Blue Planet Aquarium

So this was a reserve choice as my my little Bro (who actually towers 4 inches taller than me) and my little lad aka the ‘Shadow’ had planned on visiting the new Chester Zoo after they have spent a substantial euromillions win on it. However the torrential rain, 2 months in a day FFS, meant we needed an indoor activity.
Well book in advance as it’s slightly cheaper saying that with car parking and entrance for 3 of us there was little change from a £50 note.
It’s quite impressive in size. There are games when you first walk in and an underwater camera you can direct round also there are some educational computers and a good sized gift shop. Take your cards kids that can skint you! Also quite clever to visit the outdoor play area, which we couldn’t play on as wet is very dangerous and the Otters, who even stayed away due to the rain, you need to walk through the gift shop. Hmmmmm
Anyway you start the tour in all the caves. Seeing the fish and frogs and other alike sea life. Then you head downstairs to the crocodile pen and the open tank area. We were lucky we got there at feeding time. Was fun to get splashed and listen to the tour guide.
We then headed the the shark enclosure. There is a huge window area with seats like a lecture theatre to see the wonders under water. Then jump on a conveyer belt that takes you under the tanks. sting rays and sharks swam above and next to us. Was very impressive but over in about 5 minutes so I suggest 2 or 3 goes round and as there are no queues and it’s fun for the kids.
You then enter the spider enclosure and there are some interactive educational bits for the kids. Once you go back through the fish bit you’re done and end up downstairs in the cafeteria. Typical American style burgers and chips with plastic seating areas to watch the Sharks while you eat. Again that costs a fortune. We didn’t eat there an opted to eat 1 minute away at Cheshire oaks. There is everything you need there from Nandos to KFC. Burger King to Frankie and Bennies. Bella Italia to Zouk. Need I go on???
All in all you are done in an hour so take your time is not a all day event so if you looking for value for money maybe think on. We enjoyed it though and would go back.

Dirty and in need of attention, disappointed as it is quite expensive to visit. If it was a lot cheaper and had a bit of a clean up we would go more often.

Great day out for kids and adults. I love the glass tunnel and the guys who are in the tank feeding the rays are funny. Food is expensive so I’d recommend taking a picnic

Family visit (6 of us) today with age range of ‘nearly 2′ to 88 (in wheel chair). even the little ‘un was fascinated by the fish and exhibits, and it was also interesting to mother in law. So theres something for everyone.
The exhibits are very well done.
But its grossly overpriced. It cost us £68 (and we had some discount vouchers). We got round the main part in about and an hour and a quarter, without hurrying, and including watching the otters being fed outside. Café and junky gift shop were very expensive, and then they have the temerity to charge you £2.50 for the Car Park. If you go over 2 hrs its another £1. Our parking ticket showed we entered at 1.41, it was actually abou 10 mins later. If the clock in the pay machine had th coreect time, that means you only get 1hr 50 for your £2, seems like a fiddle to me.
I guess I would recommend to go once, but its not the sort of place you would return to with any sort of regularity, maybe 1 in 5 yrs or so.

Whilst there are some really interesting animal exhibits, and they introduced a ‘new’ venom section. The Blue Planet does suffer in comparison with Chester Zoo in my opinion. It is also a bit on the pricey side, although the parking available is fine.

Well after spending four hours walking around the huge fish tank.
I must say I was pretty happy very relaxing just watching all those fish swimming around (understand why people have fish as pet, s now). Plenty to see and do stroking the Rays was strange and watch how you handle the crabs as they will and can nip (ouch). Overall a good day out still a little overpriced. Top tip get there early to avoid the crowds.

We come to Blue Planet every year because is a sure winner when the weather is bad. I can not fault the fantastic displays and range of fish and other sea creatures.
For us the most fascinating part is the walk through glass tunnel. All of the family love this section especially the children.
There is a talk that you can stay to watch but with young children most of it would be falling on deaf ears.
At the end there is a café which is extremely over priced but the food was good. There is also a section for children to draw and then display their own shark pictures.
You can also now purchase a family photograph which will be taken on arrival and can be viewed when you have finished. The photograph was great but on hearing the price (£10)I changed my mind and decided it wasn’t that good.
The gift shop is obviously very overpriced but there is a good childrens play area. Unfortuantely because of the rain and the wooden surface, children were slipping all over the place.
All in all it’s a good family day out, but just a little too expensive.

Too expensive but still a great place to visit depending on the time of year. The prices should be reviewed by management and they should realise that many people travel from far places to visit this aquarium. We travelled from Manchester and had to get there by train, coach and bus so it isn’t a straight-​forward or inexpensive outing. Very dark inside too and the throngs of people is a bit too much if you visit on a busy day.

We visited in May 2007 and thought it expensive at £10.50 each. Now I see it’s £14.50 each, an increase in two years of 38%!

