SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium

Best experience I ever had in my life. Amazing place. Truly wonderful and unbelievable. The chill music around the whole place makes this experience top notch. I’ll give 10 stars if it would be even possible!!! 100% recommended 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium was only ok-ish overall - a rainy-day recommendation at best. The venue feels quite dated, and you’re guided through a long sequence of only moderately interesting exhibits before reaching the real highlight: The walk-around aquarium with sharks, rays, turtles and other large marine animals is genuinely impressive and well worth seeing. Unfortunately, the main aquarium tunnel was in desperate need of cleaning. The penguin boat ride was underwhelming, and like in many aquariums, it’s hard not to feel sorry for animals — especially penguins — being kept in such a limited space.

Sea Life Sydney has the best exhibits that let you get really up close to everything, I've never been so close to penguins before!! My fave was Marshmallow the albino Australian lungfish!! The staff giving the presentations were very informative. Getting to see so many Aussie marine creatures you'd normally never get to see every day despite living here, was truly a magical and educational experience 🥹

Visiting the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium was such a fun and memorable experience. The exhibits were well-designed, and we loved seeing so many beautiful marine creatures up close — from colourful tropical fish to huge sharks and graceful stingrays. The underwater tunnels made us feel like we were walking through the ocean! Everything was clean, well-organised, and perfect for families or anyone who enjoys sea life. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere was calm and exciting at the same time. Highly recommend visiting — it’s a wonderful place to spend a few hours exploring the underwater world!

Located in the heart of Darling Harbour, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium is a world-class destination that offers a captivating journey through Australia’s diverse aquatic ecosystems. The highlight for many is the immersive shark tunnel, where massive grey nurse sharks and stingrays glide directly overhead, providing a thrilling face-to-fin perspective. Families shouldn’t miss the unique Penguin Expedition, a chilly boat ride that gets you remarkably close to a colony of sub-Antarctic King and Gentoo penguins. Other standouts include the vibrant Great Barrier Reef exhibit and the chance to see Pig, the rescued dugong. While it can get crowded during school holidays, the well-maintained displays and educational interactive zones make it an essential stop for marine lovers of all ages.

My husband and I did the penguin experience and had the best time! Our guide Sheila was friendly and informative and I Miranda (I think that was her name) who met us in the enclosure was the same, she had lots of good stories about the penguins we were visiting. We were also assisted by staff prior to the experience to help us get back to the front entrance quickly for the meeting point, as we were in the main area beforehand and didn’t want to run late.

Really loved this aquarium. Easy to buy tickets online (and can save when bundling with collocated attractions). Highlight was the Dugong (unique to Indo-west Pacific). But the "ride" thru the penguins was fantastic (and unique among ALL the aquariums we have visited). Located on Darling Harbour, it's a wonderful "touristy" area in central Sydney. It was an easy 30 minute walk from our hotel near Hyde Park. Very friendly for wheelchairs and strollers to boot. Highly recommend!!!

Beautifully done interactive aquarium. Great for kids to learn and love nature. Just wish it had been made with wider aisles as prams are everywhere. Loved the sharks and stingrays but really it all was a joy. We went on a Monday and it was busy but not impossible. I would think weekends could get hectic.

Visited the place so the kids can enjoy so I didnt expect much but ended actually enjoying myself! lol Crowd was tolerable size as we visited on a monday morning. Some areas were more crowded than others especially the "touch and feel" zone so we kinda skipped that one. We enjoyed the fresh water sea exhibit with the arapaimas and australian lungfish! they were pretty big! we also saw pretty lionfishes, cute squids and awesome sharks! the walk through tunnels were amazing and easily a crowd favorite! there was also a short and sweet boat ride to see penguins and a part of the tunnel where you can see dugongs if youre lucky! Both adults and kids definitely had a good time.

