Sea Life Adventures in the Southern US

Upon your arrival in Baltimore, spend some time getting acquainted with your guide and Charm City. Baltimore’s inner harbor offers the opportunity to gaze at historic ships and take a boat ride around the harbor. In the evening, your sea life adventure officially gets started as you enjoy a delicious crab cake sandwich in any number of lovely bistros in the downtown area.

The highlight of your time in Baltimore is a trip to the National Aquarium. It’s effortless to spend an entire day exploring all that the aquarium has to offer, including over 20,000 animals. This includes not only countless fish species, but also reptiles, amphibians, birds, sharks, and marine mammals. The National Aquarium is considered one of the best in the country thanks to engaging exhibits, highlighted by a 4-D dolphin movie.

It may seem a little odd to travel from Baltimore to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the middle of the Smoky Mountains while on a sea life adventure. However, you’re in for a treat! Upon arriving in Gatlinburg, relax in the small mountain town and enjoy the scenic views until resuming your aquatic trip the next day.

Waiting for you in Gatlinburg is Ripley’s Aquarium. In addition to a moving walkway that takes you underneath a tunnel of sharks, interactive exhibits feature both penguins and stingrays. Nearly every corner of Ripley’s Aquarium has hands-on exhibits. There is so much to see! The number of fish inside the aquarium out-number the people who live in Gatlinburg.

From Gatlinburg, it’s a short drive to Chattanooga and the Tennessee Aquarium. Located along the banks of the Tennessee River, this aquarium incorporates the surrounding ecosystem into the experience through their freshwater exhibit. Here you can see some of the country’s most diverse freshwater animals! Meanwhile, the Ocean Journey offers equal attention to saltwater animals, giving you the best of both worlds.

Today we’ll head towards Atlanta, home of the Georgia Aquarium, which is officially the largest in the country with 10 million gallons of water. This aquarium features six galleries, over 70 individual habitats, and over 500 different species, including whale sharks, beluga whales, and African penguins. The highlight is a 6.3-million gallon habitat where guests can swim alongside manta rays and whale sharks.

Our journey now brings us to Crystal River, Florida, where you can dive right in and come face to face with manatees, the gentle giants of the animal kingdom. Crystal River, located on an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, is a favorite spot of manatees year-round. It’s the best place to rent some gear, dive under the surface, and observe manatees in their natural environment without being a disturbance to these endangered creatures.

Today we’re making our way to the southernmost point of the United States, Key West! What better way to end your sea life adventure than a place where you can gaze in just about any direction and see nothing but miles of ocean?

Explore the Key West National Wildlife Refuge area by boat and discover the bottlenose dolphins that call this area, nicknamed “dolphin playground”, home. Get ready for a snorkel adventure as we go from above the water to below, to view a variety of marine animals that call Key West their home.

Wake up and take in one last dreamy ocean view. As you breathe in the fresh air, take a minute to reflect on all of the sea creatures you’ve seen throughout this journey. Your perspective of the oceans has likely been transformed forever!