Nice aquarium to visit when it’s raining! I liked the touch pool it was really fun. You could probably spend 30-1 hr here. It was around $12 per adult entry. I liked the trout feeding, it was fun to watch them get fed as you could see what was happening under the water. The otters were the best part. Super cute and kept swimming laps which was adorable.

Fun for the whole family. I suggest the yearly pass that gets you admitted to all NC Aquarium and the NC Zoo, if it is possible for you. Well worth the savings. We enjoy seeing the kids light up when seeing the animals. And they are able to learn about them too, the staff is very knowledgeable. The facilities and buildings are very clean and easily accessible for all ages. Our personal favorite is the sharks and otters. Also you are able to reach in and touch stingrays. Now that’s FUN!

Reserved tickets online through reciprocity, a very easy process! The later in the day you arrive, parking can get tricky vs first at opening. Make sure to check out the marsh outside as well as the snakes/eagle. If you have time for the nature trail, that is always an option. Note that after touching sting rays or the hermit crab habitats, they don't have soap - only water and paper towels. The entire location takes about 2 hours if you get it just right - also take note you will backtrack for bathrooms so best to use upon arrival. This is NC aquarium #2 of 3 for us. The staff do such a great job interacting with guests. Check the screen upon entering for an animal feed, activity, encounter, etc. A great stop, especially with kids!

Great day trip for the whole Family. Reserving tickets online was a breeze. Our favorite was being able to pet the sting rays. The jelly fish aquariums look just like a screensaver it's mesmerizing. The staff was very friendly. For lunch we ate at the Dairy Queen on site. The otters swimming around really showing off was pretty cute. Neat to see the sharks up close. It was a lovely experience and I would 10/10 recommend Pine Knoll Shores NC Aquarium for a small get away with Family.

We visited the aquarium this past weekend with my son and our two granddaughters. We’ve been here before with other family members over the years, and every visit has been outstanding! The facilities are well maintained, plenty of parking, and the staff are very courteous and knowledgeable about the marine life. Always educational!

Clean and well maintained aquarium. They still require time slot entry, online tickets is quick and easy once you get to the correct site. I was able to do this right in the parking before entering. There's something for the whole family here and a great back up for a rainy day. There's plenty of fish, educational exhibits, interactive exhibits including petting stingrays. There's small and huge tanks. The otters were playful and fun to watch. There's an outdoor trail, where they house turtles and snakes. I think it's worth the admission fee. There's a gift shop. As you exit there is also a Dairy Queen; I unexpectedly enjoyed an orange dreamsicle dipped soft serve ice cream.

We had our rehearsal dinner at the Aquarium on June 11th 2021. It was everything we wanted. Kerri and her team did everything they could to help us have the event we wanted. They were really easy to plan with too since I was planning this from out of town. They took care of the decorations on the tables and helped us make sure everything was laid out in a way that worked for our event. You should definitely have your next event at the aquarium not only is it really cool but also you are helping the sweet animals that are there!

We had the most amazing time! So affordable 12.00 for adult. On the smaller side and the staff were so nice. Snake feeding was sketchy buy I loved petting the Sting Ray's. It's a must see if your an Aquarium lover.

While visiting the North Carolina coast, our family recommended stopping in at the NC Aquarium at Pine Knolls. What a great Aquarium. Admission was reasonable and, though we visited on a Friday, it wasn't terribly crowded. Our granddaughter really enjoyed seeing otters, sharks, lion fish, owls, snakes, an alligator and playing on the slides out on the nature walk. I really enjoyed the visit as well. Highly recommended.

Great big sand-castle out front each summer. Really elaborate. Gift shop is BACK! Was cleaned out during pandemic, but as of 2023 it's full of all the goodies again. Some cool finds even for adults. We didn't actually go in this year, as we've done it several times in the past. We just wanted to see if the gift shop was stocked. You can enter the gift shop without paying admission. They also have a DQ available for outdoor service (not inside admission).

