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Georgia Aquarium
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: Downtown
225 Baker St
Atlanta, GA 30313
(404) 581-4000
225 Baker St
Atlanta, GA 30313
(404) 581-4000
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
170 reviews for Georgia Aquarium
How can you not give the Georgia Aquarium 5 stars? It merits 5 stars based on the Ocean Voyager exhibit alone. There are 4 whale sharks and 3 manta rays--the biggest in their species, and the only ones available in the U.S. for your viewing pleasure. Additionally, in that 6-million gallon tank, there are 55,000+/- fish, including hammerhead sharks and sand tiger sharks. How awesome is that? You can walk through a glass tube and have a hammerhead or a manta ray sail right over head. You get to see the private parts-area of a shark, without fear of being eaten. How does that not warrant 5 stars?
Anyway. The rest of the aquarium is fine, even though the beluga whale exhibit was temporarily defunct (where do they put the beluga whale, by the way?!). There's a lot of the exhibits where fish are on the ceiling, which is undeniably cool. You can see electric eels, big turtles, giant crabs, alligators, otters, various sea horses, etc, and you can pet rays and non-harmful sharks. All of that is pretty standard for big aquariums, but it didn't fall short of expectations. We were all happy with our visit to this highly interactive aquarium.
P.S. They feed the fish broccoli. It is so hilarious to see fish eating big hunks of broccoli.
This is not an aquarium.
This is a mall with fish in it.
I hated this place.
It was expensive.
The exhibits sucked.
Worst. Aquarium. Ever.
Blah, blah, blah, I'm a snotty Bostonian who thinks your aquarium can't possibly be as awesome as our aquarium because you don't have a three floor tank nor penguins but you do have scary looking Louisiana Crabs, adorable otters, passionate staff, a ton of interactive displays and a neat little mascot named Deepo so really it is a tossup.
And I think your sharks are more bad ass.
Not impressed. Expensive. Does have some rare finds and exceptional views, but the animals are in cruel setting. Employees are not helpful. Security people at entrance are rude and un-professional.
Better off driving to the coast and looking at the wildlife.
I took my parents here while they were visiting Atlanta for Thanksgiving. Overall, we really enjoyed the aquarium. The price was pretty steep for a 90 minute visit! We literally looked at everything that was included and I took lots of pictures with my camera phone (and no I didn't use the flash - i respected the signs that were posted everywhere).
I used the audio at the beginning of the tour, but it kept hanging up on me. I had to call back several times to get to the next part because the pause didn't work, so I got frustrated and decided to continue the tour without it.
Too bad the Beluga whale exhibit was closed... I hear it's well worth seeing, we should have gotten a discount for that!
I love the Georgia Aquarium!
My favorite is the giant tank and tunnel ("Ocean Voyager" section)...I could have stayed there under the tunnel watching all the sealife swim around me. The vast size of the tank is amazing...both the tunnel and the giant picture windows offer wonderful views of the the whale shark, giant fish, mantha rays, etc.
Unfortunately, the other exhibits didn't live up to the ocean tank section, though on their own, they are still great exhibits. The jellyfish are a personal favorite...gorgeous! I look forward to seeing the dolphins when that exhibit is finished.
I like the interactive-ness: being able to touch sharks, rays, starfish, anemones, shrimp. I am a bit of a scaredy-cat...I can eat most of these things but touching them while alive creeps me out a little. But I did it anyway...they didn't sense that I have consumed their brethren and didn't attack me.
I came to visit on a Monday and it was uncrowded and open. Having all sections converge into a central large open space works well logistically so you can go in whatever order you please. I can only imagine how insane this place can get on weekends. Anyway, I'll be back- I bought an annual pass!
The "Journey with the Gentle Giants" tour is a must-do- for about $200 ($300 you can dive if you are SCUBA certified) you get to swim in the Ocean Voyager - the largest aquarium tank in the world with whale sharks, the largest fish in the world.
This experience is so cool - I highly recommend it - it's amazing to be that close to the whale sharks as well as other marine life such as mantas, hammerhead sharks, sand tiger sharks, etc.
I was seriously hungry for fish when I was finished, Thank god for Legal seafood across the street!
The best Aquarium I've ever been too. A must stop for any local or tourist!
It takes about 3 hours to go through the whole place, the movie was great! The Plant Shark Exhibit was good not great! Everything else was awesome. Parking was easy in, easy out!
I think it's a testament to the place when I took my 3 year old to the Aquarium and even after we had been there for 3 hours he still wouldn't let me leave. We were heading out the door and I replied, "But we've seen everything, what do you want to see again?" His reply was "Sharks Daddy...I want to see the sharks again."
