National Aquarium In Baltimore - - Tips, Tours and Deals

Tips

• Check out this Visitors Guide to the Baltimore Aquarium for more information on planning your trip to the most popular attraction in the Inner Harbor.
• For a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at the National Aquarium, check out these Baltimore Aquarium tours.
• No strollers are permitted inside the Baltimore Aquarium. Check your stroller at the entrance, and the Aquarium will provide a carrier. Once inside the main building, it’s obvious why strollers aren’t permitted. Crowds, escalators and people movers would make it very difficult to navigate.
• When you purchase admssion tickets, you must also decide whether you want tickets to the 4D Immersion Theater and the dolphin show for an additional fee. You will be given specific show times for each.
• Plan your parking strategy in advance.
• Arrive at least 15 minutes before your dolphin show time.
• Lockers are provided near the entrance. Keep in mind, however, that if you follow the natural path through the Aquarium, your visit will end a block away from this building.
• Entry into the lobby in the Crystal Pavilion does not require a ticket, making it a nice spot to keep warm or cool while someone in your party buys tickets.
• If you want to leave the Baltimore Aquarium and return later, attendants at the information booth near the entry or at the exit in the Marine Mammal Pavilion will stamp your hand for re-entry.
• While there are several options for dining inside the Aquarium, all of them are cafes and snack shops with fast food. The Inner Harbor's dining options or the restaurants of nearby Little italy are much better and more diverse. Just be sure to get a re-entry stamp.
• While it makes sense to buy souvenirs at the end of a visit, the first gift shop you encounter (near the Australia exhibit) is the best by far. So either lug your treasures along or make plans to come back.
• Small children will frequently need a boost to see some of the exhibits.
• The Aquarium is open on most holidays (except Christmas and Thanskgiving). However, these can be very busy days. Holiday Hours at Other Baltimore Attractions
• To beat the crowds, come early or late. Enter before 11 a.m. or after 3 p.m. on these high traffic days:
  Weekdays during July and August
  Saturdays in May, September and October
  During Easter week or spring break
  Labor Day Weekend
  Day after Thanksgiving
  Dollar Days
  • The weeks after the Dollar Days Weekend and before Christmas are slower than usual, even on the weekends. After Christmas attendance picks up again.

  Baltimore Aquarium Discounts

  Crowds and cost are, perhaps, the two biggest gripes of guests at the National Aquarium, but with some advanced planning both can be minimized.
  • Several area hotels offer package deals that include Aquarium tickets, VIP passes and discounts.
  • During the cooler months, typically September to March, the Aquarium discounts admission Fridays After Five to $8. Closing time is 8 p.m. on these days, and guests may tour up to one hour after that.
  • The second weekend in December the Aquarium, along with many other downtown attraction, offers $1 admission. This is perhaps the Aquarium's busy day, so be prepared for crowds.
  • Become a member. Depending on the level, a membership usually pays for itself in two visits.
  • Check here for more Inner Harbor deals and discounts.

  See Dolphin Show Photos

  Guests with Special Needs

  The escalators and people movers can make the Aquarium difficult to maneuver. However, the Aquarium offers many convenient services for special needs visitors. A drop-off circle (in front of the Aquarium on Pratt Street), an accessible entrance just past the main entrance and elevators are provided. Visitors with special needs and their parties may purchase tickets at the Members Entrance and gain immediate entry to the Aquarium.

  Guests may obtain free wheelchairs with the deposit of a driver’s license at the stroller check. Wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Strollers for children with disabilities are the only strollers allowed in the buildings. An Aquarium tag, picked up from the stroller check, must be displayed while touring.

  A companion Accessibility Guide and Map maps out a wheelchair/stroller route that avoids the escalators. Pick it up at the Accessibility/Members Entrance, the Stroller Check and information desks. Reserved seating for the dolphin show is available.

  Visitors with special needs and their guests may enter the Aquarium 30 minutes prior to opening during the First Saturdays and First Sundays program.

  With advance notice, blind or deaf visitors may use audio tours or scripts of public presentations. Service animals are permitted in all public areas of the Aquarium. Contact the special customer liaison at 410-659-4201 or leave a message on the TTY at 410-625-0720.

  Continued - Baltimore Aquarium Tours

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