I first heard about the Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium at Mooloolaba not long after I moved to area. Friends and family told me how wonderful a place it was to visit to fill in a day, particularly in the wet weather. It’s taken me this long, but finally I decided it was time to visit myself, see what all the fuss is about and give you all a full review of what the Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium is really like.
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About Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium
The Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium can be found in the heart of Mooloolaba, right beside the Mooloolah River. The location is easy to reach from anywhere on the Sunshine Coast, and just as easy to find thanks to the signs that greet you as soon as you take the Mooloolaba exit from the Sunshine Motorway. These point you directly to the Aquarium which is only a few minutes off the motorway itself.
Sea Life Sunshine Coast first appeared in Mooloolaba 37 years ago. Back then, in 1989, it was known as Underwater World. In 2013 it underwent a $6.5 Million dollar refurbishment and reopened as Sea Life Sunshine Coast.
Today, it features over 10,000 species of sea life. The easy to navigate displays consist of 11 themed zones, all set out inside a massive, completely indoor complex.
What to Expect
Your Sea Life Sunshine Coast experience begins from the moment you park your car. Located not far from the beach and practically right beside the Mooloolah River gives immediate beach and aquatic vibes. For this reason, I found myself a lot more excited than I was at, for example, the Darling Harbor Aquarium in Sydney that although located beside the harbor, is also right next to the city itself.
Parking and Access
The carparking situation at Sea Life Sunshine Coast is easy due to its location right next to The Wharf Mooloolaba. A large, open-air carpark is located right outside the front doors, and due to the fact that The Wharf is all about restaurants and eateries, getting to the Aquarium early usually means there are plenty of parks available.
The other main carpark worth checking out is at the rear of the aquarium. Here you can find mostly undercover parks in a large parking station that offers free parking for up to four hours. Plenty of time to see the aquarium and more. This is also a great option for both when it’s raining, and for those hot summer days when you don’t want to come back to a stinking hot car!
Access to Sea Life Sunshine Coast is easy for everyone from the carparks as there are wheelchair ramps and plenty of stairs that lead directly into the ticket office. No standing around working out where to go!
I found that access was one thing that Sea Life Sunshine Coast really gets right. On the day we were there, there were a lot of mums and young families pushing strollers, along with several people in wheelchairs. The entire complex was easy for them to get around and navigate, with ramps everywhere inside and even elevators for those that required them.
At the entry, you simply need to approach the ticket counter and either purchase tickets or show your online receipt. I fully recommend purchasing online beforehand as it secures your spot on a busy day, and makes entry a breeze, similar to what we experienced at places such as Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World. They simply scan the barcode on your receipt and you’re good to go. It’s that easy!
As you enter, you’ll have the option to pose for a photo as a memory of your visit (these can be picked up near the exit later on). Don’t forget to grab a map from the stand near the photo spot or simply download your own. See more information below.
Tidal Touchpool
From the entry, take the set of doors right behind the photo spot and you’ll find yourself entering the Tidal Touch pool area. It’s immediately apparent that you’ve entered an aquarium, and I found this a really nice introduction, particularly for young kids. This little area would get them immediately excited to be there by involving them in an interactive activity right from the start.
There are two tanks in the tidal touch pool area. On the left is a large open topped tank teeming with small sting rays. While you can’t really see too much detail by looking down through the surface of the water, taking a look from the side through the glass walls reveals dozens of swiftly moving rays zooming around the tank.
On the right-hand side of the room is another tank with a couple of smiling staff members standing behind it. The water in this tank is a lot calmer, as are the occupants that mostly consist of large star fish (sea stars) and sea cucumbers. Here you can actually reach into the water and touch them while the staff members tell you a little about them and their environment.
Just make certain to wash your hands first. There are a couple of wash basins and soap located off to one side of the tank displays.
Seahorse Kingdom
The Seahorse Kingdom is entered directly from the Tidal Touch pool area. The pathway around the Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium is very distinct and for the majority of it you’ll find yourself being led in the direction you need to go.
