Skip to content
BusinessesGrow
Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Clearwater, FL

Photo: qwesy qwesy, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

AttractionsFamily FavoriteRainy-Day Pick

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

249 Windward Passage · Clearwater, FL

Why you should go…

This nonprofit aquarium rescues, rehabilitates and releases marine animals, and its permanent residents are ones whose injuries keep them from returning to the wild. You can watch dolphins, sharks, stingrays, sea lions and harbor seals, and look in on the manatee rehabilitation center. An exhibit tells the story of Winter, the dolphin with a prosthetic tail who inspired the film Dolphin Tale. The building began as a water treatment plant.

  • #aquarium
  • #dolphins
  • #marine rescue
  • #manatees
  • #family activity

Good to know

General attractions guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Book the time slot, not just the ticket

    Timed entry is now the norm at big-draw attractions, and online tickets are often cheaper than the gate.

  • Grab the daily schedule on arrival

    Feeding times, keeper talks, and shows run on a posted timetable that changes day to day.

  • The first hour is the quietest

    Queues build through late morning and peak after lunch, so an early start buys you the shortest waits.

  • Budget past the ticket price

    Parking, lockers, strollers, and food inside the gates are common extras worth planning for.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Clearwater Marine Aquarium, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Clearwater Beach

    Free

    Spread out on 2.5 miles of white Gulf sand, then join the nightly sunset gathering of performers at Pier 60.

    0.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor

  • Museums
    Iconic

    The Dalí Museum

    $25–$50

    See Salvador Dalí's paintings and drawings in a waterfront museum entered beside a 75-foot glass spiral.

    19 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    ZooTampa at Lowry Park

    $50+

    Meet manatees, elephants, giraffes and rhinos across a 63-acre zoo that also runs a hospital for injured manatees.

    21 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Ybor City

    Free

    Stroll 7th Avenue in Tampa's historic Latin Quarter for cigar shops, hand rollers, free-roaming chickens and the Columbia Restaurant.

    23 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    The Florida Aquarium

    $25–$50

    See a 500,000-gallon coral reef tank, loggerhead sea turtles, moon jellies, lemurs and stingrays in downtown Tampa.

    23 mi awayMore like this

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

    $50+

    Ride coasters like Iron Gwazi and SheiKra, then see giraffes and zebras on the Serengeti Plain.

    25 mi awayMore like this