Aquarium of the Bay: Entry Ticket

If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to visit the Aquarium of the Bay. Located at Pier 39, this aquarium has 20,000 local sea creatures ready for seeing and even touching. With a 300-foot underwater tunnel, nature talks, and thousands of sea creatures, this is an amazing - and interactive - way to get to know the waters that surround this city.

Step into the underwater world of San Francisco Bay. The actual water of the bay is renowned for being freezing cold and having treacherous currents (part of what made Alcatraz such a formidable prison). But thankfully, the Aquarium of the Bay lets us see thousands of fish, sharks, mammals and more, without needing to get wet.

The aquarium is divided into three main habitat areas. Discover The Bay showcases the local ecosystems, and counts the bright orange Garibaldi damselfish as a resident. Under the Bay is the biggest area, with 300 feet (91 m) of tunnels and over 20,000 marine animals. At the Touch the Bay area kids of all ages can get their hands and little fingers on live animals, including sea stars, rays, skates - and even sharks (!).

With naturalist talks and feedings, hands-on experiments and more, a visit under the sea at the Aquarium of the Bay is a great activity for curious minds (and anyone who wants to brag about having touched a live shark!).