As you enter the Seahorse Kingdom you’ll find two large tanks with a big statue of King Neptune in between. This is a nice touch as I’ve always found seahorses to be quite mythical in nature and hard to believe that they are actually real.
The first tank has several different species of seahorses inside. I must have stood there for ages watching them casually float up and down the tank with seemingly very little effort. In fact, I’m still at a loss for how they manage to move about so effortlessly. I was so amazed that we popped back to the start later in the day to have another look!
Just past the first seahorses are the sea dragons which are even more incredible. They have a larger tank and move a little faster than the sea horses, looking something like small pieces of seaweed with eyes.
As you move off from this area, you’ll find yourself in a passageway with tanks on either side. These first tanks will have a few more species of seahorses such as the pot-belly seahorse that are worth checking out as you make your way along to the next section.
Coastal Wreck
As the corridor reaches a point where it does a U-turn on itself and heads back in the other direction, you’ll find yourself entering the Coastal Wreck area. This area features a lot of small tropical fish housed in tanks that feature “shipwreck” items to go along with the theme.
A lot of the fish in here are very colorful and will be a hit with most people. It was also the first area that I began to notice the large information features that are plastered all over the walls. From an educational standpoint, this is amazing and I must say that I began to learn a lot more about the creatures that I was seeing in the tanks as I moved along.
One of these was the octopus. This decent sized orange dude was very active when we were there, literally racing back and forth along the glass wall of his tank. It was amazing to see up close how swift they can move and how all the little suckers on his tentacles worked in sync with each other. The wall opposite had a large panel that was interactive, with buttons to press to show the different parts of the octopus anatomy.
To finish in this section was a tank full of the characters from Finding Nemo. I didn’t even notice this at first, as I was too busy enjoying the novelty of being able to climb UNDER the tank and pop your head up into a small glass bubble for a photo opportunity. This also allowed you to “experience” life inside a tank with all the little Nemo buddies!
Penguins
As you leave the Coastal Wreck area you have the choice to head down to the lower levels where the underwater tunnel is, or head forward to the penguins and Seal Island. I suggest going forward for now, and then do a small backtrack later.
The reason for this is so that you can see the penguins and seals and then later on the lower levels you can experience them under the water and understand a little more what you’re looking at.
The first area you’ll come to in this direction is the penguins. A favorite of nearly everyone, not just the kids!
There are several signs warning of smelly penguins, which I thought was a little body shaming for the poor little things, but it was certainly true. They are rather smelly, but in their defense, they are also out in the open, unlike all the other creatures that are locked away behind glass. So, it’s not really their fault!
The penguins will be waddling around inside their enclosure or swimming merrily in their pool. When we first arrived there was a group inside the enclosure having a close-up experience with a staff member who was giving them a talk, so it was interesting to stand only a few feet away and eavesdrop on all the juicy info they were getting.
In the enclosure there’s also a little bridge and it’s beyond cute to see the penguins waddling up and onto the bridge to get to the other side.
Seal Island
One of the main attractions at Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium is definitely Seal Island.
Located just beyond the penguins, Seal Island is a large pool and display opposite a tiered seating area used for the seal shows that occur throughout the day. We attended the show at 10:30am and are very glad we did as it was amazing.
Seated about halfway up the tiered seating in the middle, we had a great view of what was happening. In total during a show there are three different seals that each get to do their own little skits and get fed well whilst doing it!
The staff member giving the talk is armed with nothing but a microphone and a bag of small fish (or pieces of fish) that are used as rewards for the seals that know exactly what their roles in the show are. From swimming, diving, jumping and simply posing, the seals perform to a nicely choreographed routine that will see you leaving the show knowing a lot more about seals than when you arrived.
At the end of the show, you’ll be told about the opportunity to get photos with seals or even participate in a swim in the seal tank with them. This all costs extra and is usually booked out ahead of time so make certain to book ahead if interested.
See below in this article for more details.
When you leave seal island, you can continue on to the cafe which is located through the gift shop if you’re hungry, or back track through the penguin area to the ramp down to the lower levels.
