In brief
Parking for the Aquarium of the Pacific is $8 for the day if you validate your parking ticket at the scanner inside the Aquarium, and reservations are required on weekends and holidays. General admission on the Aquarium’s own page is $49.95 for adults, $46.95 for seniors (62+) and $34.95 for children (3-11), with no date printed beside the prices.
- Parking: “$8.00 for the day with Aquarium validation”, paid on exit by card or at kiosks near the elevators3.
- Without validation, the city’s rate table for the Aquarium/Queensway Bay garage runs from free for 30 minutes to $16 for 8 to 24 hours6.
- Timed entry: “Reservations required weekends & holidays”; tickets are “not valid until the hour of your reservation and will be accepted the remainder of that day”2.
- Children under 3 need neither a reservation nor a ticket2.
- No lockers, no outside food, no tripods; same-day re-entry is allowed with a hand stamp4.
The Aquarium sits at 100 Aquarium Way, on the Downtown Long Beach waterfront, and most visits come down to three logistics questions: where the car goes, what a validated day costs, and whether the date needs a reservation. This page answers them from the Aquarium’s own pages and the city’s parking site as of October 2026. For how the Aquarium fits with the other waterfront destinations and the ways in and out of the city, see the section pillar, Getting In and Out of Long Beach.
The short answer
| If you are… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Driving | Use the garage at 99 Aquarium Way, then scan your parking ticket at the scanner inside the Aquarium; the day costs $8346 |
| Visiting on a weekend or holiday | Reserve a timed entry before you go; the page requires it2 |
| Visiting on a weekday | The Aquarium’s pages name weekends and holidays and say nothing about weekdays; check the ticket page for your date12 |
| Already holding tickets or coupons | A free reservation option exists for people with existing tickets or coupons, and another for members2 |
| Bringing a child under 3 | No ticket or reservation is required2 |
| Staying 2.5 to 4 hours | The validated $8 equals the unvalidated price only in that range; it costs more for a stay under 2.5 hours and is cheaper beyond 4 hours6 |
Hours, address and contact
The Aquarium’s address is 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802, and its phone number is (562) 590-31001. Its visit page showed “Today’s Hours” of 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on the day it was checked; hours are posted daily on that page and are not fixed14. The Aquarium also lists customer service by phone from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific time1.
Tickets and timed entry
General admission, “including Pacific Visions”, is priced on the visit page as follows1:
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | $49.95 |
| Senior (62+) | $46.95 |
| Child (3-11) | $34.95 |
Source:1. The page prints no date with these prices. A VIP package on the same page is $69.95 adult, $66.95 senior and $59.95 child, and it states that admission under it has “NO ADVANCED RESERVATIONS required”; the package lists other perks that are not logistics and are not repeated here1.
The tickets page describes three routes to a reservation: buy online tickets with a reservation time, make a free reservation if you already hold tickets or coupons, or make a free member reservation2. Two rules govern all of them. Online tickets “are not valid until the hour of your reservation and will be accepted the remainder of that day”, so arriving early does not work and arriving late does2. “Children under 3 years old do not require a reservation or ticket”2.
The Aquarium’s visit page says tickets are bought from “an external ticket vendor”, reached through a redirect notice on the site1. Unused general admission tickets “are valid for one year from the date of purchase”4.
Parking and validation
The Aquarium’s parking page describes the structure as “steps away on the water side of Shoreline Drive between Chestnut Place and Aquarium Way” and gives the fee: “$8.00 for the day with Aquarium validation”. You pay “as you exit the lot with a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or Discover) or at one of the parking kiosks near the elevators”3. The tickets page carries a notice that “most elevators are currently out of order at the City-owned parking structure. For guests with accessibility needs, please call (562) 590-3100”2. The FAQ gives the mechanism: “Aquarium visitors pay an $8 flat rate after validating at a scanner inside the Aquarium”4.
The city’s parking site lists that garage as the Aquarium/Queensway Bay Parking Garage, 99 Aquarium Way: open 24 hours, “Clearance height 8’2″”, EV parking available, and cash, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay accepted6. Its rate table, as of October 2026:
| Time parked, no validation | Rate |
|---|---|
| First 30 minutes | Free |
| 30 minutes to 1.5 hours | $3.00 |
| 1.5 to 2.5 hours | $6.00 |
| 2.5 to 4 hours | $8.00 |
| 4 to 5 hours | $12.00 |
| 5 to 8 hours | $15.00 |
| 8 to 24 hours | $16.00 |
| Lost ticket | $24.00 (no validation accepted) |
Source:6. “Aquarium Parking (with Validation)” is listed at $8.00; Pier Point and yacht cruise validations are listed at “All Day @ $8.00”6.
