National Aquarium

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is by far one of the best aquariums I’ve visited in the U.S. There’s so much to explore that you can easily spend 3 to 4 hours here with your family. The first building spans five floors of exhibits, with a stunning rainforest on the top floor. The second building features mesmerizing jellyfish displays and a dolphin area. Although the dolphin shows weren’t available during our visit, it was still a joy to watch them play up close—especially for kids! We were amazed by the variety of jellyfish and had a unique opportunity to touch jellyfish and stingrays—an experience we hadn’t encountered elsewhere. If you time your visit right, don’t miss the short "Secret Animal" educational show, which runs about 10–12 minutes. They also offer 4D experience shows, which I highly recommend. We watched the shark-themed one with our toddler and had a blast! The canteen is spacious with plenty of seating and a wide range of food options. Parking is convenient at their partner garage near the exit—just get your parking ticket validated for a discount. We bought our aquarium tickets at the Best Western Plus Hotel for $40 each ($10 discount) , but you can also find discounted or evening tickets on their official website. Multiple entities are allowed in a day don't forget to take an aquarium re-entry stamp on your hand. A heads-up: strollers aren’t allowed inside the exhibits, but there’s a free storage area for them. With a little planning, this visit can be a fantastic and memorable experience for the whole family!

I have been to a few aquariums in the past. This one was phenomenal. Lots of education for all ages, lots of varieties of sea life and non-sale Life. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I looked up on Google for parking. I read the Market Street garage was an approved parking lot. If you got there before 9:00 you would get a discount rate of $12. It mentioned do not get the parking sticker validated at the aquarium because it would make the discount null and void. We arrived at 8:37 a.m. When we left the aquarium we asked if I wanted our parking sticker validated. I explained to the kind gentleman that we were told not to because it would make our sticker null and void. When we group went to pay. It was not null and void and ended up paying $30. I did hit the help button and nobody came.

Took the family during our spring break. We arrived as soon as they opened. The Aquarium filled up quickly. Some of the exhibits were a tight fit. There are escalators everywhere for the trip going upward. There are exhibits that you can actually touch like jelly fish. The gift shop did not have a lot of variety in my opinion. If you’re ever in the area it’s worth a look. We finished the walk through in about 2 hours. It’s in a nice location as well.

My son and I stopped by this aquarium on our way from NY to Virginia and it was such a a good decision. Firstly, the aquarium is HUGE; it was a lot larger than we anticipated. It does have an unusual layout, and it was a little confusing at first (especially without a map). Once you make your way around it actually makes sense, and it ends up being very easy to navigate. The aquarium has a large assortment of animals, such as jellyfish, dolphins, sloths, and caiman. There's even an area where you can touch stingrays, horseshoe crabs, and jellyfish! All the staff was very friendly and helpful, giving clear directions to those in need with a warm smile. It was also very clean, and this was during the Easter vacation. There were LOTS of kids running amok, but it never felt overly crowded or disorganized. My son particularly enjoyed the section with the sharks and the birds. Note that the bird area is VERY humid. Not uncomfortably humid, but enough where you'll probably take off your sweater or jacket. I definitely want to come back, especially since we weren't able to catch any live performances. While I wouldn't make it a one stop visit all the way from NY, I would definitely consider the 4 hour drive if this were part of a weekend getaway. You should definitely check this place out, especially if youre bringing children. Adults will enjoy this place as well!

This aquarium was extraordinary. First off it had the 4D sea lion show which was so amazing, then the touching of LIVE jellyfish is something I never thought I’d see. There are so many things in this place that I would explain, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise of seeing the beautiful exhibits. I recommend this place a bunch because it was such a fun experience. Also, the restaurant, little warning, has huge proportions of food. Unless you are really hungry, and I mean REALLY hungry, don’t get any large items or anything. The food was also pretty alright. I say get the regular chicken tenders because they are great. That’s all!