Florida Aquarium

Visitors to Orlando will enjoy taking a detour to visit the Florida Aquarium, which is home to a wide variety of undersea life and is also leader in marine conservation.

Located in downtown Tampa, Florida, about 85 miles southwest of Orlando, the Florida Aquarium is home to sharks, seahorses, otters, alligators, penguins and other aquatic creatures.

The Coral Reef Gallery, which simulates the coral formations of the Florida Keys, is home to moray eels, angelfish, sponges and other fascinating animals.

The Swim with the Fishes Program provides visitors to the Coral Reef Gallery with an introduction to SCUBA diving, in which they remain on the surface of the water while wearing small SCUBA tanks.

Sharks, stingrays and seahorses can be seen at the Bays and Beaches Gallery.

The Wetlands Gallery houses alligators, crocodiles, turtles, river otters, ducks, gar, nurse sharks and blue fish.

Every day, the Florida aquarium hosts a Penguin Promenade, where visitors can interact directly with African black-footed penguins.

At the Explore A Shore adventure zone, children can slide on a water slide, play in a coral cave and fire water cannons from aboard a pirate ship.

The Dive with the Sharks program allows certified SCUBA divers who are at least 15 years old to come face to face with the sharks in Shark Bay.

On a 90 minute ecotour on board a catamaran in Tampa Bay, guests will be able to see bottlenose dolphins in their natural environment.

Conservation work by the Florida Aquarium, which is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), includes rehabilitating sea otters and sea turtles, rescuing stranded marine mammals, and developing sustainable seafood.

The Florida Aquarium is working with other agencies in order to coordinate efforts to rescue and rehabilitate animals affected by the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.