North of Ocean Beach, you come to Mission Bay and San Diego's most popular tourist attraction. Exhibits and timetabled events at Sea World (daily 9am–dusk; $30.95, parking $5) range from "performances" by killer whales and dolphins to the eerie sight of the heads of hundreds of moray eels protruding from the hollow rocks of the "Forbidden Reef". All manner of sharks circle menacingly in the Shark House; the Penguin Exhibit is a mock Antarctica, while the new Wild Arctic exhibit, with its polar bears and walruses, simulates the North Pole.

Sea World, at 7007 Sea World Drive, the cream of Florida's sizeable crop of marine parks, should not be missed; and you should allocate a whole day to see it all (summer daily 9am–9pm or later; rest of year hours vary; $39.95, $32.80 ages 3–9). The big event is the Shamu show, with a pre-show film attempting to justify the twenty minutes of tricks then performed by killer whales.

The Wild Arctic complex, complete with artificial snow and ice, shows off beluga whales, walruses and a couple of claustrophobic-looking polar bears; the experience is topped off by a thrilling simulated helicopter flight through an Arctic blizzard. With substantially less razzmatazz, plenty of smaller tanks and displays explain more than you need to know about the undersea world. Among the highlights, the Penguin Encounter attempts to re-create Antarctica with scores of waddling birds scampering over an iceberg; the occupants of the Dolphin Pool assert their advanced intellect by flapping their fins and drenching passers-by; and Terrors of the Deep includes a walk through a glass-sided tunnel, offering the closest eye-contact you're ever likely to have with a shark and live to tell the tale.