At first we were a little disappointed. The aquariums were nicely done, but sometimes it was hard to figure out what we were seeing because the signs didn't always match, as far as we could tell. We were heading down a multi-level ramp which we thought was taking us out when we were suddenly surrounded by sea-life in an enormous walk thru aquarium. WOW! It changed our whole experience. It was amazing! Then we walked up and down another set of ramps and there were the sharks and rays, WOW again! And then we got to ride in a boat and see penguins in an icy setting with nests and an ice slope. You should go there. We loved the Sea Life experience and highly recommend it!

Better than the one in Melbourne for sure. The penguin ride lasts all of a few minutes but is a highlight (but is also freezing cold/m). The dugong and the walk through tanks are very cool but it's so crowded with so many kids around (I guess what did we expect). Tried to go on a Thursday right when it opened to avoid crowd but it still felt pretty cramped. Good for a one time visit but probably not missing much if you skip this one.

When you travel with an animal lover you will experience more animals than one can ever imagine. Having just finished the WILD LIFE Sydney next door, we moved onto the aquarium. It might not have been the largest I've been to, but still unique. Up and down lots of stairs and ramps so you can explore the waters from above and two areas below. Tunnels to let sharks swim over your. And drivers cleaning the poo off the glass so everyone can see. Small aquariums that show off the neon and their glow between 10 pm and 2 am. Newborn baby seahorses. Penguins. Platypus. It's like a giant maze, but stay on the main trail and you will see everything. And find your way out. There are three museums in the area. You can by package deals to save money.

This was an interesting place to visit and see some unique sea life that I've never seen in person. The highlight for me coming here was to see the dugongs but we just missed the show due to the weird ramps you have to take up and down and up again to get to the area. We heard the person talking the whole time but by the time we got up there, only the male was out. And he was being real sassy so we didn't get to see him much. I know this place can get real crowded and I'm sure at peak hours, it isn't a pleasurable experience because some of the hallways are tight. However, if you're luck enough to come at a time before or after the crowds (we went around 1pm on a weekday) you'll be able to relax and stroll leisurely through the exhibits. It's absolutely worth the ticket price if you buy the on of the bundles.

It's pretty impressive how much the aquarium is in a limited area. But you have everything from sharks and sting rays to penguins. You also are able to walk inside the aquarium using tunnels and watching the fish swimming above you is great. While good for the company there were many visitors which seemed crowded at times.

The aquarium is "just okay". There are some beautiful exhibits, but it was hot and crowded, especially in the large shark and eel areas. There was 1/2 hour wait for the small boat ride to see the Emperor Penguins up close, but it seemed to be taking a little longer than that, so we chose to just walk through and see them through the glass. I'm sure it was much cooler to take the little boat ride and probably a much closer viewing. But some of the exhibits had me mesmerized, like the octopus swimming gracefully in its tank. (But then I worried about whether that tank is big enough for that poor creature to have an enjoyable life.) The entry process into the venue is pretty disorganized. Pretty much every other person got sent over the the ticket queue, even if you had pre-purchased tickets and (thought that you) had digital tickets on your phone. There was some issue with pulling them up properly and there was a lot of wasted time going back and forth trying to figure that mess out. I will say the online customer support was pretty efficient. I had accidentally double purchased my tickets and they got that cleared up pretty quickly, refunding me for the unneeded tickets. So is it worth a visit? I'm not sure. I've been to better aquariums. But for the convenience and such, it's not a terrible way to spend a couple hours.

In my opinion - this aquarium prioritizes profits from the visitors over safety, security, and quality of your visit. They really pack 'em in. Just like sardines... Maybe that is part of their plan??? Cannot recommend visiting.

I had a free day to explore Sydney before flying back home. One of the places I visited was Sea Life aquarium. I spent a few hours walking around and could have stayed longer but I had other places to go to. For me, the highlight was the large tank area where you go through underwater tunnels to watch the fish, rays, and sharks swim over you. Its kid friendly so definitely a place to visit with your kids.

I don't think this is an attraction people should pay for, it's not too impressive, and they pack you in like sardines. If there were a fire or emergency there is no way people would be able to escape. They allow luggage and strollers so it's super frustrating trying to navigate through the facility. If you're in Sydney there are much better attractions to see!