I'm a little biased because I used to volunteer here before kids came into my life. I love the Ocean Exhibit, with the whale sharks and newly acquired manta rays. We sat in front of the tank for a good 40 minutes. I'm a little sad and probably should have asked someone what happened to the seals and penguins, but that peguin exhibit needed to be redone anyway. And of course, I can't wait to see what they do for the upcoming Dolphin Exhibit.
The entire family purchased season passes, and I can't wait to go back!
The Ocean Voyager tank was the only part of this that 'wowed' me. I thought at 26$ for basic admission it was a little steep compared to the other aquariums I've been to (Mystic in CT and Monterey in CA to name a few), but no doubt the maintenance on that huge tank must be a lot. It has a tunnel where you go underneath with a moving walkway. Pretty slick and some great views. We were there at feeding time for the Whale Sharks (nothing spectacular, just two rafts pulling food across the top). We were in an out in about an hour (we didn't do any of the 'extras').
As an ex-salt water aquarium technician ( I was banned for eating turtle soup) I believe that, if you're going to insist on putting a fish in a tank... you should try your hardest to respect it's natural habitat.
It's for that reason that I found this aquarium fairly disturbing, on several levels.
It's like a amusement park not an aquarium.
That they allow flash photography is an outrage. Those poor animals are being tortured on a daily basis. Please people, turn off your flashes! Try to remember that these aren't all fish, there are higher functioning mammals as well and flash bulb technology is not part of their natural habitat!
And as far as the education value of the aquarium goes, some of the tanks were just "show tanks" with no real concern for representing an actual habitat. For instance, there was a tank in the tropical display area that showcased brightly colored fish just because of their color. The fish in that tank are from all over the globe, and would never be in the same environment!
There's also lobsters and crabs in tanks the same size as the lobster tanks in a grocery stores! I'm a meat eater, but that's not really the point. If you're keeping it alive, you have a moral imperative to give an animal proper space! I mean... lobsters in the wild can have a 180 mile range and you give it a 4 foot box to live in! Evil!
I think zoos and aquariums should be about education and teaching the public about how important conserving the natural environment is. Instead, this place teaches people that sea life is there for our amusement.
Not the way I would have done it. But as usual... nobody asked me, or I would have made some serious changes! (I'm looking at you Taco Mac)
I became a member before visiting to save some money. Hindsight is 20/20 and if I would have known what I was in for, I don't think I would have become a member. That said... since I have inadvertently financially supported the place, if anyone ever wants to go for free hit me up. Maybe we can free Willy! (Or whatever that lobsters name is)! : (
I'm torn, I really am. I wish I could give 2.5 stars, but I really do WANT to love the aquarium. As it is, I enjoy bringing people here because it's one of the better tourist attractions in Atlanta-- especially on a sweltering summer day. But I can't help it if I feel like I'm too old to enjoy it fully.
Let me explain: If I was under the age of 12, I would be absolutely enthralled by this aquarium, since it's more or less designed specifically for children. For me, it is depressing to feel like I'm at a theme park, surrounded by advertisements, neon signs, and cartoons-- I'm morbidly amused by the "Deepo" character, who looks rather like an inbred relative of Disney's Nemo, but evidently the resemblance is not enough to incur the wrath of the feared supervillain Copyright Infringement Man.
Since I'm pushing 30, I find myself walking through the entire place in less than an hour. I mean, one entire section of the building is clearly intended just for children. And I guess there is only so long I can watch otters swim languidly in circles or listen to someone explain the basic physiology of a Beluga whale (OMG, they breathe air?!). The first time I went, the place was so full of rowdy, screaming mini-me's that I couldn't enjoy myself at all. Good luck petting a sting ray when there are toddlers punching you in the kneecaps. The second time I went was a little better in terms of crowding, but I was hungry and became annoyed by all the overpriced, low-quality food. Since you're already Downtown, you're better off walking three blocks over to Peachtree Center Mall and getting a 5 dollar foot long from Subway than cutting off your arm and a leg for a meal at the aquarium. Besides, they don't even serve fish & chips, which is what I was craving that day, for some odd reason... Oooh, can I pick one of them lobsters outta that tank? (Just kidding! Kinda.)
Oh, and I got scolded for smoking a cigarette outside near the ticketing line. "Sorry, the plaza is smoke-free, please go up to the street." Then why are there ash trays IN the plaza? Derp.
I will admit, the aquarium is worth at least one trip. And it does make a good first date, because if the situation is awkward, you can always talk about fish.
Our 17 month old stayed engaged and excited for several hours! What a great facility. Next time we're in town, we will go again. If your kid likes fish (ours has a slight obsession), it is so worth the money- you will all enjoy lots to see in a relaxed atmosphere.