An excellent attraction for a few hours, but the expense, coupled with the very defined pathways means you sometimes find yourself finishing before you even got near to getting value for money.
Most of the staff are very knowledgable, although we did come across a few who appeared to only be there for money. I even overheard one girl saying she hated these sodding things… not exactly what you want to hear after the amount of money you’ve spent.
We dont have any children, and luckily went on schoolday when they’re werent too many around, as i feel you may find yourself being charged past by groups of kids as its not exactly spacious.
I did really lke the huge shark tank though, and we spent quite some time here watching the fish.
The shop is even more expensive than we expected so we went away with only the ticket stub as a souvenir of our day.

This is a beautiful place to visit and come face to face with all kinds of fascinating fish life, but the trip around is quite short, filling a couple of hours at the most. The admission prices for a family are very expensive and for that kind of money I expect to be able to spend the full day and more. I know the money goes to the upkeep of the fish, but if it were cheaper they might get more people visiting more often.

This is a fantastic place for a family day out — I really can’t recommend it highly enough! We’ve been to aquariums before, but they weren’t a patch on this place, it’s really so much more than just an aquarium.
Firstly, it’s set in its own grounds, with a private car park. It’s actually just round the corner from Cheshire Oaks designer outlet, so that’s handy if you fancy a bit of shopping afterwards!
As you enter, they have a massive wooden replica of a pre-​historic shark’s jaw, which is great for having your photo taken next to! Then you start the tour — you follow a path through corridors with loads of glass panels on either side, with all kinds of fish, reptiles, insects etc. It’s fascinating, and you can enjoy the educational aspect, safe in the knowledge that there’s a glass panel between you and the creepy crawlies! That said, we did have a fright as one panel appeared to have an escaped spider, but it turned out it was safely behind the glass, it just looked as if it was free!
The highlight is the manta ray tank. They actually encourage visitors to tickle the water with their fingers to attract the rays, and then stroke their backs. The children absolutely loved this and we couldn’t drag them away for ages!
Next stop is a massive aquarium with a full length perspex viewing panel. They have a seating area and give talks from here several times a day as divers actually go into the aquarium and feed the fish. It’s really fascinating and brilliant to watch.
At the end of the route you arrive at the café, which is large and usually crowded. It’s not a particularly pleasant or sophisticated café, but it does the job, I suppose.
Of course, there’s the obligatory gift shop, which sells all kinds of over-​priced novelties, cuddly toys, gifts etc. And outside they have a little enclosure with otters, which are incredibly cute — unless you happen to go at feeding time, in which case it’s pretty gross watching them eat mice!
There’s also a play area for younger children.
All in all, I’d say this is a fantastic place for a family trip and you could quite easily spend the best part of a day here.

A nifty place to visit with the family, a little pricey but well worth it for the array of sea life that is on show.
I went with a friends who took his kids because i had never and i impressed especially with the staff who were always about to answer the questions that the kids may have or to show smaller life like starfish and turtles.
Also has a play area outside for kiddies to give adults a rest from the day and the gift shop.
There is parking, that if its weekend you could be doing a 5 minute walk from the other end of the car park to the doors.

Like fish? You’ll love The Blue Planet. Its small but crammed full of fabulous exhibits. The big tanks all start at floor level and are perfect for toddlers. There are lots of hands on interactive exhibits including a tankful of strokable ray fish. Theres an enormous cinemas screen sized tank full of sharks with an hourly talk at which children (and adults) are encouraged to ask questions. The moving walkway through the main tank enables you to experince being under the sea without getting wet.
Food is expensive, theres no indor picnic area and the outdoor area is tiny but it is home to a family of otters and theres a great outdoor play area for the children.

My kiddies love it here, we have been twice this year. one thing i dont like is the priceits a bit expensive to look at fish :(… as other have said it is fairly small and you do find yourself saying is this it when you get to the end but still it is good
Theres also a gift shop and make sure you visit the otters at feeding time there great.
It is also close to some big shopping centres so you can make a day out of it and have lunch ans shopping at chester oaks while you are out there.

Quite a small aquarium compared with some that you find today,

Very good place to go with young children. There is a hands on area which is very good and the diving with Sharks (staff do the diving. not you… actually you can sign up on website for a chance too!!). Kids will love it, especially the tunnel that goes under the Shark tank. You can see them swimming above and around you. Food inside is a tad expensive, but places like this tend to be, and admission charges are expensive. Try not to rush around though or you will be out in an hour, which isn’t value for money in my book. Overall, a good day out! and it is close enough to Cheshire Oaks, for shopping, food, bowling or cinema, so why not combine the two.

The Blue Planet Aquarium is one the few places where my kids actually remain in opened mouthed awe for most of the day! One thing I found strange. After looking around all of the beautiful species on offer and hearing about the plight of the sea. The café sells deep fried processed fish to kids. Apart from that it is a great day-​out

a lovely aquarium with lots to see for all the family, well signposted & next to cheshire oaks designer outlet village if you want to shop afterwards.

Fun day out, interesting looking at all the different types of fish .you can also book courses to swim with sharks etc. free parking which is handy, reataraunts and gift shops, Children will get excited.