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New England Aquarium

New England Aquarium

New England Aquarium
4
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
As a global center for ocean exploration and marine conservation, New England Aquarium is a great place for adults and kids alike to meet amazing sea creatures and learn more about our oceans. Here, you can touch sharks and rays at the Touch Tank, watch northern seals play at the Marine Mammal Center, and say hello to Myrtle the turtle at the four-story high Giant Ocean Tank. Be sure to join the Whale Watch too, which will take you out by boat to Boston Harbor to spot wild whales jumping out of the Atlantic Ocean. – Tripadvisor
Duration: 1-2 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience New England Aquarium
The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Downtown
The largest area of the city, Downtown is rich with historical and iconic sites in Boston. Stroll through one of Boston’s most famous green spaces, the Boston Public Gardens, check out and make way for duckling statues, picnic under a beautiful tree overlooking the pond, and walk over the iconic footbridge where, during summer time, you will catch a swan boat toting children and eager tourists through the pond. Have your camera ready to capture its peaceful beauty in the middle of a bustling city. Continue on through the Gardens and take in some open green space at the Boston Common, where you can spend time throwing a frisbee, sitting on a park bench, or, in the winter time, skating on the frog pond. Head north from the end of the Common to see the golden dome of the State House, and travel through government center to Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall, both a historic and popular destination worth a quick visit for a first time to Boston. Head to Long Wharf to visit the Aquarium, or catch a boat to Charlestown or even Cape Cod.
How to get there
  • Aquarium • 2 min walk
  • State • 8 min walk
Reach out directly
See what travellers are saying
  • R P
    Chicago, Illinois10 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great main tank, but that is about it
    This review might be a bit unfair as I am from Chicago and the Shedd Aquarium is amazing. The main tank here is amazing! The coral arrangement and sea life in that, about 50-60 foot deep, tank is beautiful. There is a ramp that spirals from top to bottom so you can see the different levels. There is a penguin environment below and all around the tank that is very nice. It was quiet the day we were there and we could easily look into the tank, but if it were busy it could be an issue. Other than the tank, that is about it. There isn’t much else of interest. There is a small pool with three seals.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 6 October 2023
  • GrandTour452506
    372 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun aquarium to visit
    We chose to go here as it was covered with our GoCity pass. My uncle had visited here and said we should stop in to see it. This was a good recommendation. We were only able to stay for a few hours but it was fun to see. There was so much we didn't see as there was so much. Some of the exhibits had no sea life that we (or anybody else) could see.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 22 October 2023
  • LBCdovs
    New Jersey290 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Mehhh
    I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I feel like once you’ve seen one aquarium, you’ve seen them all??? It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t stand out either. It was part of the goboston voucher so we checked it out. In the aquarium’s defense, we really aren’t aquarium people, so I’d probably say that if you have the time, swing by and check it out. But if you’re looking for something extraordinary and unique, this isn’t it.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 13 November 2023
  • christopherbO9687MP
    Acton, Massachusetts745 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent collection of ocean displays & tanks, concentrating on New England's bays
    The New England Aquarium has an excellent collection of ocean displays & water tanks, concentrating on New England's bays and the wildlife swimming thru them. The literal centerpiece of the Aquarium is a multi-story plexiglass tank that held fishes that swam at various depths in a reef. The spiral walkway around this tank gives you a chance to see the differences at different depths. The Aquarium also has a range of side displays & tanks to show the residents of different oceanographic environments. The large displays of seals & penguins were particularly good, particularly during feeding time. An enjoyable way to spend a few hours.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 28 February 2024
  • Tara Heagele
    Hamilton, New Jersey1,289 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Strict with Timed Tickets
    This is a cute little aquarium with the most lovely and interesting exhibits. The aquarium animal caretakers were friendly, kind, and knowledgeable. I saw one gentleman answer about 100 questions from a little girl with great patience and humor. If visiting on a weekend, I absolutely recommend that you get timed tickets. This aquarium was packed on a cold, rainy, spring Saturday afternoon. They are very strict with your time on your ticket (no getting in early). While the aquarium was very busy, we rarely had to wait to view a tank or exhibit. Highlights for me included the rare blue lobster, dwarf seahorses, penguins, and the IMAX movie about blue whales.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 9 April 2024
  • ripcordzz
    Denver, Colorado432 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    A Good Way to Entertain Kids for a Couple of Hours
    While this aquarium is pretty small compared to other aquariums we’ve visited, the setup is pretty unique and fun. You can walk up a spiral ramp that wraps around a huge tank with lots of fish and three sea turtles, one of which is huge! The penguin setup all around the bottom floor of the aquarium is pretty cool, giving everyone great views of the penguins swimming and just waddling around. The touch tank was a nice touch. We wished there were more sharks, octopus, and sea mammals to check out, but it’s a pretty small aquarium and they do manage to pack a lot into the place. We would recommend visiting the aquarium with small kids, pre-teens, and even younger teens.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 27 June 2024
  • Mrs3J
    Perrysburg, Ohio9 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    No dolphins, large sharks or otters at all. Not worth the $
    We were not really impressed with this aquarium. We paid $34 each for admission and just didn’t feel like there was that much to see that warranted that admission price. Yes, there are tons of little tanks with different colorful fish, anemones etc. However, the shark area is only comprised of tiny sharks the size of adult arms approximately and though there was a touch tank of small sharks and rays, the bigger specimens really are non-existent here. Also, there are no otters at all and only 3 sea lions. And to boot, the majority of the 1st floor is penguins. Very cute, but why not get otters in some of that space? Also, no dolphins. Also, the place is very disorganized. We were given no map and the signage mostly says things like “Exhibit 1, 2, 3” etc. Even in the elevators (which take forever) the floors are marked with exhibit numbers and not (sharks, penguins) etc. If you are a lover of the Atlanta Aquarium or something similar with large specimens of sharks and large collections of otters, dolphins etc., then I think you will be greatly disappointed in this experience.
    Visited July 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 6 July 2024
  • 195508Anonymous
    259 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Sea Life in a Lovely Setting
    This is not a large Aquarium but it is a great experience for all ages. The touching pool for stingrays is great, as are the sea lions, large turtles and penguins. The smaller tanks represent much sea life and we actually walked through the Aquarium twice which was kind of cool.
    Visited September 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 23 September 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles5,887 reviews
Excellent
2,417
Very good
1,900
Average
1,123
Poor
310
Terrible
139

