South Carolina Aquarium

This aquarium's claim to fame is its 380,000-gallon Great Ocean Tank; its high-reaching aquarium window is North America's tallest. And among aquariums' usual exhibits -- touch tanks and saltwater, freshwater aquariums -- South Carolina's also offers Penguin Planet, an exhibit featuring Magellanic penguins, and the family-geared and interactive Camp Carolina, not to mention a 4-D Immersion Theater, a theater experience that, like it sounds, makes you feel as if you're submersed in the story.

Tickets to the aquarium run a bit high, and theater tickets cost extra. Some TripAdvisor travelers were disappointed with their aquarium experience, especially because of the high cost. Open seven days a week, the aquarium closes a little earlier during the fall and winter seasons. You'll find the South Carolina Aquarium on Charleston's Harbor, just north of the French Quarter.