Epic Travel → North America → The South → Florida → Tampa Bay Area → Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium

Location: Sarasota, Florida

Time Required: 3-5 hours

Red Tape/Notes: Open daily 10am – 5pm; tickets are $22 per adult. For more information, visit their website.

What’s Nearby?: The Ringling, Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota Honey Company

Different from a tourism-driven aquarium, Mote Marine is a not-for-profit research organization dedicating to advancing ocean-based science through their marine and estuarine research labs. The aquarium is their public outreach arm, and while it has the benefits of standard aquariums (you get to see cool marine animals), you also get to see their scientists at work, which adds an additional neat spect.

Epic Travel → North America → The South → Florida → Tampa Bay Area → Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium