Underwater Observatory Park, Eilat – Visitors Guide with Coupons
Underwater Observatory Park in Eilat is a great attraction where you can see sharks, rare fish, the Red Sea reef, and much more.
Note: for additional info about animals and wildlife, check out Zoos and Aquariums in Israel.
Map
Underwater Observatory Marine Park is located at Coral Beach in Eilat. You will see it on the left while driving on road #90 towards the Taba border crossing (Israel – Egypt).
Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit
Interactive map of the area:
Note: you can click on the image above to enlarge it.
Directions
You can park for free near the park. You can also take bus #15 from Eilat city center. Here is a link to Moovit, where you can update your starting point and get updated directions. And the last option would be to take a taxi from Eilat.
Opening Hours
Daily: 09.00 – 16.00
Entrance Fee
There are several ticket combos. The regular ticket allows seeing most of the park, but it can be upgraded in several ways. For example, you can purchase shark diving or visit at Aquadome (360-degree visual experience).
You can buy tickets on the official website.
| Ticket type | Price (NIS) |
|---|---|
| Child – regular entrance | 85 |
| Child – regular + Aquadome | 105 |
| Child – regular + Aquadome + Shark Diving | 599 |
| Adult – regular entrance | 105 |
| Adult – regular + Aquadome | 125 |
| Adult – regular + Aquadome + Shark Diving | 599 |
Notes:
- Children under 3 enter for free. Also, children under three cannot enter Aquadome.
- Coral 2000 is not sailing on Sundays. If you are ordering tickets with the Coral 2000 sail, you need to call 08-6364219 beforehand and verify there is a sail.
- The oceanarium can be closed for private events. You can see the exact dates when ordering tickets on the official site.
- Opening hours and ticket prices were updated in December 2022. In any case, recheck the official site before visiting.
Coupons
The downside of Coral World is the expensive tickets. Thus, many people are searching for coupons. Here are the available coupons:
- Groo – 95 NIS per child and 115 NIS per adult per entrance (including Aquadome). And there are various packages.
- cpnclub – similar discounts to Groo.
- MAX – tickets starting from 66 NIS.
- htzone– tickets starting from 58 NIS.
- Teachers association – 48 NIS per child and 65 NIS per adult. There are also tickets with Aquadome.
Feeding Times
I wanted to get to shark feeding at 10:00. We arrived at the entry fifteen minutes before 11:00. The lines were long (though it was December, meaning off-season) and barely moving. Since I had pre-ordered tickets, I needed only to print them, but there were no self-service stands, and we had to wait.
Of course, we missed the feeding, but there is another one at 14:30. Here is the timetable for the feedings.
Note: you can click on the image above to enlarge it.
Here are the activity times from the photo:
- Shark and fish feeding with a diver in the shark pool: 11:00 and 14:30
- Feeding the marine animals in the rare fish aquarium: 11:30
- Feeding fish in the Red Sea aquarium: 12:00
- Turtle and stingray feeding: 12:30
- Pearl opening show: 13:00
- Feeding in the Amazon hut: 13:30
- Young turtle feeding: 15:00
Keep in mind that feeding times can change. Thus if you are interested in a particular activity, recheck the official site.
About Coral World Underwater Park
Underwater Observatory Marine Park is probably the most well-known attraction in Eilat. Here is background information from the official website:
Eilat is blessed with the most amazing and unique coral reef globally, with an underwater marine observatory situated in the heart of the reef. The park offers its visitors a rare opportunity to enter the Red Sea’s natural and abundant marine kingdom – an unforgettable experience for both young and old.
The park has a spectacular display (over 800 species) of fish, coral, sharks, mollusks, stingrays, turtles, and many other animals from the Gulf of Eilat. And, the most impressive place of all – the Underwater Marine Observatory, the only one of its kind in the world! The observatory is a tower situated in the middle of the sea, without any fences or cages, offering a rare view of the Red Sea, with its bright colors, tones, and the marine life in the Gulf of Eilat. The tower is comprised of two display halls. These halls are submerged at a depth of 12 meters under the sea, offering visitors a natural view of the coral reef’s spectacular beauty through huge plate glass windows.
Note: all quotes, unless stated otherwise, were taken from the official site.
The last time we visited the Underwater Observatory Marine Park was around five years ago, and since then, the shark aquarium was significantly improved. Moreover, my daughter (a toddler then) did not remember anything from our previous visit. Thus we decided to revisit this attraction.
Sharks World
Since I was interested in the upgraded sharks’ world, we started there.
It has been 40 years since the opening of the Underwater Observatory Marine Park in Eilat. A new attraction has just been opened, following an investment of 26 million shekels: Shark World – the biggest shark pool of its kind in the Middle East, covering an area of 1000m2. It offers a rare opportunity and an exceptional experience to have the Red Sea sharks at your fingertips and get the feel of what it’s like to meet them.
The water pumped into the pool undergoes a complicated process as it is drawn up from a depth of 40 meters. The 575 square meters pool is 6 meters high, contains three million liters of water, and is located right at the center of the complex.
My daughter is checking out the fish:
There are explanations in Hebrew, English, Arabic, and Russian.
Sharks world has a glass corridor with fish around you. It seems terrific in promotional photographs, but here is how it looks in reality.
This is the clearest shot (with the fewer people) I got. So, if you want to take a similar photograph, come either at the opening or towards the marine park’s closure.
In the second part of Sharks World, we saw digital and regular stands with explanations. We skipped some of them since it was packed. And here are some fascinating truths about sharks. The fact that sharks have no bones to break makes them sturdy and resistant to other predators and rough ocean storms.
Red Sea Reef
Since we had time for our Oceanarium show, we headed to the Red Sea Reef hall (#2 on the map).
We made it just in time for the noon fish feeding. But first, the diver lit “candles since it was Hanukkah.” And then, the diver fed vegetarian fish and omnivorous ones.
