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August 2023 by Taylor
It took my family about 2 hours to go through all the exhibits, not counting the gift shop. The cost for an adult to enter was around $44, and considering the overall time to get through, I would say this is an expensive one time only experience. The exhibits themselves were beautiful, but became a bit repetitive; however, I particularly enjoyed the section on coral. The info boards are very well done, and there is an entire exhibition on the history of Hawaii. The dome is a new 3D exhibit that displays a short film about hunchback whales, and it was a nice experience but requires some neck strain to see everything. I greatly enjoyed myself looking at the different fish and coral, and I took many photos.
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August 2023 by Julie Uno
Terrific small aquarium. The live exhibits were clear and varied. The static displays were very detailed and focused on the culture and environment.
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June 2023 by Scott Cherek
I've been to several aquariums, including in Chicago, Orlando, Toronto, Vegas - and the Maui Center was just OK for me.Yes, it's great the weather offers some nice outside displays that you won't find in colder locations, and the various marine life is well represented in a lot of areas. Don't miss the 3-D humpback whale video - that was extremely well done and makes it seem like the whales are literally within reach of your hands. At $44 person - it's in line with other aquarium entry fees.
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May 2023 by Rick H.
Cool to see the different setup here than other aquariums I've been too. $42 to get in, self guided tour around 5 exhibits. The turtles, and open ocean exhibits were by far the best. It's an open, outside aquarium with indoor exhibits with breathtaking views of the ocean and nearby harbor. The whale exhibit was pretty awesome and they have a new imax experience. It's a short clip showing real humpbacks in the Maui area with some really cool real life videos.Parking is about $8 bucks and there are some shops right outside the aquarium to browse afterwards. Very neat!
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May 2023 by Kristen L.
This is a great spot to spend 2 hours. Admission is high, but the military discount is very generous. The discount applies to past service folks too, just be sure to bring proof. For 2 seniors and 2 adults it ended up being about $105 total--a good deal compared to what we would've paid without a discount. You do have to pay for parking via a QR code. Not sure how much time you'll spend at the aquarium? No worries, you can extend the time on your phone. Most of the exhibits are indoors, so this is a great place to go on a rainy day. It was pretty warm indoors, so it may just be a slight relief on a hot day. The variety of fish at a tropical aquarium is just so much more fun than the aquarium in Seattle! There were colorful fish, several types of sharks, a small group of jellyfish, and sea turtles. At the end of the park, there's also a 3D whale experience. It was nice to just sit down for a bit. I was on edge whether to go here and I'm glad I did.
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May 2023 by Jason Griffin
Great little gem.We popped in here for something quiet to do and we were not disappointed. The facility is fairly priced and has a great selection of animals and displays to keep everyone at all ages happy.Fish looked healthy and displays were clean and well presented with a great amount of information around. Staff were really friendly and really passionate about the animals on display.
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April 2023 by Jacob C.
An excellent way to spend 3-5 hours during the day to beat the heat. We travelled with our 7 month old so we tried to stay indoors during peak UV hours and this was awesome. The indoor exhibits have air conditioning and the large tanks were fun for her to watch. Personally, I've always loved aquariums and sea life and this place is one of my favorites!Pros:1. A good mix of indoor and outdoor activities and shows. 2. Clear path to follow with an enjoyable flow to the exhibits. 3. A balance of education and pretty sea life. 4. Cafe with snacks and beverages along with a restaurant (but we did not visit the restaurant)5. I enjoy self guided tours, so I loved the freedom with a few exhibits that have shows or hosts helping and answering questions. 6. Located right on the harbor so very calming and pretty. Cons:1. Must pay for parking through some QR website. $2/hour2. Ticket prices were around $43 at the gate, but considering the costs of most excursions it was a pretty fair price. 3. The touch tide pool only had a few creatures, would have loved to see more star fish, but I'm sure they're trying to respect the marine life.
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April 2023 by Pascal L.
It was a great visit. Nice displays, well organized into the "depth" concept. The large aquarium with the tunnel going through was awesome, with several shark species and large rays. A good family experience overall.
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March 2023 by Hannah Thom
The staff provided great informational talks throughout the aquarium. We loved the shark and turtle lectures. Very informative. The water tunnel was an amazing experience. It’s a natural water system. Good coffee shop, a little over priced but to be expected when you’re at a aquarium.
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March 2023 by Julie C.
