Interactive Aquarium Cancún: Cancun Travel Guide (4.3★)

Glass, water and a shopping mall

You won’t find this aquarium on a beach. Interactive Aquarium Cancún is built into La Isla, the open-air shopping village on the lagoon side of Boulevard Kukulcán at km 12.5. You walk past boutiques and along the mall’s canal-lined walkways, then step out of the Caribbean glare into dim rooms lit by tank glass.

That setting explains a lot about the place. It’s a compact, city-style aquarium designed for getting close to the animals. The big tanks matter less here than the encounters, the touch areas and the scheduled shows, which is why the word “Interactive” leads the name.

It is one of the most-visited attractions in the Hotel Zone. It’s consistently well rated, with several thousand reviews behind that score. Expect company, especially families with young children.

What’s behind the glass

The aquarium displays a wide range of sea creatures. Most visitors come for two things: the walk-through exhibits, and the hands-on experiences and shows listed on the day’s schedule.

The general visit covers the display tanks and the shows. Separately bookable programs put you in the water or right at the edge of it. The dolphin programs are the best known. Keep these two tiers apart when you plan, because they need different amounts of time:

• General visit: one to two hours at an unhurried pace, including a show or two.
• With an in-water program: allow half a day once you add check-in, the briefing and changing.
• Show times: these are posted on the day, so check the schedule as you enter and build your loop around it.

A word on dolphins in captivity: travellers disagree about it, and many choose not to take part. If you’d rather leave that part out, the tanks and other encounters still make a worthwhile visit. If you’d rather see marine life in the wild, the reefs off Isla Mujeres are a short ferry ride away.

Getting to km 12.5

Everything in the Hotel Zone is located by its kilometre marker on Boulevard Kukulcán. Give drivers “La Isla, kilómetro doce y medio” and nobody will need a map.

• Public bus: the R-1 and R-2 buses run the length of the boulevard between downtown and the Hotel Zone. Ask the driver for La Isla. Have small peso bills ready, because drivers take cash.
• Taxi: hotel taxis queue at every resort entrance. Confirm the fare with the driver before you get in, since Hotel Zone taxis don’t use meters.
• Car: La Isla has its own parking, which makes this one of the easier Hotel Zone attractions to reach by car.

The aquarium is on the lagoon side, so you won’t cross the boulevard from the beach-side hotels near this stretch until you arrive. At La Isla, follow the signs through the shopping village.

The rainy-day and late-evening card

The opening hours make this aquarium useful. It’s open from 9:30am to 8pm every day of the week, with no closing day. That makes it one of the few marine attractions in Cancún you can still do after a full beach day.

That’s also why it fills up in poor weather. When a storm rolls in, a lot of people in the Hotel Zone have the same idea. If the forecast turns, go early in the day, before the beach crowd gives up and heads indoors.

The evening slot works well for another reason. La Isla faces the Nichupté Lagoon, which sits west of the Hotel Zone, so the sun sets over the water behind the mall. Visit the aquarium in the late afternoon and then walk out to the lagoon-side promenade for dusk. Restaurants along the mall stay busy into the evening.

Booking the in-water programs

This is the part that needs planning, so here is how it usually works.

• Book ahead. The in-water programs have limited places per session. Reserve online before your trip or at least a day before, particularly in high season and over Mexican school holidays.
• Arrive early for check-in. Programs start with a briefing. If you turn up at the exact start time, you could lose the slot.
• Sunscreen rules. Animal pools in the Riviera Maya usually limit or ban regular sunscreen. Read the conditions for your program before you put any on.
• Photos. Personal cameras are often restricted in the encounter pools, and staff photographers sell the pictures afterwards. Decide beforehand whether you want them so you aren’t deciding under pressure at the counter.
• Payment. Cards are widely accepted across La Isla. If you pay in cash, pesos usually go further than US dollars.
• Tipping. Tipping is customary in Mexico. Keep small pesos handy for staff who take care of you during a program.

Current prices for general admission and every program are posted on the official website and at the ticket counter. Compare them there, because booking-site bundles don’t always include the same items.

Rounding out the afternoon

The aquarium fits easily into a longer day on this part of the boulevard.

• La Isla itself: canal walkways, shops, restaurants and a cinema, all within a few minutes on foot.
• Museo Maya de Cancún: a short drive south at km 16.5. It holds Maya artefacts and connects to the San Miguelito archaeological site.
• Playa Delfines: further south near km 18. This is the open public beach with the large Cancún letters sign and long views down the coast.
• Punta Cancún: north, near km 9, where the nightlife clubs are clustered.

A good order is morning at Playa Delfines, then the museum, then the aquarium and the lagoon sunset at La Isla. You’ll be moving north the whole day, back towards most of the big hotels.

Who will get the most from it

Families with young children get the most out of it. The compact layout, the scheduled shows and the touch encounters keep small children engaged without a long walk. It’s also an easy pick for anyone staying in the Hotel Zone who wants something to do on a cloudy day.

If you’re a keen diver or snorkeller, set your expectations to match. This is a city aquarium inside a mall, and it won’t feel like the Mesoamerican Reef. Treat it as an easy one- or two-hour visit and it does the job well.