Our family lives in North Georgia but we are only about 20 minutes from the Tennessee state line. For that reason, we visit Chattanooga much more often than Atlanta. And one of our favorite places is the Tennessee Aquarium.
The Tennessee Aquarium is located right at on the Riverfront in Chattanooga. What makes it so unique and special is that it is separated into two different buildings. The freshwater animals and the saltwater animals. The buildings themselves are called River Journey and Ocean Journey. Since we got to the aquarium a little after 3pm, we started in Ocean Journey since that building closes first at 6pm. At the top of the building, you start in the lemur forest and then the butterfly garden. Mary was so excited to see the butterflies and we were like butterfly magnets to them!
After the butterfly garden, you'll go to the mid level to see the penguins! We had so much fun seeing them but they're so quick it's almost impossible to get a good shot of them!
After the penguins, you'll start making your way through down the building with huge tanks on either side of you. There are sharks, stingrays, fish and of course green turtles everywhere.
You'll also see the coral reef which has some amazing fish in it! I love seeing the brightly colored fish. As you make your way to the end of Ocean Journey, you'll see the jellyfish before heading to River Journey.
River Journey is comprised of freshwater animals and starts with a four story high escalator ride to the top. Once there, you'll meet the otters and a whole bunch of turtles!
My favorite part was the alligators they have since my teenage years were spent in South Florida. There's nothing like a gator to a Floridian. After you make your way through the gators, you will get to a section completely devoted to turtles. Since Mary is obsessed with turtles at the moment, this was her favorite.
Overall the Tennessee Aquarium is our favorite aquarium in Tennessee now. But what really made the whole trip wonderful was that everyone was so friendly and hospitable. Everyone was so polite and kind. It really made the difference in the entire experience.
The Tennessee Aquarium currently costs $29.95 for anyone 13+ and $18.95 for children 3-12. They also have the Imax theater that you can add on to your package as well.
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