Oregon Coast Aquarium

Holly Rutherford

2024-04

My rating is based solely on experience as I interacted very little with staff. Unfortunately this aquarium did not live up to our expectations. For the price we paid I assumed there would be more to see. We had better luck at the waterfront in Newport. If you want an entertaining and close encounter with marine life head there. The best part of the aquarium is the shark tunnel.

Jyo

2024-03

Oregon Coast Aquarium nestled along the stunning Pacific shoreline, offered my toddlers an amazing experience. They explored interactive exhibits that brought the coastal ecosystem to life, featuring a diverse array of sea creatures, from colorful tide pool inhabitants to majestic sharks. They loved the enchanting underwater tunnels providing a 360-degree view of the ocean realm. With a strong emphasis on marine conservation and education, the Oregon Coast Aquarium provided a memorable and educational experience for visitors of all ages. I loved the curated book collection for kids to read, along with the ones displayed for purchase. My kids felt that their favorite book, “Big Beautiful Ocean,” was brought to life.My toddlers get excited when they see something from picture books in reality.

Jennifer Sequeira

2024-04

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Will

2024-04

I don't know if I was unlucky but we waited a few hours in line and then ended up in a flood of people with limited space. I have hypersensitivity and get extremely overstimulated when lots of people are in one place with so much noise and movement, making it sort of difficult. From what I was able to see was fun and I really like seeing educators discuss poaching/over hunting and its effects on wildlife populations. There were lots of skulls and non aquatic animal information which was exciting for someone obsessed with zoology to be able to have such diverse information. The fauna swimming around were very unique and beautiful; the goofier looking ones really caught my attention, I love silly little critters.

Rachael

2024-05

A lovely aquarium and great for kids. I'd rate it 4.5 stars. It's easy to get lost in the rock formations. I think I spent a good chunk of my visit double backing trying to figure out if I missed something, and in the end coming out the wrong way. The glass tunnels are alot of fun and the highlight, according to everyone's photos. Having grown up with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I'm a bit partial, but this is nice.There is alot to look at, but even if you take your time it's over quickly. Currently a good chunk is under restoration, so you pay for the whole thing but see about 1/2 to 1/3 the park right now, bummer.Last but not least, since there are alot of big exhibits, it's easy to miss the aquariums littlest friends.

Amanda Sterner

2024-04

LITERALLY, the best sea experience. The sharks were chilling, the stingrays were flying around. Sea otters didn’t wanna come out …whatev we see you next time. The sea lions were happy to see us. Jellyfish and all the little guys were ecstatic we came.Best day ever !

Kaylee Crunican

2024-03

This aquarium has a cafe and a jellyfish exhibit upon entry to the aquarium. The aquarium is not inside, but has outside walking paths to the exhibits. Some of the exhibits are puffins, and passages of the deep which has like an entire eco-system including sharks, schools of fish, stingrays, etc.Overall I would come here again.

Genevieve St. Charles

2024-03

Incredible. We had a downright excellent day of exploring. Each exhibit is thoughtfully and beautifully presented. My favorite by far was the Coastal Life room - the displays in here are GORGEOUS. I absolutely loved the nudibranches.

Amber Steele

2024-04

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is a mesmerizing window into marine life, offering up-close encounters with a diverse range of aquatic creatures. Its exhibits are both educational and engaging, making it a must-visit for families and ocean enthusiasts alike.Originally came for Portland but was so disgusted, we decided to drive hours to the coast and really enjoyed the drive.

Chris Barbour

2024-04

My wife and I absolutely love this aquarium. It's clean, fun to walk through, and has enough attractions to keep your interest. We visit almost every time we visit the Oregon Coast. No, it's not super big, but you shouldn't expect a huge aquarium in Newport, Oregon. Besides, a place like this can always expand. My wife and I have no issues on the pricing as we understand it goes towards the staff and the marine life. If you love aquariums, do yourself a favor and visit. Your kids will love it too.

