Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, Sydney

We had a lovely day with the kids, how can you go wrong at an aquarium? But to be honest there were a few things that did detract from the experience. The layout forced you to move through the aquarium in one direction, and the number of people allowed in at once meant it was impossible in most sections to linger and really enjoy any particular exhibition. It was not a major issue for us with young children who wouldn't want to linger long - but even for us, the experience did feel rushed. The aquarium looked run down and it was extremely hot in sections. The place needs some money spent on it to freshen the place up and fix the air conditioning. On the plus side, the staff were friendly and helpful, and the food available at the end was quick, tasty and reasonably priced. The kids really enjoyed decorating their own fish and scanning it onto the display. The touch tank was also fantastic. We also got a massive discount on our extremely convenient parking by having our ticket validated in the gift shop. The aquarium provides details on their website and it saved us almost $50 on parking! I would recommend visiting on a weekday if possible to try avoid the rush.

Excellent stuff to see and good for kids. But queuing for tickets for 30 min because they can't put enough staff on is a bit much. Also they didn't warn us that a large section wasn't being shown that day. So we paid full price and had disappointed kids. I understand sometimes parts will need work so aren't available but you can manage customer expectation! So the attraction is great but management is poor. Not sure we will bother going back.

Maybe it was because of the crowd but it was seriously hot and humid in the aquarium. The only section that was remotely tolerable was the penguin area, but unfortunately the boat ride was not running. Management needs to fix the air conditioning. Otherwise the exhibits were not bad but certainly not among the best aquariums we've been to. Walk through tunnels were nice and we liked the dugongs.

Fun and educational experience for kids and adults. Sure is a good outing for a family and Darling Harbour is a great place to get lunch or dinner. The aquarium features up close experience with sharks, rays and dugong plus a multitude of other sea creatures. Also lots of souvenirs targeted at the kids. It all makes up a day to remember and an experience the kids can talk about with their peers.

A great day out for the family. Great variety of sea life. Interesting enclosures. Lots of educational material. Decent facilities and easy to get to. You definitely get your money’s worth.