About Us

The Oceanarium Bournemouth is a tropical aquarium, situated on Bournemouth’s golden mile coast. The aquarium is in a prime location for the 4 million tourists passing each year. 

Home to thousands of creatures, the Oceanarium is perfect for all the family. Not only do we have several displays inside, we have an outdoor terrace and penguin viewing area, making it the perfect place to visit all year round, whatever the weather.

Visitors can dive into a magical underwater journey discovering creatures above and below the waves. Submerge yourself in our underwater tunnel, home to stunning sharks, Carrie the loggerhead turtle and many more. Get up close to a cunning croc, mischievous otters, mesmerizing jellyfish, colourful clownfish and not forgetting our playful colony of Humboldt penguins! With daily talks and feeding experiences available, the Oceanarium has something for everyone.

The Oceanarium has proudly partnered with multiple conservation programmes over the years. Conservation of endangered species is becoming increasingly important as a result of the world’s growing human population putting pressure on the habitats where animals live.

The Oceanarium Bournemouth has three sister parks in the UK. Blackpool Zoo, Nickelodeon Adventure Lakeside, and Lakes Aquarium.

The Oceanarium opened its doors for the very first time on Friday 4^th September 1998, and was purchased by Parques Reunidos in 2007.

Over the years, Oceanarium has partnered with many Conservation programmes. The first being the marine conservation society in 2002, helping tackle the levels of litter around the coastline. In 2010, the Oceanarium along with all of Parques Reunidos sites chose to raise money to help the most endangered marine mammal left on the planet. The Monk Seal. In years to follow the aquarium partnered with Biaza the keepers of the wild campaign in 2012, and EAZA the Southeast Asia campaign in 2013. Its latest conservation programme is supporting PSJ – a conservation organisation aiming to save important populations of emblematic seabirds of the Humboldt current, such as Humboldt penguins, Guanay Cormorants, Inca Terns, Peruvian Boobies and Peruvian Pelicans. They are classed as ‘vulnerable’ with the wildlife population declining due to many threats such as habitat loss, climate change and hunting.

With a 1.5million pound expansion in 2015, the aquariums perception changed from a wet weather, to an all-weather attraction. The extension welcomed the arrival of 10 penguins as part of the new outdoor Penguin Beach area. Additionally, to Penguin Beach, the aquarium welcomed an outdoor terrace, a jellyfish exhibit, two catering kiosks and a play area to encourage visitors to stay longer.

Four years later saw our latest investment, a 200K exhibit ‘Shark Wreck Reef’ which opened in Summer 2019. The exhibit incorporated a shipwreck theme and is home to several endangered and vulnerable aquatic species including Carrie, our Loggerhead turtle. An extensive three-month renovation project resulted in a beautiful new display with lifelike corals, harbour themed walls and an underwater shipwreck. The exhibit also gained a new glass viewing area for visitors to get even closer and larger feeding platforms for animal feeding experiences.