Istanbul has four aquariums with the Istanbul Aquarium in Bakirkoy, Korsan Adasi in Bayrampasa, Emaar in Uksudar and ViaSea in Tuzla. The Dolphinarium in Eyup is not technically an aquarium, but you can see live aquatic shows of dolphins, white whales, walruses and sea bears there.
Intro
Our aquarium map also shows the locations of each aquarium in Istanbul along with their proximity to zoos and animal parks.
Istanbul Aquarium
The largest of its kind in Istanbul with a 2-story structure and 17 themes based areas based on geographical routes. There are around 17,00 different kinds of animals located throughout the aquarium, and about 1500 various species.
You start with the bodies of water in Turkey, such as the Black Sea, Bosphorus Strait, Marmara Sea, and the Aegean Sea. The bodies of water above hold a variety of sharks and fish, including cow-nosed stingray, and Russian sturgeon.
The Amazon Rainforest is the final area of the aquarium that you walk through, here you will find the poisonous frogs, red-bellied piranhas, and the dwarf crocodile. The South Pole area carries the famous penguins, and in the Pacific, Mid-Atlantic and Aegean areas, you will find the clownfish, triggerfish, the slow swimming long-horned cowfish and sand tiger shark. The Red Sea holds fish such as the stonefish and the napoleon fish.
Ticket Prices
Entrance fees are 109 TL for Adults and 79 TL for Children 2-12, Students and Seniors.
Fast pay discounts are available for online tickets which offers savings of 8-16 TL.
Sea Life
An aquarium full of exotic and colorful sea creatures. There is an amazing creations zone, that allows you to draw the tropical fish that you see moving around. The shark encounter located in the ocean tank features over 61 sharks moving through an underwater safari.
The Rockpools Zone allows you to touch the starfish and horseshoe crab while they are moving along a coastal sea replica. The Sea bed is one of the largest ocean displays where the sea creatures are headed directly towards you. The touching zone features the Green Sea turtles, that you can interact with. Other sea creatures that you will find roaming the ocean tunnel, are the octopus and jewel anemone.
Ticket Prices
Entrance fees for adults are 94 TL for Adults (17+) and 69 TL for a Children (3-17) or Students (14+).
If you’re able to buy online in advance you can save money with rates of 75/55 TL for Adult 17+/Child 3-17 or Student 14+.
Korsan Adasi
Formerly known as ViaSea, it has the the longest underwater glass tunnel in Istanbul. The Crocodile Park features Koi fish, scorpions, tarantulas, Tiger sharks, African giant tortoise, love and sultan parrots, a crocodile and baby croc, Nile dragon, bearded dragon, and stingray. You can hand and bottle feed the animals
The ocean aquarium features tropical fish such as the seahorse, sea anemone, ring-tailed lemur, as well as tropical birds such as the silver and golden pheasant. This section features fluorescent lighting that shines through the underwater glass tunnel to accentuate the environment.
Ticket Prices
Ticket prices vary based on park packages and what you want to include, i.e. access to theme park, asian zoo, crocodile park and/or the aquarium.
Emaar
The Emaar Aquarium is an underwater aquarium and zoo, composed of 7 thematic sections of marine animals and amphibians. The Rocky Shores is where you will find crustacean floating in a rough, rocky environment such as crabs, stingrays, sharks and more.
The Main Tank and Tunnel places you amidst the coral reefs, underwater glass tunnel. The Jellyfish Gallery is composed of neon lights with jellyfish moving gracefully as the light emits the flow of colors. In the Forest aquarium, you will find the water rats, piranhas, iguanas, spiders, snakes, and other forest inhabited aquatic creatures.
The Rivers and Falls is a feeling of being in the Amazon with otter, stingrays, arowanas and more. Penguin Island is exactly that—the South American Humboldt penguin community. The final section is the home of the male and female crocodiles–Crocodile Kingdom.
Ticket Prices
Entrance fees are 69 TL for Adults (14-64) and 59 TL for Children (up to 14), Students and Seniors (65+).
If you’re able to buy online in advance you can save money 6-7 TL per ticket.
Dolphinarium
Istanbul Dolphinarium provides hour-long shows featuring North sea bears, dolphins, a white whale, and walrus. The sea bears open the show by greeting the audience, saying hello and eagerly awaits to showcase their talent after each applause. This act is followed by the walrus that performs tango dances, plays a basketball game, demonstrates sit-ups and push-ups and plays the sax.
The walrus closes his act laughing, joking and teasing with the trainer. The third act is the white whale, who will paint, sing and dance with the trainer.
The dolphins close the entire show with tricks such as dancing, gymnastics, and some basketball tricks. The basketball trick includes dunking the ball in the pool while hanging 3 meters in the air and jumping through hoops to hit the balls.
Ticket Prices
Entrance fees to the 1-hour shows are 160 TL for Adults (12+) and 130 TL for Children aged 3-11. VIP seating is available with prices of 250 TL for Adults and 200 TL for Children.
You can book online for things like Swimming with Dolphins / Interaction with Dolphins for 850 TL (1 person), 1500 TL (2 people simultaneously) and 2000 TL (3 people simultaneously)
You can also take a 20-minute diving session with prices of 1700 TL (1 person), 3100 TL (2 people) and 3800 TL (3 people).
Map of Aquariums
Depending on where you stay in Istanbul there’s an aquarium within a short drive or metro ride away. If you’re want to see a zoo or animal park too, we’ve included them on the map as well,