Seals, Penguins and Frogs
There are two lower levels of the aquarium. The first that you come to has a bay of large windows on one side that allows you to see the penguins swimming under the water. When we were there, they were mostly out of the water, so this wasn’t really that exciting.
Opposite the penguins is the site for one of the less expensive “experiences” that you can pay for at Sea Life Sunshine Coast. This is a VR experience (Virtual Reality) that involves sitting in a futuristic looking pod and donning a VR headset. Then you are launched into the world of virtual reality on an undersea adventure.
The good thing about this experience is that it’s rather budget friendly and only costs an extra $15, so if you want to check it out then it won’t exactly stretch the finances that much.
Beyond the VR and penguins, you’ll pass some smaller tanks that house a variety of exotic frogs, before you reach a small tunnel into another room with large bay windows showing you the seal pool from down below.
This is a little more exciting than the penguins as after the show the seals are quite active and whilst we were there were swimming and diving, doing underwater laps and brushing up against the windows. We could have stood there for hours watching, but it seemed that everyone else in the aquarium had the same idea, so we moved on.
Backtracking past the penguins we made our way toward the ramp to the lower level and underwater tunnel.
The Ocean Tunnel
If you’ve ever been in an underwater tunnel before then you’ll know what to expect here. This 80 meter long tunnel is made out of 6cm thick acrylic and gives you the experience of basically walking along the ocean floor.
I found it amazing to see up close the multitude of sharks that reside in the pool above and around the tunnel. According to the aquarium facts, there are actually over 10 different species of sharks living there. I only recognized the grey nurse shark, but I’m taking their word for it!
Probably one thing that the tunnel experience really opened my eyes to was the sting rays. These large rays (many differing species as well) were a lot bigger than the little ones found in the touch pool area and spent the entire time gliding silently above our heads. As they skim the glass only centimeters away you can see their eyes, nose and mouth up close. I found it very educational and can only imagine what it would be like for the young kids.
Another interesting thing is that even though I was amazed at the size of some of the sharks and rays, the curvature of the tunnel actually makes them look one third smaller than they actually are!
Once you are done in the Ocean Tunnel, you can either make your way to the exit through the gift shop by Seal Island, or do what we did and backtrack to take a second look at anything you found particularly interesting and want to spend more time with.
Bonus – Jellyfish Kingdom!
Once you’ve decided to exit, you’ll go out through the gift shop and into the cafe area. Here, the exit actually takes you through Jellyfish Kingdom, which we didn’t even know existed. We thought we’d finished for the day!
While it’s smaller than most other areas of the aquarium, Jellyfish Kingdom is a nice little encore with around 4 or 5 tanks displaying several different types of jellyfish, including the weird Upside-Down Jellyfish, and a very large cuttlefish.
The star of the show here is the very first display you find with is a large tank on the wall with translucent jellyfish swimming lazily around while neon lights slowly change colours creating quite an amazing effect.
Beyond Jellyfish Kingdom is the real exit, back into the sunshine of the outside world once again.
Sea Life Sunshine Coast Cafe and Playground
Just past Seal Island you’ll see the signs for the exit. This path runs through the gift shop, however you don’t actually have to exit if you go this way.
Before you reach the point of no return there’s still more to come at Sea Life Sunshine Coast!
Right beside the entrance to Jellyfish Kingdom is a nice little playground for the kids with a multilevel climbing structure. This is perfectly placed just to the side of the cafe which serves coffee, ice creams, cold drinks, hot chips, hotdogs and the like. Perfect to kick back and relax for a few minutes as they kids blow off a little more steam before heading home!
Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium Map
Having a map of Sea Life Sunshine Coast is very handy so that you know where things are, or can easily find them later if you wish to backtrack. Although in reality it’s not very hard to find your way around.
Even so, here is a copy of the map so that you know what to expect, including the QR code to download it yourself ahead of time.
Feed and Talk Times
There are several things to do during the day that are free and come as part of your entry ticket price. These are mostly informational talks, but are well worth attending as they are very educational.
