The Aquarium in Nong Khai is situated about 11 kilometres from the city riverside area which has many tropical fish species including those from the mighty Mekong river and endangered species.
There are many mixed opinions on visiting this aquarium (also known as Sirindhorn Aquarium) from comments like avoid at any price or……excellent Mekong and freshwater fish. Great displays.
Open: Tuesday – Sunday – 9.00 am – 17.00 pm. Closed Mondays, except public holidays.
Address: Nong Kom Ko, Mueang Nong Khai District, Nong Khai 43000
Phone: 042 415 600
Entrance Fee: 100 THB adult – 50 THB child – tourists. Yes, the dual pricing for Thais and foreigners exists here.
I was in two minds as to whether to include this on the website because of my love for animals and their treatment, but after visiting and seeing this establishment can protect the future of endangered species I was delighted too.
I visited here after taking time out to see the Issan Rum Distillery which is only 6 KM from the aquarium that you may want to consider visiting (makes the trip much more worthwhile).
Visiting Nong Khai Aquarium – Useful to Know Stuff
To get there you will need to take a tuk-tuk from the city or hire a motorbike as I did (200 THB a day) to travel the 11km that takes about 20 minutes from the main riverside promenade. Tuk tuk may cost around 300 THB to hire a driver for 3 hours as he will have to wait for you to return.
They have underwater shows here that operate daily. The show is divers inside the large tank area with fish that could be entertaining for the children. I was not able to see the show, but the notice board stated the timing is 14.00 pm Tues – Fri and 11 am & 14.00 pm Sat – Sun.
There are small descriptions of all the fish in the tanks, however, these are all written in Thai language. The name of the species is in English so a person can search and find out more about each of the fish online if they wish.
Inside there is an area where the tanks are open, others that you look inside that are covered with glassed fronts, and then there is the big walk-through glass area that you see in most aquariums.
Worth Visiting?
As mentioned there are various opinions from those commenting online that are negative and positive about the Nong Khai aquarium. Some of the negatives such as dirty tanks I did not see, however, don’t expect the world’s finest aquarium otherwise you’ll be disappointed. Children will love it.
I also mentioned above about combining the visit here with the Issan Rum Distillery only 6 km away. It may make the trip more worthwhile, as it did for me.
It’s a hard call to visit these places when animals are in captivation when they may just be being used for entertainment – but when I see good causes also being made (i.e., protecting endangered species) I can see the positive side of the double edged sword (two purposes).
Need a bite to eat?
When approaching Nong Khai Aquarium there is a restaurant just outside on the left-hand side (right-hand side coming out) that you may like to get a bite to eat at. It’s cheap basic Thai dishes, but pretty good.
I’m Jonesy. The one responsible for whole lot of things including having this Thailand site up and running. I first arrived in Thailand in 2008 and being a web developer it made sense to create a website and write some stuff about my second home. Enjoy your travels!