Sherri M
Plainville, MA183 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
I hadn't been to the aquarium in probably 10 years, and over the holidays we took a family that was visiting us.  I was hugely disappointed. The biggest disappointment was the sea lion show.  We stopped what we were doing to get there 15 minutes early and were happy to snag the last few seats in the seating area.  We were feeling pretty good about our choice to arrive early as piles of people were standing along the plastic walls of the enclosure.  The sea lions came out and took up positions all around the tank to be introduced.  We couldn't see even one animal, since they were all up close to the walls on the deck, but we had a great view of the stage area.  The announcer said the animals were going through some of their moves (all around the pool, up against the walls where we couldn't see even one of them, even though we were sitting in the second row), and went through a little talk on how to tell the difference between seals and sea lions. Then all the sea lions started heading towards the stage, and then they all went behind the stage, and the show was over. That was it.  We never saw a single sea lion from our second row seats, except as they were walking to and from the holding area behind the stage. 

Other things have changed noticeably as well. For example, they have a sign up saying they no longer have medium sized sharks because they realized those sharks were probably unhappy swimming in a tank. 

All in all, it was a total bummer. I was almost embarrassed at how lame it was, considering they live less than 30 minutes from the Long Beach Aquarium.  Three of the four members of the other family spent most of the time we were there (maybe 3 hours tops, including the 30 minutes for the lousy sea lion show) just sitting on the scattered benches waiting for the one kid who found things interesting. I will never take anyone there ever again.  $30 pp to get in and $30 to park for 2.5 hours.
Written 7 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

who_we_talkin_about
Topeka691 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2019
This was the second and last time we will visit the Aquarium. When we visited it was pouring down rain. We stood in the rain while only half their windows were running to allow you to buy your ticket. Lack of staff? No, they had bunches of staff inside to take your picture and charge you more money, but no one to help you get out of the rain. The exhibits are nice, but the price you pay is way too much for the cost. Go the theatre next door. That was a good value.
Written 1 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bmsabry
Albany, NY110 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Family
Start by calling to reserve Your admission time. They will email you confirmation so keep that handy in your phone or print it if you don’t have a phone.

Tips/plan:

1. We purchased city pass which provides admission to 4 attractions (Museum of science, Franklin Zoo, Aquarium and the USS constitution cruise). Thank God this saves the family good amount of money. Search online and purchase the passes from their website. They will email you the passes and you will need to show them. We stayed at Sonesta in Burlington. It is about 30 minutes drive from all attractions. The two bedroom suites are perfect for families of 4 and up to 8. They are affordable but not renovated. Nothing fancy for the stay but it will be good. Near by grocery and food so you will do well.
2. There are several parking options around the area. Most convenient was one across the road (close to where you board the USS constitution cruise). It is literally 7 minutes walk or so. It is a small spot and you pay $30 for the day.
3. It will take 1 hour or so to see everything. The advertised 3 hours is miss leading. This is a very small aquarium.
4. Take some snacks and water bottles in your back pack to save money.
5. We reserved the USS constitution cruise first (the 10:30 slot). Then the aquarium at noon. This way you do booth attractions the same day and this makes sense since they are very close. The cruise is 45 minutes.
6. Remember your masks.

