Dubai Aquarium & underwater Zoo

The Dubai Aquarium is the largest suspended aquarium in the world—hosting thousands of species dwelling in the sea, found nowhere else in the world. It is also one of the most popular attractions in the UAE for children.

Featuring the largest viewing panel, and one of the biggest tanks in the world, you get to view the incredible underwater domain comprising thousands of creatures of the deep. The aquarium and zoo is home to more than thirty thousand sea species, offering an exciting, educational day out for children and adults alike. The main aquarium tank measures 51 m in length, 20 m in depth and 11 m in height. The Guinness World Records-winning acrylic panel in front of the tank offers free viewing for public from all three levels of the Dubai Mall. The 48 m walk-through tunnel offers 270-degree views from 11 m below the surface of the tank. In addition, the aquarium has the largest collection of sand tiger sharks in the world. Highlights include watching shark dive, riding on a glass bottom boat and a night safari at the underwater zoo. You get to watch divers feed sharks and rays during the day, and meet an aquarium educator who can share animals’ underwater secrets with you.

The Underwater Zoo is located on level two, above the aquarium tank, and features amazing creatures that inhabit both rivers and oceans. The zoo leads you through three ecological zones—Rainforest, Living Ocean and Rocky Shore. Some noteworthy aquatic creatures here are piranha, otters, caiman crocodiles, Humboldt penguins, giant spider crabs, lionfish, garden eels, seahorses, water rats, arapaima, archerfish, nautilus, cichlids and amazing aquatic animals in 40 individual aquatic displays.

You may also get to catch a behind-the-scene glimpse at Aquarium Life, where you can see staff prepare fish food, divers getting ready to take the plunge and some customers daring to opt for ‘shark dive’. At Underwater Zoo, you can ride the glass-bottom boats, reach out and touch Rock Pool inhabitants, and catch behind-the-scene glimpse at the Aquarium Viewing Panel. The glass boat ride ticket may have to be purchased at an additional cost to the entry ticket for Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. Rides depart every 10 to 20 minutes, with a capacity to accommodate 10 people in a boat.

Taking a walk through ‘Rainforest’ at the Underwater Zoo is like walking along the banks of a pristine riverbed, surrounded by most incredible freshwater animals. The dangerous piranha, playful otters, giant catfish, and water rats are some of the animals you get to meet at the Rainforest. The ‘Rocky Shore’ in the zoo, feels like the land meets the sea here. It is a rugged, harsh environment, with some tough animals like Humboldt penguins, and giant spider crabs. You can even reach out and touch some of the rock pool inhabitants, if you like.

Slithering reptiles, creeping arthropods, colourful chameleons, blood-squirting lizards, more than 30 species of snakes, geckos, insects, lizards, iguanas, amphibians, scorpions, spiders, tarantulas, millipedes, mantes, beetles and Madagascar hissing cockroach can be seen here. Besides, Iguana Enclosure, Burmese Python Enclosure, Tree Snake Enclosure with Oriental Whip Snake and Red Tail Racer Snake, are some of the other highlights of the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.

To become a PADI certified diver, you could sign up for a 2-day scuba diver course for beginners here, and earn an internationally recognised PADI certification for life. For entry into the Aquarium Tunnel, an entry fee of DH25 for adult and DH20 for a child is charged. The admission for Aquarium Tunnel and Underwater Zoo is DH50. Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo remains open between 10am and 10pm on Sunday to Wednesday, and between 10am and 12am on Thursday to Saturday.