The arithmetic follows from the table: the validated $8 equals the unvalidated price only between 2.5 and 4 hours; it costs more than the unvalidated rate for a stay under 2.5 hours (free to $6.00) and is cheaper beyond 4 hours ($12 for 4 to 5 hours, $15 for 5 to 8). If you expect to be inside for more than four hours, validate.
Good to know The Aquarium’s visit page says parking is available “in two structures”, while its parking page names one. The city’s site lists validated parking for the Aquarium at both the Aquarium/Queensway Bay garage and the Pike Parking Garage (65 South Cedar Avenue, clearance 6’10”), but prints an Aquarium validation rate only for the first1367.
Parking elsewhere downtown, and what changes on October 1, 2026, is in Downtown Long Beach Parking by Trip.
What you can bring in
The Aquarium’s FAQ sets these rules4:
- “Unfortunately we do not have any lockers available at this time.”
- “The Aquarium does not allow any outside food within the Aquarium”; picnic tables on the plaza are first come, first served.
- “Tripods are not permitted.”
- Strollers are not lent, but guests may bring their own; baby backpacks “can be borrowed free of charge at our information desk”.
- “Re-entry will be allowed for same day visits”; the exit door stamps your hand.
The FAQ gives no bag-size limit. For storing luggage before or after a trip, see Luggage Storage in Long Beach Before or After a Cruise.
Getting there without a car
The Aquarium’s own transit page says the Aquarium is “half a mile from the Transit Mall in downtown Long Beach” and gives a walking route from Pine Avenue: south on Pine toward the water, right at The Paseo, left at Aquarium Way5. Treat that page as out of date in two places. It says “Blue line”, which the Long Beach Airport transportation page calls the former name of the A Line (“A Line (formerly known as Blue Line)”)11, and it promises Passport buses “every 8-12 minutes”5.
Long Beach Transit’s current Passport timetable, effective August 23, 2026, is route 37, running Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with buses about every 30 minutes; it lists four stops (10th & Pine, Long Beach Blvd & 1st, Shoreline & Village, and Queen Mary / Cruise Terminal), and the Aquarium is not named among them9. Metro’s A Line route map lists the Aquarium of the Pacific among its points of interest8. The stations, fares and the other changes of 2026 are in Long Beach Transit in 2026.
The water taxi stop at Aquarium Dock 4 is not running regularly: Long Beach Transit says “Regular AquaLink and AquaBus service has ended for the season” and “Regular service will return in 2027”. A special concert-day service runs between Aquarium Dock 4 and the Queen Mary for $12 round trip, with Sunday, October 4, 2026 the first date listed10.
Travelers combining the Aquarium with a day at the Queen Mary will find that page’s parking and tour details in The Queen Mary in 2026. The site earns a commission on some hotel, ticket, transfer and parking links, which does not affect what is recommended.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is parking at the Aquarium of the Pacific?
$8.00 for the day with Aquarium validation, paid at exit by card or at the kiosks near the elevators3.
How do I get my Aquarium parking validated?
The FAQ says visitors “pay an $8 flat rate after validating at a scanner inside the Aquarium”4.
Do I need timed tickets for the Aquarium of the Pacific?
What happens if I arrive before my reservation time?
Tickets “are not valid until the hour of your reservation and will be accepted the remainder of that day”2.
How much are Aquarium of the Pacific tickets?
General admission is $49.95 for adults, $46.95 for seniors (62+) and $34.95 for children (3-11) on the Aquarium’s visit page, which prints no date with the prices1.
Are there lockers at the Aquarium?
No. The FAQ says “we do not have any lockers available at this time”4.
Can I leave and come back the same day?
Yes. Re-entry is allowed for same-day visits with a hand stamp from the exit door4.
Related Articles
Sources
- Plan Your Visit — Aquarium of the Pacific. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Tickets and Reservations — Aquarium of the Pacific. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Parking — Aquarium of the Pacific. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Frequently Asked Questions — Aquarium of the Pacific. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Public Transit — Aquarium of the Pacific. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Aquarium/Queensway Bay Parking Garage — City of Long Beach parking. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Pike Parking Garage — City of Long Beach parking. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- A Line timetable and route map, effective June 7, 2026 — Los Angeles Metro. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Passport timetable, route 37, effective August 23, 2026 — Long Beach Transit. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Water Taxis — Long Beach Transit. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Transportation — Long Beach Airport. Accessed 2026-10-01.