Rolling Atlas

Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta): An Accessible Guide

Last checked: Oct 16, 2026

At Georgia Aquarium you can borrow a free wheelchair, ride a golf cart from the parking deck to the aquarium, and look for wheelchair emblems on the floor that mark clear viewing spots at exhibit windows. There are low-sensory hours every day until 10 a.m., a sensory room, and audio tours of the galleries online (aquarium accessibility, [Official], checked Oct 16, 2026).

Please confirm before you go: hours and services can change. Check the aquarium's accessibility page before your visit (aquarium accessibility, [Official], checked Oct 16, 2026).

At a glance:
  • Accessible parking
  • Accessible restrooms
  • Family restroom
  • Loaner wheelchairs

Plan your visit

  • Hours: Open 365 days a year; hours vary by date (9 AM–6 PM on Oct 16, 2026), and last entry is 30 minutes before closing (visitor information, [Official], checked Oct 16, 2026).
  • Parking: accessible parking is on Level 3 of the Aquarium Parking Deck. A limited number of oversized-vehicle spaces, for vehicles up to 8'2", are on the first floor (aquarium accessibility, [Official], checked Oct 16, 2026). The page doesn't give the parking cost.
  • Golf carts: carts take guests between the parking deck and the aquarium; ask an attendant on the 1st or 2nd floor (aquarium accessibility, [Official], checked Oct 16, 2026).

Worth your time

Accessibility and ratings

See how we rate

What we found

From the aquarium's official page

  • Wheelchairs: free, first come, first served, in exchange for a photo ID at Guest Relations. They can't be reserved (aquarium accessibility, [Official], checked Oct 16, 2026).
  • Viewing: wheelchair emblems on the floor mark unblocked viewing at designated exhibit windows (same page).
  • Restrooms: two family restrooms are on the 2nd-level rotunda (same page).
  • Vision: audio tours of the galleries online (plus a Spanish audio tour), tactile elements at education stations in select galleries, gallery staff who give detailed descriptions, the free ReBokeh Plus vision app on site (iOS only), and building maps in 8 languages (same page).
  • Hearing: closed-captioning devices for both animal presentations. ASL "may be available with advanced notice," through a request form (same page).
  • Sensory: low-sensory hours daily until 10 a.m., signed headphone and quiet zones, the Wilkins Rhodes Sensory Room on level 2, free sensory bags (photo-ID exchange) and a social story (same page).
  • Service animals: guide dogs, service dogs and working dogs in training (with documentation from an accredited school) are permitted. Emotional support animals and pets are not (same page).
  • Certification: the page cites a third-party "WheelChariot Gold Certification" (same page). We don't use outside scores.

What other sources report

  • Cory Lee, a power-wheelchair user, wrote that you can "look for wheelchair emblems on the floor near certain exhibits… so that you can have an unobstructed view," that there are "special wheelchair-accessible entrances to certain exhibits, like the Cold Water Quest gallery," and that at touch pools "you'll still be able to participate with the help of staff!" His passes were comped by CityPASS Atlanta (Curb Free with Cory Lee, Aug 2018, [Trusted firsthand source], hosted by CityPASS Atlanta, checked Oct 16, 2026).

Heads-up for animal encounters: the dive team is certified by the Handicapped Scuba Association, but "Changing areas have limited accommodations." Tell the aquarium about mobility equipment in advance (aquarium accessibility, [Official], checked Oct 16, 2026). Encounters are an optional extra and don't change the scores.

Georgia Aquarium

Category Rating
Overall 4.5 of 5 · Very accessible
Average of the 5 rated categories (4.6, rounded to the nearest half).
Entry & Arrival 5 of 5 · Trusted source states accessible
A trusted firsthand source describes it as accessible; we have not personally verified this. Based on Cory Lee's whole visit in a power wheelchair; the entrance itself isn't described directly.
Getting Around / Paths 5 of 5 · Trusted source states accessible
A trusted firsthand source describes it as accessible; we have not personally verified this.
Restrooms 5 of 5 · Trusted source states accessible
A trusted firsthand source covers the visit and the venue lists family restrooms; we have not personally verified this. No information we found contradicts accessibility.
Parking & Drop-off 5 of 5 · Venue states accessible
Facility-published info states it is accessible; we have not personally verified this.
Staff & Info 3 of 5 · Partly accessible
Why: Free wheelchairs are confirmed by the aquarium. The aquarium also offers captioning devices, online audio tours and daily low-sensory hours (listed above); our loaner rule sets this score at 3.

Entry and Paths score 5 (Trusted source states accessible). The entrance itself isn't described directly; Entry rests on Cory Lee's whole visit. He visited in a power wheelchair and describes wheelchair-accessible exhibit entrances and floor emblems for clear viewing, with no barrier flagged. The aquarium's own page describes golf carts from the parking deck and the viewing emblems. Restrooms score 5: the aquarium lists two family restrooms, and Cory Lee's visit flags no restroom problem. Parking scores 5 (Venue states accessible): accessible parking is on Level 3 of the parking deck. Staff & Info scores 3 under our rule for free loaner wheelchairs; the aquarium also offers closed-captioning devices for both animal presentations, audio tours of the galleries online and low-sensory hours daily until 10 a.m. Overall is 4.5 of 5, the average of the 5 rated categories.

Ratings tagged "not personally verified" rest on information the venue published or on trusted firsthand reports; we have not personally verified them.

Last checked Oct 16, 2026. Sources: Georgia Aquarium accessibility (official) · Curb Free with Cory Lee, 2018 (trusted firsthand source, hosted by CityPASS Atlanta)