I had such an amazing time at this aquarium with my husband and mom. It was so easy going, however the time we went was during a scheduled field trip so it was hard to thoroughly enjoy it as there was a lot of screaming and running children lol. Nevertheless, it was soooo much fun. I loved the different tunnels that made the experience feel more immersive. It was a good size museum but not too big that you're dying at the end. We bought our tickets as a part of package deal which was well worth the money.

Very cool experience with us, our kids and grandkids. Very pleased with the amount of marine life they had. They even had an interactive stream with some of the sea life that you could touch!

SEA WORLD IS AMAZING!!!! Loved every bit of it. Sea world is run nicely bathrooms well kept, and food lines go quickly. Definitely recommend it unlike Busch garden

Definitely bigger than it looks on the outside! Lots to see, especially the sharks, rays, and dugongs, where you can walk in glass tunnels underneath the tanks. The penguin boat ride was super short, but I liked that it was free/included and was something a little different and fun, so that was still a bit of a highlight, I suppose. However, the experience was all affected by the fact that it was CROWDED. I mean, even crowded in pre-covid definition! It was just packed full of people and often hard to walk in the direction you wanted to go! Also, the way the aquarium is laid out is one-way, so you're basically following a path the whole time you're in there, instead of being able to pick and choose which sections you want to go to. So definitely not my favorite aquarium, but still enjoyable.

SEA Life Aquarium is cute and perfect for the family. I've taken both my 11 month old nieces here and they enjoyed it. As mush as a 11 month year old can. Haha The staff are really nice, it take about 45 minutes to 1 hour to walk around the entire centre. It's nice and cool inside so if it's a hot or rainy day it's a perfect indoor activity. There are some really cool interactive parts if you have children. The exhibits are nice and they have a great range of animals there. They have a really cool water tunnel to walk under. They have sharks, jellyfish exhibit, penguins, and other really cool see creatures. You can even swim with sharks! They have a cute gift shop, they validate parking and they will take your photo in the beginning if you want to purchase it in the end. They don't have direct parking but you can park in a nearby parking garage.You can also buy a bundle package if you want to do the Wild Life or Wax museum exhibits.

I'd say that this aquarium is okay at best. First of all the set-up of the aquarium is poor because everything is super narrow and it's difficult to move forward until the people in front of you decide to move. I went on a weekday so it wasn't too busy, but even then it got crowded and you feel rushed since people behind you are waiting. The exhibits need to be cleaned or something because the glass is often dirty and the water is very murky. Most of the aquarium is just constantly moving through these zig-zag walkways to get to the next area. The penguin "ride" thing is cute, you get on a boat for like 2 minutes. I wouldn't do it if there's a line though. The price is expensive so definitely don't pay full price because it's not worth $40 a person.

I always enjoyed learning about the ocean life. Sea Life offers viewers a chance to see different marine species in their natural habitat. We wanted to come here to learn, understand and enjoy the ocean life. So glad we did! We went with our friend who had an annual membership. We can go for free provided that the member accompanies us. She took her children and they loved watching the sharks, turtles, penguins swim around. A major draw comes from the walking around the internal aquarium enclosure. People walk under the aquarium while sharks lay on top of the see through enclosure. We saw some shark being fed by two divers. We learned about the different species of shark such as the grey nurse shark, bull shark, and the megaton shark. We read about the different types of penguins such as emperor, king, and royal. Walking around the smaller enclosures, we can read a blurb about the marine species. The abstract contains information of where they originally come from and who their enemies are. Come to the Sea Life. Bring family, friends and dates.

This place was much longer than I was expecting but it did not have any main attractions. Just exhibit after exhibit of unknown fish. It can be safe to say that I am not an aquarium person but I did enjoy the bang for my buck. It took about 2 hours for us to get through the entire establishment. The fact that you can gain admission here through a packaged deal with Tower Eye, Taronga Zoo, and Wild Life Zoo makes it all worth it.

