The Shark Reef Aquarium in Mandalay Bay was Much Bigger and Better Than I Ever Expected!

On our first visit to Las Vegas, we didn't have time to visit the Shark Reef Aquarium in Mandalay Bay due to the many other cool things we had planned. So when we visited Vegas in November 2009, I made sure to mark it down as an option. Now that I've visited, I recommend you make it a point to visit this aquarium on your next visit to Vegas, especially if you have kids.

Getting There
If you get to the Excalibur, you can then take the free tram down to Mandalay Bay. From there, it is quite a long walk to get to the aquarium. Just follow the signs going through the casino, and around the restaurants, and then down a bit more. You can't miss the huge signs advertising the aquarium as you get closer.

Pricing and Hours
The aquarium is open from around 10AM-8PM everyday but check the website for exact times depending on when you are going. An adult ticket is $17 which seems quite pricey at first, but once you start exploring the aquarium you'll find it was totally worth it. We passed right by the photo person that tries to sell you a (probably) $20 picture on the way in. All they do is put your picture on a background so it's not too exciting.

Take the Audio Tour!
Usually I don't take the audio tours when I visit places like this, but this time they were handing them out to everyone so we decided to give them a try. Each tank and area of the aquarium is numbered and typing in the numbers on your audio tour brings up a lesson and story about the animal you are seeing. The audio tour turned out to be very interesting and actually made us stay at the aquarium longer since we tried to listen to each one completely before moving on. You can stay in the aquarium as long as you want until closing, so why rush through it? Take the tour!

What You'll See
There are a variety of animals in the aquarium when you first enter. It starts off slow with a few strange reptiles and fish, so at first you may be thinking "is this it". The animals are cool, of course, but the entrance to the aquarium seems small. However, once you make it around the corner you will start to realize why you spent the money! The aquarium actually goes on and on around various corners. There are many places were there is a whole wall of glass where you can look underwater and watch the fish, sharks and other sea life swimming around.

One of the best things about the Shark Reef Aquarium are the big tunnels. There were at least two of these tunnels that you could walk through or sit in as sea life surrounds you. Watch a shark swim overhead and see the sea life from a completely different perspective. It feels like being in the ocean! The glass is so clear that sometimes it's hard to believe that there is anything between you and the fish.

Besides these tunnels, the second best thing about this aquarium is near the end. there is a dark room surrounded by walls of glass. On the other side of the glass, this part of the aquarium seems to go on forever! Sharks swim close and then disappear off into the distance. The tank is so huge that you can't even see the end of it and it really felt like we were peeking into the ocean. In this particular tank, we also saw the largest turtles we've ever seen, a few huge stingray, and more! I could have sat there for hours watching if we didn't have other plans that day.

In one room there was a small pool where a few stingray were swimming around. We were allowed to reach in and pet the sting ray. The signs tell you to just put in one finger, but some people were letting their kids splash around their hands and almost hit the rays. Don't be dumb, and don't let your kids be mean to the animals. Just touch them gently and that's it.

Finally, my favorite animal at the aquarium were the jellyfish. You could walk all around the jellyfish tank to see them floating and swimming from all angles. This is something you'll never usually get to see this close up (for fear of being stung) so they are definitely interesting to watch.

Bring your Camera!
I never spend that much money unless I have pictures to show for it. My camera has an aquarium setting and I was able to capture much of the sea life in photos. However, some of them (like the sharks) moved too fast for me to take a clear shot. I made a few short videos as well so I can remember my visit to the aquarium and exactly what it felt like to be surrounded by sea life.

Would I go again?
Definitely! I probably won't make it back to Vegas for awhile, but next time I do go back I would visit this aquarium again to see what's new. If you visit Vegas often, it may not be something you see everytime, but I'd like to see it anytime I can since we don't get to go to Vegas that often. They may not have had whales and dolphins like some other aquariums do, but this is definitely the largest underwater attraction I've seen. Photos do not do it justice. If you have the chance, make it a point to visit the Shark Reef Aquarium with the whole family!