Updated for September 2026
The Best Aquariums in Hawaii
How this list is ordered: by how complete our listing is — how much we hold on opening hours, ticket prices, accreditation, photographs, animals and facilities. It is a measure of our own coverage, not a judgement of the venue. We hold no visitor scores or conservation assessments, so “best” here means every aquarium in Hawaii that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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Guided tour
Waikiki Aquarium
Zoo & Aquarium in Honolulu
Dating from 1904, it has belonged to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for over a century, that link having been formed in 1919. Only the New York Aquarium is older among American public aquariums still operating. It stands on the shore next to a living coral reef, with more than 3,500 organisms representing 490 species of marine plant and animal.
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Animal encounterChild friendlyBehind-the-scenes tour
Maui Ocean Center
Aquarium in Wailuku
Opened on 13 March 1998 by Coral World International, the 3-acre site is claimed to be the Western Hemisphere's biggest live tropical reef aquarium. It is the island's only public aquarium, and shows solely Hawaiian marine life.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 2 venues above are listed alphabetically by name, the same order used throughout this site. We do not collect visitor reviews, star ratings, ticket-sales figures or a conservation-impact score, so none of those exist here to rank by — “best” in this page’s title means every venue that qualifies for this list, not first-to-last by quality. If we ever add a data source robust enough to support an honest ranking, this note and the order above will change together.