Sun 28 Aug 2016
Over the years, I have seen the Atlantis Submarines numerous times in the George Town harbor. But I had never been on one – until now! After many years in Cayman, I am running out of new activities, so was quite pleased to have this to try out. As you will see below, I had a very nice time.
On this lovely Saturday, we had perfectly calm ocean and also no cruise ships in town – so its was mighty peaceful in George Town.
Before getting on the sub, which was “parked” off a few hundred feet off the shore near Sunset House, we had to take a +-10 minute boat ride to get here. Here we can see the sub. Its can seat 60 people and costs, as we were told 3.5M$US. On this day we were only about 20 ; its still low tourist season in the Caribbean and as mentioned, no cruise ships in town.
Here we are inside. It was surprisingly roomy and light inside. Unless a person has severe claustrophobia, I don’t see it being a problem for most people. There are many windows (sort of like an airplane but bigger) and it is air conditioned so nice and cool inside. Since the sub was less than 1/2 full, we each had 2 seats. So if there was something to see on the other side, we can “jump” over and take a look.
The view we had from the sub. Of course, colors are distorted at depth, plus the pictures do not do justice ; it looks kind of dull on these pictures, but trust me it was not 🙂
Of course plenty of fish to see. We got to see numerous reefs like this one, one turtle and a number of stingrays.
This is the maximum depth I saw. We were told the sub can go much deeper, but for these tours they stick to +-100ft which is pretty much recreational scuba diving depths I am used to. Also, the “wall” where there is a drop-off is at around 100ft which is where there is the most to see.
The bubbles when we were surfacing. It took maybe 30 seconds to go from around 100ft to 0 – quite impressive.
At the end of the trip and on the way back to thee dock on a regular boat, we all got a dive certificate 🙂
So there you have it, a new local activity off the list for me. Since I am a diver, I was not really sure what to expect since I get to see the reefs like that from “outside” the confines of the sub. That being said, it was a great way to see the underwater world ; in style, comfort and all while staying completely dry.
Glad you had a good time, Micho. We went down on Atlantis about 20 years ago. Things have changed! The sub was docked in town, so no trip out to get onboard. And we didn’t get dive certificates either. Hmph.
Hi Micho, Paul and I went on this in the ”90s. We didn’t see too many fish but did see a turtle – maybe the same one! The experience of being that deep underwater without getting wet was great though. Thank you.
I’m the only non-diver in the family. Next time we’re there, I’m checking it out!
another great adventure, thanks for sharing, always look forward to your posts.
In 1990 when I worked for Cayman Airways as Northeast US Area Sales Manaegr, I went down in Atlantis. It was beautiful Well, I live in NY and there’s so much I don’t do; it’s nice to do aomething touristy once in a while
Hi Micho! I’ve enjoyed the sub during several visits. I especially enjoyed the night dive. I was in GC for a day last week and was amazed at the changes since I was last there a couple years ago. Especially all the road changes in West Bay. The driver for Captain Marvin’s said someone has purchased 20% of the island and had paid to have the road changed so he could have ocean front property. I’m concerned that one person is allowed to own that much of the island. I love Cayman and don’t want it to become like St. Barts…an enclave for only the very wealthy!! Who is it that has bought so much of the island?