London Aquarium: how long it takes and whether to book ahead

The London Aquarium, properly SEA LIFE London, is in the basement of County Hall on the South Bank, directly beside the London Eye. It is one of three paid attractions sharing that building, which is the thing worth understanding before you buy anything.

How long it takes

Around ninety minutes for most visitors. It is a walkthrough on a fixed route rather than a site you wander, so the time is fairly predictable and does not stretch much whether you hurry or not. Two hours if you stop at everything with children.

The County Hall ticket question

The Aquarium, the London Dungeon and the London Eye are all in or beside the same building and are all run by the same operator, which is why combination tickets exist for two or three of them together. If you intend to do more than one, buying them separately is the expensive way round.

Booking ahead is normally cheaper than the door and, more importantly, gets you a timed slot. The South Bank is one of the busiest stretches in London and the queue for the door is outdoors.

When to go

It is indoors and windowless, which makes it the reliable wet weather option and also the busiest place on the South Bank when it rains. Term-time weekday afternoons are the quiet window. Weekends and school holidays are full.

Who it suits

Small children, strongly. It is dark, warm, on one level and short enough to finish before anyone runs out of patience, which is more than can be said for most London attractions. Adults without children usually find ninety minutes about right and no more.

Nearby, and free

The South Bank outside is free and better than most ticketed things in London: the river walk, the Southbank Centre’s free foyer music, and Tate Modern twenty minutes east. Free things to do in London has the list, and the London Dungeon is the other half of the County Hall question.

Opening times, and the cashless rule

Checked on the operator’s own page on 9 September 2026. SEA LIFE London was open 10am to 5pm with last entry at 4pm on the day we looked, and it publishes the day’s hours at the top of its own site, which is the thing to check before travelling because they move.

It is entirely cashless. No cash is accepted anywhere in the attraction, the gift shop included. That catches people out more than anything else here.

The aquarium holds over 6,000 animals, including sharks, rays, turtles, penguins and a glass walkthrough tunnel. The operator’s booking guarantee allows a rescheduled date if your plans change. What tickets cost, and the combined pass that changes the arithmetic, is below.

What it costs, and the combined ticket worth doing the sums on

Checked on the operator’s own page on 9 September 2026. A standard adult ticket is from £28 booked online and £39 on the day at the door. A child aged 2 to 15 is from £25 online, £35 on the day. Under twos are free. The operator puts the advance saving at up to 28 per cent, and on those figures that is about right: turning up without a ticket is the single most expensive way to visit.

Two upgrades exist and neither is essential. Anytime Entry, from £33 online, drops the timed slot and lets you arrive when you like. The Deluxe Package, from £38, bundles that with extras. A standard ticket plus the VR experience is from £32.

Now the sum that matters. SEA LIFE, the London Eye, Madame Tussauds, the London Dungeon and Shrek’s Adventure are all the same operator, and the pass covering all five is from £59 per adult, which is under twelve pounds an attraction. SEA LIFE with the Eye alone is from £49, and SEA LIFE with Shrek’s is also from £49. So if you are doing any two of them, you are ten pounds away from doing all five, and buying them one at a time is comfortably the worst option.