mhale
Well-Known Member
Last weekend I visited Selwo Marina in Benalmadena on the Costa Del Sol in Spain. Here is my review:
The site is actually quite small and is squeezed in next to Paloma Park, which in comparison is huge. There is no doubt that the main feature of the marina is the shows, as these are the crowd-pleasers. The species exhibited here are all South American. I thought €17 per adult was a bit pricey, but I love dolphins so I paid it anyway.
The zones around the marina are as follows:
Dolphinarium
This exhibits bottlenose dolphins and Patagonian sealions.
The Dolphinarium has five interconnecting pools; two for training, one for reproduction, one for veterinary processing and one much bigger show pool.
There were five dolphins; four had access to one of the training pools as well as the show pool, and the other was held separately in the other training pool.
The show itself was much the same as any other dolphin show I have seen before, highlighting how amazing these animals are, and it lasted for 25 minutes. The pool was visible from ground level and from tiered seating so that you could see the animals under and above the water.
The sealions have quite a small pool which is adjacent to the show pool. The name boards by the sealion pool listed Afrodita, Rita, Sandra, Luz, Bruno, Piccolo, Tanaia, Lia and Luna, but I don't know where they were all kept. There were three sealions held in the smaller pool until show times, and Boris was held separately in another side pool.
The sealion show featured Piccolo, Sandra and Lia (who had been in the smaller pool), and showed how versatile they are. It lasted for 20 minutes.
Exotic Birds
This zone exhibits macaws, cockatoos, yacos and toucans, and has an exhibition area to show the birds in flight.
Ice Island Penguinarium
This zone exhibits three species of penguin: Gentoo, Macaroni and King in a walk-round indoor enclosure.
Above Ice Island, there is a 3D cinema showing the films "SOS Planet" and "City of Ice".
Amazonia
The first room in this zone exhibits species including piranhas and other Amazonian fish.
The second room exhibits various types of fish, reptiles and amphibians including the Marine Toad, different species of turtles, and the Yellow Anaconda.
Crocodile Bay
This zone exhibits dwarf caimans in a recreation of Mangrove Bay.
The marina also exhibits pelicans, great cormorants and flamingoes.
Selwo Marina isn't an all day attraction by any means, but it is a nice enough way to spend maybe 2-3 hours (if the price doesn't put you off first). The animals were in good condition and the dolphins and sealions seemed happy enough to participate in the shows and the pay-extra photo sessions. Boris the sealion, in particular, was a real poser
The shows were spaced evenly over approximately half-hour periods, so that there was a flowing stream of visitors from one area to the next around the site and no shows overlapped. The only thing to be aware of is that if you arrive there mid-afternoon, it is a long wait for the next set of shows. Unfortunately, this happened to me (bad planning
).
The site is actually quite small and is squeezed in next to Paloma Park, which in comparison is huge. There is no doubt that the main feature of the marina is the shows, as these are the crowd-pleasers. The species exhibited here are all South American. I thought €17 per adult was a bit pricey, but I love dolphins so I paid it anyway.
The zones around the marina are as follows:
Dolphinarium
This exhibits bottlenose dolphins and Patagonian sealions.
The Dolphinarium has five interconnecting pools; two for training, one for reproduction, one for veterinary processing and one much bigger show pool.
There were five dolphins; four had access to one of the training pools as well as the show pool, and the other was held separately in the other training pool.
The show itself was much the same as any other dolphin show I have seen before, highlighting how amazing these animals are, and it lasted for 25 minutes. The pool was visible from ground level and from tiered seating so that you could see the animals under and above the water.
The sealions have quite a small pool which is adjacent to the show pool. The name boards by the sealion pool listed Afrodita, Rita, Sandra, Luz, Bruno, Piccolo, Tanaia, Lia and Luna, but I don't know where they were all kept. There were three sealions held in the smaller pool until show times, and Boris was held separately in another side pool.
The sealion show featured Piccolo, Sandra and Lia (who had been in the smaller pool), and showed how versatile they are. It lasted for 20 minutes.
Exotic Birds
This zone exhibits macaws, cockatoos, yacos and toucans, and has an exhibition area to show the birds in flight.
Ice Island Penguinarium
This zone exhibits three species of penguin: Gentoo, Macaroni and King in a walk-round indoor enclosure.
Above Ice Island, there is a 3D cinema showing the films "SOS Planet" and "City of Ice".
Amazonia
The first room in this zone exhibits species including piranhas and other Amazonian fish.
The second room exhibits various types of fish, reptiles and amphibians including the Marine Toad, different species of turtles, and the Yellow Anaconda.
Crocodile Bay
This zone exhibits dwarf caimans in a recreation of Mangrove Bay.
The marina also exhibits pelicans, great cormorants and flamingoes.
Selwo Marina isn't an all day attraction by any means, but it is a nice enough way to spend maybe 2-3 hours (if the price doesn't put you off first). The animals were in good condition and the dolphins and sealions seemed happy enough to participate in the shows and the pay-extra photo sessions. Boris the sealion, in particular, was a real poser
The shows were spaced evenly over approximately half-hour periods, so that there was a flowing stream of visitors from one area to the next around the site and no shows overlapped. The only thing to be aware of is that if you arrive there mid-afternoon, it is a long wait for the next set of shows. Unfortunately, this happened to me (bad planning
).