The Stingrays Up-Close Tour at Sea World San Antonio offers visitors the opportunity to feed and touch stingrays, touch a shark, and get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the park. Although it’s rare to feel like you’ve gotten your money’s worth at an amusement park these days, we did feel like the cost of this add-on was reasonable. (The tour is $10/adult and $8/child, not including the general admission park ticket.)
First, we got to learn about stingrays, watch them swim, touch them, and feed them fish. My four-year-old daughter had a little trouble holding the fish properly so that the stingrays would take it from her hands. Overall, it was a really cool experience, even for adults!
Next, our tour group went over to the tank that houses the white-spotted bamboo sharks. My daughter has become really fascinated by sharks, so she was excited and nervous for this portion of the tour. After my husband and I both touched the shark, E. found the courage to give it a try. (Notice her grip on my husband’s neck in the second picture below!)
I was really proud of E. for being brave. I’m sure the thought of touching a small shark doesn’t seem scary to many people, but I was glad E. tried something new.
The description of the Stingrays Up-Close Tour did not include our next two stops on the tour, so it was a pleasant surprise that we got to stop by the dolphin pool on our way out, as well as get a peek at a species of sea lion that is endangered. (The sea lions are being housed at Sea World at the request of the government, according to our tour guide.) These little extras–a few minutes watching the dolphins and sea lions–made the tour worth the money, in my mind.
The entire tour lasted 60 minutes. This seemed like the perfect amount of time for kids to stay engaged in an activity and allowed us plenty of time to enjoy some of the rides and other attractions at Sea World before we left.
Note: All opinions are my own. Tour prices and other details should be verified with the park before you head out.
