We’re open! Clearwater Marine Aquarium is excited to welcome you to enjoy the world of marine life rescue with improved safety measures!
Visiting CMA is a whole new experience now with five times the guest space and the brand-new 1.5-million-gallon Ruth & J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex. Explore the home of Winter the Dolphin and our other rescued dolphins from spectacular underwater windows or soak in the vista from above on the spacious Dolphin Terrace.
How We’re Keeping Everyone Safe
CMA has implemented significant additional safety precautions to protect staff, animals, and guests while ensuring a fun and educational visit with limited guests. We’re taking safety to the next level!
Among the many safety measures, Clearwater Marine Aquarium has the following:
- Limited capacity to encourage social distancing
- Touchless transactions
- Advanced reservations where guests may select an arrival date and time and purchase admission online prior to visiting
- Signs and floor decals to promote social distancing
- Barriers at transaction areas
- All CMA personnel are wearing face masks
- Daily temperature checks for all CMA personnel
- Temperature checks for all guests entering CMA at Ticketing
Face coverings are required onsite for all guests ages 5 and up visiting CMA. No other exceptions permitted. Show off your fun masks while enjoying all that our facility has to offer! Face coverings must be worn on CMA property except when sitting and eating in our café or when out on a boat excursion and practicing social distancing. Face coverings are defined as a mask, buff or face shield.
How You Can Visit Clearwater Marine Aquarium
Home to rescued animals like Winter the dolphin from the Dolphin Tale movies, Clearwater Marine Aquarium is excited to welcome guests again. We encourage booking advanced reservations online This allows CMA to provide a unique experience, with limited capacity for social distancing, while ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness.
Tickets and Visits
- Due to limits on guest attendance to comply with social distancing guidelines, all guests are encouraged to pre-purchase their tickets online on our website or by calling reservations.
- For a more intimate experience, admission tickets have a scheduled start time. Please choose your visit dates and times carefully.
Arriving and Parking at CMA
- Guests arriving in personal/rental vehicles are encouraged to pre-pay for parking when booking their visit.
- CMA recommends you arrive with ample time for parking and check-in with our guest services team.
What You Can Expect to See and Enjoy When You Visit CMA
- Ruth & J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex – View Winter, Hope, PJ, Nicholas, and Hemingway in our new complex with numerous breathtaking floor to ceiling underwater windows
- Rescue Deck – Meet our newest residents, Rex and Rudy, two rare, rescued rough-toothed dolphins
- Mavis’s Rescue Hideaway – Underwater viewing area with several rescued sea turtles and other marine life
- More Animal Habitat Areas Upstairs – Explore Otter Oasis, Turtle Cove, Turtle Bayou and Shark Pass
- Rufus Beach – Great white pelican aviary viewing
- Stingray beach – View and safely touch our cownose stingrays
- Marine Animal Hospital – Walk through our working marine animal hospital and see our rescue work in action!
- Dolphin & Wildlife Tour – 60-minute eco-boat tours available with limited capacity
- Our expert animal care team and all CMA staff will be happy to welcome you and answer any questions!
Visit & Safety Questions and Answers
Tickets are currently available online. Please call reservations if you have any questions or need help booking tickets. 727-441-1790 ext. 0. Tickets are also available on-site, but we recommend booking ahead!
We open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m. We are open until 8 p.m. on select dates with extended hours.
Admission time slots are currently available every half hour from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. You can stay as long as you like until closing time.
Yes, please call Reservations at 727-441-1790, ext 0. Be sure to bring a photo ID as your reservation will be under your last name. Or, you can make reservations online here.
CMA Members can reserve their admission tickets and select time slots and visit dates starting by selecting the Member Visit ticket online. Please call 727-441-1790 ext. 0 if you have any questions.
Our boat rides are educational and fun – and yes, our new 60-minute Dolphin and Wildlife Tour is running. You can check the available schedule online.
Educational presentations will be available throughout the day. Schedules may vary. Please check times and locations posted on digital signage when you arrive.
You will have great views of our dolphins, otters and sea turtles! And don’t forget our great white pelicans! Some animal interaction programs are temporarily unavailable. Our Shark Care Experience is now available on certain days. Stingray feeding is also available every day!
Due to enhanced safety and cleanliness standards, wheelchairs and strollers will not be available at our facility. Guests are welcome to bring their own and we strongly encourage all to thoroughly sanitize wheelchairs and strollers before entering Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
Yes, we have increased the number of hand sanitizing stations available to guests throughout our facility.
To ensure the best guest experience while maintaining social distancing guidelines, we will be limiting the number of guests into CMA.
All CMA personnel are required to wear face masks.
If you forget your face covering or need an additional one, face masks or face shields may be available for purchase at Ticketing before you enter. Additional masks are available for purchase in our gift shop.
For the comfort of all guests, smoking of tobacco, e-cigarettes or other products that produce a vapor or smoke are not permitted on CMA property.
A variety of freshly prepared menu items are available in our spacious new cafe, including burgers, flatbreads, kids meals and vegetarian options. Fountain drinks and water are available along with beer and wine for guests 21 and up. Outdoor seating is also available on the new Dolphin Terrace.
All CMA personnel are performing daily temperature checks. Campers are also required to have their temperature checked daily. Guests will be required to have temperature checks at Ticketing before entering CMA beginning on Nov. 7.
The parking garage now connects directly to the new entrance on the third level at CMA. Shuttles are no longer necessary!
All exhibits are open and our resident animals will be visible.
CMA offers active-duty military and teachers free entry to Clearwater Marine Aquarium with Appreciation Admission that can be reserved online. Please see our other seasonal special offers. Please call our reservations team at 727-441-1790 ext. 0 to verify third-party promotions or discounts are valid before arriving.
Reservations are recommended but not required for tickets you have purchased from CityPass, Expedia or other ticket providers. For more information, please call 727-441-1790 ext. 0.
If you have any other questions or need to modify your visit plans, please contact our call center at 727-441-1790 ext. 0. We will try to respond as quickly as possible!