National Aquarium of New Zealand: Ocean Wonders
3.9
31 Ratings
Napier

Explore New Zealand’s aquatic wonders at the National Aquarium in Napier. Discover native species, witness stingray feedings, and immerse yourself in ocean beauty.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • National Aquarium of New Zealand - Open daily from 9 am to 5 pm, explore a variety of exhibits from mountains to the sea at your own pace. Encounter introduced species, native eels (tuna), the brown kiwi, and the tuatara of Aotearoa, culminating in our largest exhibit under the sea. Marvel at the ocean’s wonders as stingrays glide by and sea life displays its grace and beauty. Feeding times are at 10 am and 2 pm every day.
What's Included
  • National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier - General Admission
Additional Information

Open 7 days a week from 9am - 5pm, self guide your way through a range of exhibits from Mountains to sea. You will see introduced species, native tuna (eels), our brown kiwi and tuatara of Aotearoa before finishing under the sea, our largest exhibit. Experience the wonders of the ocean as you witness the stingrays gliding through the water and the grace and beauty of the sea life. Feeding times 10am and 2pm daily.

Location
National Aquarium of New Zealand
Marine Parade,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.9
(31 Ratings)
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Beckleycoachlines
Aug 26, 2025
Great visitor attraction! Huge asset to Napier/Hawkes bay - We took our tour group to visit the National Aquarium while in Napier. Our tour group members loved the visit - timed it to see the Penguin feeding and the Sting Ray feeding as well. Staff were super friendly and the cafe was fantastic with delish food and awesome coffee. We worked with Karen to make a booking for the group, this was really easy and I appreciated how simple the process was :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stormnikora
Jun 21, 2025
Highly recommend, a must do if your ever in Napier - Absolutely amazing! My family and I enjoyed ourselves so much, they said by far better than Kelly tartons, would highly recommend 10/10
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Paula
Apr 20, 2025
A must do in Naiper - 5. Extraordinary experience. Surprise to see kiwis as well pinguins and amazing fish and more. The cafe had an amzing teat special lemon and coconut cake
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lennylh
Jul 21, 2025
Great smallish aquarium - We went on a cold rainy day. We got there early and were really pleased not to encounter huge crowds. It’s not big, but interesting. The entry fee is quite reasonable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jelliot32
Jun 14, 2025
The Little Penguins stole the show - Enjoyed my visit to Napier's National Aquarium. It is definitely not the largest or most memorable aquarium I've been to, but there is a good variety of small tanks and oceanariums are almost always fun. The highlight for me was the Little Penguins - both at feeding time and more generally when they were just frolicking around in their quite spacious tank and looking as though they were enjoying themselves. A few slightly more menacing-looking sharks in the oceanarium would have been good to see though the big rays added a bit of a wow factor. Also, I realise the kiwi is NZ's national emblem etc but would not have thought an aquarium is a natural place to showcase such a land-lubber of a bird. Penguins yes, kiwis no.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Resort56774570591
Apr 27, 2025
Worth a visit when in Napier - Located along Marine Parade, this place is a must visit. Can’t compare to what we have here in Auckland, it has its uniqueness of its own. Cool creatures, you will even see their healthy Kiwi birds. It’s worth a visit for kids and grown ups alike.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nimb7
Apr 19, 2025
Great afternoon - Had a lovely afternoon wondering around looking at all the fish. Enjoyed the penguin feeding time, the staff were all very knowledgeable and entertaining. It was fabulous to walk in under the tunnel and watching the divers feeing the fish and stingrays. Worth a visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rickm638
Apr 17, 2025
Getting worse and pretty boring. - It’s been years since we last visited, and in that time the aquarium seems to have got worse. It’s looking tired and run down. The moving walkway has gone so a busy day is like a sardine experience. I can see why the council wants it gone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lizro88my
Apr 20, 2025
Tiney enclosure for a beautiful sea turtle - Seeing Terry the beautiful big sea turtle in his tiney, dull enclosure broke my heart. He is 45 and has been there most of his life. It's horrible. The whole aquarium was pretty average, but seeing Terry looking so sad made me just want to leave the place.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Traveler17546665968
Apr 26, 2025
Animal abuse - The way they treat the animals is horrible, they have a huge marine turtle with a habitat barely its size, its looks miserable and is all alone swimming in turtles when seaturtles are known to travel entire oceans in the wild. This is disgusting and shameful especially for New Zealand's national aquarium. Truly horrible, ruined my day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Check Availability
From $17
From $17
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
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Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).
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