Pakistan Maritime Museum Karachi: Submarine, Ships and Tickets

The Pakistan Maritime Museum in Karachi is open every day: 9 am to 10 pm Monday to Friday, and 9 am to 11 pm on Saturday and Sunday, according to the museum's official website. So whatever day you are going, today included, it is open until at least 10 pm. The museum, run by the Navy off Karsaz Road, is built around a decommissioned submarine you can walk through from bow to stern, alongside a former warship, a maritime patrol aircraft and galleries on naval and maritime history. This guide covers what there is to see, the ticket prices, and how to plan a visit with children.

The submarine: the main attraction

The museum's best-known exhibit is PNS Hangor, a decommissioned Daphné-class Pakistan Navy submarine, open for visitors to walk through compartment by compartment, past the torpedo tubes, control room and crew quarters. It is the closest most visitors will ever get to seeing how a submarine crew actually lived and worked, and it is the one exhibit almost everyone who visits mentions afterwards.

Boarding the submarine costs a small amount on top of the base entry ticket. The walkways and hatches are narrow and involve ducking and stepping over raised thresholds, so it suits most children and adults but is a tighter fit for anyone with limited mobility.

Ships, aircraft and other exhibits

Alongside the submarine, the museum displays a former warship, the minesweeper PNS Mujahid, and a Breguet Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft, both of which visitors can go aboard for a small additional fee, along with a traditional wooden dhow representing the region's older seafaring tradition. Indoor galleries cover the history of the Pakistan Navy, marine life along the coast, and the country's ports and shipping, with models, uniforms and photographs filling in the detail between the large outdoor exhibits.

There is also a science gallery with interactive displays, aimed more directly at younger visitors than the historical sections.

Maritime Museum timings

The official website gives these hours, with the museum "open all days":

There is no weekly closing day. The site does not publish a last entry time, so arrive at least an hour before closing if you want to board the submarine. On public holidays and Eid, expect the weekend crowds; we could not confirm whether holiday hours differ, so call the number on the official website if you are cutting it fine.

Ticket prices

The museum's visitor guidelines list adult entry at PKR 100, with PKR 50 for children aged 3 to 11 and PKR 50 for armed forces personnel (checked October 2026). Boarding the submarine costs PKR 50 and the aircraft PKR 30, and there are packages at PKR 150 for adults and PKR 180 for children. A VIP boat ride is PKR 100, and the jumping castles and trampolines cost PKR 50 to 100. Prices change, so treat these as a guide and check the board at the gate.

Activities for children

The submarine and the outdoor ships are the obvious draw for most children, and the science gallery adds a more hands-on stop indoors. Because the site is spread across open ground with several separate exhibits, it works well as a half-day family outing rather than a quick stop, and the museum's long hours mean an evening visit after the day's heat has eased is just as easy as a morning one.

There is a food zone on site selling biryani, burgers, fries and snacks, free filtered drinking water, and separate prayer areas for men and women. Note that school bags, lunch boxes and food are not allowed inside the museum building itself.

Best time to visit

Weekday mornings are the quietest, and the museum's outdoor areas are more comfortable to walk before the midday heat builds, particularly from April to October. The long evening hours, until 10 pm on weekdays and 11 pm at weekends, make it one of the easier Karachi attractions to fit in after dinner or once the day has cooled, and the lit-up ships and submarine after dark are worth seeing in their own right.

Getting there and pairing with the PAF Museum

The museum sits on Habib Ibrahim Rehmatullah Road in Karsaz, close to the Pakistan Air Force Museum, which makes the two an easy pairing for a half day of military history. Our list of places to visit in Karachi covers how to group them with the rest of the Karsaz corridor.

• Ride-hailing or your own car is the simplest way to reach the gate.
• Public transport on the Peoples Bus Service or the Green Line corridor reaches Karsaz, followed by a short rickshaw ride or walk of about a kilometre.
• Combine it with the PAF Museum on the same road, either back to back or as a morning-and-evening pair.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, and it is one of the better family outings in Karachi for the price. The submarine alone is a genuinely unusual thing to walk through, and the combination of outdoor exhibits and long opening hours makes it easy to work into almost any part of the day.

It suits families and anyone with an interest in naval or maritime history more than a visitor looking for a short, air-conditioned stop, since most of the site is outdoors and involves a fair amount of walking between exhibits. Our trip planning page is the place to start if Karachi is part of a longer trip.

Frequently asked questions