Aquarium of the Bay General Admission Ticket
Description
Visit Aquarium of the Bay for an interactive introduction to the fish and other marine life that live in San Francisco Bay and its surrounding Pacific waters. This general admission ticket includes access to the Aquarium’s main exhibit areas, which feature more than 20,000 animals. You can observe creatures like sharks, rays, sea stars and river otters. With its location at the foot of PIER 39 between Fisherman’s Wharf and the Alcatraz ferry landing, Aquarium of the Bay is easy to fit into your San Francisco sightseeing schedule.
Tour Options
Itinerary
When you arrive at Aquarium of the Bay, located on San Francisco’s bustling Embarcadero (also home to other attractions like Fisherman’s Wharf, the Pier 39 sea lions, Boudin Bakery and the ferries to Alcatraz Island), head inside with your general admission ticket and begin your self-guided exploration of the aquarium. Your admission allows you to visit the aquarium’s main exhibit areas. With a focus on the marine life of San Francisco Bay and its surrounding bodies of water, the Aquarium of the Bay is home to 20,000-plus animals that live in 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) of carefully maintained bay water. Stay at the aquarium as long as you like to learn about sea creatures like jellyfish, octopus, and sharks. Discover the Bay exhibit: See orange garibaldi, green moray eels, colorful rockfish, and other wildlife native to the San Francisco Bay. Learn about how anchovies stick together and avoid predators, and find out how the bay acts as a breeding ground for perch and many other fish. Under the Bay exhibit: Walk through a 300-foot (90-meter) tunnel system of clear glass for a look at the fascinating fish and other sea life in the bay and nearby Pacific waters. See mesmerizing jellyfish, a giant Pacific octopus, graceful rays, sturgeon, and multiple local shark species like sevengill sharks, leopard sharks, soupfin sharks, and spiny dogfish.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Free admission for children ages 3 and under
- Wheelchair and stroller accessible
- The aquarium is open every day except Christmas Day
- Current operating hours are 11am-6pm
Reviews(307)
The aquarium was great!! The kids had so much fun & they really enjoyed being able to touch the manta rays.
We had a complimentary pass with our BigBus two day ticket so we went along but it was not a good experience, lots of the fish were pale and just sitting on the bottom of the tank or on the shelf by the glass, so clearly they are not being well looked after. It was all very sad to see.
It was GREAT till the kids came for a field trip and Serenity no more! Lol The tunnels are amazing. Could spend all day just in the tunnels.
I have to say: For $28, I don't think it's really justified. You are through relatively quickly in about 30 minutes you have seen everything. The tunnel is cool and the atmosphere is calm, but overall it is nothing very unusual. There are some nice fish, but nothing that really surprised or excited me. For the price I would have just expected more either bigger, more highlights or interactive stuff. Conclusion: Quite nice for a short visit, but value for money is not right for me.
Clean, organized, laid out well, lots to see, multiple floors, family loved it. Good experience. Otters, sting ray touch pond, starfish, jelly fish, sharks, etc.
I was so disappointed I took my granddaughter to the aquarium in San Francisco what a waste of money it's only one room the bathrooms are bigger than the room it was sad I had been to the aquarium in Monterey and I thought it would be something more like that I'm just warning people don't waste your money
Visited here on a holiday, first mistake....long lines. Could not use the stairs so everyone had to wait for an elevator to go to the first floor & then back up again. Without the lines you could have seen the entire place in 30 minutes, not worth the almost $30 admission.
It’s definitely small and not truly worth admission price . Not easy to navigate as you are only to access exhibits via elevator which means more waiting than enjoying the experience
No matter how many times I’ve been here, the experience is always like the first. This time we went on 01/27/26, and they were in the tanks, cleaning. The divers waved at us, and showed how they clean the tanks and feed the sharks. The jelly fish exhibit, is my absolute favorite. I can spend hours there. And the staff are so amazing. They have wheelchairs available and you can bring a can/walker. If you’re checking this place out, and have kids, or just love ocean life, this is the place for you!
It was really nice! Small but really nice! It was a little pricey for the amount of time you got to be there, but it was beautiful
