September FREE Play with your Stay Weekend Package
Sep 02, 2020
Make the most of your getaway with free admission to zoo, aquarium, planetarium and more.
The Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB), is partnering with local hotels to offer a weekend package to locals and visitors. Book a weekend stay at one of ACVB’s participating hotels and receive FREE admission for up to four to the Flint RiverQuarium, Chehaw Zoo & Park and a Planetarium movie at Thronateeska Heritage Center. Upon checking into your hotel, you will receive a gift bag with the attraction tickets, list of restaurants, shopping, more things to do and some goodies for the family. Also, included will be instructions on how to share your memories with us on social media.
Albany’s nearly 800-acre Chehaw Wild Animal Park includes a 100-acre zoo originally designed by Albany native and naturalist Jim Fowler of TV’s “Wild Kingdom.” The park features natural habitat exhibits with native and exotic animals, including 219 specimens representing 84 species of wild animals. Don’t miss camels Humphrey and Audrey, the red wolves, cheetahs, Burmese python and black rhino exhibits. Mingle with the meerkats before heading to a spring-fed black gum swamp, home to more than two dozen alligators ranging in size from six to 13 feet, as well as mussels, insects, fish, turtles and small mammals which work together to create a unique ecosystem.
Young children can head for one of the state’s largest play parks and visit the petting zoo.
Camping, hiking, RC car racing, disc golf and BMX bike racing are available. Several miles of equestrian trails wind throughout the park. A 12-mile single fast bike trail runs along the wooded terrain near the river. In the summer Chehaw offers options for campers age 5-12 to experience outdoor activities like archery, nature hikes, survival skills, coupled with adventures like spending the night in a real tee pee and going behind the scenes at the zoo.
There are creatures of the deep at Flint RiverQuarium and Imagination Theater. The 175,000-gallon Flint RiverQuarium has a unique blue hole tank with more than 120 mysterious creatures. You might see one of the RiverQuarium’s most famous residents, a rare albino alligator named Moonshine, who lives in the aquarium’s “Alligators: Dragons in Paradise” exhibit.) You can also grab a seat at the Imagination Theater and watch a movie that brings nature to life, like “Sea Lion Rescue.”
A place where history and science can be fully explored and folks can see a rail car display, enjoy a planetarium and much more at Thronateeska Heritage Center where the campus includes a history museum, science museum, rail car display, a 40-foot full dome HD planetarium, the Georgia Museum of Surveying and Mapping as well as the South Georgia Archives. The museum facilities are housed in historic structures and new construction designed to reflect and retain the railroad heritage of the area.
While Albany hotels have remained open, they have implemented “CleanStay” safety measures guaranteeing each room is disinfected and sanitized between guests. Our Albany attractions and restaurants have successfully reopened with strict guidelines to keep guest safe while visiting their establishments. All the hospitality industry is strictly following the Executive Orders of the Georgia Governor.
“We are aware many families had to cancel their vacations and shelter in place during the summer. Our hotels, attractions and restaurants have implemented safety measures to keep families safe. We wanted to offer locals and visitors an incentive to take a mini staycation or vacation,” says Rashelle Beasley, Executive Director of the Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Our goal is for families to walk away with a great experience and saying #ILoveABY!”
For more information visit www.VisitAlbanyGA.com or call Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau at 229-317-4760.