Ripley's Aquarium

Located in the Broadway at the Beach entertainment complex, Ripley’s Aquarium is a great destination for a fun-filled family day out. Featuring a range of aquatic environments from the Amazon Rainforest to an Indo-Pacific coral reef, as well as plenty of interactive exhibits and multimedia displays, there is more than enough for visitors to see and do. The aquarium is also home to an eclectic mix of unusual marine life, from four-eyed fish and poison dart frogs to clownfish and piranhas. If you keep your eyes peeled, you may even see a mermaid or two!

Greet the stingrays at the interactive Ray Bay. Watch as aquarium divers plunge into the deep end of the lagoon to feed these gentle giants. Here, under the watchful eye of expert guides, visitors can lean over the shallow end of the tank and feel the soft flesh of the stingrays as they glide across the surface of the water.

If you think you’re brave enough, make a beeline for the impressive Dangerous Reef exhibit. In the underwater tunnel, glide along a moving path to come face to face with stealthy swordfish, menacing moray eels and bloodthirsty sand tiger sharks. So close, you can almost touch them!

Little ones will get a thrill from holding horseshoe crabs at the pioneering Discovery Centre. This section is an educational playground where visitors can learn more about marine life through a variety of puzzles and interactive exhibits.

Research and conservation are key to the ethos of this award-winning aquarium and this is evident in the excellent work done with rare species such as the endangered sea turtle. In order to promote this emphasis on education, the aquarium also hosts a number of expert lectures and seminars throughout the year.

Hail, rain or shine, this is a great place to bring the kids and, at only a short drive from the centre of Myrtle Beach, it’s easy to fit this attraction into your Myrtle Beach itinerary.