Zoomarine Algarve, Portugal Reviews 14

Visited recently - was very quiet as out of season . ( great for us )
Throughly enjoyed the day .
The Dolphin show was brilliant. Well worth a visit for that alone.
All theatrical shows had great stories and messages regarding save the planet .
Sea lion show was inspirational also .
Butterfly house was amazing & full of butterflies.
Ocean house was quite something including sharks and sting rays .
The water park was closed but the beach area was open . Great water splash area .
Downside all sunbeds & parasols were to pay for on top of the entrance fee . These can be pre booked in the busy season .
Plenty of eating places and toilets .

Zoomarine. Pay or leave.
I have three children, and we have been to many parks. From Disneyland in California, Florida, and Paris to Loro Park in Tenerife. We remember all of our visits with great pleasure and a desire to return.
But Zoomarine turned out to be a complete disappointment. It all started right at the park entrance. I was with my wife and son, who is 4 years old. My son is exactly 1 meter tall. There was a height chart at the ticket office, and the cashier measured my son and gave us a free ticket. But at the turnstiles, the women, in the best traditions of the bureaucrats of the former USSR, were relentless. My son was wearing shoes that added 1 centimeter to his height. They measured his height with a stick and were unyielding. At 1 meter and 1 centimeter tall, the female administrator told me that she didn't care, either pay for the child or leave. If I had known what awaited us, I would have returned the tickets and left, but I thought, okay, maybe if a ticket for a child 1 meter tall costs the same as an adult ticket, it means there is a lot of entertainment for a child of that height. No. 90% of the attractions start at 1 meter 10 centimeters, and in the end, you pay the full price of a ticket for the child, but he can't go anywhere. It would be logical to start this price at 1.10 meters, wouldn't it?
At the very beginning, there are beautiful fish and an interesting dolphin show, but then one disappointment after another. Want a locker? Pay another €7. Want a sun lounger? Pay another €15! Considering that you've already bought a ticket, this is very strange!
The staff at the attractions are almost all hungover, rude, and obnoxious. We work here, we just want to relax, and you all keep coming. We found one of the five attractions where we could go with our son, riding on a flashere tube on the water. When we rode one lap, the administrator literally shook us and our son out of the flashere, saying that we had to get out and get back in because the line shouldn't have to wait. But there wasn't even a line! The girl on the Ferris wheel was just sleeping with her face on the control panel while we were riding, and on the beach with artificial waves, we were forbidden to put a ring on our child, saying that if he couldn't swim, then we should leave, because rings weren't allowed. Although the rules say that flashers aren't allowed, there's nothing written about rings.
And the food, which costs as much as in a restaurant, was like in a station snack bar. Cold and tasteless.
As a result, we were able to go on four rides, but the fifth one, which we really wanted to go on, Jurassic River, was closed.
It was a complete disappointment, and I have no desire to return to this park, even for free. I strongly advise against visiting.

Recently, I decided to visit Zoomarine, despite having some doubts about the ethics and responsibility of zoological parks in relation to the exploitation of animals for display and their breeding in captivity. However, I chose to give the park a chance, as it presents itself as a place that promotes environmental education and species conservation, areas I consider essential for the future of our planet.

Unfortunately, during my visit, I noticed a significant inconsistency between the park’s rhetoric and the practices observed. The most concerning issue was the lack of accessible water for visitors: there were no water fountains or refill stations, and the only option was to purchase bottled water, sold at outrageously inflated prices. The use of disposable plastic bottles is a significant environmental issue and is widely known. For a park like Zoomarine, which claims to educate about environmental preservation, it is at the very least inconsistent not to offer sustainable alternatives, such as water fountains or the possibility to refill reusable bottles. It is not enough to ask the audience, during the shows, to reduce plastic use, as I heard in the Seal and Sea Lion performance, when the park’s own practices contradict this message.

I understand that this is a simple issue to resolve, and I hope Zoomarine will take the necessary steps to implement alternatives. However, after my visit and reflecting on what I observed, I can conclude that the park does not prioritize the values it claims to uphold, but rather focuses on profit and enrichment. The lack of genuine commitment to sustainability and the inconsistency between the park’s messages and its actions caused significant discomfort and severely undermined my trust.

I believe there are many ways to protect animal life and our planet, and today I know that Zoomarine is not an example in this regard.

I recommend to anyone who may have doubts, as I did, to visit the park, but to do so in an informed and critically-minded way. To conclude, I would like to suggest a more ethical and animal-friendly alternative: dolphin watching tours in their natural habitat. There are several options available online with just a simple search. This type of experience offers a much more genuine interaction with wildlife, as well as a clear commitment to animal well-being and sustainability. I’ve done it myself, and I can assure you that the fun is equally guaranteed.

Disappointed half the park was closed due to low season..but ateast 2 of the rides that should have been on were closed for maintenance. Loud announcements every 3 minutes on a loud speaker..so annoying.

Kids were dissatisfied and we thought was a lot of money.also our 2 teenager kids cued for almost 45 mins to use the new ride and were packed in with 2 strangers we thought that was unsafe and it made our daughter feel unsafe being jammed in beside a man she never knew why was that allowed.

We had a nice time. Was very busy but to be expected in peak season. My son is 5 and when we went to the Dolphin show he was so excited. Before the dolphins came the introduction of the dolphin show was drawn out boring and unnecessary. Kids don't understand all that, just creates anxiety. It's a family kids show and they should keep that in mind. By the time the dolphins came out my son wanted to leave. It was crowded and hot. Not at all suitable for young children. Cut down or cut out the intro!!

Far too many people let in therefore breaching health and safety regulations, hour long queues for rides, animal cruelty disguised as saving the planet, and no water refill facilities.

Even 1 star doesn't deserve, zero! Cruelty to animals, dolphins are hold in tiny tanks with chlorine water that irritates their eyes. They may get blind in a while and meanwhile terrible sufferings! Shame on you, Zoomarine! Empty your tanks!

Amazing day out. The shows were all great, interactive and fun to watch. The whole park had a very friendly atmosphere. Part of the park doesn’t open until 1st June 2022 but this was not a problem for us and our whole day was packed with activities, we wouldn’t have had time to visit that part in one day! The new butterfly house was a real highlight. We book transport through zoomarine from Carvoeiro and it arrived early to the bus stop and waited for us. The driver was friendly and told us where to meet him at 5pm to take us home. A real highlight of holiday.

We booked tickets on 21/6 for ourselves, our children and grandchildren. It was nowhere shown that all attractions and the pool were closed!!!! When we arrived at the entrance, the girl did NOT tell us. It is really a shame we spend that much money on hardly nothing. Afterwards, we found out that the government forced Zoomarine to close these sections already on Thursday, June 17.
We should at least have informed of this when we bought tickets online or offered a refund. Giving 30% and € 5 discount vouchers is shameful.
We have visited Zoomarine for 20 years every year with our family and also booked Dolphin Experiences. Never received a reply to our mail.
It is really shameful to treat clients in this way.