Anyone who knows me knows by now that I love animals 😉 . That seal safari was soon on my wish list for our holiday in Denmark. So off to Jyllandsakvariet in Thyborøn, a nice change from the day at Wowpark Denmark we did yesterday.
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In Jyllandsakvariet you have the opportunity to do such a seal safari and you can also visit the aquarium where you can spot nice fish, hold a crab on your hand and pet sharks. You get it already… then I'm done.
Lotte talked about it almost all the way in the car. "Mom, I'm not going to pet sharks." And then yell out, "Maybe you shouldn't do that either." And the whole way was quite a long way, about 1 hour and 45 minutes drive from Landal Seawest. In itself the distance is not that great, but in Denmark I have actually seen almost no highways as we know them. Most of it is 80 km away - and then everything takes a little longer. But hey… it's vacation… we're in no rush.
Although… there was even more on the agenda today. After the seal safari in Denmark, we would also like to visit the shell house (Sneglehuset), the bunkers, the lighthouse and the sand sculptures. That's a long list, but it's all on the beautiful route to the seal safari in Thyborøn, at Jyllandsakvariet.
First we dive into the aquarium to view everything that lives in the North Sea. You start in a small souvenir shop and from there you continue into the aquarium. A lot is made of wood and it doesn't look very slick. It looks more like a hobby that got out of hand, but then it got very out of hand. Inside it is very nicely decorated with all kinds of fishing stuff.
So you will find everything there. From rays to sharks and from crabs to funny fish. Admittedly… the whole has a little bit of color and cannot be compared with the splendor of the tropical fish, but the fact that you can pet and hold many of the animals, that is spectacular of course. And looking at the photos, those colors are actually not that bad.
Also petting the sharks and rays that swim in a low basin. Despite her minutes of denial, my daughter also pulled herself together and petted a shark. What a win! The rays are also cute -as always- when they poke their noses up when you pet them. In the aquarium you can also see how the baby sharks are bred and the rays. You can see the little rays still in their eggs and already moving, very special!
In addition to all this, there is also a craft room where you can follow workshops.
You can book the seal safari separately from your visit to the Jyllandsakvariet aquarium. So you don't necessarily have to use it, but we have chosen the most beautiful day of the week to do this seal safari.
It is about a 10-minute walk from the aquarium to the harbor where you board a small boat with a maximum of 10 people. Michael Madsen – owner of Jyllandsakvariet- is our skipper.
First we all get a life jacket and only then are we allowed to enter the boat. The weather is lovely, so it's fun from start to finish. Already in the harbor we spot the first seal. Don't get lost, they often do that.
Not long after, we are amazed. Dozens of seals lie on the sandbanks in the Ringkøbing Fjord, waving their tails in the sun. And some of them swim not far from the boat and look curiously in our direction.
Michael tells all about the seals during this safari. Two species of seals can be found in the Ringkøbing Fjord. The 'common' seal and the gray seal whose male can weigh up to 300 kilos! We see them both and don't even have to look for them. Did you know that these seals swim 30-40 kilometers daily to catch their fish? They do this mainly in the North Sea. After which they return to the Fjord to sunbathe at their leisure, without any danger.
It feels like you could swim right up to it. So close, but also so 'intimate', especially because the seals themselves are not afraid at all. On the contrary, they are rather curious about us and then look out their own eyes.
After floating around among the seals for half an hour, it is time to head back to the harbor. We sail through the harbor itself and Michael tells about all the fish processing companies that are located here. Thyborøn is just about the largest harbor on the west coast of Denmark and the fish auction located there is extremely well-regarded. The Netherlands also gets a lot of fish from there. All in all a very fun and educational seal safari with guaranteed seal spotting up close!
The aquarium is open daily from 10am-4pm with longer opening hours in the summer. In July and August even until 6 pm.
JyllandsAkvariet, Vesterhavsgade 16, 7680 Thyborøn
Children up to 2 years are free. For children aged 3-12 you pay approximately € 10.00 and for adults € 12.00.
If you would like to join the boat to spot the seals up close, you can book the one-hour boat trip. The costs for this are approximately € 26.00 per person.
This seal safari is part of our press trip to Denmark with Landal. More information about the aquarium and spotting seals can be found on the Jyllandsakvariet website.
