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Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach

Florian Buechting Entertain & Relax No Comments

Ripley's Aquarium Myrtle Beach

45.14 USD
Ripley's Aquarium Myrtle Beach
4.4

Rating

 4.4/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Nice aquarium with good habitats
  • Good attraction design
  • Beautiful lake area outside Downtown

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some services already closed in the afternoon

The South Carolina beach town Myrtle Beach hosts numerous attractions driven by the Canadian Ripley Entertainment company. Maybe the largest and most important one is the Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach. I visited the zoo and aquarium in fall 2023 and share my thoughts with you.

 

Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach – Location & Admission

The zoo is located at the Broadway at the Beach, a lovely recreational area at an artificial lake. Apart from other attractions, it also hosts numerous restaurants and shops and is a really nice spot to hang out. However, all other Ripley attractions like the average Ripley’s Crazy Golf or the (inevitable) Ripley’s Believe It Or Not are located in Downtown Myrtle Beach, close to the Atlantic Ocean.  There is sufficient parking in the area. The Ripley’s Aquarium bus stop also connects you to the Coastal Grand Mall and Downtown (bus C10).

The nominal admission to Ripley’s Aquarium is (at the beginning of 2025) 39.99 USD. However, if you pre-book your tickets online, a convenience fee and taxes sum up to a total of 45.14 USD. However, as you are likely going to visit other Ripley places when in town, I recommend to go for a combined ticket. If you go for all attractions in town, i.e. the aquarium, the two mentioned above, Ripley’s Mirror Maze, Ripley’s Illusion Lab and Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, you only pay a pre-tax and pre-fee price of 69.99 USD. Ripley’s Aquarium is open from 9:00 to 18:00 on Mondays to Thursdays and until 20:00 on the weekend. Summer openings might be longer.

 

Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach – The Visit

Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach is a two-level attraction. You enter through the ground floor, which is the upper level of the place. The aquarium is split into different sections with different topics. Finally, you can visit them in any order you prefer. The attraction does not also feature marine life, but also some other animals. There are screens which give you additional information about the inhabitants of the different basins and habitats. Compared to peers like Sea Life, I felt that the information given is a bit more limited. Therefor, I overall liked the habitats in Myrtle Beach quite much.

The first upper level section I visited was Ocean Wonders. It is one of the most colorful sections of the aquarium, featuring several tropic fish and animals. I loved watching the seahorses, but there were also shrimp and lobster species in this section. The Penguin Playhouse is one of the favorites of the visitors. They loved to watch the cute Antarctic birds. The largest basin in Myrtle beach is the Dangerous Reef, which you can explore better from the lower floor later. I loved visiting the jellyfish at the Planet Jellies. Apart from some other sections, the upper floor also allows you to encounter and feed stingrays for an additional fee (5 USD during my visit).

 

 

 

Lower Floor

The first section I visited on the lower level was the Sloth Valley. I was a bit disappointed about it. Even though sloths are not the kind of species which show that too clearly, I also felt that the main actor did not really feel happy. The shark tunnel is an almost a must-have in modern aquarium. You can go through the tunnel with a conveyor belt or walk along the rather large tunnel. The Dangerous Reef basin features several species of shark, but also sawfish. The Discovery Center is rather used for educative reasons. Another section in the basement is Rainbow Rock, featuring other very colorful animals.

 

Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach – Services

There are some side attractions and encounters like riding a glass bottom. However, I was rather late and thus could not book any of those. There is a cafe at the upper level, which was already closed, so that I went for a French fries machine, which I felt was somehow funny to try.

Of course, the gift shop offers you the opportunity to bring your credit cards closer to its limits. It offers typical souvenirs, comparable to similar places.

 

Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach – My View

The aquarium is really a nice place. The different sections are really beautifully designed, I also liked the habitats in general. Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach is a good and educative place, which is also very suitable for families. What I did not like is that some of the services were already closed during my afternoon visit. Nonetheless, I would recommend to keep the place in mind when you are at the South Carolina Coast.

 

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