San Antonio Aquarium gets 12 thumbs up from our family – a review
San Antonio is a special place for our family, so each year we spend one weekend there around Christmas time. Over the years, we have added many new places to visit in San Antonio that are interesting to our family. We finally decided to try out the San Antonio Aquarium and we are all so glad we did! Not only is this aquarium very hands on and fun, but it is also very educational as well!
We only purchased single day tickets since we weren’t sure we were going to want to go back (the website didn’t convey how impressive this aquarium was when we looked at it). When we left that day, they allowed us to apply that days tickets to a family membership which also happened to be on sale for half price! It was a deal we couldn’t pass up! When you have the membership, you have access to both the San Antonio Aquarium and the sister location in Austin. (We added the Austin Aquarium to our post on the Top 8 Places to Take Kids in Austin)
Inside the aquarium, there are feeding rooms to feed both Lorikeets and Parakeets. Only a certain amount of guests are allowed in at a time for the feedings. Once you hand over your token, the bird keeper brings you a cup of food and the birds immediately fly to your hand to start fighting over the food. My favorite room is the Lorikeet (seen above) room. They are just beautiful birds to look at! On our very first visit, one landed right on Aaron’s back and scared him so much that he won’t go with me to feed them anymore! Adler still loves to feed them with me! It is so much more interesting when they actual land on you and are so up close!
While Aaron may not be a fan of the Lorikeets, he absolutely loves to feed the Stingrays. Depending on when you visit, if the Stingrays are hungry, you’ll have a whole bunch right in front of you all trying to fight over the shrimp in your hand! Be prepared to get splashed when this happens since they are all very excited for food and flap their wings quite a bit. I love that the aquariums has built in rock edges for kids to stand on so they can reach the water more easily to experience the stingrays instead of parents having to hold them up the entire time. The aquarium also offers a special event – snorkeling with the sting rays (for an additional fee), check it out here!
Everywhere you look in the aquarium, there are animals that you can either touch or get very close to. These Iguanas were just hanging out in a boat near the entrance of the aquarium. Look how huge this guy is! Our boys were very excited to be able to be this close to him as well as touch his skin. There is also a room where you can use a token to feed the iguanas, we haven’t actually done this feeding yet.
The San Antonio aquarium has a jump house play area called I-Guana Jump. There are multiple bounce houses, air basketball and obstacle courses.. This is an additional fee for daily tickets, but it is completely free for aquarium members! We’ve only taken advantage of it one time and our kids had a blast! Anson enjoyed playing in the this ball pit and getting lost!
The outside area of the aquarium is nearly as nice as the inside. There is a cute little pond with Koi, it really feels tropical outside. The biggest animals of interest outside are the Ostriches, Emus, and Toucan! All of these birds can be fed as well! There is also a huge white peacock, tons of ducks, birds, and chickens. Outside you can buy small containers of food and have fun walking around to see which birds want to eat. After we had spent so much time inside, the boys wanted to stay out in the outside area and enjoy all the birds there.
Each time we visit this aquarium, they add a new animal section, so it is hard to keep up with all the animals they have to offer! There is a shark tank where you can touch and feed sharks as well! There is an armadillo area. While we have never actually stopped in the dinosaur area, our kids always want to. It is set up like a dinosaur dig area. There are beautiful macaws that talk to visitors. Lemurs, Alpacas, Alligators, and Kangaroos are other big animals of interest.
One of the exciting things the aquarium offers are animal encounters. These are all for an additional fee, but some of them are totally worth the extra cost! The animal encounters offered are with a sloth, kangaroo, and lemur. They also offer a morning rounds tour to get the full experience. You can learn and see everything that goes into prepping the aquarium for the day. Check that out here!
Our family absolutely loves this aquarium, and the Austin location as well. We give it 12 thumbs up and truly think everyone should visit when they are in San Antonio. Before you visit, be sure to check out Groupon.com for special offers! They also offer foster children and educators free admission! Ticket prices currently are: Children (weekday: $8.95, weekend: $10.95), Adults (weekday: $13.95 , weekend: $13.95). Tokens can be purchased either at the front or at the food counter inside. Tokens are a better price when they are purchased in multiples. Go here to learn more about this amazing aquarium!
Lisa
Going to San Antonio next month, thank you for posting this.
Sandi
Looks like the boys had a great time!
Leigh Ann
I love San Antonio but don’t think I’ve ever been to the aquarium. Thanks for sharing!
Tricia Snow
I love all of the birds and animals! Looks like a great time!
