The Georgia Aquarium

One of Georgia's best attractions is the Georgia Aquarium on 225 Baker Street in Atlanta. This Atlanta aquarium is the world's largest. The Aquarium contains over 8 million gallons of fresh and marine water and is home to more aquatic life than any other facility of this kind. It is guaranteed when you visit, you will see things you have never seen before at any other aquarium. The Aquarium features 5 areas of discovery that focus on aquatic life found in a specific regions. The areas represented are Cold Water Quest, Georgia Explorer, River Scout, Ocean Voyager and Tropical Diver.

In the Cold Water Quest section you will be enthralled by beluga whales, giant Pacific octopus, African penguins, garibaldi damselfish, Japanese spider crabs, leafy sea dragons, California sea lions, and other marine animals.

To learn about the animals residing in the waters of Georgia's coastal regions don't miss out on the Georgia Explorer interactive gallery. Here you can touch horseshoe crabs, sea starfish, stingrays, and shrimp. There are large habitats, designed by the National Marine Sanctuary, which are home to loggerhead sea turtles and the fish of Gray's Reef. You can also watch a video, and see a large scale model of a right whale.

The Ocean Voyager area gives you the feeling that you are swimming in the middle of the ocean. It was designed specifically for the whale sharks which are the largest fish species. As you tour the gallery you will also see Giant grouper, Golden trevally, Great hammerhead sharks, Humphead wrasse, Large tooth sawfish, Tasseled wobbegong, and Zebra sharks all in an ocean habitat containing 4,574 square feet of viewing windows-one of which is the second largest in the world!

For mysteries of the Freshwater regions, head toward the River Scout gallery. Here you will learn of freshwater animals, not just in Georgia's freshwaters, but those from Africa, South America, and Asia as well. It features the world's largest freshwater fish, the arapaima which is indigenous to the Amazon River. There is also a gallery that allows children to safely enter an area filled with piranha. Other animals found here are the Asian small clawed otter, bowfins, electric eels, long nose gar, and pacu.

The Tropical Diver gallery, or Coral Kingdom, is one you may want to save for last. The Coral Kingdom provides a relaxing journey through the tropical Pacific coral reefs which are arranged to look like a gallery of living art. You will hear the waves crashing overhead as you view jelly fish, fairy basslets, yellow-head jawfish, spotted eels, sea horses, and butterfly fish.

While at the Georgia Aquarium, you may wish to view Deepo's Undersea 3D Wondershow, or purchase a downloadable audio file for your mp3 player or iPod which will share interesting facts about the animals and answers FAQs. The Aquarium also features the Café Aquaria which has food to sure to please the entire family.

The Georgia Aquarium is open Monday - Thursday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday - Sunday: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Exceptions: November 21-24: 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. The Georgia Aquarium is open 365 days a year. Hours can change based on season so it's a good idea to call the aquarium first.

Tips to Avoid Crowds at the Aquarium in Atlanta

A big question asked is when is the best time to visit the Georgia Aquarium to avoid crowds. The answer is really pretty simple, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy for you to see it during the slower times. Georgia is a huge staycation state and that means every kid for 200 miles comes to see the fish, especially when on breaks from school.

This means that summer is busiest and weekends during the summer are horrible. I went to the aquarium on a Saturday in August and the crowds were so thick I couldn’t see many of the tanks. If you want to avoid crowds shoot for weekdays and avoid the summer, but whatever you do avoid the weekends in the summer. If you liked this tip we provide tips on other things too like our guide to free ringback tones. It has little to do with fish, but we have found that ringbacks make for a fun trip no matter where you go. What fish or ocean songs can you think of that will be fun for your family and friends to hear when they call you at the aquarium?

Banner Image by John Cantrell