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Combine Aquarium of the Bay with other San Francisco favorites. Some things are better together.
Use your Aquarium of the Bay tickets at the entrance and take as long as you like inside. But if you don't have long for your aquatic adventures, it will take you roughly an hour and a half (90 minutes) to make your way around the entire aquarium.
The best time to visit Aquarium of the Bay is first thing in the morning. This usually means you'll miss the crowds and enjoy some quiet time for yourself with the marine life. You might encounter some school groups at this time, but if you use your Aquarium of the Bay tickets before them, you'll get a head start.
As the weekends can get pretty crowded, try planning your visit on Monday through Thursday. You'll also find less people visiting between January and April, which is San Francisco's low season for tourism.
Your Aquarium of the Bay tickets open up a new watery wonderland at every turn. But one of the best things to do is the new Touch the Bay exhibit– included in your general admission. The magic of San Francisco Bay is literally at your fingertips with two touch-pools housing sharks, rays, skates, sea stars and anemones.
Elsewhere, take a walk through a 300-foot acrylic tunnel with amazing sea life swimming all around you. Watch the otters playing in their habitat and frolicking in their own waterfall. Press your nose to glass tanks full of ethereal moon jellyfish, watch the pros handing the stingrays and don't miss the huge pacific octopus, famous for having nine brains and three hearts!
Unfortunately, your Aquarium of the Bay tickets don't include a magical parking spot. Hourly rates are based on the day, but range from around $10 to $12 per hour with a maximum daily rate of $60.
Save money on parking by grabbing something to eat on Pier 39 and asking for a parking validation ticket from your restaurant. Don't forget to ask them to validate your ticket before you leave. This will get you one free hour of parking at the Pier 39 parking garage across the street. It's the closest place to park.
Bring your toddlers! They will love the Aquarium of the Bay, especially the awesome tunnels where they can experience all kinds of mesmerizing fish swimming around them. Strollers are allowed too.
Wheelchairs are permitted, and there's plenty of room to maneuver. To get to the main entrance, you'll need to take an elevator to the second floor. There's also an elevator from the upper floor to the bottom level.
Unfortunately, no food from outside is allowed in the Aquarium. Closed-lid drinks are the exception.
As for dogs, only service animals are allowed in the Aquarium. All other animals will have to stay at home.
Why not use your Aquarium of the Bay tickets to watch some cool animals eating their lunch? Below are the times where the animals are usually fed by their keepers. We've also listed some fun talks by the professionals. Please note that due to restrictions, they may change or even be canceled at short notice. It's always best to call ahead.
Squid Dissection: 1 p.m. Shark Talk: 2:15 p.m. Tunnel Feeding: 3 p.m. on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday only Bat Ray Feeding: 4:30 p.m. daily Sevengill Shark Feeding: 11:15 a.m. on Saturday Octopus Talk: 12:15 p.m. River Otter Feeding: 1 p.m. Tidepool Talk: 3:30 p.m.
Aquarium of the Bay is located at San Francisco's popular PIER 39. Its focus, as the name suggests, is local aquatic animals from the San Francisco Bay (and nearby waterways). There are three main exhibit areas, each with a specific point of focus. The most thrilling is the underwater tunnel, though the touch pools and naturalist talks also help make this an exciting and interactive way to get to know the bay.