Ramae Hamrin
What a blast! And your photos are always incredible! I may be headed to San Antonio this fall, and if I am, I will definitely check this place out!
Michele
What a great time! The boys look like they are having a blast! I’m from SA but I don’t remember the aquarium…
Jenna
I don’t think it has been open for too too long.
Tiffany
I love visiting aquariums – this one looks like one to make certain I see one day!
Jennifer Morrison
What a wonderful adventure! I truly love San Antonio, but have never been to this venue. I know my granddaughter would love it.
Monica
Our kids love he zoo so we go every chance we get. I went to San Antonio but never had the chance to go to the zoo. Might have to go back. It’s such a fun town.
Kymberly Irwin
Now I wanna go!!!!!!!!! Awesome pictures!
T.M. Brown
Oh, my goodness – those smiles!! This looks like a great place to visit with the family. I absolutely love the picture of the little guy with the lorikeets. Thanks for sharing!!
T.M. Brown
This place looks amazing!! I absolutely love the smiles on everyone’s faces and, my goodness ~ that shot with the little guy with the lorikeet? That’s just priceless!!
jen
looks like they had a great time!
Cindy
This looks like a great place to visit! Lots of interesting things to do and creatures to see. Love your photos!
Katie
Looks so fun! The Georgia Aquarium also has animal encounters. Its awesome! We have done the otter one.
Pauline Reynolds
I love aquariums. Obviously we don’t get to many because we live far from the ocean. I’m hoping to go to Utah in June and go to the one there.
Robin
Looks like a wonderful aquarium! So cool they have other animals too!! We love aquariums, thank you for sharing 🙂
Kristen Usrey
This looks like so much fun and your little ones are adorable and looked like they enjoyed their trip!
Holly Bird
Looks like you had an amazing time! The Aquarium looks like it has changed since I was there a few years ago..I need to go back!
Michelle
I haven’t been to San Antonio, but if I do, I will certainly be putting this on my list of places to go. It looks like so much fun!
Ellen
What an awesome post! Looks like all of your boys had a great time!
LIsa
This looks like a fun place. I love the ball pit my kids would be so excited!
Kendra
Awesome aquarium! I love the smile you captured on that happy little stingray’s face. And the bright colored toucan picture is so awesome. I’m not a huge fan of birds, but I would love to hang out and feed the Ostriches!
Jenna
I’m not a huge fan of birds either! But, these were really cool! Especially the Lorikeets!
Emily
Aquariums are so fun and informative! I always see a handful of new creatures I never knew existed! It looks like you guys had a great time!
Angela
Lots to do and see
Katherine Wolfe
That aquarium sure has a lot more than just fish! Very cool!
Eva
This was on our list of things to do while in SA but we got busy enjoying the moments we were in and never got around to going. Next time!
Candy K
We really loved our time in San Antonio, but we did not visit the aquarium. We will have to change that based on this post! Thank you
Cameron
Thanks so much for this – I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in San Antonio!
Jen
What a fun place to visit! Love all of the interactive activities for the kids.
Lora
Looks like a lot of fun was had, great pictures. I’ve never been to San Antonio
Tiffany
I love visiting museums – this one is now on the list if we are ever in the area! Great photos!
Karen
Your boys are adorable. It looks like you all had a great time.
Jenna
Thank you! 🙂
jen
Looks like a lot more than an average aquarium….a full day of fun to be had!
Shannon
So many different things to do that I wouldn’t have expected from the aquarium
Jody
This would be a awesome place to go.
Suzan
What a fun time…the smiles say it all.
Lisa Shivel
We are always looking for places to add to our list when we visit places. We are going to put the aquarium on their for sure! Thank you for sharing.
judean
An aquarium with some zoo animals? Interesting! Thanks for showing it all there in San Antonio.
Dawnmarie @ EnjoyingtheDays
There are so many beautiful animals. I like that you could interact with some of the. It looks like you all had a fun-filled visit!
Jenna
Yes, you could touch or feel nearly every animal at the aquarium. Some unique animals required an extra fee to interact with them such as a kinkajou, lemur, or kangaroo!
Haley Kelley
My family LOVES aquariums and we are always looking for our destination to have one! Thanks for sharing
Malia
Wow, that aquarium has a little bit of everything, doesn’t it? I love the Lorikeet experience! They let you feed Lorikeets at Sea Life Park in Hawaii too and our kids LOVED it. That’s awesome you got passes for half off!
Cindy
What a fun looking place. You really could spend all day there!
T.M.
I love it – TWELVE thumbs up. The smiles say it all – looks like a fantastic place to explore when in the San Antonio area.