Phuket Aquarium

I never seem to tire of Phuket Aquarium even after (about) 15 visits over the years, maybe more. We went the first time in 2001 when my daughter was a few months old and loved her reactions to the fish. We took her again a few months later and noticed how, as an older baby she paid more attention to the marine life. As she got older, different things fascinated her, and once she could start asking questions, well then Dad the Diver could start explaining all kinds of interesting fishy facts! It's been the same with our son who is now 4 years old. They always have new questions and it's always fun to visit the aquarium with them.





We visited again last weekend on another sunny low season day. Phuket Aquarium is located at the end of Cape Panwa, to the SE of Phuket Town. I like the area a lot, one of our favourite restaurants is in the Panwa area, and there's some lovely scenery, particularly if you turn off the main road down to the aquarium and take the smaller road along the west side of the cape with views across Chalong Bay. On the way you also pass the turn off to Khao Kad viewpoint.

The entry fee is not high, just 100 Baht for adults, 50 Baht for kids.. and yes it's a bit cheaper for "us locals", but not a rip off anyway. It's not a huge aquarium, but has expanded little by little over the years and there are plans for more. In the first room by the entrance are many small tanks, all kind of fish.



You then follow the passageway, with many different tanks and displays on your right. We found an Arapaima, which originates from South America and is one of the biggest freshwater fish in the world. Kids were fascinated by this one!



There's all kinds of species from moray eels to lionfish to angelfish, batfish, lobsters, scorpionfish.. most are found in Thailand. Also some oddities like electric eels. These are all in the smaller tanks. Also around the walls are educational displays about marine life and environmental awareness.





The walkthrough tunnel was not there when we first visited, it only opened in 2005. Not a huge tunnel to be sure, but still, there are some little sharks in there, eagle rays, jacks and more. Always a hit with the kids!



And my son has always liked the other big tank that contains several huge groupers, big enough to eat a 4 year old boy. I liked seeing a small tank containing several seahorses. I love seahorses. Beautiful little things.





When you exit the indoor section of Phuket aquarium, you'll find a little snack and drink shop and a souvenir shop - some of the items are tacky, some are pretty nice. The kids got some fish pens and stickers and we got a present for my wife and her sister too as they couldn't join us at the aquarium this time. I think she liked her turtle shaped ashtray!

You'll see some steps near the shop heading to a nature trail. There are lots of signs explaining plant names and with environmental information. There is now a hatchery too, but we found it's open only on weekdays. Further on you pass a little boat that the kids always stop to play on, then a long jetty which leads out to several boats including a research vessel. The aquarium is more than just a show, there is also a marine biological center here with an endangered species unit.. and my favourite part - the turtles! Here at the aquarium turtles are reared and also injured turtles are looked after. We saw a couple of big turtles with bits of flipper missing or chunks missing from their shells, no doubt as a result of contact with a boat.







We'll be back again. I want to see the hatchery, oh, and want to see the feeding show, meant to be 11am every Saturday or Sunday. Guess we lazy souls arrived too late last weekend. After the aquarium, we went for lunch at a little roadside restaurant with great views across Chalong.

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