This is a quaint little aquarium that my family really enjoyed. It’s an afternoon worth of enjoyment especially for the little ones or anyone who wants some time to casually stroll and enjoy the company you’re with. The highlight was of course the big wall where you can watch the fish school and the shipwreck that camouflages the sharks. You can’t go in expecting the Atlanta Aquarium as this is not that type of adventure but you can get a really quaint experience. They do have an outside nature experience though it was raining when we were there. What you can see: Colorful eels Jellyfish Lionfish Sharks- I think there are 3 Snapper Black Drum Large mouth Bass Catfish A bunch of other fish 🐠 that are pretty and shiny and not so shiny.... no whales but all of the ones there make a fish face The Lowlights: the stingray experience and the young children’s experience are both closed as well as the gift shop. Don’t forget your mask and think you can buy one there as they aren’t selling anything.... not even bottled water or fish sticks.

A nice tourist attraction to visit while in emerald isle, or nearby. I like how they included common freshwater fish along with exotic, tropical fish. The nature walk was nice too. I got there right at opening and was the first one out on the boardwalks. I saw lots of wild birds, fiddler crabs, squirrels, golden orb weavers, frogs, and two deer! I was bummed the gift shop wasn't open, though.

Nice aquarium to spend some time with the family, we loved the big tank with the sharks. I recommend buying the tickets in advance but you can also buy them at the entrance. Recommended for all ages

Love this aquarium! I've been here so many times, but it remains such a beautiful, educational and entertaining place to visit. I never get tired of it. I always enjoy some of the same exhibits and every so often there are new things to see as well. The bald eagles have been a treat this year. I also love seeing my all-time favorite, the jellyfish. This is a clean facility with a wonderful staff. Great for families or individuals. There are various educational opportunities throughout the year as well as activities directed towards children. The gift shop is nice with a variety of things for everyone of all ages. Just outside the exit, there is a Dairy Queen window with all of the delicious ice cream favorites as well as some of the classics such as hot dogs, etc. It is a joy and a privilege to live so close and to be able to visit so often. I highly recommend! 💙🐠🦈

My wife, son and I have been coming for many years. It is always wonderful. We have the year pass that let's us bring one extra person for free. We go to the NC zoo with the pass for free also.

Went Monday Labor Day holiday. Fun and informative visit. Not too crowded. Bought tickets online, but I don’t think it was necessary, tickets were also sold at the door. Military discount with proper ID.

Great place for everyone. Very clean. Staff cleaning doors and glass constantly. Would be nice if they could expand with some new tanks. Don't miss outdoor bird exhibit.

What a great way to spend a day inside with those you love when the weather is blah outside. Had a great time but was slightly disappointed that some of the exhibits were closed, but it was still a great experience overall. Had to buy tickets online because of COVID rules. Still a great day!

We went here to pass some time before visiting with family that evening. This was a wonderful experience, and the aquarium is currently set up to help with social distancing. The fish are huge, and the manta rays are friendly. One was showing off and flopping on the side of the wall. They offer pictures and it's totally worth it. Gift shop is closed due to covid-19, so we will have to go back another time or order online. 100% recommend. Oh, and when can you say that you were within mere FEET of a shark!?

The perfect sized aquarium for my 5 and 1 year old. They enjoyed seeing all the different types of fish, sharks, and other sea creatures. Getting to touch stingrays and starfish was a fun experience. And the outdoor playground was a great place to run around and let out some energy. The price for all 4 of my family members was less than 1 ticket at other national aquariums, we'll definitely be back again

Wide range of sea species we have seen here, they have good exhibits out there. Also well maintained space with snanitized and cleanliness. The inside space is bigger than other acquarium around shores of NC. Kids will love it. They have big sharks in tanks and also very big fishes too. Lots of varieties of sea shells. They have food court and shopping centers to hangout. Be ready to take 3-4 hrs to watch it completely.

Awesome aquarium! When we arrived we snagged the last two spots for the behind the scenes tour ($20 per person) that was starting about an hour later. TOTALLY WORTH IT! Bayley was our tour guide and she did a fantastic job. We were able to see the inner workings of the entire place, including the baby sea turtles. This was the best aquarium experience we've had yet.

We visit 1-2 times a year. Kids are now 10 and 12, and today we still managed a full five hours here. Make sure to really take in all that they have to offer - especially the outdoor trail and the little shows they do throughout the day (which are super kid friendly and the instructors are amazing). For the first time, today we did one of the behind the scene tours. 10 out of 10 recommend. Wayne did such a great job; loved how passionate he is about all the exciting things going on at the aquarium.