The whole Atlanta trip was worth it because I had the chance to visit the Georgia Aquarium. While the BF was busy with work stuff, I went to the aquarium by myself - it was an amazing sight!!!
It may be educational for children, but it's pretty amazing for adults as well.
I probably spent about 30min standing in front of the Beluga Whale exhibit, another 20min in front of the deep sea exhibit and about another hour looking at all the other stuff.
I love the "petting areas" because I got to touch some stingrays, bonnethead sharks, starfish and anemones... very cool!!!
If you never been, you have to go!!!
Who knew that the Aquarium could be so much fun for us grown folks!!!!!
I decided to attend Jazz Journeys, talk about a great place for a night out.... I took my place in the front row... So I could get the best out of my experience........and what can I say.....Ken Ford was amazing he rock that house well the aquarium in this case.
If you have ever been here you know that the crowds at this place can get a lil crazy... but it was just the right amount of people you could walk and see every exbited I even had a chance to touch one of the live shrimp ( man were they fast)
Other then having the pay for the 10 dollar parking I have to say this was a great experience.....
Please its a must try befor the end of summer!
The first year, I was an avid member. I went at least 20 times the first year, tapering off to about 6 visits the next year. This weekend I went and was so disappointed. First, there were dozens of unruly kids running around unsupervised, beating on the tank walls.
I'm still bitter over losing two of our beloved Beluga's and several of the whale sharks. The huge tank was full of sharks and the school's of stingray's and colorful fish were gone. I used to be able to sit in the big room and watch the fish for hours it seemed. I was done after 20 minutes. I have watched this aquarium go from something beautiful, to some a below average facility. I can still be saved, but who?
The only plus is I experienced great customer service when trying to find our group leader who was inside and had our tickets to get in :)
Definitely a wonderful aquarium to visit and bring the family to. Just always keep in mind that this is a tourist attraction so crowds are as much a part of the deal as the aquarium itself. Before I got here, I had tunnel vision and completely forgot that there would be crowds. My family had been here many times before but that topic was never addressed (if you haven't figured it out already, I hate crowds... Lol). Nevertheless, we had a great time. I got so immersed with my surroundings that all the other people pushing and shoving their way around me seized to phase me. We also saw that the aquarium was prepping for a dolphin area late next year. Another visit will definitely be in the works for that!
For those that are military, if you happen to be near an installation (even at Ft. Stewart and Hunter) you can buy discounted tickets through the MWR ticket office. Adults are currently at $21 and children up to 11 y/o are $16. Once you get to ticket sales area in the front of the entrance, just go to will call and your vouchers will be converted to tickets.
The food prices are ridiculous though! Tourist attraction, remember? So you're gonna get the tourist-attraction-airport-movie-theater prices here. And everything is a la carte!
This is quite a huge aquarium. I think it may be the largest in North America?
The entire place is organized into 5 different sections/exhibits. Once you're done with one exhibit, you're taken right back to the center of the aquarium and then you can chose the next exhibit to visit. It makes it very convenient and easy, so you are not accidentally going through the same exhibit twice.
There is plenty to see and learn about. They've also got a few petting pools, so you can pet sting rays, baby sharks, shrimp, sea anemones, star fish, etc. Very fun. There is also a slide for kids in one of the exhibits.
One of their main attractions is the giant whale sharks. Apparently these sharks were caught off the coast of Taiwan and then shipped to the aquarium. They've also got sleepover programs for kids as well as a diving program.
**pow!!**pop!***fzzzzzzzz!!!**BOOM!**zzzzzzrrrr**! !POW!!**cachssssssss.......!**
YAY!!!! the big 200 is here!!!!
Oh, the above was my mental version of fireworks. You like?
So it's the 13th, my birthday, and Laura and I both took the day off. "What do you want to do?" she says. "Well, seeing as how it's a WEDNESDAY, and we are both hung over from kicking our heels up the night before, why don't we go to the Aquarium?" I say.
Yeah!!! Let's go!
BRAVO GA Aquarium! Bravo!!! All, if not MORE of my expectations were meet and exceeded.
I actually moved here right as the aquarium was opening and heard the horror stories of the wait times, the crowds and hoards of tourists flocking to the Atlanta attraction. So I would say I played it just perfectly by waiting to go. Now, did I know I would wind up waiting 3 years to make here? ummm......no! - None the less, I find my self walking up to the front of this massive structure of which houses underwater creatures from the deep blue sea and I am so excited I peed myself.......ha! just kidding, but I could have!
