While planning our trip to Antalya we’ve created a list of must-do things and places to visit in this Turkish city. Antalya aquarium was one of the first on the list.
This is the 2nd largest aquarium in Europe, with a 131 meters long tunnel. Even though many guides stated that you have to allocate about 5-7 hours for visiting this place, it took us about one hour and a half to explore the aquarium.
Antalya Aquarium General Info
- Address: Arapsuyu, Minicity and Hillside Su Hotel eastern corner of Konyaaltı Beach, Dumlupınar Blv. No:502, 07200 Konyaaltı/Antalya, Türkiye
- Working hours: Daily, 10:00 – 19:50
- Ticket price: from 34.90 USD (for Aquarium Entrance Only) to 133 USD for MultiPass (Aquarium, Wild Park, XD Cinema, Face2Face)
- Google Maps Link: click here.
Antalya Aquarium is a great place to visit if you’re traveling with kids and just looking for some unique and interesting experience. This place is wheelchair and baby stroller friendly. There are 40 thematic aquariums with five thousand fish species. Near each water tank there is a desk with detailed information about its inhabitants.
How to Get There
Public transportation is well organized and developed in Antalya, so it’s not a problem to get to the aquarium from any part of the city. We stayed in Porto Bello Hotel Resort & Spa and it took us about an hour to get to the place on foot and we enjoyed a walk along the seafront (near Akdeniz Blv.).
You can take a bus TK36 or VF02 that will take you to 5M Migros, from Lara take buses KL08, LF09, LF10. The aquarium is 10 minutes walk from the bus stop. From the western part of Liman district you can take SD20 and VS18 buses.
Ticket Options and Where to Buy
Besides the Aquarium itself you can visit Wildpark, Snow Park and Face2Face wax museum. The total ticket price will depend on the number of attractions you’re planning to visit. We bought tickets that included Entrance to the Aquarium and Face2Face museum.
Click here if you would like to make your reservation.
As it was a working day and maybe not the high season, there were no queues and we redeemed our e-tickets in a matter of minutes.
Things to Do in Antalya Aquarium
Next to the entrance there is a photo zone where you will be invited to take a few photos. You can get them in one printed and five electronic versions before you enter the sea gift shop. The price is 50 euros for 5 pictures.
Explore 40 Thematic Aquariums With Marine Species From All Parts of The World
You will be able to observe species from Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Mediterrenian Sea, Indian Ocean and many other locations from all parts of the world. We were fascinated by moray eels which were calmly laying in the sand or hiding in corals.
Piranhas look very friendly and not dangerous at all from the first glance. I would say that they look quite fancy due to their sparkling appearance. But when you get closer to the tank glass and finally able to see their sharp teeth, you undersand that they are true beasts and it’s better not to get around them. I guess, that’s why they put a skeleton decoration in the tank…
Koi Feeding
In addition to observing the inhabitants of the deep sea, you can enjoy some interactive activities in the aquarium. For example, Koi feeding. This colorful fish isn’t afraid of people and can be bottle fed. For an additional fee you can take a bottle with prepared special food mix and feed these creatures.
Stingray Feeding
Stingrays feeding is another interactive experience you can have. Small stingrays swim directly to visitors in the hope that they will feed them. These marine creatures are very intelligent; for us they resembled dogs or cats. You can buy and feed them specially prepared food for 5 euros.
A visit to this section of the aquarium left us with mixed feelings: on the one hand, the intelligent stingrays, which you are unlikely to see so close anywhere else, and on the other, the use of these creatures for entertainment and commercial purposes.
Neon Tunnel
Take a moment to stop and enjoy pictures and drawings at neon tunnel. You can even try to make selfies, however all of our attempts failed. But instead we made some great photos of the walls and enjoyed how our white sandals and shoes glowed in the dark. It was quite fun experience!
Do Not Miss Shark Feeding Time
At noon (12 PM), shark feeding started. Exact time may vary depending on season and fish feeding habits. So, it’s better to check in advance if you want to attend this activity!
Enjoy Your Time At Tunnel Aquarium
Here you can observe marine species from all angles. They will float above you, behind you, on your left and right. At one moment we were feelling light dizziness because of such unusual surroundings.
Stingrays are floating so smoothly, so you can even get a little bit hypnotized by their movements. They are much larger in tunnel aquarium than those species you can feed (near Koi pond).
Here you can sit and take some rest, make some good photos and enjoy steady floating of marine species.
Conclusion
Overall it was a great experience, though we didn’t spend that much time at this place as we expected. And we definitelly recommend visiting Antalya Aquarium, especially if you travel with kids, since visiting this place serves not only entertaining, but also educational puprose of how diverse our planet is and how important it is to support this diversity and keep oceans, seas and rivers clean.
P.S. Be sure to read our guide on 12 Things to Do In Antalya in 1 Week if you plan to explore this wonderful city.