This is a great day trip for everyone in the family. The aquarium is extremely accommodating and accessible, they also allow you quick entry to the facility. I recommend pre-ordering tickets so that you can just check in at the front area. There is ample parking and it is easy to find using a GPS. It took a little over an hour to get through all exhibits at a nice pace where you can savor viewing all of the aquatic and reptilian life. There's even some bonus exhibits that feature some feathered friends! There is also an outdoor area that allows you to go on a very scenic hike, and there is a spot for kids to play in a park setting playground. Everything was extremely clean and the bathrooms were easy to find as well. They also have a dairy Queen on site for a quick snack.

Great fun on the behind-the-scenes tour. We learned a bit about caring for the fish, reptiles and birds, fed the fish in the big tank, and saw the sharks get fed (sharks on Tuesdays, Fridays so plan accordingly). Highly recommended!

The children enjoyed themselves and didn’t want to leave. Another very intimate experience, they enjoyed the marine life, exploring the marsh on a scavenger hunt, the natural playground, and the sharks were the star of the show. Definitely worth a visit. Also, the staff is awesome!

Wonderful! Went early on Friday and felt like we had the place to ourselves. So many fun things to see! (Did not expect to see Santa pop up in the tank!)

We always have fun when we go. It is so much fun.

What a great place to take the family. They have all kinds of fish, snakes, otters, bald eagles, sharks. Its very clean, laid back and admission is beyond reasonable.

ALWAYS our favorite place to go when we're on the island. Very happy to have the opportunity to go back and enjoy all the exhibits and our underwater friends! Happy with the social distancing and signs allowing people to know what areas are "high touch zones" and reminders to keep your space while enjoying the animals.

The variety of sea creatures was nice, and it was cool to see the personalities of some of the fish. Many of them swam in patterns like you'd expect, largely oblivious to people, but once in awhile you'd get a fish that'd swim back and forth in front like it was excited to perform for people, which was funny. We got that on 2 or 3 different tanks. The big tank near the end with sharks was cool. The souvenir photos at the end were a nice touch. And bald eagles! Now for the unfortunate bits: they require reservations now which in itself is understandable since they need to control the number of people in the place at any time, but this wasn't listed on their website so we ended up going all the way there and waiting in a line just to be told we had to come back later. Made a reservation for 4pm (that's all they had) and came back later that day, but the place closes just after 5 so we ended up kind of rushed through the whole thing. The gift shop was closed so we couldn't even grab mementos of the trip for ourselves or family, either. Those last bits were kind of a bummer, but the experience otherwise was pretty cool.

We visit this aquarium twice a year and love it every single time we go. Aquarium staff truly care about the animals you see and make the experience fun for all ages.

Lots to see but not a crazy long trip. Perfect for littles that get tired out quick or to fit in between other adventures.

It was the perfect day to go with the kids being it was a wash out kind of rainy day. Being kids were in virtual learning, it was a great educational experience. Most hands on exhibits were closed, but we were aware before going. My son even saw a snake outside close to the eagle..he thought that was cool. A must go.

Nice facility, good exhibits. New exhibits are in process. Fish, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates on display. Short outside nature trail. Best to buy tickets in advance. There is an absolute occupancy limit due to COVID-19. We showed up on a very slow day and got in. But it's best not to take the chance and signs at the entrance tell you to get tickets in advance.

Had a wonderful time showing the Aquarium to friends from Michigan, her 3 year old son enjoyed the tanks seeing the fish, sharks, turtles etc. Even though he was too scared to touch the animals in the touch tanks I enjoyed it. Thank you to the staff at the touch tank that had the crabs, starfish, and other creatures. He was very knowledgeable and answered my questions.

Shark tank and otters are always a delight to see. Family comes here about once a year and we always enjoy it. Just the right size to enjoy without being too large.

gift shop was not open

It was AMAZING! Staff was amazing and answered all of our questions, restrooms and exhibits were well kept, and all animals were fun to see and looked very healthy. Awesome place to take the family.