S I played the ticket card just right and ordered my printable tickets on line prior to going. No wait people! I walked right up and they welcomed us in with open arms.
Once inside I was completely amazed at the beauty, the lighting, and every thing they had to offer here. Seriously, I was a kid in a candy store. Again, this was far more then what I expected. I had been to the SC aquarium prior to the GA aquarium, so having a bit of "experience" in other aquariums, certainly made me feel at home here. and no, it's not "if you've seen one aquarium, you've seen them all" so don't even consider that idea.
If I had to pin point one amazing thing/moment that stood out about the GA aquarium? It would most certainly be the moment the giant manta ray, Nandi, came soaring directly at me while I watched in amazement of her. She has a grace and style unmatched by any other animal in the Ocean Voyager tank. It was....utterly breath taking.
Oh sure, i enjoyed all of the other animals, including the whale sharks and many, many other sea creatures; but none as much as Nandi.
Here's a piece of advice I have been giving everyone who is planning to visit the aquarium. Ask one of the volunteers to take you "behind the scenes" to see the Penguins. They are currently off exhibit due to construction of the new dolphin exhibit they are building, but any of the volunteers will be happy to take you back to see them. As a bonus, you get to go by the aquariums veterinarian hospital where they check out all of the incoming animals. Amazing experience!
One more thing to know before you go. Keep an eye on the information boards at the exhibit hall entry way for feeding times. You can catch some really great action by being present during feeding times. We saw the fresh water canal feeding, Beluga Whale feeding and even the Sea Otter feeding which was the BEST ever!
And oh yeah, be sure to visit ALL of the touch tanks. Even the ones in the kids play area. Tons-o-fun!
All in all, the Georgia Aquarium DOES NOT disappoint. It's well worth the money.
TA-DA!!!! and there you have it Yelp - Atlanta! You may now refer to me as Mr. 200!!!!!
*bow*bow* -wave*smile- *bow-bow*
The Georgia Aquarium is now the largest aquarium in the world. Before it was built, the world's largest aquarium was on the island of Okinawa, Japan. As a happy coincidence (for me) this is the Ryukyu Island I grew up on, and the aquarium where I spent my childhood. Imagine my surprise when the city I chose to live in at an adult, on the other side of the world, decides to compete and once again I live very nearby the NEW World's Largest Aquarium!
I went to the GA Aquarium with most of my extended in-law family when two of my brothers-in-law and one of my sisters-in-law (all avid and experienced divers) got the chance to dive in the Whale Shark exhibit. (Videos on YouTube under "GA Aquarium Diving" Parts 1 & 2). I arrived three hours early, so I could walk around and look at everything before I needed to focus my attention on my family.
My favorite parts were all the Touch Tanks (where you can reach in and feel the sting rays, baby sharks and stuff), the Otters (because they are so CUTE), the Beluga whales (so beautiful), and the Gentle Giants exhibit (with the Whale Sharks and the fish as big as cars). I really REALLY like the tunnel through this last exhibit, with the moving sidewalk. If I ever get married again - I'm totally doing it ON the moving sidewalk through this water tunnel, with all my guests standing on the sidelines. Not kidding. Also, I'm not planing on being un-married anytime soon... so perhaps this is not happening in my near future. Maybe a vow renewal? Hint hint!!! Maybe in a few years.
This is a great place to bring kids -- perhaps not infants or toddlers since they are pretty much little jellyfish themselves and won't remember anything, but kids ages 2 and up will have a blast! There's even a pirate ship they can play on with a slide shaped like a whale. Ok -- I'm just a big kid, I know, but I went down the slide too!
Oh! I very HIGHLY recommend that you buy your tickets ONLINE before hand, and avoid the very long line. We bought online, showed up at our correct time, and basically walked right in. Very awesome. Very smooth. Very easy. Saves you, probably, hours of time that would be otherwise spent in a line, outside in the Georgia heat. No one likes that. Get yourself inside and head for the penguin exhibit to cool down like it was the antarctic!
Probably my least favorite aquarium in the U.S. It's so utterly commercial -- looks more like a shopping mall with all the sponsorships (Home Depot, UPS, etc.). The sharks and whales were bad ass, but for $27, I wished for more aquatic life.
I love animals, and love going to the zoo and aquariums. So I was totally excited about visiting the Georgia aquarium when it finally opened a couple of years ago (I have since visited again a couple a months ago).
It's a nice aquarium, with a unique layout and theme, but for some reason I wasn't that impressed with it. It was nice, and cool, but I thought it would be bigger and have more animals.