Visiting Sydney, I knew that I had to visit an aquarium during my trip to get a peek at the sea creatures found in Oceania that I wouldn't be able to see back in Seattle. On my trip to Sydney, I visited two aquariums there which were the Manly Sea Life Sanctuary and Sea Life. Sea Life Sydney Aquarium is located in the same complex as Wild Life Sydney Zoo and Madame Tussauds in Darling Harbour. Though it seems like Sea Life takes up the most space here. I am glad that I visited the one in Manly first because it gave it me a better appreciation of the one in Sydney. I would been pretty disappointed if I did it the reverse way. The reason I would have been disappointed is because the Sydney one has far more exhibits than the one in Manly. Really the only exhibit in Manly that stands out is Shark Harbour. But I quite liked how small and intimate it was compared to Sea Life. There are a lot of exhibits, but I feel like there was so much to see here that it was tiresome to go through. At Sea Life, you will see animals that you would expect to see here like penguins, sharks and stingrays. Though for me, I think the dugong exhibit seems to stands out the most. Dugongs are also known as sea cows, though they seem to have more of a resemblance to the hippo than a cow. The aquarium also has particularly large tanks so you can sit on a bench to watch as tropical fish swim through the tank. If you are looking for the best aquarium in Sydney, I would go to this one for the wide array of exhibits on display here along with the vast number of animals that you can see. Make sure to give yourself a couple hours here to visit so you can take in the whole experience. This isn't a place that you can or will want to breeze through quickly.

Was a waste of time and money real lack of effort from everyone there . Their worried about pumping maximum amount in and out if place possible . Aquariums were also very dirty with lots of algae and debris . Was halfway a dump

This is my fifth visit and probably the last one for a long time, you get a pre paid ticket but you wait in line for over 90 minutes, silly me thought if you pre buy you walk in like in most venues. The place is in dire need of a facelift same old displays same old narrow passes and pathways. They need to do more but because the Asian tourist keep on coming nothing will be done. Sydney deserves better than this

It's an okay aquarium. I don't like that you have to keep moving forward in a line and can't go backwards. I went alone on a solo trip and I had been dying to see this aquarium and sadly atmosphere didn't meet my expectations. Regardless I loved looking at the animals here and I would go again

Great spot if you are looking to send 2-3 hours. This is a medium sized aquarium with lots of different sealife in addition to penguins! The underwater tunnels are very clean;so great viewing. There are excursions you could do such as a shark dive and penguin encounter. The penguin encounter you are actually in their space which seemed much cooler.

Odd, I thought I reviewed this aquarium already! No matter. I always enjoy a good Yelp Aquarium review! The last few times I've been to Sydney, I've taken different people to visit this aquarium. Sea Life, I believe, is the largest (if not the only) aquarium in the city. Located next to Darling Harbor, it's centered at the hub of a very touristy location. Unfortunately in some ways the other attractions around it are a little gimmicky including the wax museum. Why would you waste space to build that? More importantly, why are there people who pay money to visit that? From the outside, the Sea Life Aquarium is not much to look at. It looks and feels very touristy and the entrance is overshadowed by the wax museum. In many ways, this aquarium gives into the fact that it is looking for a high volume of tourists to come through so they put up some gaudy signage outside. Once inside, however, the aquarium offers a glimpse into the wide array of aquatic/marine life you can find in Australia. After you purchase your tickets and have them scanned at the front entrance, you gradually weave your way through the exhibits. There's no need for a map because it's a straight shot from beginning to end. If you wanted to spend more time in some areas, that's not a problem just move aside from others. Loved their ancient fish exhibit including an albino lungfish. Super cool! Of course they also showcase some of the beautiful reef fish as well. Have you ever seen a barramundi up close? Well here's your chance! Also there are few places in the world where you can see a dugong and they have one here! Unfortunately most of the aquarium is not air conditioned so on a hot summer day with lots of visitors, it's not pleasant inside. This attraction probably takes you about 45 min if you don't spend too much time in any one location and they aren't too busy. It's a fun place and if you're an aquarium lover like me, then you'll want to check it out. I don't know if Sydney has any other aquarium so this may be it!

