero Zoo, this isn't a World Class Facility in terms of size and funding, but it is fabulously intimate, there are very helpful docents (more than enough for all the people), and great details on the animals (horseshoe crabs, swell sharks, rays, eels). Importantly, the docents gauged the information they shared to their audience --- great teaching! There are regular feedings and we stayed for feedings of the flat fish and swell sharks (one of which gave birth to eggs while asleep and being held). The gift shop also has great sea-related toys and stuffed animals. I would highly recommend this for an hour or so, plus time at the pirate ship playground outside. I would caution against thinking you can casually eat someplace nearby. On a Saturday in spring, everywhere was packed. I wished we had planned ahead for a picnic lunch in the adjacent park.

The hours on Google are incorrect. They are currently only open a few hours on whichever days they are *actually* open.

Well..where do I start and how do I start this review. So I grew up in Pismo and never ever came to this aquarium but finally came here to bring my 1 year old to enjoy some fishies. Now, don't get me wrong the $8 entrance fee is not too much but at the same time I am torn because this place is super tiny! I think I've been in aquarium stores that were bigger than this place. I was hoping to spend a decent hour when I got there but completed the whole thing in 25 min, which included some shark feedings. They had a really cool octopus in one tank but it won't be around long as they are letting it heal before releasing it back into the ocean. Good for the octopus but bad for the aquarium...I would pay the $8 to just see that octopus again but not really the other marine life. Hence, I don't think we will be coming back here anytime soon. My son just did a big ole 5 second glance around the room and he was done. 2 and under are free and supposedly they have some great classes for kids and camps. As much as I wanted to give them 4 stars, the lack of marine life gives this place a 3 for me. If there were even just more educational posters or things to read, I would have probably given them the extra star. The customer service is great, the younger staff are prompt and very helpful. The shark feeding was informative and quick. The playground in front of the aquarium is a hit though and you should definitely check it out.

Small aquarium. Employees were nice and knowledgeable. Our baby got to touch a starfish. There was a larger group ahead of us that were speaking with an employee about a specific set up. We would have liked to hear what the conversation was about with the animals but again it's small, which makes it difficult to accommodate larger groups.

My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this aquarium. Everyone working there was very kind and knowledgeable. I love that a they rescue some of the sea life and then release them back into the ocean when they're healthy again. We felt $9 per adult was a reasonable price for the size of the aquarium so I'm not sure why I saw so many reviews saying it was expensive (it's $9). Definitely would recommend for all ages!

This is a small aquarium located right by beach. It is 2 small rooms and you can plan to spend 30-60 mts here. The highlight is that you can touch a shark and crabs.

Very small venue, lots of various sea life here. Was packed full of people. Staff was friendly. A bit over priced though. Over all a good place to take your kids for 1/2 hour.

We liked this aquarium. It was so much fun and lots of good pictures to take. We saw sharks, jellyfish, eels, sea anemones, and lots of fish. It is a very small aquarium. Just one small first story building. There are some hands-on exhibits, but you are in and out within an hour easy. Admission is eight dollars per person, which is kind of steep for such a small aquarium, but they are a nonprofit, so it benefits all the fishes in the sea :-) they have feedings and little mini tours. If you're lucky, you'll get a parking spot out front, otherwise there's a six dollar lot across the street. If you're headed to Avila Beach for the day, make a stop. Pictures courtesy of my nine-year-old daughter :)

This is a cute, clean aquarium. It cost $5 each to get in, and we spent about 40 minutes looking around. They have swell sharks you can pet, a small Octopus, other small tanks of urchin, etc you can hold. This is a non-profit organization, so it helps our Central Coast aquatic friends. They have a small gift shop attached with sea themed purchase items. This small aquarium is probably best suited for children under 10 years old. There is a small park next to the aquarium, and Avila Beach is literally steps from the aquarium. If you made the aquarium part of a day in Avila, it would be a great way to make some memories.

We finally decided to check this place out and ended up getting a family membership. With the family membership you can take 5 additional people for free. And you get discounts on the gift shop and some events. This small aquarium has a lot of good animals considering the size. It is clean and they are well taken care of. As of now they have a smaller octopus and a baby octopus. I was told they cycle them out as they can get bored. It's really good to hear they do care about the animals well being. They have a small touch pool area where you can pet sea cucumber and star fish. When you walk in the main room there is about 6 larger tanks. They have some small sharks that if you're there for the swell shark encounter you can pet (They are asleep) be careful..they can spit water at you! They have a tank with shark eggs and you can see the different stages. You can even see some wiggling around inside. We went this time to see the baby shark that hatched days before. There are tanks with different ages of jellyfish. It was cool to see the different life stages. And they do jellyfish feedings and talks. There is a small gift shop. They also can do birthday parties here. The staff is friendly and the facilities are extremely clean. It's great to have this place to go to for educational and entertainment purposes. I highly recommend thid aquarium.