Starla

2023-07

Had a fantastic time here with my daughterand her friend! So many fun attractions and animals. The bathrooms, tanks, and walkways are all so clean. Animals were visible and well taken care of. We loved every exhibit and recommended it to anyone and in my opinion it's worth the money. This place is great for anyone especially families too, lots of areas for kids to play in.

John Wiersema

2023-05

Really fantastic place. I haven't been to many aquariums, but this is certainly the best I've been to. The displays are really detailed and fun for all ages. There's many panels with facts and descriptions and quotes from people that know what they're talking about. There were fish and sharks and otters and even a bird exhibit. Of course most of it is hands off but there is one small area for you to reach in the water and touch the sea life. I'm very impressed with this place. Even though the weather got crummy there's still plenty to see inside. It's fun to see so many people get together and appreciate nature. Thank you to everyone that works and volunteers and contributes to places like this, it's a fantastic learning experience and a nice way to spend some time.

Bobby K

2023-08

Amazing aquarium for the whole family!Lots of parking and ticket staff process you into Aquarium quickly.Multiple great indoor and outdoor exhibits, filled with many staff and volunteers.Indoor highlights are the touch and feel tanks and definitely the walk through tunnels, especially the shark area!Outdoor highlights are the sea lion, sea otter, and the aviary. All are great!There is also an expansive playground area for a wide age range of kids in the outdoor portion.Multiple delicious food options suitable for the whole family. Plus a large gift shop.Our whole family thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this world-class Aquarium! Must visit!

Mark S “honolulubuyer101”

2023-08

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Raxcental Ruthenta

2023-08

Very fun experience with lots of opportunities to learn about marine life and ecology. The friendly volunteer staff are very knowledgeable and willing to provide educational answers to most questions. The wide variety of critters to see will also keep kids entertained (Be sure to take them to the touch pool!). The food is good. The gift shop has a great selection too.

Jaimi Messmer

2024-04

I’m being generous with my two stars and that extra star is based on the friendly staff. I honestly thought I must have gone to the wrong aquarium. This is a stunningly sad place. I could literally walk though in about 15 min. Way smaller than I thought and I’m not sure why it’s rated so highly. How in the world did it get top ten in the country? The exhibits were small with few sea life. The overhead viewing tunnel was cool but there was so little variety of sea life and all the walls could be seen. No ocean plants, or anything. It definitely was not worth the cost. We had a better, more entertaining experience down by the docks where we could watch the sea lions. This was a complete waste of money and very disappointing.

cindy harrison

2023-07

Perfect place to spend the day with family. The exhibits inside are better than expected. I found there be a lot of information on the wildlife and aquatics the seals and other animals were quite adorable what we love. The most was the aquarium with the sharks that you could walk through it was very cool definitely worth the money not as big as a zoo perhaps but still it’s informative and you could spend a good amount of the day there.

Jo Adams

2023-09

I never pass up the chance to go to a new aquarium. We were in town for our wedding, and weren't sure if we wanted to go on one of our last days here or just hang out. I'm so glad we did. The shark tunnel was seriously lacking. Basically looked like a concrete box. Terrible lighting, made it very hard to see anything. The rest of the exhibits were beautiful. So vibrant and well decorated, so many different species. I could have spent hours at the touch pool, a great variety of things to interact with. The staff at the pools were friendly and knowledgeable. The landscape of the property is lovely, it's a great immersive experience. The gift shop was mostly well priced, with some overly expensive items here and there. Compared to my local aquarium, their prices were impressive!We also had lunch at Jellyfish Cafe. The prices were good, and not overpriced compared to other places in the area. We all got the chicken strips. They were nice and crispy, but the fries were definitely the star of the show. They were so good and nicely seasoned. We were stuffed but couldn't seem to leave any on our plate!Food came out quickly. We loved sitting next to the moon jellyfish tank.

Kyla

2024-04

Definitely spend the money and take the family! The park is amazing everything is pretty much outside so dress accordingly to weather, but don't let that stop you! The walk ways all by the park are beautiful and the exhibits are amazing and interactive! Touch tanks and learning exhibits with the staff. The otter tank was being renovated when we were there so we will be back to check that out!

