Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium - Sarasota, Florida

Kendra E.

This Aquarium is filled with beautiful Fish. They are in the middle of remodeling their facility so it’s not completely perfect yet. But wow…. What they do have on display is very pretty. We got to pet sharks, stingrays, turtles, and watch a snake eat his lunch. The staff were very friendly and helpful, they would answer all our questions and sometimes walked with us to point out fun facts about the animals. They weren’t very busy, we went on a Wednesday. Definitely recommend

Thomas G.

Great educational aquarium with 2 separate buildings. The main building houses fish, sharks, etc, and the other building (2 minute walk) houses manatees, turtles, otters, etc. Both have tide pools where you can gently touch rays and small sharks. Expect to spend at least an hour in each. Very kid friendly. Buy tickets in advance, and go early in the day. If you go on a Sunday, don't plan to leave at 3pm as the nearby boat races finish and there is tons of traffic. Pro-tip: Walk across the street to the "salty" restaurant to grab lunch.

Catherine

My daughter's favorite place. We have been coming here for a while. The staff is great and knowledgeable. The facility is always clean and well maintained.
There's three buildings to visit. We love the walk between them. My daughter's love to follow the path (they have painted manatees and turtles on the floor as a guide).
Last time we were there, they had rescued baby turtles from the beach. It was an exceptional experience for my daughter.
Great place for kids.

Emily W.

This was our first time and the kids loved it. The staff are so friendly and informative. There are volunteers helping to teach about the exhibits and animals. The restrooms are clean, and there is ample signage. We would love to come back!

Jae C.

We had an amazing time at the aquarium! Though the $100 entry fee for 2 adults and 2 kids on a Sunday was a bit pricey, it was definitely worth it for the experience. We ended up spending an additional $80 inside, but the kids had a blast, and it was great to see them so engaged with all the exhibits. The animals were incredible, and there were so many interactive displays that kept them entertained for hours.

Parking was surprisingly easy, but I do recommend staying vigilant as drivers in the lot can be a bit reckless—make sure to hold your kids' hands while walking around! Overall, it was a fantastic day, and we're already looking forward to our next visit! Highly recommend for families, just be prepared for the costs!

Ryder O. M.

The building and facilities are very clean and the few staff members we encountered were very friendly. I was extremely impressed and awe-struck with the preserved squid in one of their exhibits. Many of the aquariums and enclosures were very impressive (especially the otter one), however, I struggled to enjoy the trip in its entirety. During my walk, I found 2 separate fish with kinked bodies, 2 others with markings on their bodies (unsure of what it could be, but it was not a pattern of the fish), 2 bloated Royal Gammas, an axolotl missing a foot, and a dead crab. I was very, very disappointed in seeing this. I can understand if some of the fish were rescues or were being treated or are living with disabilities, I’m sure it’s not easy feat caring for such a wide variety of animals, but there were no signs/plaques explaining if this is the case, so I have no way of knowing. They had some beautiful murals and a decent gift shop, but then had a couple areas of shallow water that looked like sewage and had garbage - I’m unsure what these pools were, but one had a sign for “Mosquito Fish” however there was nothing there.

To get to the second part of the building, you need to cross the parking lot, walking a tiny bit down the street and cross it. This second building is where they have their rescued turtles. It was very surreal to see them so close! The gift shop in this building was closed the day we went, but it looked decent through the windows.

A good benefit of the area is that another spot called “Save the Seabirds” shares the parking lot with them and offers free admission to see their rescued Florida birds, so don’t miss out on this spot!

Overall, I sincerely hope they do good work and contribute to wildlife welfare. All the employees seemed knowledgeable and kind, but I saw many health issues and I believe there should be some kind of communication of what is happening to alleviate concern/stress on those that visit this aquarium or more thorough/frequent checks of the animals.

Isabella L.

Visited 3/17 (St.Patricks Day) wasn’t super busy! Staff were very nice and gave lots of great information at each attraction! Definitely would recommend to anyone looking for an aquarium visit!

Travis H.

Came here after getting the recommendation from a friend back home in the Midwest. We are glad we came. It was very cool seeing the different species of sea life. Everything was very organized and traffic really flowed smoothly through the exhibits! Definitely recommend buying tickets before hand. As we needed to wait an hour until our 11am tour time