How Long Does It Take To Go Through The Georgia Aquarium? | Our Tips!
At roughly 13 acres, the Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world, so you'll need to plan an adequate amount of time to cover this massive facility!
In this Georgia Aquarium Guide, we'll break down how much time you can expect to spend at the aquarium including some time planning tips for each individual section of the facility!
Questions We’ll Answer About the Georgia Aquarium:
- How Long Should You Plan For Each Gallery?
- How Long Are The Presentations?
- How Much Time Do Special Activities Take?
- How Long Does It Take To Go Through The Georiga Aquarium?
How Long Should You Plan For Each Gallery?
The Ocean Voyager gallery is the largest of the six and easily the most popular, because it’s a giant tank with massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
There’s a 100-foot-long acrylic tunnel for guests to walk through which makes them feel like they’re underwater, surrounded by sharks, rays, and other fish.
You can easily spend an hour just in the Ocean Voyager Gallery!
Cold Water Quest is the second-largest gallery. Its main attractions are the otters, beluga whales, penguins, and more.
We suggest planning for around 30 minutes in Cold Water Quest!
Tropical Diver, Sharks! Predators of the Deep and River Scout are the three smallest galleries and can be seen relatively quickly.
We recommend 10-15 minutes for Tropical Diver and River Scout while Sharks! will likely take about 15-25 minutes, especially if you're a big shark fan.
The Aquanaut Adventure gallery features games and activities intended for small children.
There’s also a touch pool where guests can feed and touch some of the animals.
This area is usually popular amongst kids, and they could easily spend 15-20 minutes here, while adults will spend substantially less time, if any, in this area!
How Long Are The Animal Presentations?
The Georgia Aquarium has two animal presentations. One features dolphins, while the other features sea lions.
While the presentations are included in your admission ticket, you'll need to make reservations to see the presentations.
Both shows are 30 minutes long, but try to arrive at least 15 minutes early to get good seats - some folks will come much earlier for the best seats.
With this in mind, you'll likely want to plan about one hour for the presentations!
How Much Time Do Special Activities Take?
The special activities cost additional fees, require advanced reservations, and will take up a good portion of your visit.
Special activities include animal encounters (meeting and/or petting animals), behind-the-scenes tours, and even a chance to scuba dive alongside sharks (with proper SCUBA certification).
Animal encounters will take about one hour, behind-the-scenes tours will take around 30 minutes, and the scuba experiences will take about an hour and a half.
How Long Does It Take To Go Through The Georgia Aquarium?
The amount of time needed to go through the Georgia Aquarium will vary greatly depending on whether you want to experience any special activities or animal presentations, but on average we recommend 5 hours at the Georgia Aquarium.
Our estimate is based on seeing all six animal galleries, watching both presentations (animal shows), and making some time for lunch.
However, an adults-only group or families with older children can get through the aquarium in 3-4 hours if you plan to skip an animal presentation and/or areas like Aquanaut Adventure.
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