Astrosean

2023-08

A friend got me a ticket before hand, so I was able to skip past the waiting lines at the ticket stands. Loved all the exhibits, especially the jellies. There was an avian exhibit with puffins and other sea birds. Touching the anemones was fun too. The aquarium was pretty packed that day, so main attractions like the tunnels were very crowded. I’d recommend going on a less busy day with tickets purchased ahead of time.If you want to see some wildlife but don’t feel like spending money on tickets, you could always visit nearby Moolack beach at low tide, specifically the rockier parts near the lighthouse (lots of starfish and anemones)

Ashton Nguyen

2023-07

Tickets are a bit expensive and are per-person, no discounted packages for small groups or families (large groups of 15+ yes but still only 10% off). However it is still a neat and worthwhile spot to have an outing with the family, especially for those interested in marine life. Lots of different exhibits both indoor and outdoor for a variety of different animals and environments.

Skyler James

2024-04

Went while on vacation and had a great time. They have a park there for little ones to run around which was nice. My daughters loved looking at all the animal! Bathrooms were clean and they even let me buy milk at the cafe for my toddler. They’re gift shop was reasonable priced and had a lot of variation when it came to souvenirs. Sadly I left my AirPods but my aunt called them and they were able to find them and sent them to me. They went above and beyond thank you so much! We will definitely be visiting again on our next trip.

Megan Payne (Meggz)

2024-04

I haven't been here in almost 10 years. This is the first time my boys have been here at all. This was a last-minute trip while my niece was in town, so we didn't really get to pick our dates. A little sad to see a few exhibits closed for their first visit, but my boys love sharks! On our way through the shark reef, we noticed the conference room to the side was open. It was great to find a very knowledgeable and kind volunteer in there answering all our kids' eager questions. After about 30mins of questions, my youngest was still not ready to leave. Such a great experience!

Onesictooth Noskin

2023-09

A little pricey for admission/tickets. For that price I would like to think that they would have some staff there to educate the public on the different sea life and their habitats that they have there. Most of the information plaques that were next to the exhibits were hard to read due to the lack of lighting... I understand that some exhibits are light sensitive but it wouldn't hurt to have the information lit with a backlight or something similar. Other than that it was a decent family destination and a must if you are in the area. Cheers!!!

JC

2023-12

Super PRICEY (charged regular price $25/adult) for like 2 of the attractions being closed... you'd think they'd charge half-price or something?Was pretty lackluster and depressing- the seal/sea lion exhibit was small (so they just kept swimming in circles non-stop. There was a quite injured/sick fish that just kept swimming oddly in circles and hitting the glass. There was even a fish laying sideways against the glass- looked as if he/she were dead or incoherent.There was NO ONE in the park (personnel/ staff) so not a lot of "education" going on.Got in the park at 10am (when they open) and was out by 10:45am. *most of the time spent in the gift-shop.Do NOTTTTTT pay the $25- it was NOTTTTTT worth it!!!!!

sam mackinnon

2024-04

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Rose Kane

2023-10

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colton Woodley

2024-04

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D L C

2023-07

A very nice place to enjoy the morning with the kids. My son enjoyed watching the seals and sea lions swim laps and play by the observation windows. There is also a great playground to help burn off some energy. I would suggest getting a spot early for any of the feedings or you're going to miss out. It didn't seem like there were too many people in the park but the crowd appeared from nowhere at feeding time. A big gift shop with something for everyone. Great fun.

Adriane Candelaria

2023-05

We had a great time at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. There is a lot to learn and see. Unfortunately, the bird exhibit was unavailable when we were there due to the bird flu, so we did not get to see puffins, etc. However, they have outdoor tanks with seals, otters, octopus, and other area animals. Inside, they have tanks with jellyfish, sea stars, crabs, and smaller creatures. The gift shop is nice, but pricey. Entrance tickets cost from $15.95 for children 3-12 to $25.95 for adults 18-64. Seniors ages 65+ cost $19.95, and youth 13-17 cost $19.95.