Key West Aquarium

Friendly and informative staff! It definitely shows its beauty of being the oldest aquarium in Florida. Very cozy atmosphere with lots of cool aquatic life on display. It appears they are improving some of the facilities in rear of complex but was still cool to feed the fish. Look forward to returning in future! 🐟🐠🐡❤️✌️

The staff are very friendly, informative and knowledgeable. The history of the aquarium is presented well and they have sea turtles and the local marine life on display. If vacationing in the area I would highly recommend going and seeing this attraction. They have everything from sea turtles to nurse sharks and the staff run shows nearly hourly.

Staff was informative and well versed. Friendly and entertaining. The aquarium us clean. Kid Friendly and cool inside even with gaping outdoor exhibits

I went here when I visited Key West and I was surprised at how small it was. It was around $20 for adult admission but you can go back the next day with your wristband and see it again for free. There is a touch tank and shows where they feed the nurse sharks and tarpon. There was about 10 or so tanks in the aquarium ranging from octopuses to just regular local fish. And in the middle they had some huge sea turtles. I only spent about 30 minutes there because there wasn't much to see. Then when you leave they have an extensive gift shop with tons of souvenirs. I'll give it a 4/5.

Although the Aquarium is small, we spent 1.5 hours there. They have a good assortment of fish including large Turtles & Nurse Sharks. The staff answer questions & they also do different talks Had a great time

A very old aquarium attraction built in the 1930s. It was the first tourist attraction on Key West. Indoor and outdoor exhibits. Narrated shows at intervals, provide interesting information about the facility, its inhabitants and the ecosystems of their origins.

Very cute little aquarium had several sea turtles that have been injured and recovery there several tanks with lobsters and shrimp and different types of salt water. Life has a large pond on the other side with large saltwater fish eels give you detailed description of the fish and what they are and how they eat and what not Also nurse sharks they feed them. They learn about them neat little small aquarium.

Quaint and a bit small, but very nice. Seahorse exhibit was my favorite. Very interesting, (and kind of sad), stories about the rescued sea turtles. Staff is very knowledgeable about their sea creatures. Stingrays and horseshoe crabs are always fun. We would return!

This is a very small aquarium that shows the fish that are very common around Key West. Entrance to the Aquarium was part of a tour package that also included a Conch Tour (great tour which is very informative packed into an hour long ride around Key West) and the Ship Wreck Museum (all stairs to climb & not at all handicap accessible) purchased and aboard the Norwegian Pearl. I would recommend going to the Key West Aquarium as part of a combination package or going to the Conch tour as a solo visit. As you walk in one will see rows to your left and right and large open tanks in the middle containing rescued turtles. The enclosed tanks to the left and right are very clean and clear tanks containing the sea life of Key West. I was able to see the largest Moray Eel I've ever seen and a Jellyfish that sends its entire life swimming what looks like upside down. The staff is very friendly and eager to answer any questions you may have about the exhibits. They also have informative presentations about sea turtles and sharks. The Key West Aquarium is a great place to spend an hour or so seeing the fish, sharks and turtles of Key West with a staff eager to answer any question you have about the water around Key West.

We purchased a tour along with the a little White House. Glad we did. Bri g quarters though so you can feed the fish outside! There was an informational tour going on, but we chose to explore around by ourselves. The aquarium was cool. Not very large, but still interesting. We liked the outside area best. It was fun to throw fish food and warp thx the fish swarm to eat. We even had a bird watching but it didn't go after hr fish darn. Maybe next time!

My husband, myself, and our 12-year old daughter visited the museum while staying in Key West for the week. It was not busy at all which gave us plenty of opportunity to see all the exhibits and take our time. The aquarium is really small and overall, lacks luster. There was no awe factor inside. The neatest thing to learn about or even see was the sea turtle that had been rescued. Aside from that, it was lowkey boring. We read and looked at all the exhibits and were in and out within an hour. Sure, you can stick around and hear presentations about various things, but we didn't find that valuable. We have had the pleasure of living near the Monterey Bay Aquarium and it's hard to even come close to a comparison. This wasn't the reason for the 2-star review, however. We just were not impressed for the price you pay to enter. I think elemetary aged children would like this aquarium the most.

