Underwater World Langkawi, Malaysia


Last month we were able to find cheap flights to Langkawi, so we took a house sitting position and now find ourselves on a beautiful island in Malaysia for the holiday season.   If housesitting is not an option for you, there are plenty of cheap hotels in Langkawi.  As soon as it was set in stone I started to research some of the fun things we could do on the island and found that there is a lot to choose from. When I research things to do in a new location I also try and find indoor activities for the inevitable day or more of rain that typically occurs.

We are not huge on zoos and aquariums as we often times feel sad for the animals and know that the best place for them is usually in their wild habitat but everything we read about Underwater World Langkawi sounded wonderful. With our third rainy day upon us we decided to give it a try.

Immediately upon entering the boys were captivated by a lovely large tank full of arapaimas, which are enormous catfish like aquatic critters indigenous to Asia. It gave a nice feeling as the tank was larger than a lot we have seen and was very clean. We went in the afternoon in order to make our way around during the various feeding times the aquarium has. It was a good choice!


I shuffled the boys along as the first feeding was to start soon at the fur seal tank and I knew they would want to see that. First though we made our way through various tanks of lizards and a rainforest environment complete with Macaws, flamingos, marmosets, and you guessed it more fish! This area was clean, well ventilated and offered a good amount of space for all the animals.

The seal area was one of the highlights. We all enjoyed that as they fed and gave medications to the seals there was a women explaining everything and several more women around and available for answering any questions. It was not a seal show but rather an informative feeding which I greatly preferred. My 5 year old on the other hand would probably have been more entertained if the seals were doing “flippy tricks” as he so LOUDLY begged for. Again the tank was clean but seemed a bit small.


Next we moved on to the penguins which in my opinion were the most impressive. They have 2 different types, the blackfooted African penguin and the Rockhopper penguins. We all preferred the rock hopers for their cool hair dos but we spent quite a bit of time at each area observing. The aquarium runs a breeding program as well which helps to keep the population numbers up. All throughout the back of the area there were mamas set in their nests caring for eggs or babies, it was hard to tell which.


A feeling they are not familiar with at all:)
The feedings were perfectly timed so that as you walked through the maze of the aquarium you would have enough time to explore the tanks between feeding areas. After the penguin feeding we weaved around to find the bathrooms, a gift shop area and a nice little cafe where the kids enjoyed some ice cream. It was perfectly placed, for us any way, as my 5 year old had just started asking for a drink and the bathroom.


As we moved further towards the otter feeding we passed through loads of tanks full of amazing fish. Lionfish, eels, manta rays, a huge shark tank, a 50 foot walk through tunnel where there is also an in tank feeding, puffer fish, sea horses, jellyfish and so much more were available for viewing. We spent about an hour marvelling at all the fish you usually can only see on a thriving reef.


Otters have been one of my favorite animals ever since becoming enamored with them as a child at a small waterpark in Florida. They were adorable but their environment seemed quite small especially the water area and I wondered how happy they could be.




At this point we went outdoors through the touch tank area. I am not sure if it was just the hour we walked through but they were empty and no one was around. The kids were disappointed but quickly moved on to the koi pond and were amazed by the size of the “gold” fish in the pond! On the way out we passed through another room full of beautiful and clean tanks filled with a bounty of interesting fish and eels.



Our time at Underwater World Langkawi was fun, educational, and the perfect spot to go on a rainy afternoon! There are over 4000 animals and aquatic life forms on display to keep you and your children busy for hours!

Details:
The aquarium is open every day from 10am to 6pm and it is located right on Cenang beach. The entrance fee is 38 RM (roughly $12 US) per adult and 28RM (roughly $9 US) per child 3-12. Under 3 is free. They accept cash or credit card and there is an ATM machine located just outside.


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4 comments:

  1. I have been there last year. It was an amazing experience for me. The quality is really high and we can find many unbelievable species out there.

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  2. This Aquarium looks very beautiful with this wonderful sea animals.

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  3. This aquarium can be categorised one of the top sights in Malaysia in fact many people visit Malaysia for this sight.

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  4. What a wonderful piece of information Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer!

    ReplyDelete