Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
4.5
Natural History MuseumsAquariums
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Dive into the world of sharks, seahorses, and coral reefs at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Perched high on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, Birch Aquarium features more than 60 habitats with amazing creatures including a rescued Loggerhead Sea Turtle, a Giant Pacific Octopus, Garibaldi and Moray Eels. Not to be missed are the outdoor tide pools where guests can touch local creatures including juvenile sharks, or the two-story Giant Kelp Forest. Seadragons & Seahorses features one of the largest seadragon habitats in the world, and the new Moon Jelly experience will awe guests of all ages in the Hall of Fishes. Open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. year-round with extended summer hours. Keep an eye on the website for the addition of seasonal events and outdoor adventures. Advanced reservations are required for all guests, even members.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience Birch Aquarium at Scripps and nearby attractions

The area
Address
Reach out directly
See what travelers are saying
  • Anthony Bailey
    Fresno, California70 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful, Educational and Fun!
    The Birch aquarium was a great stop on our visit to San Diego. The facilities were well planned out and they were beautiful! Our girls learned so much about marine life and they had fun at the same time. I would recommend this stop on your trip to SD as well.
    Visited April 2023
    Written April 23, 2023
  • Cindy447
    Eldon, Missouri130 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Worth a Visit
    We needed an online reservation and had to purchase tickets online, which changed our plans for the morning since no time slots were open until afternoon, but it did make entry a breeze. This is a nice aquarium with a spectacular view and things that appealed to all of our family members from elementary school through high school. It was a nice size to visit pretty thoroughly in a couple hours and allowed us to do several things in La Jolla in one day. We found it to be worthwhile, educational and fun.
    Visited May 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written June 10, 2023
  • mnguru1
    Edina, Minnesota561 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice aquarium - It takes about an hour to see
    Great exhibits, it's a little small in comparison to other aquariums but has a nice variety and exhibits. Also, not too expensive- $25 for admission I believe. They have a very interesting sea horse exhibit. You will have an opportunity to participate more directly with the animals during certain days when they feed them for an additional fee.
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written July 21, 2023
  • cubby61990
    3 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice aquarium
    Nice displays. Educational information to read on tanks. Not too crowded so even kids can see displays. Touch pools a big hit with kids. Adults would find the tocuh pool interesting. Employees often student have interesting information to share with visitors. About the fish and animals at the aquarium. If you wan to see feedings come later in the day . Check the schedule to find the feeding times. You can see fish and turtles best at feeding time. Bring a sac lunch at eat in area by shark exhibit. Nice views or eat on bench by tide pools for ocean view. Alternative is a food at the cafe sandwiches, ice cream drinks etc.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written November 13, 2023
  • Aline
    London, Canada13 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great afternoon well spent
    I always love a good aquarium! I completed the tour about 2-2.5 hrs and I took my time! Would be a great half day activity. It has a beautiful kept forest tank that you can sit and just enjoy. It has some relaxing music to go along which was great! So mesmerizing. They also had a touch area where you can touch a few different things such as a sea cucumber, sea urchin, sea stars, anemones, and a baby shark? My only wish was that it was bigger! I always love a good jelly fish display so wish this was an option too.
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written December 3, 2023
  • JoshBaz
    Columbia, Illinois89 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice little aquarium, parking stinks
    Cool little aquariums all over with some larger displays. Outside, the staff was very helpful and knowledgeable. Inside can get a little crowded, but not too bad. I'd say plan for a couple of hours here and enjoy yourself. The only downside of the place is the parking. Parking is TERRIBLE. Expect to wait a while to get into the lot if that's where you are planning on parking. We wound up parking on the street, which I later saw a sign is for permits only. However, we didn't get a ticket, so......
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written March 7, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,961 reviews
Excellent
963
Very good
676
Average
252
Poor
57
Terrible
13

Jacqueline C
Toronto, Canada42 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
My husband and I visited in February and were able to take advantage of a city museum pass which gave us a 50% discount. I think if we hadn't had the discount, it would not have been worth the money. It was quite small and a little dated. Good if you have children with you but otherwise it's a pass.
Written February 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mshbnyehud
Dallas, TX1,201 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021
It's perfectly understandable that there are Covid restrictions on how many persons can be accommodated inside the building at any given time. But Birch management need to come into the modern era re. crowd management, and technology available to enable more people who show up without reservations. My suggestion is simple. If you have a maximum of 250 persons (for example) inside at any one time, and 5 new people show up without a reservation, they should be "wait listed" to go in as people leave early. Maybe it isn't a perfect idea but management should be able to figure out a way of enabling more people to pay money and come into the aquarium without advance notice.

