You get to see some of the most beautiful and exotic animals on earth while SCUBA diving in the open ocean, but it's not every day that you can come face to face with a whale shark, the largest fish in the world. Such encounters are the stuff of dreams and the memories will stay with you for the rest of your life. The Georgia Aquarium's Journey With The Gentle Giants swim and dive program gives our guests that experience. Imagine being able to swim next to a 25 foot long whale shark as it glides silently past or watch one of the four manta rays circle mere feet overhead playing in a stream of bubbles. The program takes you on a dive or swim in our 6.3 million gallon Ocean Voyager exhibit where you can swim alongside four whale sharks, four manta rays, more than a dozen species of rays and sharks, and almost 6000 fish.
The experience lasts approximately 2.5 hours and includes an educational video, an introduction to the exhibit and the gear that will be used during your time in the water, the actual swim or dive, and a behind the scene glimpse of several areas at the Georgia Aquarium. Participants must be at least 12 years old and everyone is welcome including people with disabilities or special needs. We ask that you notify us at the time of your reservation about any special accomodations you need during your visit.The diver portion of the program requires that you be a certified SCUBA diver and can provide a copy of your Open Water certification from a nationally recognized certifying agency along with a picture ID. The swim portion does not require any certification but we recommend that you be comfortable in the water. Guests younger than 18 must be accompanied in the water by an adult. Our trained staff will make your visit enjoyable and we guarantee it will be an experience you will never forget.
The Journey With The Gentle Giants program takes place seven days a week with the dive starting at 3:00pm and the swim at 4:30 pm. There is an additional dive on Saturdays and Sundays starting at 11:00am. Each dive and swim tour can take a maximum of eight participants and spots fill up quickly. If you are interested, reservations can be made online at http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/swimordive/index.aspx or by calling 404.581.4000
This is one of the most unique experiences i have ever had. I was able to go recently and it exceeded all of my expectations. It is well worth the price and I plan to go again as soon as possible.
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