Sharjah Aquarium is a small marine centre in Al Khan. Roughly 100 species, 21 tanks. Adults pay 25 AED, kids aged 2 to 12 pay 15, and the ticket throws in the Maritime Museum next door for free. Open since 2008, run by the Sharjah Museums Authority.
So why come here when Dubai has that huge aquarium in the mall? Cost and quiet. It’s a few dirhams, it doesn’t get mobbed, and the fish are the ones that live off our coast, not an imported showcase. If your kids are small, honestly, the lack of crowds is reason enough. It’s also one of the more affordable stops among the many tourist places in Sharjah.
An hour or two does it. I’ve put the prices and hours below, plus the one traffic mistake that catches half the people driving over from Dubai.
Al Khan is on the western side of Sharjah city, near the lagoon, a couple of minutes from the Corniche. If you’re driving from Dubai, you’re in luck. It’s close to the border, so it’s about the easiest Sharjah attraction to get to from that direction.
Bring the car or take a taxi. Parking’s on site. Sharjah has no metro, in case you were wondering, so a train isn’t an option.
Now the mistake. That Dubai to Sharjah road turns into a slow crawl at rush hour. Into Dubai in the mornings, back into Sharjah in the evenings. Come on a weekend or around lunchtime and you’ll sail through. Get it wrong and the border alone can eat half an hour of your day.
Same most of the year, different in Ramadan.
Ramadan splits it into two sittings:
Watch for two things. The evening session, Saturday to Thursday, closes during the final ten days of Ramadan. And the whole place shuts on the 29th and 30th of Ramadan, the first day of Eid Al Fitr, the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, and the first day of Eid Al Adha. Those land on different dates each year, so check before an Eid visit.
One ticket does both venues, the aquarium and the Maritime Museum beside it. That’s a solid deal once it sinks in.
| Visitor type | Price |
|---|---|
| Children under 2 | Free |
| Children 2 to 12 | 15 AED |
| Adults 13 and above | 25 AED |
| Group of children, 6 or more (2 to 12) | 10 AED each |
| Group of adults, 6 or more (13+) | 15 AED each |
| Government school and university trips | Free |
| Private school and university trips | 5 AED each |
| Seniors 60+ and one companion | Free |
| People of determination | Free |
Everyone gets in free on three days: International Museum Day on 18 May, Commemoration Day on 1 December, and UAE National Day on 2 December. Nice for the wallet, but expect them to be packed.
Each tank copies a habitat from the coast around here. You get coral reef, rock pools, the lagoon, the mangroves. It’s all indoors, and they run the lights low so nothing glares off the glass and the colours read properly. It’s cold in there. Come August, that’s a small blessing.
Don’t turn up expecting rare or foreign creatures. What you get is local. Reef sharks, rays, moray eels, seahorses, clownfish, and shoals of little reef fish. Watch which tank the kids sprint to first. Clownfish, then the sharks, pretty much always.
Staff feed the fish and give short talks at points through the day, and that’s when everything wakes up. Try to be there for one. Times drift around, though, so skip the schedule you found online and just ask at the front desk when you arrive. There’s a café and a small gift shop by the way, if anyone needs a break or a souvenir.
There’s more going on than the displays. The aquarium runs a sea turtle rehab programme. Sick or hurt turtles come in, get nursed back, then head out to sea again. That’s a working thing, not window dressing.
They also do a yearly coastal clean up under the Sharjah Museums Authority’s “Because We Care” campaign, aimed at cutting the rubbish that washes into the water. If you’ve brought school age kids, it gives them something worth talking about later.
For families, this is the sweet spot, and the size is the reason. Small enough that a toddler won’t lose it before the exit, and you’re rarely stuck in a queue. Sixty to ninety minutes and you’ve seen the lot.
What I’d do: aim for a weekday outside the school holidays, get there near a feeding time so the little ones stay glued, and don’t walk past the Maritime Museum. It’s already on your ticket.
Since both sit on one ticket, do both. The museum is a few steps over and it’s all about Sharjah’s life on the water. Pearl diving, fishing, dhow building. There are real wooden dhows on the floor and displays showing how people made a living from the sea long before the towers arrived.
One after the other, they line up nicely. The aquarium is the sea alive. The museum is the sea as a job.
You can tack a few things onto the same outing:
Turning it into a full day? Al Mahatta Park and Sharjah’s heritage quarter are both easy additions if you want to fit another stop into the day.
For the price, yes. More so with kids, or if this sort of thing genuinely interests you. Just keep your expectations level. It’s a compact, educational stop, not a water park full of tunnels and slides. If your mental picture is the Dubai Mall aquarium, you’ll come out disappointed.
Fold it into a wider Sharjah day and it pulls its weight. If you’ve got more time, Sharjah Safari makes a completely different follow up, swapping marine life for one of the largest safari parks outside Africa.
How much does Sharjah Aquarium cost?
Adults 25 AED, kids 2 to 12 pay 15. Under 2s, seniors over 60 with a companion, and people of determination get in free. The Maritime Museum comes with it.
What are the timings?
8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Saturday to Thursday, and 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Friday. Ramadan is shorter and runs in two sittings.
Where is it?
Al Khan, Sharjah. Right next to the Maritime Museum, near the lagoon and the Corniche.
How long do I need?
An hour or two. Longer if you catch a feeding session or add the museum.
How many species are there?
Close to 100, across 21 tanks. Mostly Gulf fish. Reef sharks, rays, moray eels, seahorses, clownfish.
Good for young kids?
Yes. It’s small, it’s cheap, and the feeding sessions hold their attention without tiring them out.
Easy to reach from Dubai?
Yes, it’s near the border. Drive or take a taxi, and dodge the weekday rush or you’ll lose time at the crossing.
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