Praying this is good and happy experience for you and your family.
Written 15 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michelle T
New York City, NY656 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
We were in Boston during the Fourth of July week and I was struggling to find a museum or indoor attraction that was open on July 4th. It's been a hot and humid summer in NY, so I didn't want to risk being outdoors in the heat with my in-laws.

I had purchased tickets in advance online. It looks like there are only about 120 tickets per time slot, so there is some kind of reduced admission involved. However, it was pretty packed when we arrived at 9am. When we left around 11am, the line to get in and buy tickets was looong.

This review is based off of 4 adults visiting. We have no idea if any of the exhibits were interactive enough or easily understandable enough for children.

I enjoyed my time at the NEA. The penguin exhibit was really cool - most aquariums have enclosed penguin exhibits where the glass is so stained that you can't even see them clearly. This was not the case here. You can see the penguins being fed and staff cleaning the enclosures.

The big tank in the middle of the aquarium was pretty neat. We walked all the way up to the top, where you can see the turtles surfacing to breathe. We caught an intern working with the divers so he answered a ton of questions about the tank and the animals inside. Super cool.

It does get crowded and masking is not enforced if you're unvaccinated. We're all vaccinated, but kept our masks on since there were so many children around. If you're uncomfortable with this type of situation, I would recommend that you do not visit at this time.
Written 13 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Klaus McCarthy
Rochester, NY11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Family
While on our trip to Boston, me and my family spent a day at the aquarium. The staff were very kind and informative. They took into account social distancing and made sure everyone was wearing their masks. They had paths to follow so people weren't crowding each other, multiple hand sensitizing stations throughout the aquarium, and pre recorded reminders that aired to the entire aquarium via the P.A system.
Written 19 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Linda L
Meriden, CT286 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
I try to visit this aquarium at least every other year. The staff here seem to really love the creatures in their care and enjoy teaching visitors about them. At least a couple of times per visit I am staring into an exhibit or tank and someone behind me (a staff member) starts telling me something about the creatures inside. They also do feedings and demos on a published schedule. You can plan your visit around these demos.
Written 13 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hedgepig
61 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019 • Friends
Visited this aquarium as a group of friends and we were all very happy with our experience, but in particular, we were all super impressed by the penguins. They are the stars of the show. Without intervention from any of the employees of the aquarium they were doing tricks and dives and really showing off when they noticed visitors watching them! Very cool. (haha.) Also loved the puffer fish, the biggest one I have ever seen! And the anaconda was just spectacular. Would definitely recommend to anyone visiting Boston, a huge variety of different species and so much to see. Also a great gift shop! No complaints at all.
Written 19 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Samantha
Alden, NY28 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021 • Friends
The aquarium itself was great! The staff keep the exhibits super clean and you can tell that they take pride in their aquarium. However for being a weekday it was way too crowded, and other customers lack respect. People plow through tight spaces with their strollers and block off areas to see and view exhibits, it's super frustrating. Also, even when waiting patiently people and their kids would cut in front to view exhibits. I was also disappointed that the touch tanks were closed. I'm assuming they are due to COVID, however I went to another aquarium in PA that had their touch tanks open last month. I would have liked to spend more time in the aquarium but due to to the crowds it just wasn't as enjoyable as I hoped it would be!
Written 29 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fiona F
Petts Wood, UK95 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Family
The aquarium is interesting with lots of knowledgeable staff. It is small compared to the London aquarium and lots of the space is taken up with winding concrete.

I went with a teenager and felt out of place as it was clearly a space that was popular with younger families and the under fives category as the noise, small children running about and buggies really was overwhelming.

I don’t think we would have planned to go if it wasn’t part of our City Pass offering but seeing Myrtle the turtle really made up for it all.
Written 18 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Charlie1116
2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021
Do not waste any portion of your day here. This was a complete waste of time and money. If this is supposed to be the best aquarium in the United States, then that doesn’t say much for aquariums in general. I’ve been to Mystic’s Aquarium in CT which has also gotten worse over the years , but it’s still a much better experience than this overpriced dump..

There were no dolphins, no sea lions, no decent sized sharks, no whales, hardly any seals, no shows, and it was very confined and cramped as well as run down looking inside. The lack of exhibits and quality of what they had was poor, never again!!
Written 29 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) - Tripadvisor

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