For some indoor entertainment and an educational sealife experience, Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach is a must-see attraction!
Two weeks ago we traveled on our longest family road trip to date for a much needed beach vacation to Myrtle Beach. We had a fantastic time swimming and playing at the ocean for several days. After a few days in the hot sun we ventured inland just a few miles to see an area called Broadway on the Beach. It’s a bit confusing since it’s not at the beach at all, but rather a collection of shops and attractions surrounding a lake.
We took a nice walk around the lake to visit several shops and ended at Ripley’s Aquarium. I had to include this unprompted picture of our three kids walking around Broadway because it was too adorable.
Visiting Ripley’s Aquarium was a well timed adventure after spending a few days at the beach. And even though we had gorgeous weather our entire vacation, exploring new places is one of our favorite parts about traveling. We visited during the week and in the offseason which was an excellent choice since there was no waiting to see any sealife and plenty of room for the kids to explore. Ripley’s Aquarium is on
Kid Favorites at the Aquarium
- Shark Tunnel: we have been to zoos and other aquariums before but not with sharks swimming above our heads! This was definitely a highlight of little man’s visit although you might not guess it from the picture above.
- Touching the Jelly Fish: our youngest thought this was the coolest thing! It was quite educational too since we had found several jellyfish (pictured below) on the beach the last few days so we inquired about the type of jellyfish that we saw and wanted to know if they were dangerous. Thankfully the women explained that what we saw were called Cannonball Jelly Fish that are harmless to humans but carry a toxin that is harmful to other fish. And of course the jellyfish that we were able to touch were also harmless.
- Scuba diver hanging out with the fish: the scuba diver was in the tank to feed the fish and was quite entertaining with the kids by giving them high fives and fist pumps through the glass and even doing flips in the water.
Other highlights of the Aquarium
- Swim with the Sharks: for older children and of course adults, you can literally swim with the sharks! This two-hour experience gets you up close and personal with not only sharks but also tarpons, grunts, squirrelfish, a green sea turtle, giant stingrays and sawfish. We might just need to remember this for our next trip to Myrtle Beach because that would be quite the experience!
- Glass Bottom Boat Ride: only 3 inches separate you from the sharks in this unique experience so much that it’s the only one like it in North America!
- Stingray Experience: If you have daring friends or family members here is another experience you won’t want to miss. You’ll have the chance to be up close and personal with stingrays and even swim with them during this experience.
- Pearl Harbor Exhibit: visiting this exhibit was great timing since our oldest son and my husband had recently visited a navy submarine in Michigan where they learned about Pearl Harbor.
Overall, we all had a fantastic time at Ripley’s Aquarium exploring and learning about the wide variety of sea life found in the ocean. We can’t wait to visit again!
Disclaimer: I was not compensated to write this post, however, tickets were provided by Vacation Myrtle Beach. And as always, all the opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.
This Family Fun at Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach post first appeared on Chocolate Slopes.
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