I remember coming here as a kid and having a lot of fun. As an adult, we cleared the whole thing in 30 minutes. We went back through playing Pokémon Go, there are a ton of stops in there, and we barely got another 30 minutes out of it. I'm not sure if they shrank, or what, but don't go in expecting an afternoon. If you linger, if the touch pools were open, if you sat outside in the marsh, or maybe playing Pokémon, it's still barely an hour experience. One thing that really bothered me, the disabled Eagle outside was super dirty. Head had dirt all over it, and we didn't see the other one.

This is a fantastic aquarium. Aquariums will maintain, and the staff is very friendly. I think the prices are very reasonable. The exhibits are really nice, and I would certainly recommend visiting. During the week and in the off-season (September through February) is the best time to visit. It is not very crowded during this time.

My husband and I enjoyed our visit.🐢🐠🐡🐟🦈

Awesome place!! The price can't be beat

Great place. A lot of thought was put into the set up.

Great staff, Social Distance abided by and enforced. Nature Trail is huge. Really good family fun 10/10 recommend

Still as fun as I remember!

A great place to view and learn about Eastern North Carolina's coastal and salt marsh wildlife and plants

Friendly, family, fishy, and local!

Delightful and Educational

No alligators but otherwise great trip

Admittance by reservation only. Well spread out. Very knowledgeable staff. Great job. Gkids loved touch tanks

This was my grandson's first visit to the aquarium and he had a blast. We started off bringing our children there and now our grandson. Such an enjoyable experience 🙂

Great outdoor place in the wetlands. Visited during tropical storm & covid19 so a few hands on exhibits were closed. Great use ou f space. Animals were very active 11/12/20. sting glray petting pool was popular with all ages. Pair of American Bald Eagles drew lots of visitors despite the rain.

Otters are the hit of the show. Leave plenty of time to watch them swim! Enjoy. Wonderful experience. Would return again! Thank you Pine Knolls!

Not currently accepting reciprocal AZA membership duscount. Too bad my family is going to miss out on this experience because NC Aquariums can't be bothered to honor their agreement with the AZA. As far as Covid, they are checking member and military IDs, why can't they check reciprocal membership cards? No reason!!!

This place is not safe during the pandemic at all. The staff are not enforcing mask wearing at all, not that I blame them( management needs to make the ticket sales per day smaller!)It’s an aquarium with many thoughtless people who are wearing masks under their chins or not at all. Do not go, especially on the weekend. Also the trails are crowded and you’ll have to constantly put your mask back on when encountering groups. It’s a shame, the aquarium itself is very nice. I especially enjoyed the trail and the bald eagles.

Excellent place to take the family for a couple of hours. Staff super nice and they were helpful and enjoyable

Nice place for kids. Some stuff not there or available. Blame covid I guess.

It was cool 😎

Five Star 🌟 We absolutely love coming to the Aquarium everytime we visit the beach ⛱ ❤🎃

Beautiful place for family and friends. Enjoyable for all ages.

Aquarium has reopened with limited online tickets. Great to be able to return.

Small aquarium, but still clean and fun. I wish they had a reef tank. Does not take more than an hour to walk through.

The experience was amazing! Very good Covid rules in place. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The exhibits were beautiful!

Good place to kill an hour

I went today with the Covid restrictions. The first time was great and I really enjoyed it. This time it was not worth it. You had to buy the tickets online which you wouldn't know unless you went to their website first. Also, you couldnt pet the rays or horseshoe crabs this time. My partner and I were done in about 15 minutes as there were a few things sectioned off. So, if you were planning on going during this pandemic, I would wait.

What a wonderful aquarium. I love the Sea Otters, the bald eagle, the turtles, the jellyfish display and stingray display. It was so much fun playing with the puffer fish too. Clean place and such wonderful tanks.

It was very nice. Enjoyed the Otters.

Love visiting this place. Always a fun visit especially with family.

What a charming aquarium! The staff was super friendly, from ticket purchase, to taking our picture, to the touch pool demonstrations, to exiting the building - all top notch! There is a noticeable addition of care here that I don't often see in other states. I would highly recommend spending a couple of hours here!

It was very fun and enjoyed all the different species of fish! The nurse shark was very lazy and we loved it

We love to visit this aquarium!

Nice relaxing aquarium with indoor and outdoor setups. Was definitely a fan of the various shipwreck displays.