So, this place is cute and I do love how here in Avila we have a small little place to educate kids and adults on our sea life. The workers here know what they are taking about and they are really friendly. There are a couple touch tanks, and a few out of the ordinary creatures. It literally is the size of my living room and like someone said earlier if you were to stand in front of the wall divider you could see the whole place. I do think it's overpriced for what you get, but at the same time I know that money is going towards a good cause, so there's that. I visit (local) maybe like once every two years just because it's not exactly somewhere my kids beg to return to.

For the small size this place was great! Probably more for a little bit older kids, my 6 and 8 year old spent a long time there but might not be as fun for a younger one. You can even get your hand stamped to come back for feedings. The workers were friendly and happy to share information or answer questions.

Save your $ Put it this way you can stand between 2 rooms in the middle, turn your head to the left and turn to the right and BAM!!that's it. Your done.. you just seen everything they have to show you. Don't go to fast might miss all 10 tanks. Sorry but don't let the 2 story building fool you

This is a nice little non for profit aquarium located conveniently next to a park, beach and restaurants. Entry is slightly expensive at $8 but it's worth it. There are touch tanks, flounders, horse shoe crabs and octopuses, along with feeding demos which I think makes worth going.

Loved their informative demonstrations.. we touched a shark and hermit crabs and they also had jelly fish feedings too!!!! even if it was very small there was plenty to do and knowing the money goes to their non profit organization made it even better!!! Gift shop wasn't over priced at all unlike other touristy places . And did I mention it's right next to the beach!!!!

Honestly?... $8 to see about five aquariums and a couple touch tanks? See if you agree: You enter and walk up to a seashore animal touch tank, then there's a tank with one little octopus I would guess about 15 gallons. Like a tank you buy in the store. Then there's a large round tank with a lobster! -wow never seen a lobster before--then a circular tank to show life On a pier piling.-----then a tank with three swell sharks that they use to do touch the shark skin demo---and one more circular tank with a horseshoe crab -----that's it----end of "aquarium" Oh I lied--- the last 50% of their interior floor space is dedicated to a gift shop-- selling toy walruses, t shirts with whales, stuffed dolphins and the like-- The people in front of us said they felt like the "aquarium" is simply a gimmick to get you into a gift shop--- took all of about 7 minutes for the kids to get in, see the animals and get to the end and pronounce " let's leave". So our bill for 7 minutes --- $40 Hey! But it included free admission to a gift shop! Ok, without the sarcasm, being degreed in Marine Biology and having been to just about every public aquarium, I feel to open the doors and charge $8 for adults and the same for kids for five or six tanks is ridiculous. Even the little Aquarium over at Morro Bay only asks $2 to walk through theirs---had this been $2 for adults and kids alike, you'd see no bad review from me but when families are paying out close to $50 to walk through this, I'll have to agree with the couple in front of us -- A gimmick to get you into a gift shop. Too bad -- it's has potential and could be so much more--lets hope in the future they minimize the merchandizing and maximize the aquaria.

VERY small. Maybe a 10 minute excursion. Some staff were friendly and talkative. One gal just walked off as we got up to the touch tank.

If you are under age 2 they let you in free, but otherwise everyone is the same rate and we paid well over $20 for a 3-year-old and two adults. That bothered me, especially after I realized how small the aquarium was (two rooms with several exhibits "in progress" - in other words, nothing there yet). (There is also a gift shop.) Our small guest didn't want to touch any of the sea creatures, so although it's a very nice feature to have staff offering to let you touch sea stars, urchins, and other small ocean animals, this didn't turn out to suit our guest. You can learn a lot about the animals from the docents, but if you have a little one with you, they hardly want to stand still while Auntie gets information about sea star legs. At age three they don't gaze too long at any one creature in a tank, so crabs, lobsters, small sharks, big fish, and even jellyfish didn't hold his attention for long. The little one didn't want to listen to or stand still for a docent's talk about small sharks, either. This made for an awfully quick and expensive visit to this aquarium. It's nice that the docents give talks about the creatures (like the small sharks that they let visitors touch under supervision) and that a schedule is posted about activities such as jellyfish feeding. Once you pay you can come and go if you keep your receipt, so visitors can return for activities they're interested in. This just doesn't work for little kids who get exhausted during an Avila Beach visit and are taken home, so I'd only recommend this aquarium for older kids and for adults who are interested in a hands-on experience with sea life. In my opinion we need something different for the little kids.

