The Oceanarium sits right on the seafront at Pier Approach, with the beach on one side and the pier on the other. It is Bournemouth’s aquarium, and for anyone staying in town it earns its keep twice over: an easy hour or two with children on a full-on beach day, and one of the more reliable places to be when the weather turns. Inside, a single loop leads you through habitats from the water just outside to the far side of the world.
What it is
The aquarium is built as a walk through eleven themed zones, each planted and lit to stand in for a different part of the world. The centrepiece is a walk-through tunnel dressed as a coral-covered shipwreck, with the tank around and above you holding some three hundred and fifty thousand litres of saltwater. The route is designed to keep moving in one direction, which makes it simple to follow with a pushchair or a small child in tow. Screens and signboards along the way explain what you are looking at, pitched as much at children as at the adults reading over their shoulders.
What you’ll see
The residents range a long way from the Dorset coast. There are blacktip reef sharks and a sea turtle, southern stingrays, a West African dwarf crocodile, shoals of clownfish, and a colony of Humboldt penguins; the Oriental small-clawed otters tend to draw the biggest crowd. Touch pools let children meet starfish and other rock-pool life at close range, and staff run talks and feeding sessions through the day — worth timing your visit around, as the feeds are the liveliest moments.
Where it is and visiting
You will find it a moment from the foot of Bournemouth Pier, where the Lower Gardens meet the beach. Tickets are cheaper booked online in advance than paid on the door, and last entry is an hour before closing; hours shift with the season, so check current times before you set out. There is a café and a gift shop on site, and the whole route is step-free with baby-changing facilities.
Good to know
Being entirely indoors, it is the obvious fallback on a wet or windy afternoon, and it works equally well as a short stop between the beach and the pier. Most visitors spend somewhere between one and two hours here. The gift shop makes a natural finish for younger visitors, and the two cafés let you sit out a downpour with a sea view rather than heading back into it. For other ideas close by, our attractions guide covers the seafront and beyond.
