I first visited the Australian National Maritime Museum about 8 years ago. There were heaps to explore and the place felt huge. This year whilst on Christmas break, we decided to return and check it out again.
Getting to the Australian National Maritime Museum
Depending on how far you can walk and where you’re coming from there are two different ways of getting to the museum. The first via train involves about 15 minutes of walking. Just jump off at town hall station. When you exit I recommend using google maps to walk to the museum.
The second method is via the ferry which stops right outside the museum. This is a good option if you’re not up for walking the 15 minutes.
Entry
There are a few different options for entry. We opted for the free entry as we thought this would provide plenty to see and do based on our last visit. Given that we didn’t want to access any of the paid areas we assumed that we would be able to walk straight into the exhibit area. It turns out you still have to wait in line to get a stamp. This was rather irritating and felt like a big waste of time. Surely the attendants could have done this job without us having to wait in line.
Finally, after waiting in line for about 15 minutes we were able to grab our stamps and head on in.
Australian National Maritime Museum
We started exploring around the museum checking out the different exhibits. I was expecting to see a wide range of boats like our last visit but half the museum had been converted to a paid area. This meant that the area that you could access with the free ticket was reduced to under half of what it was on our last visit. Most of the free exhibits that were there seemed to have not changed much since our last visit.
Added Bonus
Having finished the museum quickly we headed out to explore Pyrmont and look at the boats. If you purchase the paid ticket you can get onto the boats. We came across a second separate area of the museum that included many of the boats that we remembered seeing in the main Maritime Museum building plus a few extras. This area was also free to enter and I found it to be far more interesting. So if you visit I recommend checking out this second building to make the most of your visit.
It seems that the boats (that were actually of interest) have been moved out in favour of the paid exhibits.
Overall
It was disappointing to see what was once a great place to visit on a limited budget had become so expensive. At $36 for an adult ticket when many of the other Maritime Museums around Australia are under $20 or free (in my experience) I felt the value wasn’t there. The paid areas inside the museum didn’t provide value for money. One area was just a photography exhibit.
If you’re looking for something to kill the time or feel like grabbing a paid ticket then it would be worth checking out. Otherwise, there are heaps of other more interesting Maritime Museums around Australia.
For more Sydney adventures check out my post, Exploring Sydney, a weekend food adventure | Part 1.
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