How would you like to see 2,000 fishes without getting wet? You can do this at the 750,000 gallon salt water fish at the Maui Ocean Center. This fantastic aquarium beautifully showcases Hawaii’s marine life and is well worth the visit. Seeing the Maui Ocean Center is a great family activity and particularly perfect for visiting on a rainy day on Maui.
At the Maui Ocean Center, you can learn about reefs, sharks, sea turtles, and marine mammals. Take a look at the site map to get an idea of the scope of the center. I particularly enjoyed learning about the humpback whales that migrate to the warm sheltered waters around Hawaii each year.
The Hawaiian sea turtles are a real crowd pleaser as well. You can find the turtles in the Harbor Plaza area of the center.
Are you interesting in a shark and stingray dive? The center offers you the chance to dive into their 750,000 gallon tank that has over 20 sharks plus stingrays and many other tropical fish.
The Maui Ocean Center is located in on the west side of Maui near Maalaea Harbor. Tickets cost roughly $26 for adults and $19 for children 3 – 12 years old. Note that the Maui Ocean Center offers a 10% discount for ordering your tickets three days in advance online. The aquarium is open every day of the year. Hours are from 9 :00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except in July and August when the center is open until 6:00 p.m.
I suggest you plan to spend a few hours here. In addition to the exhibits, you’ll also find a ocean view restaurant and fairly large gift shop onsite.
Sheila Beal
2 comments
That photo is taken from inside a glass tunnel. You can actually walk out into the aquarium and feel like you’re surrounded by fish.
Thanks for adding that, Andy. There’s lots of places throughout Maui to snorkel and see fish, but the Maui Ocean Center is a great place to see so many varieties of fish without getting your feet wet and having an unattractive imprint of a snorkel mask on your face for the rest of the day.