Family Fun in Atlantic City: Gardner's Basin & AC Aquarium

Saturday, June 25, 2011
Before reading this post, you may want to catch up on our incredibly eventful trip to Atlantic City. Read this post and this one to catch up on the action.

After the IMAX movie, the fun continued at Gardner's Basin, a waterfront attraction that is home to the Atlantic City Aquarium, several restaurants, fishing and boating charters, and quaint shops and boutiques.

Although not the only attraction at Gardener's Basin, the Atlantic City Aquarium is by far the most popular one. By far one of our favorite exhibits at the aquarium is the touch tanks.


There was photo fun!

On the 3rd floor observation deck, a pirate kept a watchful eye on us.

The view was spectacular...

We literally missed the boat, but you can arrange sightseeing tours aboard boats that depart from Gardner's Basin. Several tours are offered including a skyline tour of Atlantic City as well as a dolphin cruise. To arrange a sightseeing cruise,contact Atlantic City Cruises.

After our visit to the aquarium, we spent some time strolling around Gardner's Basin. It's a relaxing, low-key spot to watch the boats and do some people-watching. There are a couple of restaurants at the Basin where you can grab a delicious and reasonable lunch in between attractions. We enjoyed lunch at Scales with other bloggers and their families. The restaurant was very family-friendly and accommodating to large groups.

We ended our visit to Atlantic City with a shopping excursion at the Atlantic City Outlets, a sprawling complex of popular brand name outlet stores and restaurants.

If there was ever measure of how family-friendly a destination is, it is usually found in the reactions of the children. On our ride home, the kids were eager to plan our next trip to Atlantic City. I'd say, that's a pretty good measurement of the amount of fun they had and the family-friendliness of Atlantic City.

For more information and to start planning your trip, visit these resources:

Family Friendly AC

Atlantic City, NJ

Disclosure: I received complimentary admission for myself and my children to the Atlantic City Aquarium and discounted lunch at Scales as part of the blogger event arranged by Family Friendly AC. I was not required to write or compensated for writing this post. All opinions expressed herein are solely mine.
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