I will say the highlight of the whole experience are the whale sharks. They are magnificent! The minute I walk in the place I want to head there first but I let my daughter dictate where we would go first. I could watch them all day, and it was tough to tear myself away from them. At the end of our visit I had to take one more look at them.
I guess I'm just hard on a place or something but I really wanted to like it more than I did. I was surprised that we only spent about 2 hours there, even after going back to watch the whale sharks again and spending a good bit of time petting the tiger sharks and sting rays.
At first, I was hesitant to pay the entry fee for this place. $27 and that does not include the 3D adventure showing. That's insanity. But as I left the aquarium, I felt that every single dollar spent was TOTALLY worth it!!!
My friends and I entered the aquarium on a Thursday at 4pm. Their closing time was 6pm that day. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to see everything in 2 hours. This is the largest aquarium in the world right?? We entered and once we entered the atrium, we just stood there and gawked. Trying to take in everything around us. This place in definitely HUGE...
We worked our way through every single area. I can't count how many times I said "wow!", "look at that!!", "so beautiful"!!, "scary!!"... Each section was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. And I'm not good at remembering names of marine life, but I do remember that this place has 3 beluga whales and 2 of some other type of HUMONGOUS whales.
And they are adding an entire dolphin wing that will be completed next year.
My advice to anyone who is thinking about coming here. Go on a day when the place closes at 6pm. Come here at 3:30 or 4pm. You will have EXACTLY enough time to see every part of the aquarium without feeling rushed and you won't have to wait in a really long line to get a ticket, or fight your way through the crowd to get up close to the window to see the fish.
This is a very nice aquarium with multiple venues / habitats to browse through at your own pace. We went during the early part of the week, so we did not see crowd issues or lines others have mentioned. We took 3 hours to browse all of the venues, (with a 13 yr old), and we spent a good 20-30 minutes just sitting and watching the animals from behind the "glass wall". It was amazing and hypnotic. When exiting, our 13 year old said he was actually impressed and enjoyed himself.
While I was initially reserved about the ticket prices, once we walked the exhibits, we felt that the price was fair compared to what I have seen and paid at other aquariums in various other locations in the US. I was disappointed about the Beluga Whales being "on vacation" but overall the experience was one of the best I've had at aquariums around the country.
BTW, they are installing a new exhibit so we plan on returning once that is completed.
So, when I lived in Atlanta, I had annual passes to the aquarium since I loved so.. my favorite being sitting in front of the large glass window in Ocean Voyager and becoming lost in the wonder that the sea has to offer.
Fast forward to 2009, when I finally became scuba diving certified...You can sign up to go scuba diving into that amazing tank with 4 whale sharks, hundreds of fish including hammer head sharks, sword fish, and many others....
It was an incredible 30 minute dive into the wonders of the sea, and what an ocean should really look like if it wasn't polluted by humans and the like... from swimming next to Nandi the manta ray, to hanging out with Alice one of the whale sharks... my eyes were wide open trying to soak it all in..
It's been 48 hours since the magical time inside the world's largest single tank...and i'm still grinning with a goofy smile.
Spectacular!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/21/2007
I became a season ticket holder before it even opened it's doors...and I wasn't dissapointed..yes,… Read more »
Let me begin by saying BUY YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE. This is Atlanta, the aquarium is a big tourist attraction, and the line outside to buy tickets is LONG. Also, very HOT (I came in July). I laughed inside at the poor souls who had to wait on line to buy their tickets as me and my friends breezed by with our pre-purchased tickets.
So...the aquarium itself. Not as gigantic as I'd envisioned. And of course, it was filled with big families and screaming children which kind of takes away from the experience.
All that said, the GA Aquarium has some pretty awesome stuff. My absolute favorite were the sea dragons, which seem like something out of a fairy tale. And of course the jellyfish are absolutely amazing. The reef tank is giant and gorgeous, so so colorful but the cheesy music in the exhibit hall takes away from the experience a bit as the waves crash down over your head.
The beluga whales are also pretty cool, they totally ham it up for the crowd. The touch tank is fun - I stuck my hand in and touched a few stingrays. I was surprised at how slimy and icky they felt.
If you can't stand crowds or children, this is not the place for you.
I was a little skeptical of the Georgia Aquarium after having read a lot of the reviews, but I was actually really impressed with me. The price is pretty steep ($27 base price) and goes up higher if you add in shows. The experience though is very worthwhile, and I think it's one of the best aquariums I've seen. I'm from Baltimore, home to a very well known aquarium, but that one feels cramped and outdated compared to the Georgia Aquarium.