I've been here a couple of times, one of the reasons being because my brother loves looking at fish. This place isn't bad, and in fact it is coupled with a couple of other places that are owned by the same company. It is actually well worth the price because it is very educational, and there is a great range of fish as well, and a couple of sharks, and sharks are always cool to look at, at least on the other side of a persplex window.

Went on a Sunday afternoon since the weather's been nice. Apparently thats what everyone else was thinking because it was full of families! I think we came at a bad time because they were renovating and there were all these signs to see the new and improved Aquarium in like two weeks. Oh well. Admission was $35 per person, which is okay I guess. When you enter they make you take a picture in front of a blue screen and at the end, try to get you to buy the picture for $30. There's a few different sections where you can see cool little fish, some big weird fish, some turtles, penguins and a shark tank. There's also a "Great Barrier Reef" section that was cool. Overall you see some pretty cool stuff. Its not huge but I guess you can't really cram in too much. I honestly thought the Melbourne acquarium was a little better.

Great opptunity to "sea" gray nurse sharks, larger than life sting rays, and a Dugong Manatee! Hailing from Florida I've seen my fair share of marine animals and aquariums even kayaking with dolphins and manatees. While some might criticize the aquarium as average I must say it was a great experience for my wife and I. There were folks from all walks of life and age groups attending and the tunnels were packed with activity both inside and out! Take some time to wait in line for the penguin ride- it's free! Albeit short, it's certainly worth it and enjoyable to watch the penguins joyfully waddle around and hop up the steps. Once off the ride you'll be able to find stationary viewing areas that allow you to see them both in and out of the water! Forewarning, the ride is brief but very cold. I hope everyone will get as much enjoyment as we did from visiting Sea Life Aquarium!

This aquarium was pretty good! It wasn't as good as the one in Osaka, but definitely in the top 5. The only downfall of this place is the ticketing area and they don't tell you where to line up for the different attractions. They told us the aquarium line was around the corner, which everyone going to the aquarium was waiting in, them someone said we're standing in the wrong line, so we had to go to another place. They have to get there stuff together there. They're pretty clueless.

Skip this aquarium. Nothing worthwhile here. I was surprised for a big city like Sydney to have something like this and making people pay almost $50 is such just a big mistake. I'm actually glad I didn't go to their wax museum and their "zoo."

An absolutely horrible experience. The whole way through it was like being in a crowd entering a rock concert. And there's no escape until you reach the exit. Maybe 4 people out of the thousand or so in the crowd had a mask on. Ripper. Why would you let that many people in at the same time? The fish looked as miserable as half the people in the crowd, especially the dugong. I've been to other aquariums around the world and we should be ashamed of this one. We told a staff member you couldn't pay us to come again, and he said 'yeah you should see it on the weekend'. And to top it off our tickets included free photos of us taken at the beginning that didn't work when we went to pick them up at the end. A $26 value for each of us. Hopeless.

Five stars just cause it was much better then I was expecting :) Would recommend to early morning or late afternoon to avoid the crowd. To get better deal - combine with other attraction tickets or get city pass.

Was excited to visit but was a terrible experience. Don't waste your time or money coming in . The exhibition they had were very scarce and so were the animals . There were more pictures than animals! Save your money!!

I have been to several aquariums all over the U.S. and I think this aquarium in Australia is better than all that I have been to. They have done a great job with showing off the sea life. The glass tunnels are amazing and show the sea life in an amazing way.

Another tourist attraction that was okay. It took about an hour to see. It was not one of the best Aquariums that I visited , however it did have a very good penguin exhibit. They did it in the form of a boat ride and the penguins did get very close to you

This aquarium makes me sad. After seeing fish swim freely in the wide, beautiful ocean, to see them in small, cramped waters swimming round and round - it's sad. The beginning and middle exhibits were so skimpy, not much fish, not much variety, and the fishes quarters were small and rather dirty. If fish can be depressed, I thought these fish were depressed.

