Central Coast Aquarium - Avila Beach, California

Olya Clark - Yoga and Wellness

If you want to support your local community and have a really fun activity for the kids, then this is a great place to go. Your ticket is good for the whole day so we love going to aquarium then to playground and back-and-forth. it will occupy my four year old for half a day.

Jamie Buck

Nice little aquarium. Great for kids. The staff were very accommodating, making sure my busy 3 year old was able to touch all the little critters. It is very small but a great little stop during the rain or to pass a bit of time. $9 a head can get expensive for what it is but I understand what they are doing takes money. We enjoyed it.

Sunnayna Singh

Cute and small. It has been open for 14 years and is apart of the museums for all program. Which if you were not aware of this program it is where card holders of Medi-cal or Ebt can have low cost discounted admission to these places. It is a program that gives those in poverty the chance to learn just like everyone else. Definitely donate to this aquarium. their staff is lovely and so are their marine family. We all should help small places like these grow.

I am so glad to have included this Aquarium in my itinerary. My mother, sister and two children loved it as well. Small in size but everything inside leaves the greatest memory.

Rashi

Friendly with in and out options. They changed their feeding times daily but they have a great leopard shark feeding talk.

Greg

This aquarium is really small. It equates to the size of an apartment living room with a wall, dividing it in half. There were some leopard sharks, and there was the opportunity to touch the top of one. There were a few other tanks that held jellyfish, starfish, and larger fish the size of my forearm. I gave it 3 stars because it does have live animals and technically it is an aquarium, but I didn't give it more than that because the prices, despite our economy, do not match the experience. $10 per adult, $8 for 3-12 years old, and under 3 years is free. I paid $40 to get my family in, and it took us 5-7 minutes to slowly mosey through everything they had to offer, I felt like I got robbed.

Janet McMahon - Keller Williams Realty California (Janet McMahon- KW, Nevada)

This the smallest yet BEST Aquarium I have ever been too. Loved all of the knowledge of the staff. We were lucky to be there for the shark feeding and the octopus feeding. I would definitely stop in if visiting Avila Beach.

Ross Karmen

The staff and volunteers are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. They go out of their way to teach you about the marine life in California.

It may be small, but the size means that you get more of a chance to learn about each animal rather than rushing off to see the next exhibit. This aquarium is a place to go if you want to truly learn about the ocean rather than only glancing at each animal. Every question is answered in detail and depth leaving both kids and adults feeling like they have left with something of value.

Nicole Rodriguez

Megan was awesome. She was very informative and helpful. She let my children ask her many questions about the aquarium and Cal Poly.