First time there and it was lovely. Kids loved seeing all the different animals.

Always a great experience. Great exhibits and very educational. Great place to take the family while on vacation.

Nice and quiet

Wonderful little aquarium! Very well maintained and informative exhibits!

My wife and I loved our visit to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. My wife's favorite exhibit were the cute and playful otters 🦦 and the friendly and cuddly stingrays. I personally enjoyed the majestic Blade Eagle rescue habitat as well as the massive ship wreckage tank that homed the likes of Sandbar Sharks, Tuna, and Sea Turtles. Very clean and fresh environment for guests that is both family friendly and educational. The staff were phenomenal and friendly. We also enjoyed the outdoor nature areas and the half mile nature walk through the swamplands.

It it has been year since we've been to the aquarium but we went with our children on grandchildren and they definitely have a lot more things to do. The aquarium was cool and so was there trail. The staff was friendly and very helpful when I accidentally left my cell at the photo county.

This is a great Aquarium! As much as my band travels we get to stop and see some fun places. This so far has been the best aquarium in North Carolina!

very nice. it's larger than I expected and, very interesting, lots of live tanks and an impressive large tank. Definitely worth the cost.

A great place to take the kids while at the beach, especially if it's raining. you do have to order tickets in advance online. some of the Hands-On exhibits are beginning to open up but not all of them.

Wonderful place to visit!

It was average as far as aquariums go. Very clean though

Great exhibits for a fair price

Great family time

Its kind of small but great experience.

We had an amazing time! We will definitely be back!

While the aquarium seems smaller than some, it has all the extras. Great staff that can answer all your questions, excellent exhibits, a classroom for fun and learning, a playground, a nature walk and a really enjoyable atmosphere. We visit here yearly, the kids always enjoy it.

Great time. Wasn't too busy during the week when we went. The outdoor trail was fun as well.

Great aquarium with a good variety of critters to look at. Great little trails outside and viewing area of the Salt marsh. The kids loved the play area and touch tank. We love visiting every time we're in the area.

Love coming to this aquarium every time I'm in town. It's a smaller aquarium, but the animals are always beautiful.

I would love to visit this aquarium not in a pandemic! The website clearly states that they have strict mask wearing rules, so we felt safe to travel an hour and a half to visit with our 9 month twins. When we arrived there were signs stating that everyone 2 years and up were to wear a mask. There were plenty of grown adults not wearing masks, and no employees were enforcing the rule. I would suggest reminding adults to wear masks, especially at a child friendly (not able to be vaccinated children) place.

Very nice place to visit with lots of nice displays inside and out. There’s a deck out back where the eagles and snakes are, along with a half mile walking trail through the woods. Also a play area outside for the kids.

This aquarium on Pine Knoll Shores is excellent. It isn't as big as some aquariums, but it's really packed with unique features. Of course there is a ton of aquatic life, but they also have owls and bald eagles. There's a giant tank inside featuring part of a shipwreck. There is an extensive boardwalk outside with viewing decks, where a lot of local wildlife can be observed. There are nature trails, too. One of our favorite things is the touch tanks. One has sting rays in it, and the other has smaller wildlife like horseshoe crabs and other small crabs in it. Great gift shop and kids play area, too.

We just had our wedding and reception at the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium and it was absolutely beautiful. Everyone at our wedding loved the venue and we did too! Kerri was an absolute delight to work with. She made everything so smooth and made this anxious bride cool as a sea cucumber :). Kerri there are not enough thank yous in the world to give you for making our day so special and beautiful. We love you!

This is a wonderful aquarium with a great variety of exhibits! It was cool to see a feeding in the shipwreck tank, and the screech owls are adorable!

You have to buy tickets in advance the day before and their military discount is no discount unless you call a dollar off a discount! The aquarium it self isn't very big for the price you pay. The best part is the huge aquarium, but the gift shop is disappointing too , they screwed up my wife's ring size she noticed when we were down the road it wasn't the right size she told the lady! Plus the gift shop didn't even offer a military discount! Very disappointing for the whole experience. Again let me know your thoughts about this place if you do end up going here.

Such a nice place to see the water creatures in NC. I also love how they advocate protecting the ecosystem and the marine life. Their gift shop is a bomb too. Staffs are kind.

