Updated for September 2026

The Best Aquariums in New South Wales

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 New South Wales that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.

Listed alphabetically

  1. Animal encounterParkingKeeper talk or show

    Sydney Aquarium & Sydney Wildlife World

    Zoo & Aquarium in Sydney

    It opened in September 2006 beside a leisure and retail precinct that also holds the Sea Life aquarium and Madame Tussauds, and is laid out in ten themed zones.

  2. Animal encounterGuided tourOn-site dining

    Sea Life Sydney Aquarium

    Aquarium in Sydney

    The aquarium shows over 700 species and more than 13,000 individual animals, drawn from most Australian water habitats. Its displays trace the continent's rivers and oceans, covering southern and northern habitats alike.

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.