Dugongs. Yes, *dugongs*. I didn't even know these things were real! I always thought they were some kind of urban legend, like drop bears, and Gwyneth Paltrow. But Sydney Aquarium has them, and what's more, today one smiled at me. They're like big, squashy, hairless albino cows. I'll tell you what else this place has: Japanese spider crabs, giant basketball-sized beasties with legs 4 metres long. They scared away quite a few people, which is unfortunate because if you look into their beady, spiny little eyes it's clear that they just want to be loved. Like the Elephant Man, only in crustacean form. And - bewilderingly, but brilliantly - there are all these insane Lego sculptures dotted throughout the aquarium. Pirates, King Neptune, even a spaceship-sized Moby Dick. Sure, you have to knock over a few kiddies to get a good view of the really cool stuff, but that's okay because they're generally too small to fight back.

I had purchased an iventure card and one of the attractions listed was the SEA LIFE aquarium. Most recommended I visit the aquarium because it was popular and the cost for an adult was $40, making my iventure card extremely worth it. HOWEVER, I was fairly disappointed with the quality of the exhibits and how run down the aquarium was. I had gone at 6pm and the aquarium had pretty much shut down with only about 4-5 workers left and no eateries open, even though the aquarium was supposed to close at 8 pm. One advantage of going late was there were only a handful of tourists and very few kids, so you could take pictures and explore in peace. But, it must have been bad timing, because there were no penguins, seals, platypus, nor dugongs to be seen. Apparently the dugongs are currently resting for a few months without disturbance as they are extremely sensitive to noise. To be fair, I enjoyed the shark and manta ray exhibit wholeheartedly. I stood under the shark tunnel for a good fifteen minutes mesmerized by how calm the sharks were. Add on the ethereal music they play and you'll be standing there for a while. This was my favorite part of the aquarium. Maybe because I've been to the L'Oceanographic in Valencia and have been spoiled to how beautiful the displays and architect of the buildings were, but the Sydney Aquarium is overpriced and could use a renovation.

This was a HORRIFIC experience! From a leak in the shark cage to the extremely short boat 'ride'. This was NOT what I was expecting. When I first got there the line was huge. I waited for an HOUR before being finally let in. When I got in there I made my way towards the shark enclosure, past the same fish in every other section, there seemed to be no different fish at all! When I FINALLY got to the shark exhibition I saw a LEAK, that could cause the whole place to collapse and flood, with man eating sharks coming after their customers!! Next in my review is the penguin 'ride'. It lasted for a whole of 2 minutes and was as slow as a sloth. After waiting for 30 minutes to get in I expected some behind the scenes penguin exhibits, however, it was EXACTLY the same as what I saw when I just walked through as per normal. DO NOT GO HERE A COMPLETE WASTE OF SPACE, TIME AND MONEY. NOT TO MENTION THE SEVRE SAFTEY HAZARDS INSIDE.

Skip it. Rip off. So expensive, $80 for two. Not worth it, old, dirty, not maintained at all. Selling a ton of shit in the store, including animals plushes that are not even in the aquarium. It's hard to believe that a place like that represents the most important city of Australia. It DOES NOT make sense. If you've experienced other aquariums in the world, you'll be disappointed and also sad to see the wild life stuck in boxes. The worst is the penguins habitat. Poor things..

I enjoyed the free 2 min ride to see the penguins inside the cold tempurature that the penguins live in. Lots of fish, manatee, jelly fish. Fun exhibits

Sydney Aquarium, much like Taronga Zoo, is the perfect place for a family outing. Children always seem to love this kind of thing, and if you're an adult who's never been before, I'm pretty sure you'll love it too. Assuming you have any kind of interest in the natural world. You get to walk through glass tunnels underwater, and feel like you're immersed in the ocean. The sharks and giant sting-rays always garner the most attention, because, quite frankly, they're enormous. Apart from the sharks and sting-rays, they have an enormous variety of other aquatic life, obviously. From clownfish (Nemo, anyone?) to dugongs. Tickets for adults cost about $35 if you walk up, but you get 50% off if you book online, so ... do that.

Very convenient and well located aquarium. Lots of different marine life. The penguin exhibit ride is very cool. The underwater tunnels are also very interesting Located right in the heart of Darling harbour, near King St wharf. Good fun, great for the family, well laid out so that you just walk in a circuit.

