Key West Aquarium
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Photos: Photo: andrea.anzi, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Our take
By Matt Spaulding, Founder and writer
Set your expectations by the date on the building. This opened on February 17, 1935 as the first open-air aquarium in the United States, and it is still that scale of place: more than 250 specimens, a 50,000-gallon Atlantic Shores exhibit holding nurse sharks, tarpon, grouper and jacks, four non-releasable sea turtles, and a touch tank of queen conch, sea stars, urchins and horseshoe crabs. The guides are the actual product here. Presentations run 15 to 20 minutes each, land every 15 to 30 minutes between 9:30am and 5:15pm, and every one of them is included in general admission, covering the turtles, the rays and sharks, the American alligator and Florida's invasive species problem. Time your arrival around two or three of them, because drifting past the tanks alone is a much thinner visit. The catch is size. If you are picturing a big-city aquarium with walk-through tunnels and a wall-sized viewing window, you will be finished quickly and you will feel the gap. The open-air name is more historic than literal, since a roof went on in the 1960s and air conditioning came later, though the rays and sharks tour still ends out back with the sandbar shark, so weather shapes part of it. Parking is metered or garage, and you pay either way.
Quick facts
- How long
- Self-guided; the operator publishes no set duration
- Hours
- 9am to 6pm daily, last entry 5:30pm (as of August 2026)
- Included
- Every guided presentation and feeding, plus the touch tank
- Best for
- Families with young kids and anyone who likes a guide
- Getting there
- Foot of Whitehead St in Mallory Square, a few blocks off Duval
- Parking
- Metered streets around Mallory Square, the Mallory Square lot on Wall St, or the 201 Front St garage
Where it is
1 Whitehead St, Mallory Square, Key West, FL 33040
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Check tickets →Key West Aquarium FAQ
How long does the Key West Aquarium take?
The aquarium publishes no set duration and lists the visit as self-guided, so there is no official answer. What you can plan around is the presentation schedule: each guided talk runs 15 to 20 minutes, and they are spaced every 15 to 30 minutes between 9:30am and 5:15pm. Decide how many you want to catch and work backward from there.
Is the Key West Aquarium worth visiting?
It depends entirely on what you are expecting. This is a small historic aquarium from 1935 where the value sits in the guided feedings and the touch tank, so anyone arriving with a big-city aquarium in mind tends to leave disappointed. If you want a short guided stop with kids in the middle of Old Town, it does that job well.
What is included with admission?
All of the daily presentations are included in general admission, including the Atlantic Shores game fish and sharks feeding, the sea turtle conservation tour, the rays and sharks tour, the American alligator tour, the invasive species tour and the touch tank tours. Reservations are not needed or accepted, so you simply walk in. Guides handle the animals and help you interact at the touch tank.
Where do you park at the Key West Aquarium?
The streets around Mallory Square have metered parking monitored by the City of Key West. The aquarium points visitors to the Mallory Square parking lot at 412 Wall Street and the garage at 201 Front Street, both of which charge. If you are staying anywhere in Old Town, walking is usually less trouble than circling for a space.
Is the aquarium indoors or outdoors?
Both, despite the open-air name. It opened in 1935 as the first open-air aquarium in the country, but a roof was added in the 1960s and air conditioning came later. Some exhibits sit inside while the rays and sharks tour finishes outside at the back, and the aquarium says it stays open 365 days a year, rain or shine.
What animals can you touch?
The touch tank holds queen conch, sea stars, urchins, horseshoe crabs and other invertebrates found in local waters. A guide walks you through handling them during the dedicated touch tank tour in the afternoon, and there is a tuck-in tour near closing where kids help with the animals' nighttime care routine.