16 Incredible Underwater Places Around the World
GettyOrda Cave, Perm Krai, Russia
The Orda Cave is the longest cave in Russia and the longest cave made of the mineral gypsum in the world, extending for more than three miles. Above ground, it looks like an unremarkable grassy hill; but below the earth you'll find clear water and white, cathedral-like walls, which make up passages that divers are welcome to explore.
Courtesy Atlantis, The PalmAtlantis, The Palm, Dubai
Atlantis is a five-star hotel located on The Palm, Dubai's man-made island. The hotel is known for its aquatic attractions, like waterpark, aquarium (filled with 65,000 marine inhabitants), and Signature Underwater Suites. Stay in the latter to fall asleep to sharks, angel fish, and stingrays floating by your floor-to-ceiling windows.
AlamyGinnie Springs, Florida
Ginnie Springs stands apart from Florida's wealth of freshwater caves for both its accessibility and its crystal-clear water, which looks particularly lovely when sunshine filters through the entrance. The best part? No extra training is needed to explore the 100-foot-wide cavern in the springs—it’s been deemed safe enough for open-water certified scuba divers to enter.
GettyUnderwater Post Office, Vanuatu
The Underwater Post Office is a fully functioning operation (the only of its kind in the world) located in about ten feet of water off of Vanuatu's Hideaway Island Resort and Marine Sanctuary. People are able to don snorkeling gear, swim down to the fiberglass booth, and mail waterproof postcards to their loved ones—and pose for a fun vacation photo, of course.
GettyShipwreck of the Sweepstakes, Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada
There are more than 6,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, most of which have never been accessed by people. But there are some wrecks visible in shallower waters, including the schooner Sweepstakes, located in Lake Huron's Big Tub Harbour in Fathom Five National Marine Park. The boat sank about 50 yards from the shore in September 1885 and has remained surprisingly intact ever since, making it a popular attraction for divers and tourists.
GettySilfra fissure, Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
Iceland's Silfra fissure offers adventurers something that no other diving spot in the world can—the chance to swim between two continental plates. The crack between the Eurasian and North American plates widens about two centimeters each year, and divers and snorkelers can enjoy the impressive water visibility, bright green algae, and sheer geological uniqueness—no matter the time of year.
AlamyChrist of the Abyss, San Fruttuoso, Italy
Although there are several versions of the same Jesus statue scattered around the ocean floor (including Key Largo, pictured), the original version is located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of San Fruttuoso. The eight-foot-tall likeness was created by sculptor Guido Galletti and commissioned by Italian diver Duilio Marcante in 1954. Marcante wanted to place some sort of memorial at the exact spot where his friend Dario Gonzatti died while diving a few years prior. And thus, Christ of the Abyss was born.
Courtesy Conrad Maldives Rangali IslandIthaa Undersea Restaurant, the Maldives
Ithaa boasts the title of the world's first all-glass undersea restaurant, located 16 feet below sea level at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island hotel. Ithaa serves caviar and Maldivian lobster—just a couple of the menu items to be enjoyed while taking in the 180-degree panoramic views of the water above you. And as if the setting isn't enough, the 14-guest seating limit and $320 bill takes the luxe factor up several notches.
AlamyMuseo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA), Cancún, Mexico
This enchanting underwater museum between Cancún and Isla Mujeres features more than 400 permanent life-size sculptures on the ocean floor, each designed to promote coral and marine life. Visitors reach the museum via boat and snorkel above the sculptures, which range from groups of people to a Volkswagen coated with seaweed.
AlamyThe Great Blue Hole, Belize
Located about 60 miles off the coast of Belize, the Lighthouse Reef boasts beautiful coral and shallow turquoise waters…oh, and a vertical drop that's more than 400 feet deep. Known as the Great Blue Hole, this 1,000-foot-wide, perfectly circular sinkhole sits smack in the middle of the atoll. The limestone shelf surrounding the vertical cave is about 40 feet below the surface, and then it’s a straight jump down into the unknown. The further down adventurous divers go, the clearer and more beautiful the rock formations supposedly become.
Photo by Jesper AnhedeThe Underwater Room, Manta Resort, Zanzibar
In 2013, the Manta Resort on Pemba Island, Zanzibar opened a three-level hotel room submerged four meters under the sea. Guests who stay in the floating room get a 360-degree view of the surrounding ocean, coral, and sea life. The views get even more incredible at night, when more species like squid and octopus make rare appearances.
AlamyUnderwater Museum at Cape Tarkhankut, Ukraine
Once the U.S.S.R. fell, diver Vladimir Borumensky collected thousands of discarded busts and figures of erstwhile Communist icons—including Lenin, Stalin, and Marx—and turned them into a subaquatic "Alley of Leaders." Over the past 20 years, it's grown to include more than 50 sculptures, from Paris's Eiffel Tower to London's Tower Bridge. —Sarah Bruning
AlamyDos Ojos (Two Eyes), Tulum, Mexico
This cavernous cenote with double entry points—hence the moniker "Two Eyes"—is so incredible it was featured in the IMAX film Journey Into Amazing Caves and an episode of BBC's Planet Earth. It's perfect for snorkelers and experienced scuba divers.
GettyGrenada Underwater Sculpture Park, St. George's, Grenada
Globetrotting artist and photographer Jason deCaires Taylor (pictured) crafted 65 concrete-and-rebar figures—a combination of human forms and still lifes—anchored beneath Moliniere Bay. A snorkeling tour through the marine area allows travelers to get a fish’s-eye view of the works. —Sarah Bruning
GettyThe Green Lake, Tragoess, Austria
During the fall and winter, Austria’s Green Lake is a small but scenic body of water surrounded by popular hiking trails. But when the snow on the bordering mountains begins to melt in the spring, the run-off causes the lake’s water levels to rise. By June, the nearby park becomes completely submerged, making for one of the most unusual diving experiences in the world.
CorbisUSAT Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
Hit by a Japanese torpedo during WWII, this supply ship was stranded on the beach, only to be pushed back into the water by the magma from a 1963 volcano eruption. The shallow area of the wreck lies only 13 feet underwater, making it easy for snorkelers—not just divers—to access.