It has been 16 yrs since I was last here and it was every bit as amazing as the first time I was here, maybe more so with my daughter now enjoying the experience. The flow of the exhibits ensures that despite the crowds of people, the traffic keeps flowing. We were fortunate to be there during lectures about the manitee's which was very fascinating. Definitely an experience worth the visit!

I did a two ticket combination and went to the aquarium and wild life exhibit. I've always loved aquariums. And although it's smaller than back home they did a wonderful job , so much to see. It's almost like walking into a magic hat - it's much bigger inside than expected ! There's a mini boat ride through the penguin enclosure and there's a butterfly room. And a touch tank for children to hold marine life ! Loved it and the prices were worth it.

This was a bit of a let down for the trip. No air conditioning so it was a hot and humid visit. The facility was poorly cleaned, sea life unimpressive and easily out shined by any average aquarium in the US. The penguin exhibit was much ado about nothing, hop on a boat for 1min after waiting 20min to see penguins behind glass...a lot like no boat at all! Save your money and skip this one!

The Dugong made me do it. I had just been next door to the Wild Life park, and would have probably opted for a long lunch, but the promise of dugongs got me through the gates of the Sydney Aquarium. And I wasn't disappointed. I hadn't been there since school days - which reminds me, mind the crazed school crowds - and I was happily surprised that the underwater delights held the same fascination and sense of wonderment. I could have stared at the gliding sting rays and marvelled at the effortless, deadly grace of the sharks all afternoon. But we had the dugongs to get to, and it was lunch time. So while my stomach demanded its own feed, I delighted in watching these magnificent mammals tucking into their lettuce leaves. Australia is blessed with such glorious, unique aquatic life, and a visit to the Sydney Aquarium is a very happy reminder of that.

I was so pumped to go to the aquarium and I gotta be honest, I've seen better. This place needs major updates, the attractions seem old. I recently visited the aquarium in Scottsdale and it was better than this aquarium. I was surprised that this aquarium didn't blow me away given how famous it is.

What a waste of money. I've been to some great aquariums around the world but Sea Life is not one of them. The boast 35,000 marine animals. Most of them must be on vacation. Save your money.

My wife and I were looking at going to World of Wildlife next door, which is owned by the same people who own this 'aquarium'. We decided not to go because of the poor reviews about it being just a long line that they keep you moving through, and any time anyone stops, there is a giant traffic jam of strollers and tourists. Well my friends, this place is no better. Where do I begin? We get tickets for around AUD $50, which is far more than the amazing Taronga Zoo. As soon as we get in, they ask you to pose in front of a green screen and have your picture taken. What they don't tell you then is that they charge $40 for the pictures at the end. Nearly the same price as admission itself. We make it to the first few exhibits, but we couldn't move through or stop anywhere because they don't meter the number of people inside at a given time. It was a traffic jam every 20 seconds, with people getting nipped in the back of the ankles by strollers, and random Chinese people blocking the pathway to take selfies on sticks with their groups. It wouldn't be as bad if it wasn't for the unbearable heat and humidity in there. It was 24C/76F in the city, and it must have been 26C/79F in this place. We were drenched in sweat by the time we left. The only respite was the penguin exhibit, which was 6C/42F. It felt amazing to sit in there for 3 minutes in that stupid boat, just to stop burning our eyes out with our own sweat. They call this place an aquarium, but it's more like IKEA, if IKEA didn't have shortcuts to the other sections. There is a very set and winding path you have to follow. To backtrack causes chaos because the pathways are only wide enough for 2 people, and usually 1 is looking at an exhibit and the other is talking towards you. About half way through we were just trying to get out as quickly as possible. We darted through the things we were actually there to see -- sharks and rays, because it was like a swap meet inside the tunnels they were swimming around, and we were feeling faint from the heat. Don't waste your money here. Go to the Taronga zoo. If you've been to the Taronga zoo, go there again. They deserve your money more than the jokers who operate this zoo+aquarium+madamme tussauds+tower eye compound and try to up sell you on package tickets for all of them.