Aquarium of the Bay San Francisco

Purchase Aquarium of the Bay discount tickets starting at $21.60! Save up to 10%.

The Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, California, is the place to go if you want to see and learn about marine life. Hundreds of gallons of water are contained in tanks that visitors can walk by as they view a wide variety of marine life. Over 20,000 marine animals, including otters, sharks, sea stars, fish, rays, octopuses and jellyfish, call the aquarium home. Did you know that jellyfish are made up of water and contain no functioning organs? How about the fact that anchovies' lateral lines serve as sensory organs? Use your discount FunEx Aquarium of the Bay tickets to see all these amazing marine animals in person and learn facts!

NOW OPEN! At Full Capacity

Your aquarium experience has been made more remarkable and accessible as the Aquarium is working at full capacity! Bring your family, friends, and loved ones on this fantastic trip to meet San Francisco's underwater creatures! Book your discounted tickets for the Aquarium of the Bay San Francisco today through FunEx and enjoy huge discounts of up to 32% off!

Aquarium of the Bay San Francisco

Learn about the fascinating aquatic creatures that call Northern California home at the Aquarium of the Bay. With over 20,000 marine animals, the Aquarium of the Bay at PIER 39 is a great place to visit with friends and family. Find many amazing animals, from sleek sharks and rays to secretive octopuses and hypnotic jellyfish. You will also get to see some sparkling anchovies and frolicking river otters.

The diverse animal collection can be found in many different types of habitats, such as transparent touch pools or walk-through tunnel exhibits. Nature lovers will enjoy this educational opportunity and will be able to understand the most pressing environmental issues of our time, such as global warming, ocean plastic pollution, and habitat loss.

The Aquarium of the Bay offers something exciting and fun for guests of all ages. They welcome participation in any aspect of their work, whether you're curious about their virtual science lessons on conservation and marine life, volunteer opportunities, or the ExoXpeditions program for adventurous travelers. Visiting the aquarium is one of the most exciting and affordable things to do in San Francisco!

What to Expect at the Aquarium of the Bay?

Explore inside the Aquarium by dropping by any of the exhibits and galleries mentioned below with your Aquarium of the Bay tickets from FunEx.

Discover the Bay

This gallery introduces San Francisco Bay's ecosystem and shows seven animal habitats.

Highlights:

• Beauties of the Bay include the orange Garibaldi (the California State Marine Fish), green Moray Eels, and multicolored rockfish.
• Anchovies swirling. Anchovies' lateral lines are sensory organs. This helps animals stick together and avoid predators by sensing the school's movement.
• Bay babies explore underwater newborns, from Skates to perch.

Go With The Flow

Go With The Flow has mesmerizing jellies. Ambient lighting highlights these hypnotic invertebrates. A 725-gallon tank displays Moon Jellies, and a 740-gallon tank displays Pacific Sea Nettles. Did you know that there are over 200 species of Jellies? Jellies are 95% water and have no organs. Their bodies pulse, but currents control their movement. As water temperatures rise, jellyfish populations and ranges grow. This exhibit explains the jellyfish population boom.

Under the Bay

This gallery lets visitors walk through 300 feet of acrylic tunnels filled with schooling anchovies, skates, bay rays, and sharks.

Near Shore Tunnel

San Francisco Bay is 10-15 feet deep. This tunnel reveals the Bay's shallow-water creatures. It lacks depth but has a wide range of species. San Francisco Bay's shallow mudflats are breeding grounds for many animals, including sharks. In the Near Shore exhibit tunnel, you will get to see anchovies, Rockfish, Garibaldi, and Giant Pacific Octopuses.

Sharks of Alcatraz Tunnel

Sharks, rays, sturgeons, and other creatures soar above and rest on the sandy floor of the second tunnel exhibit. Meet Sevengill Sharks, the largest predators in San Francisco Bay, and Leopard and Soupfin sharks, also.

Touch the Bay

This gallery lets visitors touch bat rays, skates, leopard sharks, sea stars, and sea cucumbers. Bay lab station complements the touch pools.

Touchpools

Two touch pools house sharks, rays, skates, sea stars, and anemones. Make sure to take some awesome pictures of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Bay Lab

This exhibit features chinchillas, tortoises, and frogs. These animals share how climate change affects their habits and habitats.

Bay Lab Station (Temporarily Closed)

Naturalists lead animal encounters and climate change discussions at this science station. The station features microscopes and puzzles for all ages.

River Otters

This gallery features adorable river otters. Shasta, rescued from the Louisiana fur trade, Ryer, Baxter, and Tahoe live in this gallery. River otters are found throughout the Bay Area and its river systems. If you see one in the wild, you know the waterway is healthy.

Conservation Status

A century ago, water pollution, habitat degradation, and the fur trade decreased California's River Otter populations. Regulations to improve water quality and the river habitat have allowed River Otter populations to recover. River Otters' return to the San Francisco Bay estuary shows what a healthy watershed can do.

Highlight Animals

• White Sturgeon
• Sea Star
• Bat Ray
• California Sheephead
• Jellies
• Sevengill Shark
• River Otter
• Giant Pacific Octopus

Get Ready for Your Trip

More than 24,000 local marine animals await you as you venture through the aquarium. Interpretive naturalists are on hand at all times to help you learn more about the animals you come into contact with and answer any questions you may have. Find out about the best and most beautiful pastimes in San Francisco right here. Experiencing the marine life of California is easy with your aquarium FunEx tickets!

1. Know how to get there

   PIER 39 is a well-known landmark in San Francisco, and the Aquarium of the Bay can be found there.

2. Purchase Aquarium of the Bay tickets early.

   Even though advance reservations are no longer needed, we encourage guests to purchase tickets in advance to avoid running out of entrances. One advantage of buying FunEx discount tickets is that you can enter the Aquarium of the Bay San Francisco as soon as they open their doors for visitors!

3. Arrive early.

   On regular days, the venue opens at 11:00 AM and closes at 6:00 PM daily, seven days a week. Walking around the whole place runs approximately 90 minutes, which makes it perfect to finish just in time before eating your lunch. If you wish to start your excursion without big crowds, arriving earlier is the best option!

4. Bring your cameras.

   Capturing the best memories is what the Aquarium is all about! Don't forget to bring your camera. But be careful! Some marine animals are light-sensitive, so remember to turn off your flash if you don't want to harm them.

Guidelines

1. Unvaccinated guests are required to wear a mask at all times when visiting.
2. Wearing face coverings is no longer required but is highly encouraged for vaccinated guests.
3. Advance reservations are no longer required.
4. Check out the operating hours during holidays below:
• The aquarium opens from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Thanksgiving Day.
• On Christmas Eve, early closure is also applied. Operating hours are from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
• The 2aquarium is closed on Christmas Day.
5. Normal operating hours start at 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM daily, Monday through Sunday.