This past week we took a drive out to Atlantis Marine World Aquarium in Riverhead, NY. My entire family loves the ocean and all ocean related things. We are just crazy about marine life in general. We are a family obsessed with Shark Week and I knew the kids would lose their minds if we could show them real….live….sharks!
We decided to take advantage of my husband’s vacation time and visit Atlantis during the week on a Wednesday. There were definitely more people there than I had hoped for and I was nervous the kids wouldn’t get to see much. I was pleasantly surprised! The aquarium is quite impressive, both with indoor and outdoor exhibits. It is so expansive that we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.
When we first entered Atlantis the kids were instantly mesmerized walking over the wooden bridge at Sand Shark Lagoon. They couldn’t believe they were seeing sand sharks, bass, sea robins, dogfish and skate swimming beneath their little feet. Standing on that bridge could have been the entire aquarium for them and they would have left happy!
When we finally coaxed them away from Sand Shark Lagoon we made our way over to the Best Buddies – Clownfish & Anemone tank. The kids were so excited to see “Nemo”! To me this is one of the most amazing tanks to look at. The sea anemones flutter in the current while the clownfish protect the anemone from the harmful butterflyfish.
We then raced past the Piranha tank, Ava was not a fan. Nor was she too thrilled with the Lost City of Atlantis Shark Exhibit. Between the massive sand tiger sharks, the creepy moray eels, and the enormous grouper she was ready to run screaming through that dark tunnel of scary stuff.
When I finally got her to open her eyes she was more than interested to see her little brother pressed against the glass like a starfish. He was so excited he just started shouting out everything he saw. Shark! Turtle! Fish! She immediately joined him as the sea life swam by.
We decided to make our way outside once we explained to Tommy that he couldn’t live inside the Lost City for the rest of his life. Outside we visited the Penguin Pavilion, Otter Falls, Ray Bay and the Alligators!
I knew our little guys were about to explode from all of the excitement, so we sat them down for some ice cream and began planning our next trip back!
More fun things to do at Atlantis:
Go on a Shark Dive
Snorkel with the Rays
Get your feet wet in a Salt Marsh
Climb a Rock Wall
Take a tour of the Peconic river and Flanders Bay.
Hours of Operation:
Open year-round (closed December 25)
10:00am – 5:00pm
General Admission:
Children 3-17: $18.50 plus tax
Adults 18-61: $21.50 plus tax
Seniors 62+: $18.50 plus tax
Children 2 & Under: Free
Green Key Cardholders: 10% Off General Admission (with card)
Location:
Atlantis Marine World
431 East Main Street
Riverhead, NY 11901
P: 631.208.9200
F: 631.208.0466
I will have to look into the annual pass Alana! The kids always ask to go. Great idea to have a little picnic lunch by the river!
This is a fantastic review! Our family loves this acquarium so much we bought an annual pass. We like to bring our lunch and eat down by the Peconic River before going in because its such a beautiful view.