Audio Guide of the Tropicarium-Oceanarium

The Tropicarium is open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (the ticket office closes one hour earlier). It is located inside the Campona shopping centre in District 22; you can easily reach it from the city centre by taking bus 133E or by train to Budatétény station.

Admission is paid, with adult tickets costing around 3,000–3,600 HUF and discounts available for children, students and seniors. I recommend checking the latest prices and buying tickets on their official website to avoid queues.

A full visit usually lasts between 1.5 and 2 hours, which is enough to walk through the shark tunnel and the rainforest area at a leisurely pace. It is the ideal amount of time to enjoy without rushing, especially if you are travelling with children.

It is the largest saltwater aquarium in Central Europe and stands out for its impressive 12-metre observation tunnel beneath the shark tank. It also recreates a tropical rainforest where a storm with real rain is simulated every 15 minutes.

The ideal is to visit on a weekday right at opening time (10:00 a.m.) for a quieter experience. However, if you want to see the shark feeding, this show is scheduled on Thursday afternoons, which draws more people but is well worth it.

Yes, the Tropicarium is fully accessible for people with reduced mobility and for strollers. Being located inside a modern shopping centre, it has wide aisles, ramps and lifts to make the visit easier.

Since it is somewhat far from the city centre, you can take advantage of the trip to visit the nearby Memento Park, the open-air museum of communist statues. Also, within the same Campona complex, you will find cinemas, restaurants and other leisure options.

Don't forget to bring your camera, but remember to switch off the flash so as not to disturb sensitive animals. To better understand what you are seeing, complement your visit with an audio guide that gives you fun facts not found on the signs.