I REALLY wish I had read reviews before spending so much money on this place. It cost over $30 for two kids and two adults and we were literally there for TEN MINUTES. It's tiny. The kids got bored quickly. I wouldn't have had a problem with that if not for how much money it cost for such a small sliver of time. Won't make that mistake again. Save some money and just take your kids to a pet store. haha.

I saw about 1 fish for every $1 it cost me to get into this CLOSET they call an aquarium. It cost me $8 per person, so you do the math. We showed up just in time to see the "jelly fish feeding" AKA someone using an eye dropper to squirt some liquid into the tank. We would have stuck around for another 20 minutes to see the shark feeding, but it was just 6 little sharks CRAMMED into a tank that was about the size of Shaq's shoe box. Save your money on this one folks....

Took 11 residents from Creston Village, A Pegasus Senior Living Community, to the aquarium. We had a picnic lunch upstairs and the staff were super awesome. Friendly and knowledgeable. We got to watch a jellyfish feeding, octopus play, and touch a shark, as well as some other sea life. Will definitely return!

The aquarium was perfect for toddlers and young children. Our 2 and 3 year old both loved the hands on experiences and live feedings. The staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about all of their sea animals. An hour is plenty of time to be there. There is a playground right outside of the aquarium with a pirate ship, swings, slides, and a killer view for the parents.

We have been here a few times and each time I think it's going to be bigger, there are very cool exhibits and the staff is every helpful. Most of the staff are high school students so when you ask a question they don't always know the answer. The entry fee vs the experience doesn't match up. Lower the entry price maybe?

Small, sweet aquarium :) I appreciate that they had many staff to speak with all the kids about the different sea life. We watched the octopus feeding which was awesome! Looking forward to going again.

My 3 and 5 year old loved this! It is small - 2 rooms but lots of hands on things for kids this age and the volunteers gave the kids individual attention. My kids were able to pet the Swell Sharks, sea stars, sea cucumbers, kelp and a barnacle shell. They saw many other animals up close and liked seeing the plankton in the microscope and the animal feedings. A little pricey but I checked the time and we spent a good hour inside. Mostly for young children. Step stools were available. A bonus is that it's near the beach and restaurants and the cool playground so we didn't need to move the car.

It is very small. We took our 10 yr old and 1.5 year old. They really enjoyed it and were able to pet sharks. They have multiple little events that take place through out the day and your entrance fee covers you for the whole day. So if you could go in the morning see what activities they offer you can come back at those times. There is a big playground out front and the beach so it's really nice for the kids.

We just went last week and true it is small but the animals are so healthy and the tanks are clean. The young lady that gave talks while feeding the animals and letting us pet them was amazing. Very enthusiastic. It's worth the price because it benefits the aquarium which appeared to be expanding from the construction going on to the left.

This place was really very nice. It is small but all of the displays are well done and clean. The staff was very knowledgeable and willing to spend time answering questions. It has a number of hands on opportunities and feedings during the day. Great for kids as they really take time to educate and help the little ones have a good time.

This is a great aquarium for toddlers! The staff was very knowledgeable and it was very hands on. It's a little pricey for the size, but we had a great time!

Quite small as the other reviews say but the staff are very friendly and my five and six year old loved being able to touch so many different animals and ask a lot of questions. A good place to spend an hour if you are in town.

What a great little place to take our toddler while at Avila Beach this weekend. They have just enough to keep his attention plus a playground right outside and steps from the beach. The touch tanks were his favorite! I do hope they raise enough money to get a changing table in their restroom though as it's hard to find a good one near a beach area and didn't really love changing my son' diaper out front on the grass.

Place is amazing. We have 2 kids under 4. We bought the annual and we go all the time. If you can handle supporting a very cool, small local non-profit, it's a 5 star. But, if you are looking for 'a good deal' or Disneyland, it's not your scene.

This is a small aquarium with friendly staff. If you have small children this is a great place to go. There is a large park outside the aquarium. My daughter loved it inside and outside the aquarium. Great spot to stop for kids on your trip.

I have visit Many aquarium and by far this one has to be the tiniest . 2 small rooms with fish tanks . I did see the small building but I thought it was two story aquarium . It took us 5 mins to go from the entrance to the exit . Even my kids were complaining as we walked out .. And it did feel like a rip off. I payed $18 for 5 mins of fish tanks . (2kids 1 adult ) But that's just my opinion . I don't recommend it .. Sorry