Before You Book the Oceanogràfic: Every Cost, and What's Worth It
By the BeatTheCrowd team · Prices last checked 2 November · 3 min read
The Oceanogràfic, in Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences, is the largest aquarium in Europe, spread across several buildings and outdoor lakes. A visit can include combo tickets with the Hemisfèric and the Science Museum, a Backstage Tour, a 4D cinema and hands-on experiences. Most of them sound worth paying for. You don't need all of them. In this guide we walk through what each one costs, what you really get, and how to choose the right one for your family, whether it's a quiet morning or a packed afternoon.
At a glance
General (adult)
From about €39.45
Reduced (child 4-12, 65+)
From about €29.05
Under 4
Free
Combos
With the Hemisfèric and the Science Museum
Backstage Tour
From about €13
Time needed
Most of a day
Quietest
The first hour, 10-11 am
🎟️ Book skip-the-line tickets
Check the crowds, find the best time slot, and book through our authorised partner.
A general ticket starts at about €39.45, and the reduced ticket at about €29.05, for children aged 4-12, visitors over 65 and pensioners, and people with a disability over 33%, with proof on the day. Prices are from Taquilla.com's ticket listings. The Oceanogràfic is big enough to fill most of a day.
What you book
One adult
One child (4-12)
Family of four
Oceanogràfic
From about €39.45
From about €29.05
From about €137
Children under 4
Free
🎟️ Book skip-the-line tickets
Check the crowds, find the best time slot, and book through our authorised partner.
Prices last checked: 2 November. Prices vary with the season, peak and off-peak dates and promotions, and we recheck them every month. Visitor-reported costs are marked as estimates, and US$ figures are rough conversions.
Tickets: what each one gets you
Cost
Price (€)
Type
How to cut it
General
From about €39.45
≈ US$45
Unavoidable
Compare the official site and resellers.
Reduced (4-12, 65+)
From about €29.05
≈ US$33
Unavoidable
Bring proof of age.
Backstage Tour
From about €13
≈ US$15
Optional
For curious older children and adults.
4D cinema
From about €3
≈ US$3
Optional
A short add-on.
The crowd tax: why the afternoon costs you more
The ticket price is the same all day. The crowd tax is packed tunnels and presentations. Our crowd data shows the Oceanogràfic moderate at 10 am, then busy from about 11 am until about 6 pm from Monday to Thursday, and from about noon from Friday to Sunday. On Sundays, it quietens from about 5 pm.
When
Crowds (our data)
Verdict
10 to 11 am
Moderate
Best time: tunnels first
About 11 am to 6 pm
Busy
Plan around the presentations
Sunday from about 5 pm
Moderate
Quieter end of day
Crowds by day and time
From the typical weekly visitor pattern for Oceanogràfic València, based on Google’s popular-times data.
Least busy time
Saturday, 10 am-12 pm
Busiest time
Short on time? What you'd regret missing
The shark tunnel in the Oceans building.
The beluga whales.
The dolphin presentation: check times on the day.
The polar areas.
Getting there
The Oceanogràfic is at the end of the City of Arts and Sciences, in the old Turia riverbed. Walk or cycle through the Turia gardens, or take a bus or taxi.
On-site costs
Restaurants, snacks, photos and souvenirs. Bring water in summer: the buildings are spread out.
What can go wrong
You arrive at midday: busy in our data.
You buy a combo and run out of time: the Oceanogràfic alone is a full day.
You forget proof for a reduced ticket.
What it really costs
Level
What's included
One adult
Typical
General ticket
From about €39.45
Curious
General ticket, Backstage Tour
From about €52.45
A child (4-12) adds from about €29.05. Under-4s are free.
FAQs
How much is the Oceanogràfic?
+
From about €39.45 for adults and €29.05 for children 4-12, seniors 65+ and pensioners. Under-4s are free.
Who gets the reduced ticket at the Oceanogràfic?
+
Children 4-12, visitors over 65 and pensioners, and people with a disability over 33%, with proof.
How long do you need at the Oceanogràfic?
+
Most of a day.
Is the Oceanogràfic Backstage Tour worth it?
+
For curious older children and adults. It costs from about €13.
When is the Oceanogràfic least crowded?
+
In our data, the first hour after opening. It's busy from about 11 am to 6 pm. See our crowd forecast.
Heading to Oceanogràfic València?
See how busy it is right now and the quietest hours for your date, then walk in when the line is short.
How we research: every guide is written by the BeatTheCrowd team from official sources and recent traveller reports, cross-checked against each other. Crowd figures come from our own crowd data. Prices last checked 2 November. Prices and rules change, so always confirm on the official site before you book.
'El Mar en tus Manos'
From about €7
≈ US$8
Optional
A hands-on add-on.
Combo tickets
Combos with the Hemisfèric (IMAX and planetarium) and the Museu de les Ciències are sold for the City of Arts and Sciences. Our verdict: worth it only if you'll really do two or three in one trip; the Oceanogràfic alone is a full day with children.
Is the Backstage Tour worth it?
From about €13, the Backstage Tour shows the life-support systems and animal care behind the tanks. Our verdict: good value for curious older children and adults; skip with toddlers.
What visitors say
Visitors love the shark tunnel, the beluga whales, the Arctic and Antarctic areas and the dolphin presentation, and say it fills a whole day. The most common complaints are the price, walking between the buildings in the heat and crowds in the afternoon, so the advice is to arrive at opening and plan your route around the presentations.