The entire place feels new and vibrant, and all the displays are well maintained. There's not a whole lot of written information, but each exhibit that we saw had a staff member standing there telling a bunch of facts and info about the particular animals or exhibits. I thought that did a nice job of avoiding the bottlenecks and packed areas of people trying to read a blurb on the wall. And for people like me who don't have the attention span to read an entire page about about a sea anemone, it was perfect! The giant deep sea tank is a thing of beauty. Full of beautiful (and huge!) fish, multiple whale sharks, and magnificent rays. There's even a little tunnel to walk through with a glass ceiling so you can see all of them swimming overhead. Pretty amazing.
Besides the outright cost, my only real complaints are just that it was a bit less of an educational place and felt more like a big money making machine. Before you even enter they have stations outside with people taking your picture, they have a big mascot fish running around terrifying the children, and there are several shows that require an additional fee.
We arrived at around 11am on a beautiful Saturday morning, and had no trouble with crowds. When we left, it was pretty packed so definitely arrive shortly after opening time. I have no need to return, but it was certainly a worthwhile experience
Ok i will be the first to admit it... i'm an aquarium snob. I mean i almost walked out of finding nemo due to an inaccuracy, so i have high expectations for an aquarium. I was very nervous about the overwhelming 3 star reviews. If i'm going to pay $27 it better be for a five star quality aquarium!
And the Georgia aquarium is definitely a five star aquarium. And definitely worth the $27! It was absolutely amazing. The exhibits were clean, well organized for crowd control and informative. The most impressive part definitely had to be gigantic whale shark tank, full with many different fishes and they gave you a great dive card to go through the exhibit. It was really helpful. There was also a VERY helpful employee at almost every major exhibit that was able to answer any and all questions. And trust me, i had questions.
I really can't get over how awesome this place was. And to top it all off i did not notice one major mistake in an exhibit. In fact i actually learned some things (did you know that geckos have such strong hands they can hold a five year old child). I think that this aquarium is totally worth the money (especially if your boyfriend remembers to get the cheap preordered tickets).
I highly reccommend getting there early (like before 12) cause when we left at around 1 it was absolutely packed!
I am in awe every time I come here. For many reasons. First it is the largest aquarium in the world, and it lives up to that by having some of the largest and coolest animals you could ever imagine seeing. From the whale sharks to the jelly fish it is just so cool.
I am also in awe of the number of people that visit here daily, it is kind of hard to see everything that you want for as long as you may want because there are tons of families with strollers (kids aren't in them) standing in front of everything for 10 minutes. I understand how cool it is, but lets give other people a chance to at least look into a tank.
The Aquarium also offers many programs to get up close and personal with some of the animals that call it home with a family sleep over event and a scuba diving opportunity in the main tank. That is really something that I have not seen before (wish I had been able to do that while in town).
Worth every penny of the 31.50 admission and the 10.00 parking for the great experience you will have there. Just have patience for the masses.
I waited in the scorching sun for about an hour...I was like " this @$#%#$^ better be worth it!!!" And it was...for most part!
Tickets: Chaotic line/instructions. I suppose you could buy in advance (either through the phone or online?? i obviously didn't pick this route) and pick up on site. There was a long line either way. There's a credit card only line..on the right. On the left, there's the LONG cash/credit card line. Bottom line: Buy in advance, or pay with credit card! And if you plan to go to Coca Cola later, buy tickets over at Coca Cola, it's sheltered queuing.
You can get the Promenade Place Pass which gives you entry to both GA and Coca Cola for adult $36.50. Cheaper deal! :)
If you go in the afternoon, go to CC first since they close at 5:00pm. GA stays open later!
Highlights: Beluga whales, looked like a cross between a dolphin and a white whale. Leafed dragonfish, you got to look hard to find them! Poisonous frogs, they look like the fake rubbery ones you buy at the kid's store till they start jumping! Diving with the fishes!!!!
3 touching pools for those who want to get their hands wet and fishy! Remember: two fingers only!!!
There was a playground to entertain the kids. Food's expensive there, so pack snacks for the little ones! Gift shop completely tacky and kiddy. No fun for the adults. :(
Tip-bits:
Read ticket tips above, again!
Go early in the day so you can see the feeding sessions
Read the signs, "No flash please" or " Two fingers only"
In June/July of 2006, I visited the Georgia Aquarium several months after it opened, and I expected a lot since I've worked at the California Academy of Sciences and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium a few times.
It's beautiful once you enter the main hall. It was nice relief coming in from the Atlanta heat and humidity. My sister and I felt like we had to go where the crowd current took us, so we pretty much outlined the whole place. It's not as educational as what I'm used to when it comes to aquariums, but it's so amazingly gorgeous, I just wanted to lie down and drift off to sleep. They have a cool touching section for kids, but I worried a bit for the animals because I didn't see the two-finger touch rule being enforced. I actually could barely spot any employees, but I suppose because it was really crowded.