It's a bit disconcerting to drive into the parking lot, see that 1/3 of the parking spots are open, and not able to enter the building because there are no reservations remaining for the day (and yet a steady stream of people are leaving the building starting at mid-day), and fewer are coming in. And what about people who make reservations and don't show?

There's got to be a better way to manage this using modern technology.
Written December 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Birch Aquarium is operating at 50 percent capacity to create a safe environment for our guests and staff. A limited number of guests are admitted every 15 minutes in order to maintain that limited capacity and allow for social distancing. We hope you will plan ahead and make reservations in advance, so you that you can enjoy the aquarium soon. Stay safe!
Written January 3, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

VioletRoss
Troy, MI228 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021
The small size of this attraction is just fine. Loved the seahorses & touch tanks. I've visited the huge Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga & it took 2 visits to see it all; tickets here cost half as much. Comparing web sites of both places, Tennessee again takes the prize. If you want to see & learn more, try some virtual visiting & learning.
Written May 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TAMMY G
180 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Couples
We visited here on a Monday around 2 o'clock.. I did not realize you needed to reserve a time to enter. Tickets must be bought online with the app. For the $25 entrance fee I did not feel this was worth my money. The Penguin exhibit is closed. The sharks are outside where you cannot really see into the tank. There is is a small concession stand outside of the aquarium, but no food and drink aloud inside. you must also wear a mask the entire time you're inside.
Written March 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Valerie
Tucson, AZ142 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
This is a small aquarium but very well done. Loads of information on sea life, beautiful tanks. COVID restrictions mean you need to book in advance but it also makes the visit much more intimate and relaxing. Glad to see they are making it through!
Written October 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sheri T
128 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Couples
This aquarium has a fantastic seahorse and sea dragon exhibit. Don’t miss it. The fish walk is also well done, with species ranging from the North Pacific to tropical IndoPacific. While it is not large, tanks are well signed and fish appear healthy.
Written March 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Serenity
Springfield, Ohio30 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
Never before have I seen such a variety of Seadragons and seahorses. I was fascinated by them. Not crowed the morning on Monday when we visited. We were there for a little over an hour and half and able to see all the exhibits. This is for all ages. There is an outdoor area with a great view and had lunch there. My husband and I decided to take a walk down to the beach. We were warned that the trip back up might be taxing ( 70 and in average shape). We walked the beach, and sat on a bench watching surfers. There is a restaurant overlooking the beach. Since we ate at the aquarium, we didn’t stay. There was 1 shared bathroom at the restaurant, so make sure you stop at the aquarium before venturing down. We did walk back up, but if you have doubts drive or take an Uber/Lyft back. Small aquarium, but a must see, Many learning opportunities.
Written January 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Johnny Trekkie
San Diego, CA9,336 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
I know not everyone has an interest in sea life and aquariums, but ocean lovers like me should not miss this! As in every great aquarium, this one is packed with different magnificent species residing in dozens of fascinating exhibits. The most enchanting is the central ocean tank which holds hundreds of creatures in a massive 70,000 gallon two story tall aquarium featuring the Pacific ocean's native species. There is also a very well curated seahorse and sea dragon exhibit that is meticulously maintained. The tide pool plaza has some incredible cliffside views of La Jolla. Words can't describe all this, pictures only capture 5% of it...go and see for yourself! Since I'm a local, I paid $75 for an annual membership that gets me and the wife unlimited visits.
Written October 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Flo L
Santa Clarita, CA100 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020 • Couples
I like aquariums. I’ve been to many. This little gem has a nice collection, thoughtfully displayed. They have done a good job meeting Covid protocols. We felt safe and unhurried. One side is geared more for kids with a comic book scheme. It’s a clever way to make a collection of specimens in jars interesting. It’s a nice break from all the water sports, hiking and bicycling there is to do in San Diego!
Written October 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Deb K
Carmel, IN233 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023
We were at the Aquarium on Sunday afternoon. The crowd was moderate and the exhibits were easy to see. The signage at each spot is very interesting. The penguin area is well done and fun , with Staff providing background and stories.
We appreciated the very knowledgeable Staff who shared information as we walked around the exhibits.
The view of the coast is spectacular from the deck of the facility!

Just a tip - make reservations for a time slot to visit the Aquarium. We didn't realize we needed them. The Staff was helpful in explaining and setting up a reservation for later in the day.
Written February 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

…
Showing results 1-10 of 1,861
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Birch Aquarium at Scripps - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Birch Aquarium at Scripps


Restaurants near Birch Aquarium at Scripps: View all restaurants near Birch Aquarium at Scripps on Tripadvisor

Attractions near Birch Aquarium at Scripps: View all attractions near Birch Aquarium at Scripps on Tripadvisor