You might look at the main image for this post and ask, ‘Where’s the aquarium?’. Well, it’s that ship. Actually, it’s that ghost ship. The aquarium was designed to resemble a giant, ancient abandoned pirate ship. The aquarium follows this from the outside, and it even extends inside the aquarium.
The aquarium itself is on Hon Miue Island, and pretty much the only way to get to it is by boat. In fact, it often features in tours of islands around Nha Trang. It’s just one of the attractions that they take you to.
History
The Tri Nguyen Aquarium was originally built in 1971 by a local fisherman. Initially, the idea was to build a dam to block the sea water. Subsequently, funding by the local government of Khanh Hoa Province allowed further development of the aquarium for tourists.
Tri Nguyen Aquarium
Anyway, back to the aquarium. As part of the tour of the islands, you will dock near the aquarium.
Seeing the design of a pirate ship was interesting in a way. But first, you have to get into the ship. The design of the path takes you through the mouth of a sea creature in order to get to the ship.
Once inside the ship, the aquarium houses a variety of marine species native to the Nha Trang area. Displays range from small, colorful tropical fish to larger creatures like sharks.
The main aquarium display is on the bottom floor of the ship. I imagine this is to make you feel as though you are looking out into the ocean. Rows of tanks contain a variety of fish to look at.
There are also larger tanks that hold larger sea creatures such as groupers, sharks and rays. You can look down on the tanks from above on the higher floors.
Finally, there are views back out over the water from the top of the ship. For example you can take a look next to one of the ‘cannons’.
While the idea of a pirate ship was interesting as setting for the aquarium, I have heard there are better aquariums around. It was suggested to me that one of the reasons this one had few visitors was that most people go to Vinpearland nowadays. I can’t compare myself, but I have been to better aquariums in other cities. That said, while I wouldn’t specifically go there, I went as part of a tour around the islands.
Useful Information
Tri Nguyen aquarium is located on Hon Mieu Island, making going by boat the only real option. You can catch a boat from Cau Da Port, and take a 10 – 15 minutes boat ride.
- Address: Hon Mieu Island, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.
- Opening hours: 7:00 – 17:30 every day.