I think my favorite were the sea otters. We were able to see them being fed and they're so cute! The female one, I forget her name, just swam around in circles with one of her paws in her mouth, like a baby sucking her thumb. Aww.
Here's the secret to visiting the Georgia Aquarium: Go early in the morning.
Only a certain amount of tickets are available every hour, but visitors are not forced out when their hour is up, so as the day wears on, the crowds will start stacking. If you're willing, the early morning is a great chance to see everything the Aquarium has to offer with a minimum of people crowding around the clownfish, trying to catch a glimpse of "Nemo, Nemo, Nemo!"
If you do go early, that's where you should head first, the Tropical Diver section, where you can see numerous Nemos and Dories pulled away from their parents to be exhibits here and probably breed for our enjoyment. Once you get that out of the way, most of the remaining exhibits are far more easily maneuverable even with large crowds.
Of particular beauty--the sea nettles, the Beluga whales and the whale sharks.
If you get hungry during your visit, the food court offers a wide variety of our delicious friends from the sea, too.
Very impressed. This is a really well done aquarium with a friendly staff. We paid to swim with in the tank with the whale sharks and other fish. It was an amazing experience.
Loved it! The only other experience that I've had with aquariums was at the Tennessee Aquarium. The GA Aquarium is phenomenal compared to the one in Tennessee. I'll tell you why...
Tennessee - one big vertical tank. You spend 2.5 hrs winding around to look at the same fish over and over. Blah!
Georgia - Beautiful! First the tickets are expensive (we have a family of 5, and I really would've rather given them one of my kids as oppose to paying $100+ for entrance. Seriously, I would have). So I was bummed at the door with the ticket cost. HOWEVER - once we were inside I was in awe. There really is a "wow" effect here. The space is huge and divided into 4/5 sections that you can walk though to view tanks and tunnels. Then there's the outside space. So at every turn there seems to be more and more.
Now the plus for me was that there are counter service restaurants here. With 3 kids and a husband who's 6'3" with the appetite of a bear....we had to eat. It was great! You can spend time viewing a few tanks and then have lunch. From what I remember there were several options to choose from. Burgers, salads, pizza, sandwiches, etc.
So all in all this was a great experience and in my opinion...well worth the cost!!
One of my many recognized faults is that I have high expectations, which only lead to big disappointments in the end.
I guess my problem with the Georgia Aquarium was that I expected the "World's Largest Aquarium" to be the "World's Greatest Aquarium". Don't get me wrong, it is pretty amazing and I really did enjoy the exhibits. I think for a person that has never been to any other aquarium, this would be a spectacular experience. I have been to many different aquariums and even dabbled a bit with Oceanography in my high school/college days, so there were not many surprises for me. The Georgia Aquarium had a lot of exhibits that I have seen at other Aquariums and I guess I was just expecting to be "wowed".
I do have to say that I was in awe with the size and grace of the Whale Sharks, as it was my first time that I have ever seen them on exhibit. They were really cool to watch, but I think by far my favorite attraction at any Aquarium are the Rays and the Georgia Aquarium certainly has the set up for visitors to observe a variety of them.
Sadly, the Penguin and Sea Lion exhibits were closed for renovations. I did get to watch the Sea Otters for a bit and they are always entertaining. Although, I was a little disturbed by how small the exhibit was for such an energetic animal.
Admittedly, my high expectations and misinterpretation of the exhibit lead to slight disappointment, but overall I think it is a good experience. I would definitely recommend that tourists stop here to pass some time. Of course, it is not like there is a lot of competition for Atlanta attractions.
I love the ocean, and I really love aquariums because it is an easy way to see the ocean.
I thought the aquarium as a whole was exciting, but my walking tour seemed to go by soooo fast- especially for being the largest aquarium in the U.S.
What I really wanted to review was the Swim/Dive option that they offer. Experience the Gentle Giants. I was so excited when I heard that I could go scuba diving with 4 Whale Sharks. Since it is in an aquarium, you are guaranteed to see them!! So I checked out the dates.
Their website does not make it easy to see what dates are available. Instead you have to check each date individually until you find an open date. This is tedious because the experience fills up quickly. We booked in January for a March dive. The weekends were booked out even further so we did a Monday dive. I suggested they improve their website on a survey I did at the end.
Next came the experience itself. Of course it was pretty freaking cool. Never I have been in water with SO much stuff going on. . . .and big fish too, Big Ray's, Big Hammer Head Sharks, REALLY BIG Groupers. All big and cool to see.
