Key West Aquarium: Shark Feeding & Touch Tank Admission

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Free cancellation

1/6

Duration1h–3h

Mobile ticketAccepted

You Can Hand-Feed a Shark at Key West Aquarium

You get admission to the Key West Aquarium with your choice of interactive tours: hand-feed sharks, touch stingrays, or learn about mangrove conservation while feeding game fish in the 50,000-gallon Atlantic Shores tank. Tours run every 30 minutes, shark feedings happen four times daily, and the whole experience is designed around getting close to the animals, not just watching them behind glass.

1h–3h

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Key West Aquarium exhibits

Arrive at Key West Aquarium
Learn aquarium history and frescos
Explore Atlantic Shores Exhibit
Feed and touch tropical fish
Participate in shark interactive feeding
Attend shark feeding at scheduled time
Join sea turtle conservation tour
Feed and pet stingrays

The Experience

The shark feeding happens four times a day, and yes, you actually get to touch one. It sounds like the kind of thing you'd chicken out of until you're standing there with your hand in the water and a guide explaining why these animals matter to the reef. The Key West Aquarium sits right on the waterfront, and it's the kind of place that doesn't feel like a typical tourist trap — partly because it was the first open-air aquarium in the United States when it opened, and partly because the whole operation is built around interaction instead of just watching through glass.

The layout moves you through different sections, each with its own angle. There's the Atlantic Shores exhibit, a 50,000-gallon tank that's basically a cross-section of a mangrove ecosystem — you learn why those shallow, tangled trees matter to fish like groupers and tarpon, and then you get to feed them yourself. The touch tank lets you handle starfish and other creatures while a guide talks through the aquarium's history. If sharks aren't your thing, there are stingray feedings where you can pet them while they eat, which is gentler but somehow just as strange. The sea turtle conservation tour explains what the aquarium actually does to protect these animals, not just why they're cool to look at.

Tours run every half hour throughout the day, so you're not locked into a specific time — you just show up and catch the next one. Shark feedings are at 11am, 1pm, 3pm, and 4:30pm if you want to plan around those. The whole thing is wheelchair accessible, and if you've got small kids, strollers work fine. It's the kind of place where you spend two to three hours without feeling rushed, and you leave knowing something about how the ocean actually works instead of just having seen some fish.

What’s included

Your admission includes access to all aquarium exhibits and your choice of interactive tour: shark feeding and touch tank, stingray interaction, Atlantic Shores fish feeding with mangrove education, or sea turtle conservation tour. Tours run every 30 minutes throughout the day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Historic Tours Of America

Is this one for you?Pick this if you want hands-on interaction with sea life instead of just viewing tanks — the feeding tours are what set it apart from a standard aquarium visit, and the fixed schedule means you don't have to plan around long waits or sold-out times.