The Florida Aquarium Offer Unique Experiences

If you are visiting Florida in 2005, don't miss two of the latest attractions at The Florida Aquarium in tampa, "Swim with the fishes" and "Dive with the Sharks." If you are an instructor looking for a unique experience for your student divers, here is something different. Or if your diving trip out of Tampa has been rained out, here is a great back-up.

NAUI and The Florida Aquarium have teamed together to provide two unique guest diving experiences that enable scuba divers to dive in a tank filled with sharks or non-divers to swim with tropical fishes on a coral reef while friends and family members watch nearby. NAUI is also the Official diver Training Agency of The Florida Aquarium.

Dive with the Sharks gives guests the opportunity to scuba dive with shark species from around the world in the incredible Shark Bay exhibit, putting them up close and personal with the ocean's top predators. The 90-minute program includes an educational presentation about sharks and a dive in the Shark Bay exhibit, a 93,000-gallon saltwater exhibit that is home to shark species from around the world-including sand tiger sharks, zebra sharks, nurse sharks, and white-tip and black-tip reed sharks.

Swim with the Fishes is an in-water reef adventure that gives guests the opportunity to encounter one of the Florida Keys' most beautiful coral reed dive sites without being a certified scuba diver. The 30-minute guest diver experience is held in the spectacular Coral Reefs Exhibit, which simulates a 60-foot dive modeled after an actual dive site in the Dry Tortugas near Key West, Florida. The 500,000-gallon Coral Reef exhibit is the base for a vibrant aquatic community that includes more than 1,700 animals, representing about 65 species, all native to Florida.

Swim with the Fishes entrance fee is $75 per person, Dive with the Sharks program is $150 per person; both include Aquarium admission and a lifetime of memories. As a surface-only program, no previous training or experience is necessary to Swim with the Fishes; shark diver participants must be certified scuba divers and 15 years old.

Dives are offered on Saturdays and Sundays; additional days and times may be added during holiday periods. For more information, group rates, or to reserve a Dive with the Sharks or Swim with the Fishes experience, call the Florida Aquarium's reservations line at 813-367-4005, or visit www.flauarium.org. Reservations are required and space is limited, so book you dives early!

Along with the the quest diving experiences at The Florida Aquarium, visitors can explore Florida's freshwater environments, including springs, streams, marshes, rivers, and mangrove forests in the "Wetland" area; discover sea life along Florida's coast in "Bays & Beaches"; experience "Sea Hunt" and "Shark Bay"; and enjoy the "Coral Reef" exhibit dry side while guests Swim with the Fishes. The Florida Aquarium also features "Behind-the-Scenes Tours" to learn what it takes to make the Aquarium work; a kid-friendly "No Bone Zone"; and a "DolphinQuest" Eco-Tour on a 64-foot catamaran.

The Florida Aquarium is a non-profit organization whose mission is to entertain, educate and inspire stewardship about our natural environment. The Florida Aquarium is open year round except Thanksgiving and christmas Days. For more information, contact 813-273-4000 or www.flaquarium.org or visit The Florida Aquarium at 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa, Florida (USA).

Sources - First Quarter 2005 copyright NAUI. All rights reserved.

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