Report Abuse

“We visited Palma Aquarium on a day in late May 2008...”

written by lorna1 on 27/05/2008

Good Points
The entire of the visit was excellent. It's very well set out for pushchairs and wheelchairs, lifts and ramps everywhere. The information panels on each exhibit were interactive touch screen and available in English, German, French, and Spanish.

Bad Points
We were bitten to death by Mosquitoes, being as the Aquarium overlooks the Palma wetlands. (Hardly the Aquariums' fault, just remember to take repellent). The shop stocks some very nice, very expensive glass ornaments which are within easy reach of small children. Remember to keep hold of them on the way through the shop!
Also, I had difficulty paying by chip and pin debit card, the assistant swearing blind I needed to show ID to pay using it and that it was 'the same all over Spain', when this is just not true.

General Comments
We visited Palma Aquarium on a day in late May 2008 when it was pouring with rain and we couldn't really take the kids to the beach. We were staying in Cala de Mallorca, which is an hours drive away. We probably would not have visited if it had not been raining that day, but having been, I would recommend it even on the most ideal of beach days. Being close to the airport (1 junction away) it is an ideal trip to fill that gap between checking out of your hotel and getting the plane late in the afternoon, if you have such a gap, as it takes about 3 or 4 hours to get around.

I've been to the Blue Planet in Ellesmere Port many times and several of the Sea Life Centres in the UK, and Palma Aquarium far outstrips them all. The aquarium starts with several tanks of local fish life, which is spectacular in itself, then moves on to the migratory fish, features a roof top Mediterranean garden containing a Koi Pond, Turtle Beach, Ray tank, hammerhead and black tip reef shark tank, pirate ship styled playground and restaurant. The restaurant serves both tourist aimed deep fried chips and stuff and also some very nice worthwhile food - tagliatelle, canelloni, fruit juice etc. On the wet day I was there, the staff were even giving out disposable rain macs to all visitors. It also has a rooftop jungle garden area featuring large waterfall, and then moves on to the ocean tank. This tank is colossal and has view points from above, from several levels through it, and even a view into a built in cave. There are cushions in front of some windows and it encourages children to just sit and watch the life go by in the tanks. It was difficult to drag my 3 year old son away. My four year old Daughter loved the two columns of Jellyfish, which were lit in various colours and were quite beautiful.
It cost 54 Euros to get in, for two Adults and one Child, so about £43 (one child of mine going free) - this is roughly on a par with Blue Planet in Ellesmere Port, but very much better value. Well worth a visit for couples, young families, wheelchair users, pram users and everyone else.