Are you looking to escape the casinos of the Strip in Las Vegas and find a quieter, more relaxing excursion? If you have any interest in sharks and other marine animals, The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay might be perfect for you. The Shark Reef is home to a number of different aquariums and creatures and should easily take a few hours to walk through and fully explore.

Where is it?

The Shark Reef is at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino and is located in the rear of the complex, next to the convention center area. It’s quite a distance from the entrance of Mandalay Bay and requires you to walk through the casino area and then down through their restaurant/mall area until you finally reach the convention center area. The Shark Reef is at the rear of this large area.

Expect to spend about 10 minutes or so walking from the entrance of the complex to the entrance of the Shark Reef.

How much does it cost?

This attraction in Vegas costs money and will cost you $15.95 per adult and $10.95 for children (those under 4 don’t have to pay). The price is a little steep, but considering prices for other attractions in Las Vegas, it’s reasonable and it’s a good way to spend a few hours.

Just think, how much would you gamble in 2 hours versus how much does this attraction cost? I know I’d go through more than $16.

What you get

The Shark Reef according to their literature is the only predator based aquarium in North America. Basically – instead of aquariums filled with little fish and plants, the aquariums here are filled with sharks and other predators that eat the other fish and animals.

Sharks aren’t the only predators that you’ll find at the Shark Reef. There are also sawfish, rays, sea turtles, jelly fish, piranha, and crocodiles. All told, they claim over 2,000 different animals in their series of aquariums that hold a combined 1.6 million gallons of seawater.

The exhibit is set up as a wandering trail down through an abandoned temple that is slowly sinking into the sea. At first you’ll find creatures that live on or near the surface of the water (such as the crocodiles) and as you work your way down the path (the path does actually slope downwards) you end your trip in the hold of a sunken ship, surrounded by a large aquarium filled with sharks, rays and other fish.

When you start your tour you are given an audio wand. The wand has a numeric keypad on it along with a small speaker at the top of it. Each exhibit along the trail is numbered and as you come upon them, you enter your number into the audio wand, hold it against your ear and listen to a presentation on each exhibit. These presentations can be quite in depth and provide an explanation of what you are seeing and a description of the animals that are located in each exhibit.

How is it?

We had some time to kill between my best friend’s wedding and his reception the last time we were in Vegas and so some of us decided to go to the Shark Reef, which from Mandalay Bay’s wedding chapel, is only a short walk down the hall. So off we went, me dressed up in my tux (I was the best man after all) and everyone else also dressed up.

The walk down to the Reef wasn’t bad and purchasing our tickets and receiving our audio wands was a painless process (no long lines or waiting). We entered into the exhibit and then we each made our way on our own throughout the entire Reef.

Some folks stopped at every single exhibit and listened to the entire presentation on each one. For me personally – I did start to listen at each exhibit, but if it was something that didn’t interest me all that much, I moved on to the next one.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to stick my Brother’s hand into the exhibit with the piranha since they have an employee standing there making sure nothing goes in.

My favorite part of the exhibit was the very end. There you are in the hold of a sunken ship and surrounded by aquarium on all sides. The walls are almost all glass, as are parts of the floor and ceiling. The entire area is kept dark so that the brighter water is all that you really see. I found myself sitting on one of the benches there and just staring into the aquarium for quite some time. It’s amazing to watch the sharks and other creatures swim and interact and it actually felt like you were under the ocean watching all of this happen.

Crowds

Some areas of the exhibit's 'path' through the temple can get congested, especially near the more popular exhibits. I'd suggest for overally crowded areas - just skip on to the next exhibit and then come back as that group moves on since you have the audio wands and it doesn't matter what order you see and listen to the various exhibits in.

We went late in the afternoon during the week and the exhibit was not that crowded, but I would guess that at times, especially if a large group was going through, that it can get crowded.

More

If you’re looking for a slightly more educational experience than just the audio wands, there are guided tours and classroom sessions that are run throughout the week. You have to call ahead to make reservations, but for a student or someone very interested in the marine wildlife, I would think it would be well worth it.

Gift Shop

Where else would the exhibit end? At the conclusion of the tour, you turn in your audio wand and exit the exhibit through the Shark Reef gift shop. Here you can get your own plush stuffed shark, any number of other toys, along with books and videos about the exhibit and about marine wildlife in general.

Was it worth it?

For the two hours that we needed to kill between the wedding and the reception and as a destination I always had wanted to see, I think the $15.95 I spent to go was well worth it. I wasn’t exactly excited about every exhibit, but the beauty of the audio wands is that you don’t have to stick around – you can take the exhibit at your own pace. You can listen fully to things that interest you and just skimming over others that don’t.

Overall I really liked the exhibit and I loved the end in the hold of the sunken ship. You really felt that you were part of the ocean and I couldn’t get enough of standing or sitting near the glass walls and just staring out into the water.

Would I go again? Not on my own, but if I was with someone who had never been there, I probably wouldn’t mind doing it, since like I said earlier, where else in Vegas can you kill a couple of hours for less than $20?

Final Thoughts

If you don’t mind the long walk to the Shark Reef and you want to kill some time without gambling or spending too much money, a visit to the Shark Reef is well worth it. You’ll get to explore a huge marine wildlife exhibit, see a number of different creatures, and probably learn a thing or two that you didn’t know. Plus the tour is at your own pace and you can spend as little or as much time as you want as your make your way through.

While it’s not a must see kind of thing in Las Vegas, you’ll probably be glad that you went once you’re there and I can’t see how I couldn’t recommend visiting The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay if you are in Vegas.


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