If your kids like marine animals and aquariums, this is the place to be! The last time we tried to come, here was in March 2020 right when Covid started and everything was shut down. We were here on spring break at that time, but ended up returning home early as all our reservations and activities got canceled. The kids were excited to be back! Maui Ocean Center is a well planned out aquarium. It is definitely kid friendly. There are lots of different displays of fish and marine animals of which all are found in Hawaiian waters. They also have a fun petroglyphs activity for kids. One of their new exhibits is the humpback whale exhibit which is in 3-D, and in an auditorium like a planetarium. They videoed the whales for three years to get the footage, and it was a really fascinating show. The humpback whale show is included without additional cost.There is also a nice gift shop, along with a snack bar, which serves Dole whip, which I could eat every day!!! Not joking! :). A nice perk is that they do have a special kamaaina rate and parking is free for kamaainas as well.
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March 2023 by Neal Benson
We stopped into the Maui Ocean center this morning and had a blast with our family. Since we traveled here from California, I realize that my families waking up early and this was a great place to take them for a couple hours. We saw so many different fish, sea turtles, sharks, and much more.Such a fun family experience. It’s kind of small but packs a huge punch!Make sure to just look at the map and follow the directions where they tell you to go. You get to start in the top of the wreath, then go down a little further, and keep checking out all the animals. There’s so many informational signs that helped you understand what was going on and what you needed to know here.The restrooms were super clean, which that’s a big thing for me. If you read any of my other reviews, I wanna make sure that there’s a clean restroom. I feel like at the restaurant is clean, and the rest of the place is gonna be clean.Staff was super friendly. We had some questions, and they were great at answering those for us.
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March 2023 by Margot R.
We didn't know about it until we went, but the Sphere was an amazing experience! We went in, not knowing what to expect. It was a surreal feeling seeing Humpback whales in 3D! We certainly recommend it! And the other part we really liked was the part of the aquarium that had the tank all around you, as you walk through the aquarium tube. How neat! I don't know how it compares to other aquariums, but we enjoyed ourselves.
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February 2023 by Rachael T.
Visited Ocean Center on February 23rd to celebrate my daughter's one year birthday! I personally have not stepped foot in the aquarium in the last two decades, and didn't have any memory or great expectation of the experience. It is geared more towards visitors than residents, and after visiting I can see why. We pre-purchased our tickets on-line, the morning of our visit. Parking was weird, the way today's technology-driven-world is. We had to take a picture of our license plate, driver's license, etc and send it out into cyber space... which was pretty easy, even for a Gen-Xer like me. Inside the venue, there are outdoor reef ponds and displays of various critters, fish, turtle. etc... my heart goes out to all of these living things in really small confined areas, dirty looking, depressing. Those animals have to deal with a barage of grubby handed children pawing at their displays, screaming and totally irreverent. Cleanliness is a major issue. Although signs are everywhere asking people to not touch the display glass, everyone touches the display glass and it shows though icky, smudged glass and display plastic EVERYWHERE. Even in the more cool interior exhibits, everything feels so gross and grubby. At 9 o'clock in the morning the carpets were littered with debris and dirt. UGH. I wonder why they can't keep the relatively small space clean when they are charging an arm and a leg for visitor's and the place was packed. Plus, these are the Covid years, so let's get real... serious about cleaning! Between my empathy for the animals, the lack of cleanliness, and the high ticket price (even for residents with the deal), I would be hard pressed to return, or even recommend. Two stars. The highlight was my daughter's enthusiasm and joy at seeing all the critters behind glass. It was a special memory we made as a family, so I throw in an extra star for that.
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February 2023 by Karen Maxwell
The Maui Ocean Center was awesome! If you are a fan of sea life and/or want/need a mostly indoor activity this is a great option. You are outdoors to get between the 3 major indoor buildings and for the cafe and a few outdoor exhibits. Absolutely download their app or pull up their map and daily schedule so you can catch the different activities like feeding the turtles or talking about an exhibit. Absolutely don’t miss the 3D movie about whales. I loved this center. Turtles are my favorite animal so watching them eat was so cool
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January 2023 by Marynell K.
We're from Oahu and our aquarium isn't much to see so we didn't have high expectations coming here. We were really impressed however. There were numerous exhibits for the kids to enjoy. Kids were given a little activity book to find various pictures around the ocean center so they really enjoyed finding them and rubbing the pictures with it.We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Seascape restaurant with amazing views of the Mā'alaea Harbor. Their gift store is huge with all types of trinkets and souvenirs. Our favorite exhibit was definitely the turtle bay. We spent a considerable amount of time watching the turtles swim.