It's really small compared to aquariums I have visited in Seattle, WA; Monterey, CA; and Vancouver, Canada, but Key West, FL is a very small town with limited and pricey real estate, so it is understandable that it is so small. Despite the size, there are several things they do really well. There is a schedule of events at the entrance that indicates free educational tours and animal feedings by staff. These events happen frequently so you are bound to see one during your short visit. There were at least two that happened while we were there. One was listed as feeding the sharks. We were easily able to get a spot along the rail that overlooked the shark pool. The docent used a wireless microphone so her hands were free to throw fish and crustaceans into the pool while simultaneously pointing out the various fish, their features, and interesting characteristics. Employees not doing a tour were readily available and eager to engage with visitors and share their knowledge about the fish and reptiles in the tanks, pools, and aquariums. I was very interested in the three turtles in the three pools in the center of the facility. Hector is older and slow to move. He is fond of shrimp which contributes to his high cholesterol for which he takes prescription medicine. He spends the majority of his time sleeping while wedging his flipper in the PVC fence between him and his nemesis Rocky, a younger more disagreeable turtle who tried to bite Hector's flipper when it stuck through his neighbor's fence. Lola was the unique turtle with a damaged flipper that had been fitted with a 3D flipper prosthetic. She had been in and out of care in Texas where she was originally found as a baby. Her release didn't last long because she got tangled in fishing wire and after her flipper was partially amputated due to damage, she was officially welcomed into the permanent care in Key West Aquarium. Lola's full story is on the walls of the outside water pen. This pen has a boardwalk that allows you to walk and peer into the water. There are two gumball machines that have been filled to dispense small pellets of fish food. For a quarter, you can get a small handful that lets you feed the fish. There are several parrotfish and trumpet fish that can easily be seen. TV monitors flash educational slides above the aquariums with info on the fish and corals. They also talk about their restoration techniques being used to grow and restore coral reefs and what we can do to help. The aquariums allowed us to buy a discounted ticket that provided entry into the aquarium, the Shipwreck Museum with the 360 lookout tower, and the Rails to Sails Museum. We bought it, but only made it to two of the three because we ran out of energy. We could have returned the next day, but we departed from Key West. If you are in the area for an extended time, or have kids, this is a nice, small aquarium with good live presentations and intriguing educational content displayed. There is also a shallow touch pool that allows you to put two fingers in the pool to "touch" (not pick up) the sea urchins, hermit crabs, sea cucumbers, and other creatures safe to touch. It's fun! I'm glad I went, but we were here for 11 days, so we had plenty of time to visit. If you have a shorter stay, it might not be in your top attraction list.

Small but good. Very well maintained. Provides exactly what I expected from an aquarium in a tourist destination. Low Yelp rating is definitely not earned.

Very small. Not as good as other major aquariums around the country. Too expensive for the limited viewing.

Such a fun place to go. There's quite a few tanks with various fish from rays to sharks and seahorses, but my favorites were the middle areas housing the sea turtles. There are 4 endangered turtles (Rocky, Lola, Spike, and Hector) that have been rescued. Lola has a prosthetic forearm flipper that's put on daily. It's made to fit only her. She had a net wrapped around her fore flipper when she was itty bitty and it had to be amputated. The others have missing flippers and other issues. It's wonderful what the aquarium is doing for them and others. If you're in Key West, it's a must see!

Very very very small - won't take you more than 30 minutes to go through the two areas they have and that's taking your time. Nothing special and not worth the time and money.

Here's a warning to anyone considering visiting this place: it's an absolute scam and a complete joke. Save your money and your time because standing by the sea and looking at the ocean would give you a far better experience. There's absolutely nothing worth seeing here--just a ridiculously tiny area hyped up for no reason. The staff are shockingly racist, offering explanations and attention exclusively to white visitors while ignoring everyone else. It's beyond infuriating. Do yourself a favor: don't fall for the tourist trap and avoid this place at all costs.

I found the Key West Aquarium to be fairly interesting. It has rescue turtles and some interesting fish. My highlight was watching the sea horses eat. I was less enthused with the sharks which appear to have very limited room to maneuver.

While in Key West, we visited the aquarium. They are dog friendly, which was why we came. Keep in mind, this is a very small and local aquarium. It takes about 30 minutes to see everything. Even though it is small, we still saw some cool marine life. They do have presentations but nothing like what you'll see at Sea World, Georgia Aquarium, etc. They've got nurse sharks, turtles, indigenous fish, sting rays, etc. It was okay. We honestly would have skipped it and gone to Dry Tortugas National Park if we didn't have our dog with us. Tickets cost ~$23 for adults, ~$13 for children, and are good for re-entry for two days.

