If you follow my Instagram stories then you already know that I recently got SCUBA certified so I could dive with the largest fish in the world, the whale shark. Georgia Aquarium is the only place in the western hemisphere where you can see whale sharks. Georgia Aquarium’s Ocean Voyager exhibit contains 6.3 million gallons of water and ranges from 20 to 30 feet deep.
Anyone can with a nationally recognized Open Water SCUBA certification can dive. If you aren’t a certified diver but would still like to swim with these giant animals, they also offer a snorkeling swim.
This exhibit houses thousands of fish including whale sharks, zebra sharks, sawfish, leopard whiprays, bowmouth guitarfish, humphead wrasses, pompano and several species of rays.
Georgia Aquarium is the only aquarium in the US and one of the only places in the world to offer this type of rebreather experience. The Rebreather Dive experience lasts about 3.5 hours total and all of the equipment is provided. We had a quick debriefing and signed paperwork before checking out the Poseidon SE7EN Closed-Circuit Rebreather gear. It has the most powerful dive computer ever built and automated safety checks making rebreather diving easy, safe, and ideal for beginner divers.
Next we were shown to the locker room where we were each assigned a locker and given all of our gear. They provide the wetsuit, booties, and mask.
You are allowed to bring your own personal mask, which I did, but they clean them thoroughly before you get in the water. After the dive, towels, hot showers, soap and shampoo were provided.
During my dive there were 3 of us trying the Rebreather for the very first time, and 3 Dive Masters that dove with us for our safety and to ensure the safety of the animals. Like all dives, you dive with a specific buddy. My Dive Master buddy was Susan. She was very experienced and continually checked on me to make sure I was enjoying the experience.
If for some reason you are having issues or do not like the Rebreather Dive, you can surface and switch into regular SCUBA gear to complete your dive. They want you to have an enjoyable experience and will not pressure you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.
Since the Rebreather reuses your own warm, humid air, you stay warmer underwater and you get longer bottom times. The regular SCUBA Dive lasts about 30 minutes, while the Rebreather Dive lasts over an hour! Plus there are no bubbles with the Rebreather Dive which means the fish aren’t scared and will get very, very close to you.
The dive is not an animal interaction experience so you are not allowed to touch the animals. However the animals can and will touch you. The whale sharks are enormous and are obviously king of the tank. They will run you over so it’s your job to stay out of their way. I had a few small fish try to nibble at me, but the wetsuit protects you well so you see it and hear it more than you actually feel it. I was much more concerned with the Longcomb Sawfish with a face like a chainsaw that was circling around and around very close to me!
Friends and family are allowed to come watch you dive. They are given VIP treatment while you are in the water so they can see you. My husband and daughters were escorted by an employee with a dive flag to various spots around the tank to get a good view. Ocean Voyager features an 100-foot-long underwater acrylic tunnel and one of the largest viewing windows in the world so your family will have multiple opportunities to see you!
The Journey with Gentle Giants Rebreather Dive are only available on the weekends and costs $495.95 for non-members. It’s available to guests at least 15 years old and guests under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The Journey with Gentle Giants Snorkel Swim is available daily for participants at least 12 years old and costs a little over $200.
There are a limited number of spaces per swim and dive so book your encounter as early as possible. More than 200 participants have experienced the rebreather program in 2017! The cost includes admission to the Aquarium, all equipment, certificate of participation, exclusive t-shirt, souvenir photo and HD video of your experience. A portion of the proceeds from this program support the Aquarium’s research and conservation efforts. Check out my full video below!
Well done on getting SCUBA certified you have such an amazing new world out there is to explore, you adventure with whale sharks sounds wonderful.
I had no idea that the Georgia aquarium offered this! What a great experience, even if all you get to do is snorkel. My husband would love to get his scuba license and do this one day!
So many people I have talked to didn’t know you could do this at the aquarium! It’s an incredible experience!
What a neat experience! I’m definitely adding this to my bucket list. It would be so hard not to touch them with them being so close!
That must have been such an amazing experience! I cannot even begin to imagine being able to see that sea life up close and personal like that!
I am so jealous! I have always wanted to dive with whale sharks! It makes me want to get certified so that I can do it. It looks like you guys had a blast.
Do it! I always wanted to get SCUBA certified and I’m SOO happy I did it! There’s a whole new world to explore!
OH my gosh this would be such an amazing experience. I love this so much.
That is super cool and utterly amazing! I love your pics and um…. WAY TO GO!!!!!!!
This is insane! I can not imagine how serene and amazing this feeling is. I would love to go diving someday even if it is just with fishies!
Diving is like being in another world! Like floating around in outer space! It’s so calm, almost like everything is happening in slow motion!
I’ve been to this aquarium and literally sat in awe for thirty minutes watching the whale sharks. I am super jealous that you did that, it looks like an out of this world bucket list adventure.
You are one awesome! You were able to manage having a scuba certification and enjoy things outside your comfort zone. Great experience!
Whoa! Those are really gigantic creatures. I wish I have the heart to swim with them as well. What an amazing experience!
That would be an amazing experience. This is something I have always wanted to do. Being that close to all these neat creatures is amazing.
This is so amazing! It would be such a nice experience but I’ll also be a little terrified in the beginning, for sure. It’s definitely something that I’d like to do someday.
This is such of an amazing experience! I wish I could do something like this, but I can’t swim for the life of me! ~lol~
What a great experience! I’ve always wanted to SCUBA dive but have always been worried I’d be too claustrophobic to do it. Kudos to you for doing it! The aquarium looks like a fantastic facility.
Scuba diving is something that I was able to do once many years ago. I loved it and would love to swim with the sea life off the coast. It looks so fascinating and I am jealous.
Wow! What an amazing experience! I don’t think I would have the guts to do something like that, but I admire your courage. Way to go!
Congrats on your certification. We live in Georgia and visit the aquarium in Atlanta often. It would be pretty cool to see you swimming with those monstrous creatures.
That looks like so much fun. I think I will live vicariously through you. and look at all these amazing videos.
Awesome experience! But when you said, “Georgia Aquarium is the only place in the western hemisphere where you can see whale sharks” I think you may have meant “in captivity.” Because whale sharks migrate up and down the Central American Atlantic coast. (I’m not sure where else – maybe South America, too.)
That’s pretty cool! I’d love to swim with a whale shark though they are intimidating.
Hello, Amy.
I was amazed that you needed to get certified to swim with the whale sharks. In the Philippines, you could swim with several whale sharks for just $10. I experienced it myself and the feeling was superb. I really like your blog. I will stay tuned for more of your articles.
Hey Susie! I got certified for SCUBA diving since I did the closed-circuit rebreather dive. You can still swim with the whale sharks with snorkel gear without having a certification. Some countries will let you dive without being officially certified, but it’s very dangerous if you’re going any deeper than 30 feet and don’t know what you’re doing. I went SCUBA diving a couple years ago in Jamaica without a certification and without proper training! I’m much more confident in the water now!