The National Biology Museum and Aquarium in Pingtung is the best Aquarium in Taiwan and one of the best aquariums in Asia. It includes beluga whales, sharks, rays, penguins, and much more. It is a must see stop on your trip to Taiwan.
Background: The museum opened in 2000 after 9 years of planning and construction. There are tree main areas: Waters of Taiwan, Coral Kingdom, and Waters of the World. Originally there was a whale shark as part of the exhibit, but after protests the whale shark was released in 2013. The Aquarium was named the fourth best in Asiaby Trip Adviser. Price: 450 NT per person You can book discount tickets to the National Biology Museum and Aquarium on Klook here or KKday here. You can also book a night to sleep over in the glass tunnel here. Hours: 9 AM to 5:30 PM Website: https://www.nmmba.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=0239E2D50FEF52AA&s=C9F689206ECC0D26 How to get there: By Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 26 south to Checheng and turn right on Buqian Road until your reach the aquarium. Looking for scooter rental in Pingtung? Click here or here to search for options. If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search here. By Bus: Take Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Kenting Express to the National Museum of Marine Biology stop. You can book tickets to Pingtung via high speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here, or book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here. You can book tickets to travel to Pingtung via inter-city bus on Klook here. Accommodation: Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan. I have stayed at many hostels and hotels in Kenting, and even almost bought a house here. Some places that I have stayed at and can recommend are Nanwan Kiki (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here), a B&B next to Nanwan Bay, Kenting's most popular Beach. There are also a few decent hotels near Kenting Street Night Market like Kenting Star Inn 888 (book on Agoda here, Klook here, Hotels.com here, Expedia here, or Booking.com here), or Kenting Dajianshan Hotel (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, or Expedia here). You will notice that none of these hotels are five star resorts (I do not come to Kenting to waste my time at a resort, but you can still search Agoda, Booking.com, Hotels.com, or Expedia for those) but they are in my opinion the above have the best value for the money. You can also book Wifi and SIM cards for Taiwan on Gigago here. Need travel insurance? Compare prices on Insubuy here. Tours and Activities in Kenting: There are many activities available such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. Just to let you know, if you book using the links above, we get some commission at no cost to you, and you can help support our blog. You can click here to receive $5 USD on your first Klook purchase. Map: Please see below: Our Journey: I have been to to the Aquarium in Kenting twice and it surpassed our expectations. It is definitely the best aquarium in Taiwan and is worth a visit. It’s one of the best aquariums I’ve ever been too. The 450 NT to get in is well worth it.
There is plenty of free parking here if you come by car or scooter.
Main entrance to the aquarium.
Map of the area.
Ticket counter.
You can book discount tickets to the National Biology Museum and Aquarium on Klook here or KKday here. You can also book a night to sleep over in the glass tunnel here.
450 NT per person.
Again, you can book discount tickets to the National Biology Museum and Aquarium on Klook here or KKday here.
You can also come here via tourist bus.
The Kenting Tourist bus can take you all over the park.
Main entrance.
Empty kiddy pool which maybe has water in it sometimes?
The whale pool did have water in it, and it is full of life sized humpback whales.
There were a lot of kids who came and splashed in the water.
Main hallway of the center building.
You can often see divers cleaning tanks and feeding fish here.
There is also an indoor waterfall in here.
View of the ocean from one of the main buildings.
But you can't walk over to the ocean, it is blocked off.
Jellyfish tunnel.
Seal show.
Feeding a seal.
Too fast for my camera.
Giant freshwater fish.
Horshoe crabs.
Small sharks.
Seahorse exhibit.
Penguins.
Another view of penguins.
More penguins.
Giant panorama of world ocean life.
Sharks.
Shark anatomy.
Tons of penguins.
Snack shop outside.
Overpriced ice cream stand.
Whale building exhibit which was not open yet when we came.
The second time we went, it seemed this building was still empty and unused, probably because of the pandemic.
Nearby there is an ocean themed playground.
Killer whale slide.
Wave pool.
There are a few tunnels like this under the fish tanks. In the past, they have let people stay the night and camp underneath the fish here.
Looking at another glass tunnel.
This one has an escalator.
Sunken ship tank.
Looking down at the tunnel below.
And we finally found the beluga whales, definitley the highlight of the trip.
Both whales came right above us.
One of them was resting on the glass.
And they were playing together.
Wider view of the whale tank.
Whale playing with a toy.
Amazed onlookers.
A diver came to clean the glass.
Another diver cleaning the glass.
Beluga whale leaning on the glass.
Souvenir shop.
More gifts.
Apparently you can get an annual pass here for 999 NT.
Thanks for reading and be sure to stay tuned for more of our blogs on Kenting to come. There are many activities available such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. Check out our full guide to Kenting here. You can also check out our full guide to Pingtung here, and can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here.
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Author 作家I am an American expat who has extensive experience living, working, and traveling in Taiwan. In my day, I had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But I have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. This blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. I am just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Categories
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