We have a membership bring our kids and grandkids all the time! I don’t know how many times you visit this place you can’t help but learn something new. They have a great outdoor area with bald eagles, marsh area and a small playground the grandkids absolutely enjoy! The auto feeding time is probably our favorite! They also have a bird demonstration and show it’s awesome. If you’re in the area this is a must for all ages!

Found in Emerald Isle area, the Aquarium @ Pine Knoll Shore is a jewel in itself. The facility & exhibits are laid out nicely, allowing for a comfortable meandering and interesting viewing. It is surprising what animals & marine life are found in & along NC.

I had such a great time today at the aquarium! I got to pet stingrays! Everyone was super nice and friendly! To my surprise they had snakes, sharks and huge turtles. A wonderful place to visit!

This aquarium has interesting aquatic species to see. This place even has a good collection of scary snakes unlike the aquarium at Fort Fischer. With a nature trail to walk around and an indoor play area for kids, definitely worthy of a visit and will come back again.

We had a such a lovely time here at the aquarium. Beautiful ocean life everywhere we looked. Fun for all ages, truly. I most loved their outdoor area through the marsh where we spotted some wild birds in their natural habitat on the Bogue Sound. Definitely stellar bang for your buck here!

Absolutely amazing experience! Please go ahead and take the backstage tour, and hopefully you’ll get Dani as we did today. I can’t praise her and every other member of staff highly enough! Truly one of the best experiences we had here, and we tried a lot of things. Shoutout to Liz for such an amazing crew, such a first-rate aquarium, and for making our trip!

Adorable Aquarium to bring the family, lots of fish to see plus turtles, sharks, and jellyfish. There are also adorable little barn owls and outside there are two bald Eagles which are amazing to see up close. There's a cute gift shop and the staff are friendly. Nice way to spend the day.

I had never been to this aquarium before, and this does not disappoint! It was really cool, for one thing, how they had the building divided into different sections, such as one for eastern North Carolina and another for Western North carolina, and there were even boardwalks behind the building where you could go out and observe the inland marshes and the like

This is a nice aquarium. Well maintained and lots of great information. I believe they also have the largest tank in North Carolina. If it’s rainy you will have to get a little wet to make it across the boardwalk to the snake house, but there were only about 5 snakes out there, so it’s probably not worth it to everyone. The touch tank was awesome! We were able to scoop up different kinds of creatures and we all really enjoyed that! I recommend purchasing time tickets ahead of your visit, and going when they open if possible to avoid crowds. We arrived at 9, there was plenty of parking and it was easy to move around inside— not many people at all. By 10:15/10:30 it was absolutely packed and we were so glad we had already seen everything. An hour and a half was enough on a rainy day, but if it were nice we probably would have spent another half hour on the boardwalk and at the playground.

Took a little under two hours to walk through. Was super fun and plenty of things to look at. There is DQ out front so picked up ice cream after. Was a good day!

We enjoyed our visit. It was a little crowded but it was summer so we expected that. We do prefer Fort Fischer to this though. The otters were awesome!

Nice transition from Mountain to Piedmont to Coastal Plain to Tidal Waters and eventually Ocean Gallery. Never realized how important saltwater estuaries are to the ecology and environment. We all personally should be aware of how pollution (ie plastics) and development (destruction of local ecology) can affect the land, coast and waterways we live.

Another fantastic NC aquarium! Like Manteo, the exhibits were well-done and the facility was clean. Staff was knowledgeable and helpful, enthusiastically talking about their areas of expertise. Awesome otter exhibit and a great outdoor section, too. Busy - pre-purchase of tickets is recommended. We arrived at 0930 and when we left around noon, there was NO parking.

Amazing cute aquarium. It was small but it was just perfect enough. Took my family and I, one hour to go around the entire aquarium which is just perfect enough. Gotta say, this is a place that I definitely would come back to see some more fishes and different types of species that live in the water! I would recommend coming here on a nice day if you can!

Took our kids aged 10 and 14. We all enjoyed it more than we expected. Very well put together aquarium with great features. The outside walk is lovely and it's been built around and in respect of its environment. Staff very friendly and reasonably priced. We were there for just over an hour, but on a nice day and with younger children you could spend much longer with the playground etc.