Plymouth Sound National Marine Park are opening the doors to the National Marine Aquarium, the UK’s largest aquarium, on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 March 2023 for free to the people of Plymouth as a thank you and celebration of our achievements over the past year. It will also provide an opportunity for you to tell us how you see your National Marine Park and have your say on the project for the next 5 years!

Ticket registration is live from 12pm on Thursday 23 February. Once you have registered you will receive a ticket link at 6pm on Thursday 27 February to grab your ticket/s.

Tickets will be allocated on a first come first serve basis and will be available for the following time slots, Saturday AM, Saturday PM, Sunday AM and Sunday PM. You will be able to choose your preferred time slot until it becomes fully booked, after which a different slot will have to be chosen. A maximum of 6 tickets per email address can be reserved.

It is essential to register for a ticket in order to receive a link on 27 February. As the event was extremely popular last year, we’d recommend setting a reminder for when the allocations go live to avoid disappointment.

We look forward to welcoming you to the aquarium and celebrating all things Plymouth Sound National Marine Park!

This open weekend is made possible by funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Plymouth Citybus offer

Plymouth Citynus are offering FREE bus rides for children on 18 and 19 March across all bus routes in zone 1 and 2 to make it easier to visit the National Marine Aquarium.

Up to 3 under-16s can travel with each fare-paying adult or concession pass holder.

Short story competition

In the lead-up to our open weekend at the National Marine Aquarium, we are hosting a short story competition! Use Plymouth Sound as the inspiration behind your tale, and be in with the chance of winning a National Marine Park t-shirt.

Download a worksheet belowand email your story to us to nmphorizon@plymouth.gov.uk or hand it in to one of our rangers by 20 March.