The Ripley’s Aquarium is one of the top attractions in Toronto, and for good reason. The aquarium houses over 100,000 animals from 500 different species in a 20-million gallon water tank. It also features exhibits with living penguins and jellyfish! Come to visit this incredible attraction on your next trip to Toronto!
Is Ripley's Aquarium Canada Worth It?
**Short answer:** Yes. If you’re visiting Toronto with kids or teens, I think Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is well worth your time.
The underwater tunnel, moving walkway, and interactive exhibits make it much more engaging than a typical aquarium. Even teenagers who insist they’re “too old” for aquariums usually end up having a great time.
If this is your first trip to Toronto, I’d definitely include it on your itinerary. If you’re trying to fit a lot into one day, combine it with the CN Tower since they’re right next to each other.
**I especially recommend Ripley’s Aquarium for:**
• Families with children
• Teenagers
• Rainy days in Toronto
• First-time visitors to the city
Know Before You Go
**How long should you plan to spend?**
Most visitors spend 2–3 hours exploring the aquarium.
**Should you buy tickets in advance?**
Yes. Purchasing tickets online usually saves time and can sometimes save money compared to buying them at the door.
**When is the best time to visit?**
Weekday mornings are typically the least crowded. If you’re visiting during the summer or school holidays, arriving when the aquarium opens is your best bet.
**Where is it located?**
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is located next to the CN Tower, making it easy to visit both attractions on the same day.
**Is it good for young kids?**
Absolutely. The touch tanks, colorful fish, and shark tunnel are always favorites with younger children.
**Is it worth visiting with teenagers?**
Yes. The moving walkway through the shark tunnel, larger exhibits, and interactive displays make it one of the few attractions that usually appeals to both kids and teens.
Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto is one of a number of Ripley’s Aquariums throughout North America. It was opened in 2013 and has been drawing in the crowds ever since. It’s especially popular over winter weekends in Toronto as it is warm and awesome!
It is the largest aquarium in Ontario and has 1.25 million gallons of water in their tanks!
We love to go to the best aquariums in our family, so we naturally decided that we needed to visit Ripley’s in Toronto when we were there. It is as good as the top aquariums in the United States and better than most for its kid friendly activities. Truly the kids had so much fun and learned a ton!
There is also an incredible jellyfish exhibit where visitors get up close with these beautiful creatures by walking through them on elevated glass walkways or simply gazing down on them from above.
The Dangerous Lagoon is a tank that is viewed from below on a conveyer belt! My kids love that they felt like they were swimming with sharks. It is one of the highlights of the entire aquarium.
Plus their are cool tubes you can climb in and it appears as though you are inside the tank!
Finally, there’s another great children’s touch pool featuring sharks and rays just waiting for small fingers to join them as they swim around their tanks.
Near the tanks is a great children’s water area where they could play with water and create their own waterways.
There are tubes to climb in as well as a fish themed playground. The little kids loved this and would have stayed there for hours.
As you are leaving you come across all the pressurized systems and venting that keep the sealife in the tanks happy and healthy. It shows real time pressure.
Nearby is a recreation that allows kids to try to control the pressure themselves.
What are Ripley’s Aquarium Toronto hours?
Ripley’s aquarium hours are 9 am – 9 pm, however holidays generally have different hours. Please check before you head out.
How much are tickets to Ripley’s Aquarium Toronto?
Prices are $33 for adults, $23 ages 6-14, $12 for 3-5.
If you buy Toronto CityPass you can save on admission to Ripley’s Aqaurium, plus you will save on many other things in Toronto!
Skip the Line Pass for Ripley’s Toronto
The lines are often long at Ripley’s and if you have a lot to fit in on your trip to Toronto you may want to consider a skip the line pass. We were traveling in the off season so there weren’t lines anywhere and we had the Aqaurium virtually to ourselves.
Prices are just a little bit more, but you can save yourself tons of time.
How much time do you need to spend at the Aqaurium?
We spent 2 hours, but I wish we had time to spend more. If you have kids I would plan on 2 1/2 to 3 hours so that they have time to climb, crawl, splash and more. If you are going without kids plan on 1 hour and a half.
We loved our visit to Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto and really look forward to going back again.
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