I got the opportunity step into my sightseeing shoes and pick from a list of London’s favourite tourist attractions as part of the Do More With Avios campaign. In case you don’t know much about Avios it’s a reward points scheme where you receive points for your everyday spends on groceries, petrol and even wine! You can then spend these points on holidays and experience vouchers! I picked the London Aquarium on the Southbank. I absolutely love aquariums, I find them so relaxing and peaceful! I hadn’t actually been to the Southbank one either so I was super excited.

It was a gorgeous sunny day which made heading to London even more enjoyable. I invited my friend SJ along to enjoy the experience with me, she loves things like this too so she’s the perfect partner in crime to go on these trips with. We made our way in and started to wander around the aquarium. It’s split into sections based on where in the world the sea life is from. There are tons of fun facts and information about all the species so it’s very informative as well as fun. Did you know there is a species of shark that can grow up to 12.2 metres?! I definitely wouldn’t want to encounter that out in the deep blue sea.

The aquarium had such a huge range of sea life from the tiniest of animals and species up to really big sharks, manta ray and even two turtles. It was really interesting to read all about each animal, they had posters next to each section telling you what the animal was, where it was usually found, sizes they usually grow to and a whole load of other information. There was also talks throughout the day about certain animals and you were also given a list of times the animals were fed so you could make sure you were in the right place in time to see them having their din dins. Another cool thing was the rock pool where I got to touch a starfish!

My favourite animals were probably the turtles, they were beyond amazing to see. There were so many funky fish in bright colours and prints too, it really is crazy what lurks beneath the waters. I also loved the penguins too. They were all playing around and jumping in and out of the water, it was lovely to see. There was even a mini section called Nemo land where you could see real life Nemo and Dori! It’s a great place for a family day out, the kids can even have their face painted or fun glitter tattoos….If I’m honest I really wanted my face painted!! Had I not been off around London after I would have jumped straight into the seat next. The great thing about the aquarium is once you have paid admission you can go in and out as many times as you wish throughout the day. This is good if you want to see a particular animal being fed. You could go around the aquarium in the morning, go off out for lunch somewhere and then come back for feeding time if it is later, saving you and your hungry kids from having to hang around.

The Southbank was bustling and as it was such a lovely day SJ and myself decided to grab a double cheese burger and angry fries ( angry = blue cheese and chilli sauce. These chips and the freshly cooked burger was the best I’ve had in ages!) and treat ourselves to a cocktail and sit on the benches in the sun and watch the world go by. We had an amazing day and really enjoyed the aquarium. Big thank you to Avios for the tickets and the very enjoyable experience. Don’t forget to check them out so that you too can have a fun filled day and Do More With Avios.