National SEA LIFE Centre Birmingham Reviews Summary

Animal Exhibits

Pros:

• "Loved the 360 glass tunnel through the sharks and I was knelt down for ages watching the rays!!"
• "Penguins at the start also are active and seem to be interacting with the visitors."
• "The underwater tunnel is also amazing to walk through and have sharks swim overhead."
• "We loved the sea otters and the tunnel the best!"
• "The highlight of the trip was walking under the transparent tunnel where all the creatures are swimming above you."
• "The penguins are fabulous start of the experience with great viewing spaces."
• "I absolutely loved this place. Brimming with sea creatures and filled with things to learn and do."
• "Loved this place. Kids would find it more interesting though. Had a very relaxing time. The ‘tunnel’ experience was nice."

Cons:

• "The enclosures for the penguins and otters are so small, it's thoroughly depressing."
• "The exhibits were small and cramped. We mainly came to see the only sea otters in the whole of the UK to find out they didn't even get to see the sun within a tiny exhibit."
• "A bit overpriced for what it's worth if I'm honest. To charge kids the same price as an adult is a bit silly in my opinion."
• "There were some great attractions and the staff were helpful and friendly. The Centre is centrally located and very easy to get to. However they had advertised a 4D cinema experience, but instead they had installed VR pods that were double the cost at about £7 per person."
• "A bit torn on this review...Lovely place to visit and the staff we're all pleasant and helpful, very packed, and the majority of the walkways are narrow and small, so navigating special needs pushchairs proved a little tricky at times."
• "Was good fun, we took advantage of the buy 1 get 1 offer on the chocolate packets so saved some $$$ on entry. Was holiday period so was busy, make sure you plan ahead as doesn't look like you can generally pay and then walk straight through, we had to wait 30 minutes for entry but no real drama as we went for a coffee then returned."
• "Sad to see there was hardly any room for the animals. Particularly the penguins, lots of penguins crammed into an area with very little room and no outdoor space. Very upsetting to see they are being used as a tourist attraction and didn’t realise they were in the sea life centre."
• "We went on a Saturday and found the aquarium very busy which to be honest slightly spoilt the experience as some of the areas were queuing to get through. In particular the tunnel where customers are taking pictures. The tanks glass could be a bit cleaner as we noticed they were murky."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "The Kelloggs codes help!"
• "Fantastic place for anyone to spend the day! Huge place, with a variety of different aquatic life to view and learn about."
• "Overall, would recommend turning up early morning if you'd prefer to avoid at its busiest, and booking in advance."
• "My daughter loved the sea life centre in Birmingham, we got cheap tickets as toddler and adult mid week special."
• "Absolutely brilliant! Everything is clean and well maintained. The staff very helpful and knowledgeable!"
• "Lovely place to visit for a couple of hours in the centre of Birmingham. Staff are helpful friendly and knowledgable."
• "A lovely place to visit in Birmingham. Would recommend booking in advance as they were not accepting walk-in bookings when we arrived on a Sunday afternoon."
• "It’s so beautiful! Loved the little otters ever so cute and interactive! The tunnel walk is also lovely! Could spend hours just admiring the beautiful sea life."

Cons:

• "It only took us an hour to go through it all with young kids so it's on the pricey side and would stop us visiting regularly sadly, so lost a star there."
• "A lot of things are missing, the otters were missing, I think some of the jellyfish tanks, the visit felt way too short. I feel that the price doesn't justify itself anymore-48£ for 2 adults."
• "A bit overpriced for what it's worth if I'm honest. To charge kids the same price as an adult is a bit silly in my opinion. The prices seems to have hiked to ridiculous levels."
• "Take your time to visit it, very interesting with a variety of underwater species, although is a nice place, price is too high in my opinion, 24£, a reasonable price would be 15£...but overall is worth going, if you are in Birmingham"
• "It was a little disappointing to visit Sea Life. About $24 was spent each ticket. Experience-wise, it was not worthwhile."
• "Had a fantastic family day out here lots to see a good variety of sea creatures penguins were amazing to see and loved the sharks and turtle staff are friendly and very knowledgeable good educational place"
• "We had a really good day out at Sealife. Great for children and adults. The staff are so friendly and helpful. The facilities were clean and the animals looked happy. The only reason I have given 4 stars and not 5 is because I do think it is quite expensive for what it is."
• "Great experience though not cheap! Fabulous range of aquaria to view and we particularly enjoyed the penguins, sea otters and sharks!"