The Aquarium is a nice site to visit while in Key West. The facility is small and could use a little sprucing up but it is still nice to visit. It really does has Old Key West charm. It is great for kids, seniors and lovers of sea life. They have feedings and educational presentations throughout the day. You get to learn about the sea life that is local to the area. The touch tank is especially fun and you get to see everything from sea turtles , many types of fish, sharks, stingrays, octopus, sea horses and even a Burmese Python. They have ticket combo options for multiple venues and return visits. There is a decent size over~priced gift shop but there are several touristy gift shops across the street. Venue is in walking distance to Mallory Square with places to grab food and adult beverages. I enjoyed The Aquarium and would highly recommend visiting while in Key West.

Had a BLAST at the Key West Aquarium! Staff was knowledgeable and there were multiple education opportunities throughout our visit. Every 30 minutes a new presentation was given either on the tv screens around the building or by one of the interpreters. I loved the outdoor areas!

Stepping into the Key West Aquarium is like diving into a mesmerizing underwater world where every corner tells a captivating story of marine life. Sea horses , sharks ,turtles ,eels, a large variety of fish and more.. The staff is great ! very knowledgeable and helpful . Highly recommended ! ( ** for a full disclosure- i am an open water diver - i have been scuba diving in Zuma beach- Malibu, Maui, Oahu, Thailand and the Sinai peninsula...so i have a soft spot for anything underwater :-)

Many have mentioned this is a VERY small aquarium. This is a fact. You could browse through all within 30 mins. max But some of the creatures are worth taking time to view and some you end up coming back to browse some more. Great place to Come in and cool off during the heat. Watching the shark and the sea turtles was the highlight.

It was smaller than I expected. I did learn a lot about the residents of the aquarium though.

This is the first time o have been to the Key West aquarium. I was excited to come. We have been to aquariums in other cities. This one was a huge let down. The sharks were in a tank to small as were the turtles. I felt badly for the aquatic animals. I will not be recommending the aquarium to anyone. Skip it!

Even though it is a very small aquarium, it was an awesome experience. The staff is awesome and very informational. They answered all of our questions and gave us great information on the sea animals they had. We got to see 4 out of the 7 types of sea turtles and feed the nurse sharks. Lola, a Kemp Ridley sea turtle who is the embassador for amputee sea turtle, resides here. It was awesome to see her.

So I see people saying that the turtle exhibits are abusive. As someone who loves animals, no they are not! If you had even stopped to read the information on the turtles tanks, or took the turtle tour, you would see that all 4 of them are unwell and cannot return to the wild. They are either missing a fin, have bubble butt, or are just really old & need care. They "sadly sit in the corner of their tank" because it's literally difficult for them to move around due to their disability. And, turtles nap a lot. I saw plenty of them moving around, the people leaving negative reviews are just miserable and grouchy.

For a small aquarium, it was very well done. I ended up talking to one of the biologist/keepers and she was SO kind! She told us all about the animals that were in the small pool and some of their history and about the sea life of the Key West area. It is very small inside/outside but I really loved the detail of the exhibits and the aquarium. I would suggest the Key West Aquarium!

The aquarium is quite small but they do have several sea turtles, shark, a variety of fish, eels, and tarpon. There are presentations scheduled throughout, however during our visit the schedule was not being followed. Waited around 45 minutes for the shark and ray tour, they did two other tours and we decided to bail. The aquarium is small, you can get through in about 30 minutes. In my opinion there are plenty of better things to do in Key West, especially with the cost at over $20 per adult.

Small aquarium, they have presentations and you can take as long or as little time as you need.

Small and quaint aquarium. They showcase the most popular aquatic creatures: seahorses, eels, stingrays, sharks, etc. You can pet the stingrays and feed the sharks. They also have some very exotic colorful fishes. Personally, I enjoyed looking at the seahorses and octopuses. This aquarium is perfect for children. It is fun and educational. The admission price is around $15 per adult. It is a diminutive aquarium, but they have plans of expanding it by 2021. BTW, the gift shop of this place is amazing. 4 stars.

Cool little aquarium with plenty of displays to keep one busy for a few hours. They have informative tours that explain life in the reefs. Lots of sea creatures to keep the kids young and old happy. There's a nurse shark feeding and informational tutorial that's well worth seeing. They also have an outdoor tank full of tarpon and jacks that swim right up to you waiting to be fed. Great for the kids.

