national aquarium

A beautiful attraction, a little bit far from the city center. A lot of different sea animals! beautiful garden with view of the ocean and downtown Santo Domingo. Very cheap entry fee.

also a few years ago the first time,most I liked the blow fish who was behind a huge acuarium glass he 'followed' me for ages or better the reflection of the ring on my hand.

It´s a really well built place and they take effort to make you welcome, they pay extra attention to children / es un sitio muy bien hecho, te hacen sentori muy bien y prestan mucha atención a los niños para explicar todo.

The National Aquarium of Santo Domingo is located on a beautiful tropical park overlooking the Caribbean. It's definitely modest compared to some aquariums, but it's just right for an active preschooler. My son especially loved the sea turtles, sharks, and free roaming iguana in the park. I loved that many of the exhibits were open and accessible. The bathrooms were clean and we enjoyed a delicious papaya milkshake in the snack bar. Very affordable rates. Plan for 1.5-2.5 hours. We will definitely return on future visits.

visited end of septfirst of all if you're white the price is double then if you're dominican. i had to convince the lady that i live here for me to even be able to conivince my self i wanted to go in. secondly... if theres a higher price for tourists then the descriptions of every animal should be available in ENGLISH as well... the layout is completely open to the air and by no means well planned- lacks any directions theres just tanks of different animals scattered around. Their main attractions being either the shark tank- which is nursing sharks literally doing nothing at all; just sleeping.(we even decided to go check the tank out on our way out to see if the sharks had moved- nada) OR the large tank in the middle witha short walk through tunnel that hadnt been cleaned in maybe 5 years was very foggy and the fish quite complacent with guests - all of them huddle in a corner waiting to be fed.

I liked the setting in which the aquarium is set in. By the ocean on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea.. While touring the tanks you can smell the salt in the air and hear the surf. They have a wonderful video program to watch about the building of the aquarium and an excellent whale skeleton on display.

The ticket is almost free, 20 Dominican pesos, less than a dollar. Is a regular size, but different area. Its true is getting old, the is why they always remodeling. But the central corridor with the sharks, barracudas, and other big specimens is really amazing specially for the kids. Also the collection of horse sea, and the coral reef is amazing, with moraine. Also the sea turtle, call in Spanish Carey, now in danger of extinction. Before they have manatees not now. The front beach is amazing, and you have free iguana, unique animals from the Hispaniola, and American Cocodrile. Is true, you can find a Sea World or another American Aquarium, but you will find species they can. I hope the rise the tickets, and invest to remodeling. But is a quiete experience specially with kids or lover of the sea life.

If you have been to big aquariums worldwide, please don't go. It's an o.k. aquarium and it has decreased quality with time, mostly due to lack of investment and maintenance.

Acuario Nacional is an aquarium worth visiting if you're in Santo Domingo. Although it is relatively small, there is a lot to see here. There are ponds that you can get up close to, a large skeleton of a whale, and there is an underwater tunnel that you can walk through! The displays are informative, with lots of signs explaining the habitats and habits of the fish. Obviously the signs are in Spanish, but I seem to recall that they were in English as well.Finally, if you're done looking at all the fish, the aquarium is located next to the coast. There are a few walking trails so you can get closer to the cliffs and take in the scenery. Quite beautiful!This isn't a place you can spend all day at, but it is definitely worth checking out. It is a good place to go either as a date or with your family.

Outdoor aquarium adjacent to the ocean. Nice view/scenery of the ocean, great for sitting on the bench and enjoying the outdoors. Small aquarium that provided something to do to kill some time-nothing spectacular.

A few weeks ago I visited Santo Domingo Acuario Nacional during a mini vacation. I have to say the layout is very nice, extremely clean and spacious. The tanks holding the fish were dirty (in comparison to those I have seen in the US) but the kids that were there seemed to be enjoying themselves very much so that's most important. The lighting is a little too dim in some places making some of the exhibits difficult to see. The variety of sea life was decent but again, I'm not expert on aquariums and sea life in different parts of the world so maybe what they were exhibiting was the norm for the Caribbean. The staff were all over the premises, available to assist you if need be. I was with someone who spoke Spanish and I understand the language but I did not encounter anyone who spoke English. Though I will assume that, at such a place there are English speaking employees. One very interesting thing was the prices to enter. They charge you according to your resident status. If you are a resident of DR, you pay less. Foreigners pay $3.00 USD. For anyone who's taken their kids to the aquarium in the US, we know that 3 bucks is a steal but according to the locals, that is expensive to enter the aquarium. There is an outside, uncovered area where you are able to walk and view the gorgeous ocean (Malecon). Perfect spot for taking pics and viewing the tiny crabs that inhabit the cliff. There is a food stand outside where they sell a variety of snack foods and sandwiches. Bathrooms are beautiful, very clean, functioning and running water. All in all it was an enjoyable experience. It's no Atlantis but if you have an open mind you will also find it enjoyable.

I enjoyed my visit to the Acuario Nacional. It was about a half hour walk from my hotel, the Acuarium Suites Resort. Many types of sea and fresh water fish were on display including a couple sharks. There were also a few turtles, lobsters, shell fish, etc. It is actually rather a basic aquarium. There were also a few dinosaur skeletons. I did spend some time on the spacious grounds overlooking the sea, there were some benches where one can look out to sea and enjoy the refreshing sea breeze. There was also a play ground area for the kids. I would recommend this aquarium for people with little children. The children should enjoy themselves.

I actually found this place on day when I was jogging and needed somewhere to take shelter from an oncoming storm. The place is not very big at but is worth going to check out. They have all your traditional aquarium displays, and have an enormous prehistoric skeleton. I do not remember its pre-historic name, but it was the top predator ever in the oceans history. With its mouth open it cover about 9-10 feet in length

I went to this aquarium three times and each time I went I really liked it. I feel that the price is wonderful and it is great for children and families. Just be careful because there are big iguanas on the grounds.

On a recent missions trip we took a group of kids from a very poor barrios to the aquarium. Each group gets led through the aquarium by a tour guide. Our guide was fun and informative. But even without the guide the kids were mesmerized by all the fish on display. They especially liked seeing the diver in the huge tank. They even enjoyed the relatively simple Hermit Crab display. Not all the fish are in tanks and the kids liked getting close to the fish in the stream-like display. After touring the inside of the aquarium we let the kids enjoy the playground area. There are gorgeous ocean views from this location for all to enjoy. For the kids (and their chaperones) it was fun, Fun, FUN!