Oregon Coast Aquarium

2820 SE Ferry Slip Rd, Newport, OR 97365, USA

Address:	2820 SE Ferry Slip Rd, Newport, OR 97365, USA
Phone:	+1 541-867-3474
Site:	aquarium.org
Rating:	4.2
Working:	10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 8

Kimball High

I have been to aquarium is in Monterey CA (best one Ive seen yet), Chicago, IL, New Orleans, LA, Baltimore, MD and Sandy, UT. This one compares more closely with the one in Utah. The aquarium was a little smaller that I expected but there are still many positives. Their facility is spacious. There is plenty of room to roam about. Their Deep Passages of the Sea were the highlight with almost 360 views of the tank as you walk through three tunnels. The otter feeding is also a must see. The aquarium was informative for our kids or 4 & 2. They have a good mix of animals from giant crabs, sharks, otter, anchovies, kelp, sea lions & seals and an aviary. I expected more but with what is available here they could improve by having interactive areas where you can touch & feel sea life. Also it would be nice for the staff to have a microphone during feedings so they can tell you what they are doing, what food they like etc... At minimum the staff who are outside the enclosures should be interacting with guests. Also, there is a new exhibit on swampland. Why would you have a mangrove swampland exhibit when there isnt one for a thousand miles around. The special exhibit could be more localized. If you go, make sure you get the coupon in the Coast Guide (visitors bureau).

A Private User

Very Expensive for the limited things to see. The design and layout makes it very difficult to see what is there and even more difficult to find your way around. There are several windows that allow viewing into the otter and sea lion tanks but they are very small and with the crowds, very difficult to get to. Very few animals to see. We made it just in time to see the otter feeding but with all of the people crowding around my children were unable to get close enough to see anything and the feeding is really very short. They had octopus feeding available for an additional $40 after you already spent a pile of cash to get in, this really left a bad taste in my mouth. The highlight was the tunnels that allow excellent views of the tanks but again with all of the people you are forced to keep moving without being able to really spend the time to look and surprise surprise the tunnels lead you directly into the gift shop. Overall, not worth the money. You are better off buying a crabing license and spending the time on the beach.

Patrick Dehler

I saw the reviews and was hesitant to go for the price. That said, I think a few reviews are pretty harsh. There are zero sea bass. Why would there be sea bass in an aquarium? I enjoyed the aquarium but found it to be overpriced. My biggest frustration was that a giant pacific octopus was advertized greatly. Advertisements could be seen all over oregon between newport and portland. I was looking forward to this, but when I turned the corner, it said that the octopus exhibit was closed. I saw a review here that mentioned a similar experience with the otters being nonexistant and closed. (the otters were there when I visited) My point is this, it seems like bad business to advertise certain exhibits or sea creatures on display and then not communicate this to ticket-buyers. You could pay the $23 admission hoping to see what is advertised and not find out until youve already paid that this animal cant be seen. Not worth driving more than 2 hours to see.

Alicianna Massey

My boyfriend and I went here while we were on vacation in Newport and we loved it. It was really cool to be able to walk through the under water tunnel to see the sharks swimming around. They had an underwater woman in scuba diving gear giving info on scuba diving and the different fish around her. We were able to hear her threw some sort of underwater microphone. Also we were able to see different views of the sea otters and sea lions. There was a turkey vulture show going on when we got there, and when you first enter you get your photo taken and they are pricy. It was definitely worth it and the pictures come in two different sizes. The lunch in the cafe was delicious and the people working were very polite. It was my boyfriends birthday and we discovered that his admission was free so that topped the cherry on the trip. I recommend checking this place out, and taking your time to enjoy the different things they have going on and on the walls!!

Scott Hacken

I live in the Newport Oregon area and finally made it to the aquarium today after living here for 4 years and wanting to visit the aquarium very much. The admission was $22 and I was really expecting something special. Unfortunately I was very disappointed with my experience at the aquarium. I was expecting to see so many different types of ocean creatures but what I found were displays that were meant for children and not adult. My recommendation is save your money and do not go unless you have small children and then you may be happy with the experience. The grounds themselves are very nice and well kept but dont expect to see many types of larger fish because most all the fish are small. Needless to say I was very disappointed.

Brice Shultz

At first I found this aquarium quite small, but as I started exploring the whole of the ocean opened up before me! We were able to see many different feedings (the sea otters and sea lions were highlights) and with some patience was able to see the giant octopus (when it wasnt superiorly hiding). There are some great views along the nature trail as well (after the awesome glass tunnels). There were a lot of people there when we went (Sunday afternoon during summer), and it seemed that they spread out decent enough to be able to enjoy it without getting bumped around. My favorite from the visit was playing "find the wolf eel" in several of the tanks (there is a whole family dispersed among several tanks, for safety reasons).

Midnight Mist

Great aquarium and very good representation of the importance of caring for our oceans. I see a couple complaints on here about not having a "touch pond" where kids can just freely poke sea creatures or whatever. I happen to love the fact that this place does not have anything like that, I think its smart to provide a clean and sanitary environment for everyone and I think its more respectful to nature. My Only complaint is that the gift shop had some pretty pricey items, specifically some of the wooden-like jewelry boxes that had chips or scratches in them were still priced very high. The decorative pictures on the top of them didnt even look like they would last, some already faded in color.

Gerald Holt

Good visit though it will take less than two hours to see all of it. The sea lion and sea otter exhibit is very well done with a walking path that provides many views of the tank above and below the water line. We found several of the small tanks great for seeing specific sea creatures like wolf eel and crabs. The walk through shark tan was great and fantastic to see so many rescued animals some with some clearly visible wounds. The kids area off to the side of the shark tank is very well staffed and engaging activities for kids including a fun shark suit. We were there on a Tuesday afternoon and there was no crowd which was refreshing. Do not know how crowded it will be at peak times.