I have been to this aquarium every-time I have visited Key West, I love supporting the privately owned aquarium and visiting Lola the turtle with a prosthetic fin. Although it's small, it's very cute, interactive, and the staff are full of information. I've fed sharks and heard a informational and comical presentation from Devon, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

What a small unique place and has AC! Again, small but still worth it. The tours for the shark's and turtles were very cool and the tour guide was awesome. Very friendly with alot of knowledge. My son and husband were excited to feed the sharks.

So...over the years...a lot of years...I have been to the Key West Aquarium multiple times. It isn't what I would call amazing...but there are no animal shows (yay) and at first glance is is rather small and a bit dingy. However, if you take the time to read the information on their sea animals and listen to the speakers you will learn knowing what they are all about. During our trip we saw several sea turtles. They all had some type of injury that prevented them from currently returning to the wild. One, has 3 of the 4 fins chewed off from an unknown predator. One has fishing hooks in places that would be too dangerous to remove. One just has to listen to the team that works there to see how much the animals are cared for. For this, they get my 4 stars and my admission.

We needed to kill a little time before driving back to Miami International so we decided to stop in the Key West Aquarium. This aquarium was built between 1932 and 1934, the Key West Aquarium is one of Florida's oldest aquariums. It's a small aquarium but we enjoyed our visit. We were able to take in three presentations by the marine biologist in the short time we were there. We were also helping research and the Ocean when buying a ticket. They had two or three sea turtles that had damaged fins they were rehabbing. Good for one visit but probably a one and done event. It was a nice way to end our afternoon and say good bye to Key West.

We loved our visit to the Key West Aquarium. We bought tickets online and that was an easy process. The aquarium itself is not large, but they have a bunch of interesting exhibits including the sea turtles and nurse sharks in the center of the aquarium. They also have a great outdoor portion. The highlights of our visit were the information sessions hosted by the staff regularly (maybe every hour or few hours?). We learned SO much about the turtles, sharks, and fish there from the staff who were very passionate about the work they are doing and their educational initiatives to the public.

Great interactive aquarium. Family and child friendly with knowledgeable staff. Highly recommend!

Was a cute place to escape from the heat, but I have to say it wasn't anything special. The aquarium in Marathon is far bigger and more interactive. Unfortunately this one just doesn't hold up in comparison.

Sadly with COVID, the shark petting experience was not possible. Aside from that, it was a pretty tiny "aquarium". The price is a little steep for what they are offering, but if you see it as a donation, I'm ok with it.

Tiny, tiny, tiny. Smallest aquarium I have ever been been too. They are remodeling and promising to be bigger and better by 2021. We felt like they are probably struggling right now with not many tourist in town, so we wanted to support. $15.95(ish) per adult. Best part was definitely the sea turtle and sharks, however we expected to see a lot more animals than they actually have. Fun to do to kill half an hour but don't expect much more than that.

It's just a large fish tank. Nothing special. The shark show was interesting and informative.

Not a big place but had some nice tanks and different talks throughout the day. We spent about an hour here

It is an okay aquarium. The tanks are a bit small for the sharks and the turtle looks depressed. Very friendly staff.

The Aquarium is super small and several of the tanks were empty. Feeding the sharks was very cool and the presentation was very informative. All of the staff was very knowledgeable & friendly.

TLDR: Pros - game fish, isopods, nostalgia (addendum to nostalgia - the Saw Fish is no longer here :() Cons - small + no AC really (not cons for me but might bother some). Interior tanks in need of renovation I used to visit Key West Aquarium a ton as a kid, so I admit I have a soft spot for it, as I have tons of fond memories of the place. I came back for the first time in 15 or so years - not much of the interior has changed. They have added a whole new outdoor section with big game fish, which is honestly amazing. I absolutely love this addition, and hope they can keep expanding with exhibits like these. I know a lot of people complain about the price, but I honestly prefer aquariums like this where you can take your time looking at each exhibit rather than fighting off crowds for just a peek. The ticket is also good for two days. They have a pretty full schedule of feedings, meet-and-greets, etc - not my thing but I can definitely see kids being interested in that, and wanting to come back the following day if they had missed a certain feeding, etc. I like the music they play in there, it creates a nice calm atmosphere. However, they really do need to update the tanks - I wish they were bigger, some of the animals seem so cramped. I read on a response to TripAdvisor review that because of the historical nature of the building they can't alter some of the existing interior tanks? I don't know how true that is though. The interior itself has nice, colorful murals on the upper walls, but overall is very rundown - the detailing around the aquariums was peeling pretty badly. I don't care about that nearly as much as i do as the condition of the tanks and animals. This place is close to my heart. If you went here as a kid, you're definitely going to want to go again. If you're just randomly thinking of popping in, you could be disappointed.