Here is a quick list:
- From 9am – Touch the creatures in the Tidal Touch Pool.
- 1:30pm – Ray talk at the tidal Touch Pool
- 9:30am and 12pm – Penguin Talk.
- 9:50am and 11:30am – Ocean Tunnel Talk.
- 10:30am and 12:30pm – Seal Presentation.
- 10:50am and 12:50pm – Seal Photo Opportunity – enquire on arrival as spots sell out fast.
Experiences
As well as the talks and shows that come included in your ticket price, you can pay extra for some more up close and personal experiences. Most of these MUST be booked ahead, especially during busy periods and holidays.
Here is a list of what is available:
- Behind the Scenes Tour – Available at 10am, 11am, 12pm and 1pm. Must be booked online.
- Penguin Encounter – Thursday to Monday at 9:30am during QLD school holidays. Outside of school holidays encounters are available Thurs, Fri, Sun and Mon at 9:30am. Must be booked online.
- In Water Penguin Encounter – 2pm Thursday to Monday during QLD school holidays, but only on Saturdays at 2pm outside of holidays. Must be booked online.
- Seal Swim – Monday to Saturday at 10am – Must be booked online.
- Seal Encounter – Sundays 10am. Includes one photo. Enquire on arrival.
- Shark Dive Xtreme – Saturdays 9:30am and 12:30pm. Must book online.
Tips and Hints
There are several things you can do to make your trip easier and more enjoyable. Here is a quick list of my top tips and hints:
- Get there either at opening time or arrive later in the day. Later is better if you want to avoid the crowd of prams and young children. Most have left or are leaving by lunch time or even before.
- It only takes a couple of hours to see everything in the aquarium. Plan your trip to visit at the best time of day for you. Keep in mind the aquarium closes at 2:30pm.
- The cafe is ok for a snack and has nice hot chips. But consider heading across the road to The Wharf for a really good meal afterwards.
- Make sure to buy your tickets online as you get a really good discount if you do so.
- Although Sea Life Sunshine Coast is great for a rainy day, it can also get crowded because everyone else has the same idea.
- If an attraction is crowded, backtrack later to check it out again minus the people.
- If your legs need a rest, head to the seal show area and take a load off sitting and watching the seals for a while. Likewise, there is a seat on the lower-level seal viewing area.
- If possible, avoid school holidays!
- Make sure to check out ticket packages online if you are interested in doing any experiences.
- Visit on a weekday to not only avoid the crowd but also to get the best online ticket deals.
Sea Life Sunshine Coast Opening Hours
Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium is open 7 days a week from 9am to 2:30pm.
Make sure to always double check their website for details about public holidays and any possible closures.
Sea Life Sunshine Coast Tickets
Purchase your tickets online at THIS link.
Here are the current ticket prices:
- General Admission AUD50 but if you purchase online AUD37. AUD45 for weekends.
- Anytime Flexible Admission from AUD42. (a normal general admission ticket is booked for an admission timeslot while flexible means you can enter anytime)
- Group Tickets from AUD38.
For the current ticket prices for experiences, check THIS link.
Things to do Nearby
A day at Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium only takes a few hours, so you might be looking for something else to fill in your day. Here are a few ideas nearby.
- The Wharf Mooloolaba is right across the road and features plenty of amazing restaurants and a couple of pubs to grab an awesome lunch after your day out.
- Do a cruise. Right at the docks across the road and by The Wharf are plenty of cruise options.
- Hit the beach at Mooloolaba!
- Go for a stroll along the wonderful beachfront shops, cafes and restaurants at Mooloolaba.
- Head to Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore for the best shopping experience on the Coast.
Summary
Sea Life Sunshine Coast Aquarium is an amazing place to visit, especially for the family. Being fully indoors it provides a great option not only for a rainy day but also those hot summer days. The marine life is amazing, and the shows and experiences on offer are worth the money if you can afford it. The price of general admission isn’t exorbitant, and is great value for money due to the educational experience the aquarium provides.
