Some of the world’s most breathtaking dives lie in the Caribbean basin, and the Bahamas packs as many incredible underwater sights as any tropical destination. Here are three spectacular dives among the Bahamian islands.
San Salvador
A top-five wall dive destination, the San Salvador coast treats visitors to hundreds of feet of vibrant coral reefs. More than 50 of San Salvador’s reefs and wreck dives, like Devil’s Claw and Riding Rock Wall, rest on the island’s lee side, shielding divers from chop and rough currents. The island’s trio of High, Low and Middle cays are peppered with shipwrecks to kick by.
Long Island
Coral caves and sandbanks aplenty make the shoals along Long Island a veritable playground for the curious diver. Massive grouper and snapper glide right up to reef visitors for a closer look. The main Long Island attraction, however, remains Dean’s Blue Hole, the deepest saltwater cavern on Earth. Numerous diving world records have been made and broken in this cavern’s midnight-blue waters, but more casual divers will probably appreciate the house tarpon and seahorses as well.
Rum Cay
One of the Bahamas’ most famous shipwrecks, HMS Conqueror rests just beyond Rum Cay’s gorgeous shores. This 19th-century British man-of-war lies along a staghorn gully at Sumner Point, a delightful dive in its own right. To the northeast, a 60-foot coral wall known as the Grand Canyon almost reaches the ocean surface before plummeting thousands of feet off the continental shelf.
Hurricane Joaquin ravaged the central and southern Bahamas in October 2015, leaving hundreds of families battered and homeless. To help Bahamians get back on their feet, the Stop Off and Drop Off Campaign connects local volunteers with divers looking to donate much-needed supplies and relief items.