Our greeter, David, was very friendly and helped to get me even more excited for what was to come. (If that was even possible). After David briefed us, he handed us off to Patti, our dive master. Patti was nice before the dive. . . but sort of pushy during the dive. It wasn't just Patti, the whole crew. They steered us like cattle under water and kept all the customers a little too close for my comfort. They also had 4 Aquarium employees for 4 paying customers. I thought this was too much.
What I liked most was what they call "Valet Diving" which means all of our gear was set up and just waiting for us to put on. That was pretty sweet.
What I didn't like about our dive was that it was SOOOO short! 30 minutes at the most. I started with 3000 bar and ended with 2000 bar. Really, does it need to be that short? Especially for $300. I thought the Length of the dive was rude. Especially because as we were all exiting, Alice, the biggest Whale Shark they have came right up to me. Of course I wanted to just stare, but Patti kept waving me out. Come on lady, this is a one in a life time experience and you can't just chill. What was the rush?
Other things to note. . . . .
- Swimming is cheaper then diving and if you are just there for the whale sharks then do the swimming. They hang out at the surface a lot anyway.
- The price keeps going up. It was $290 when we booked & $330 by the time we got there.
- We paid $50 for video and I have watched it like ten times now. Maybe not worth it considering I am in for about 8 seconds total.
We liked the aquarium and the big tank with the whale sharks is hard to beat. But the price seems a little steep, at $27, considering how small the place is. Living in Orlando maybe I'm just spoiled by Sea Word.
Luckily we stopped by the aquarium late in the afternoon and found out that admission is half price for the last hour. We managed to go through the whole place in that time too. We may have been a little rushed but it was fairly empty. I couldn't imagine this place with a crowd. Earlier that day I had seen a sea of school buses idling out front. That sight would have made me turn around.
Besides the big tank the other exhibits are just OK. If you've seen any other quality aquarium then you've seen this one too. The beluga tank I'd heard so much about was pretty small and only one beluga was floating in it looking extremely bored. The penguin exhibit was closed for renovations. We breezed through the rest. I liked the layout with it's central atrium with various themed halls jutting away. The staff that we encountered was friendly and helpful. It is a clean and beautiful building but I'm not sure it's worth the money. There is a show that looks like a Saving Nemo ripoff called Deepo.
They have a nice little gift shop on your way out and a cafeteria. I also noticed a hall for special events. It would be awesome to get married with that tank in the background and have your reception at the aquarium! I'm glad we went but won't be in a rush to come back.
I did notice they were doing a lot of expansion with a dolphin exhibit and theatre coming in 2010.
The Aquarium is a fun place to go and take the family or maybe out of town guests. The Layout of the place it good, it lets traffic flow nicely but people, as they are apt to do, tend to clump up in front of the good stuff, namely the otters, whales, and anything else cute. The larger galleries are probably my favorites due to the lack of clumping, meaning i don't get bumped into by annoying tourists or stepped on by rampaging children.
There seem to be certain times that its less crowded. I like to go during the week, usually during the early afternoon. You sometimes (always) have to deal with school groups but they tend to stick together and are pretty easy to avoid. The weekends are out of the question, rain or shine, there are 72 million thousand people/strollers/tourists/hippies whatever all trying to cram themselves inside. The same holds true for holidays regardless of the day of the week they fall on and anytime any school is our in the metro area. Just don't try to go during these times, i'm telling you, i'm not sure how i can make myself any clearer.
Overall, the Aquarium is a really cool place. the folks that work there are great and they're doing good work. The behind the scenes tour is expensive but totally worth it. I hope this place stays as popular as it is, just keep the cool new sea beasts coming. Perhaps the people over at Zoo ATL could learn something about keeping your stuff fresh.
I have been to many aquariums around the US and this overall is the most impressive and extensive. The large tank with the whale sharks is the most impressive thing I have ever seen at an aquarium. The other displays you can find better examples of at other aquariums, but never all at one place. The Japanese spider crabs were really cool and a little bit creepy.
Tip: I bought tickets on-line for a Saturday when they first opened and was able to see everything before it got too crowded. By the time we left it was a mad house.
Tip: Eat before or after you go, the food and drinks are really expensive.
The Georgia Aquarium is nice but I just like the National Aquarium in Baltimore better! I do like the lay out of a hand that makes getting around pretty easy. I wish the Shark exhibit was open but it's still under construction. It doesn't take long at all to walk through, about an hour. I just can't justify the admission price.
Go to Wendy's and get a coupon for $10 off combined admission for The Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca Cola if doing both.
Please be nice and not use flash when taking pictures! I saw tons of people doing it with signs posted asking you not to!
