The Manila Ocean Park is located at the back of the Quirino Grandstand at the Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines. It is the only oceanarium existing in the Philippines and is owned by a subsidiary of China Oceanis Inc., which is a Singaporean registered firm that operates four oceanariums in China. The Ocean Park has a floor space of 8000 square meters which makes it larger than the Sentosa Underwater World Oceanarium of Singapore while featuring a 25-meter underwater acrylic tunnel.
The Manila Ocean Park is divided into 7 sections with different attractions to offer.
- Freshwater Fishes (Agos)
- Artificial Corals (Bahura)
- Big Fishes (Laot ) Main Attraction (Bahay na Karagatan)
- Marine Animals in the Deep (Kalaliman)
- Stingrays ( Pagi)
- Sharks (Pating)
Agos has a rainforest motif and consists of eight tanks of freshwater fishes.
Bahura exhibits artificial corals distributed in 48 tanks while Laot features a big fish and eagle spotted rays in one elongated tank.
Bahay na Karagatan or Living ocean is the main attraction of the Oceanarium. This section has a 25-meter long walkway or tunnel with 220 degree curving acrylic walls designed similar to that in Ocean Park of Hong Kong.
Kalaliman or the Deep boasts of marine animals that live in the deepest part of the Philippine waters.
Pagi features a variety of stingrays that flies over you while you are under the overhang tank.
A section called Pating showcases multiple species of sharks.
The Ocean Park also features the first and tallest musical fountain in the Philippines called the Aquatica musical fountain which stands at 120 feet above ground. It also features the largest water and laser show using 1600 water nozzles surrounded by lights, special effects, water, music while backed by a live performance.
There is also a sea lion performance, marine-themed mall, open water marine habitat, a concourse plaza and trails to Antarctica consisting of a Penguin Exhibit, Slide o’Fun and Snow Village.
The Manila Ocean Park is among the best family holiday destinations. The park is teeming with vacationing families, relatives and friends especially during Christmas and New Year.
Situated in Manila, the place is also most-visited travel destination for educational tours of schools within Metro Manila and even those in the provinces.