Vancouver Aquarium

• Author: C Ford
• Accommodation: Vancouver Aquarium

The Vancouver Aquarium is in Stanley Park located at 845 Avison Way. My brother and I (my brother is nine) went for a visit during March break for a little day to ourselves. We arrived by bus from Vancouver‘s Kitsilano neighbourhood, and it took two busses and about forty minutes to get there. Both bus rides were mediocre, not much walking time in between, however there was a ten-minute wait for the second bus. Which isn’t that long, but in the cold and rain of the day it felt longer.

The line up for the Aquarium wasn’t long, and fortunately my brother and I are members, therefore we didn’t need to pay to get in. However, had we not been members the fee would have come to fifty-two dollars for the both of us. Once inside there are many activities and marine life it’s difficult to decide on one to start with. We started our tour with the ‘Treasures of the B.C. Coast’ display, one that I’ve found always has something new to discover. We were even lucky enough to see the octopus fully exploring its little habitat! It normally hides in the back and we count ourselves rather fortunate to have seen it fully out in the open.

That exhibit was my second favorite of the day. My third was their ‘Tropic Zone’, which has an amazing combination of sea, land, and sky animals that can’t be found in North America. These animals include species such as water snakes, tortoises, sloths and parrots. All complete with tropical greenery. Although make sure to take your jacket off before exploring! The temperature is far up in this zone for its animal inhabitants.

My top exhibit of the trip is the aquariums ‘Discover Rays’ section. It’s an interactive exhibit where you can feel the stingrays themselves. I was completely fascinated by those creatures and how agile and, well, soft they are. You have to let them come to you and only touch their dorsal side with two fingers along the spine. Both my brother and I were in awe. I highly recommend visiting this exhibit.

All in all, I think the Vancouver Aquarium is a lovely day trip for all ages, however I do recommend going on a sunnier day rather than the wet cold Spring day I did. The outdoor exhibits would have been much more enjoyable had it not been raining and cold!