Fun interactive shark feedings, but tiny tanks for the fishes. Especially for the size of the eel and huge fish accompanying it. Turtle is in a tiny tank with 2 sting rays. 4-6 sharks in a small tank. Not great condition and tiny place.

I really liked this aquarium. It is small, but we got there for the shark feeding. The talk about the nurse sharks was very informative. After that, she did the fish feeding. It was great. I never knew that fish could react like animals. It was actually a really good time there.

Very small exhibit. There were two sea turtles and a few sharks that were hard to see because it's dark inside. The actual room with tanks was tiny. The other space didn't have many animals. It's not expensive. It was $30 for two people and was located near some other museums that you could bundle. It took us 20 minutes to get through the entire exhibit. Kid friendly.

This was our first time seeing sea turtles. We were impressed with this being more helpful to the animals.

Rocky a green sea turtle lives a horrible life at key west aquarium! He cannot move around freely because he has a heavy weight on his back and other metals clamped into his shell and a missing arm/fin. The weight keeps him down and unable to swim around he keeps ending up facing the wall since he has the missing fin he is unstable and cannot turn. His color doesn't even look healthy. This place is to showcase animals but they seem to be neglected some of the other tanks/ponds outside on side doors look terribly dirty that also have turtles and a mix of other fish, then going to the back outside there are more sad looking open stone tanks with nothing in them to give the natural looking habitat. If someone was thrown into a tiny bathroom sized box and can only walk back and forth just 2 feet they would go crazy. These animals are supposed to live in a huge endless ocean. If your going to trap them to make money to be on display at least make it clean, with some sea plants maybe even a companion which Atleast Rocky has other fish around, but facing a pipe all the time with heavy weight and no fin he cannot interact and swim freely. Something has to be done to take that block off his back now!

Easily the smallest aquarium I've ever been to. It's basically just two areas. However, I will say we were glad we went as my husband and I really love zoos and aquariums. The interior is really cool with the dim blue lighting and the massive sharks hanging from the ceiling. The animals they had were also pretty neat to see. It was a fun way to kill 30 minutes, but you can skip it if you don't have a lot of time to see Key West.

We really enjoyed this stop. The exhibits were nice and the staff knowledgeable. We caught a feeding close to closing time. The guide was entertaining. The touch tank was a win with the fam.

We had an amazing time! This is a small, older facility but the staff (and their animals) really make it amazing, educational, and interactive! They have talks about different conservation topics throughout the day. We spent about an hour there and listened to 3 different talks; one about sharks, one about turtles, and one about invasive species. I am an animal keeper at a zoological facility too so I really loved seeing the aquarist's relationships with their animals. They have a Kemp's sea turtle (super rare to see as they are critically endangered) named Lola who was getting shell scratches by her doting staff. The touch tank educator was so nice and helpful, a joy to talk to. During the shark talk we were even able to feed their Nurse sharks and get to know them, Lucille was my favorite! It was just an all around awesome time for any true animal lover! They are doing amazing work with conservation and education. Definitely worth seeing and supporting!

Man what a bummer we missed the first shark feed. Talked to a couple of employees, had a kid with me that volunteers at an aquarium back home, employees never mentioned that there was another opportunity to shark feed. We were told reptiles were next at 1:30. Came back later for reptile presentation and found out we missed another shark feed at 1pm. 2 chances to tell a very excited child and we got zip. Ruined the aquarium for us. Brochure says pet a shark. Nope. Brochure says multiple touch tanks. Nope. Brochure says stingray feeds throughout the day. Nope. Added stars because my kid found an employee to chat with and they were nice to her

They are in the old town Key West convenient located in the tourists area. The tickets is cheap. It cost $15.00 per person only. But the aquarium is very small. This is the smallest aquarium I have even attend! The aquarium has only one small inside building with about 30 - 40 little fish tanks on both side of the wall. They also had few more ponds in the middle of the building. Two very tiny out door areas with another few out door ponds. This is all they have! Oh! I almost forgot their gift shop! The gift shop is located right after the exits and also small! If you really want to check this aquarium. You can purchase some package tickets witch included the aquarium. It will be a better deal than you buy the tickets for the aquarium by itself!

Hands on aquarium. You can see the stingrays and the back of the aquarium provides an outdoor view of the fishes. I felt this aquarium was interesting because it had a natural appeal. It was not stuffy and boring. Great for adults and children.