Discover Land and Sea at SeaQuest Las Vegas
SeaQuest is a cross between an aquarium and a petting zoo. Located only 3 miles from the Las Vegas strip, it is a fun place for visitors to Uber to for the afternoon with or without kids. SeaQuest creates an unforgettable experience with over 1,200 animals, 300 unique spices, exciting exhibits, and activities that take you through the rainforest, the jungle, and Pirate Island. It’s an excellent place for families and children of all ages to immerse themselves in a world of discovery. SeaQuest Las Vegas takes you on an adventure over land and sea where you can get up-close encounters with various animals. Pet a sea star, get wet with the stingrays, feed the toucans, sit among the sharks or iguanas, or hand-feed birds in an exotic aviary.
What is SeaQuest?
SeaQuest Las Vegas is a fun, interactive aquarium where you can see, feed, and touch, a wide variety of animals. To feed the animals, visitors need to purchase tokens in addition to their admission. A majority of the experiences cost only one token, but a few are more. We highly recommend that you include tokens for everyone in your budget when going because it is not the same experience if you’re not feeding or interacting with any of the animals. These SeaQuest feeding tokens can be redeemed in any vending machine to buy snacks for the animals. Each machine is labeled to show you which animal it is intended for. At busier times, animal food is also available for purchase from the ticket office and the aquarium’s food counters.
Checking in and purchasing tokens
We have been to SeaQuest as a family twice now and can’t wait to go back again soon. It’s that much fun, and there is so much to do and see that I think we could go back a dozen times before it started to get old.
This past trip, we were smart and saved ourselves some money by using the POGO pass to get in. The POGO pass is an activity pass for individuals or families that includes tons of fun things, from baseball game tickets to SeaQuest admission, all within the Las Vegas area.
We checked in at the front desk with our passes and purchased 15 tokens for the 5 of us. If you check in on Facebook, they will give you a free feeding token, so we got two additional tokens that way.
Favorite animals at SeaQuest
Our favorite animals to visit are the Stingrays, so we haven’t spent as much time at the entrance exhibits. However, we have been lucky to catch the otters being funny on both trips. They are super spunky and hilarious to watch chasing each other around.
You will see the coatimundi not far from the otters; we had never seen these creatures before. The coatimundi is a raccoon relative and native to south and central America. They were like watching cats play. We really enjoyed watching these two play around; they are fantastic climbers and seem like inquisitive animals.
The tide pools are the next exhibit we dipped into on this visit. You can touch a sea star, a spiky sea urchin, or even a wiggly, gooey anemone. Be careful; you should only touch them with two gentle fingers. This area is a lot of fun to roll up your sleeves and take your time getting comfortable touching the different sea creatures.
It took us a while to feel comfortable reaching in to touch everything, but they felt fascinating, and one of the anemones didn’t want to detach from my finger.
Interacting with Sharks and Sting Rays
Once you continue from the tide pools, you will come to the largest exhibit at SeaQuest. I’ll call it the Shark and Stingray exhibit because they are the biggest things you’ll find in this tank. This exhibit is a massive fish tank filled with sharks, stingrays, and various small and medium fish.
Hungry and friendly stingrays approach you as you walk up to the tank. It’s built so that visitors of all sizes can walk up the steps and dip their hands into the water. The Rays love to place their mouth against the tank and jump out of the water for food. It is a little unnerving at first, but they are so much fun to play with once you get used to them. You can also touch a shark if they make their way over to you.
VIP experiences are sold for this exhibit as well; with advanced reservations, you can dive in this water with a guide! Those who are not up for that experience can get the next best things and sit in the aquarium’s underwater tunnel. From this vantage point, it feels like you are in the water with the fish.
Land animals at SeaQuest
While the shark and stingray interaction is probably our favorite part of SeaQuest, at this point in the experience, you haven’t even seen half of what’s to offer. The next area takes you away from the water to see exotic cats, birds, and iguanas. The birds do a short show throughout the day, and they offered free feeding times for kids on our previous visit.
The cat exhibit is an enclosed exhibit that houses three brother Bengal cats named Snap, Crackle, and Pop. For three tokens, you can go inside and play with them! Unfortunately, this type of interaction is not always available, so we recommend getting in line if you see the attraction is open.
My daughter sat inside with the cats for several minutes. She enjoyed playing with them just like she would with our own cats. I could tell she loved every minute of it.
SeaQuest’s hidden playground
Beyond the parakeet room is a set of double doors that open up to an outdoor playground. While it may not be huge, it’s still a nice area if you need some fresh air or have a little someone with you in need of burning off some steam. Rarely will this play area ever be crowded, so it’s a good thing to keep in the back of your mind when break time comes.
Plenty of gifts available
Should you be in the mood to bring home a little souvenir from your visit, the gift shop at SeaQuest has you covered. There is an impressive selection of stuffed animals, toys, and other keepsakes. Our kids have never met a gift shop they didn’t like, and this was no exception. It took them practically no time to pick out their most desired toys and trinkets.
Annual passes available
As mentioned earlier, we used the POGO pass to pay for our admission to SeaQuest. Still, another option is available for those who plan on making multiple SeaQuest visits per year. You can purchase an annual pass to SeaQuest for $50 per person, which isn’t bad. A single admission costs between $14 and $20 depending on your age, student status, and military status. I’m no math genius, but it seems to make financial sense to purchase the pass if you plan on making more than two or three SeaQuest visits per year.
SeaQuest Summary
If you’re looking for a family-friendly way to spend a few hours in Las Vegas, SeaQuest is definitely worth consideration. Compared to most other forms of Las Vegas entertainment, SeaQuest is reasonably priced. In addition, the fact that they offer different packages, including the ability to swim with the sharks and stingrays, means that practically everyone can get the type of experience they’re hoping for.
Whether you’re a Las Vegas local or just coming for a visit, SeaQuest is definitely worth checking out. Seeing how much our family enjoyed it on both visits, I wouldn’t be surprised if we turned this into an annual tradition. There are so many fun things to do for families in Las Vegas, and SeaQuest is near the top of that list. Please let us know in the comments below if you’ve had the chance to experience SeaQuest and what you thought about it. We’re committed to showcasing more of Las Vegas’ family-friendly side, so please check back soon for more content. Also, please subscribe to the Vegas Showbiz YouTube channel for our latest video reviews of Las Vegas shows, hotels, concerts, and activities.
