In the Easter holidays we spent a few days down in Weymouth to celebrate my birthday. Of course we had to visit Weymouth’s top attraction, Weymouth Sea Life Adventure Park. This place is home to thousands of sea creatures from turtles to jellyfish, penguins to crocodiles. It literally has everything you can imagine and more that you have never even heard of!
The park is set out into different zones. These include shipwreck, penguins, ray lagoon, turtle sanctuary and ocean tunnel, to name a few. Follow the pathway around the site to make sure you don’t miss anything as there is lots to see. It is well spread out throughout the grounds although fairly compact so not too much walking. The children all get a trail book each to complete on their way round. There are often activities to take part in as well. The zones with aquariums in are undercover but the rest of it is outdoors. We found it’s best to visit on a dry day to really make the most of it. There is a play park and splash pool as well as a sensory garden to enjoy on a sunny day. There are lots of benches and picnic tables around as well.
The aquariums are all fantastic. They are built in a way that everyone can see and feel close to the sea creatures without intruding. The variety of things to see is incredible. Having the zones set out so they have different species in each one keeps it interesting and not quite so overwhelming. We particularly liked the sea horses and jellyfish.
The ray lagoon is fantastic. They are such graceful creatures and fascinating to watch. There were some we had never seen before and their aquarium was beautiful. As with all the zones there are lots of information boards around telling you about the different creatures in each habitat. The one pictured below is called a Cownose Ray!
Of course no sea life centre is complete without an ocean tunnel. The famous walk-through experience where you are in a glass tunnel with sea creatures swimming over your head. The one at Weymouth is fab and has so much to see. Cody wasn’t so sure and found it very scary having huge sharks swimming overhead!
After lots of time spent looking at the various aquariums we decided to head outside into the sunshine for a while and try out some of the rides in the Adventure Island zone. These included a tug boat, seal ride, bouncer and the crocodile creek (mini log flume). Rides were all included in the admission fee so the kids could ride as many times as they like. The crocodile creek log flume was particularly good as it goes through a tunnel where real caiman crocodiles are in a glass enclosure for you to see. Very cool!
Our final stop was to see the seals. You can view them from above water level or below water level. They come so close to the glass as they swim past, it was very exciting! At certain times during the day you can see the seals being fed and a talk by the keeper. This happens in lots of other areas of the park too with various other species so its worth checking those out.
All in all we had a fab time at the Weymouth Sea Life Adventure Park and you can easily spend an entire day there, especially if the weather is fine. On the downside it is quite expensive for a family to visit as everyone aged 3 years and over pays the same price. If you can plan your trip in advance it is best to book online to get a discounted rate. You could also use your Tesco clubcard vouchers to get in free (like we did!). If you are Merlin pass members you can also get in free. They have crazy golf on site at an additional charge if you want to have a go. If you travel by car it is a pay and display car park which again isn’t cheap so make sure you factor that into your budget. Your ticket does include a ride on the Jurassic Coastline tower further down the beach which we really enjoyed.
You can take your own picnic with you and there are plenty of picnic tables around. Alternatively there is a large cafe alongside the gift shop if you want to purchase food. The Weymouth Sea Life Adventure Park is next to a country park so you could visit that as well while you are there. The park is fully wheelchair and buggy friendly so you can easily access all areas. It is suitable for all ages (children aged 0-2 years get in free). There are changing facilities in the disabled toilets too and buggy park areas around the park. Don’t forget when your children have completed their trail cards take them to the gift shop on your way out to get your free pop badge!
Address: Lodmoor Country Park, Preston Beach Road, Weymouth, DT4 7SX
Price Band: £££ (can use Tesco clubcard vouchers/Merlin pass)
Website: https://www.visitsealife.com/weymouth/
Disclaimer: Weymouth Sea Life Park and Merlin have had no involvement in this review and all photos, words and opinions are that of my own 🙂
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