M.J. Arrebola
Almuñécar
Wednesday, 31 December 2025, 12:45
The popular sea life aquarium in Almuñécar on Granada province’s Costa Tropical has reopened after four years of closure. The aquarium, located under Plaza Kuwait, occupies more than 3,000 square metres of exhibitions, with the Mediterranean as the main focus.
It first opened in 2008, but since 2010 it began to suffer intermittent closures until, in November 2021, it finally closed its doors for good. The facilities were badly deteriorated, with water leaks, damaged fish tanks and systems that were no longer working properly.
Despite being closed to the public, the maintenance of the sea life continued on a daily basis. The aquarium housed more than 300 animals including fish, rays, starfish, sea cucumbers and other Mediterranean species.
In 2023 the town hall decided to undertake its renovation. The floor has been raised, the fish tanks have been replaced, the filtration systems have been renovated, the structure has been reinforced and materials that should never have been there have been replaced. “There were pieces of iron that couldn’t withstand salt water. Things that, over time, eat away at the installation from the inside,” explained councillor Carlos Ferrón. “We’ve had to redo practically everything. There were days when you took one step forward and two steps back,” he added. “You scratched a little and more problems appeared. You removed a piece of debris and ended up filling containers with rubble.”
The work to reopen this space to the public has been neither easy nor quick. The investment exceeds 250,000 euros, financed by municipal funds and a contribution from the insurance company following the breakage of one of the large fish tanks years ago.
For mayor of Almuñécar, Juan José Ruiz Joya, this aquarium means more business and more tourism, but, he said at the opening, “The most important thing is that this place serves to inspire the child who enters today holding their grandparent’s hand to leave here wanting to be a biologist, wanting to protect our ocean, understanding that the Mediterranean is our greatest heritage.”
To ensure that the aquarium does not have to close again, a comprehensive maintenance, control and monitoring system must be implemented: “I can tell you in advance that we will be doing more, as part of the aquarium improvement programme,” said the mayor.
As well as a tourist attraction, the idea is to turn the aquarium into an educational and informative space, open to primary and secondary schools, universities and research centres, with projects to repopulate corals and release species on the coast. “We want this place to have soul,” said Ferrón.
The opening hours to the public will be from Wednesday to Sunday, except public holidays, from 10.30am to 1.30pm and from 2.30pm to 7.30pm. Tickets are priced at 12 euros for adults aged 13 to 64 and nine euros for children aged 4 to 12. There will be special rates for school groups and local residents.