Whenever I thought of a submarine, I always pictured naval warfare, torpedoes firing at each other underwater and the world above water through a periscope. While I have always known of tourist submarines in popular beach destinations, somehow, I could never recall those when I thought of submarines. However, my recent exploration of the underwater world in a submarine in Mauritius has changed this perspective completely. It is quite an experience to be able to witness the depths and the mysteries of the ocean while sitting comfortably in an AC chamber and not getting wet! To know what I mean, let’s go a virtual tour of my journey in a submarine in Mauritius.
Contents
Arrival and Briefing
We were scheduled for this ride on a Submarine in Mauritius on the day we arrived. However, the Sea Gods were playing a match and with the turbulence that they caused, the ride was postponed to the next morning. After checking into the Blue Safari Submarine center, we received our briefing which essentially was to put our fears, if any at ease. The lady at the center explained the following –
- The ride was completely safe for all ages – from 3 years to 80+ years
- Our submarine was anchored a little away from the shore and we would be taken on a speed boat to board the same
- The maximum depth that we would be exposed to would be 35m
- The entire tour from the briefing to submarine ride to getting back would be for 2 hours.
- The submarine ride itself would be for around 45 mins.
- After we return, we would be treated to soft drinks aboard the ship.
While I was waiting in the reception, I also, noted a Sub-scooter – a submarine ride for two. Greedy me! Wanted to try that one out. However, while the thrill of it lies in driving it yourself, you can only do 3m under water. That deterred me for that I felt could be managed with some snorkeling. 🙂
First glimpse of the submarine in Mauritius
We climbed aboard “Le Betty des Mascareignes” – the base where our submarine was anchored. It looked like a small little raft with some railings on the top. Quite small and compact. If you did not know that it was an underwater vessel, you would have easily passed it off as a paddle boat. Here we were introduced to Jonathan – our charismatic Submarine pilot, who demonstrated to us on how to jump into a submarine.
Stepping into a submarine in Mauritius
There is a thrill the first time you lower yourself down that manhole into the comfortable and compact interiors of a submarine. It is not just me who felt that. Obviously, the Blue Safari staff too feels it for this is a major photo-op point for them. I just wish I had a navy cap to complete the feeling.
Once I was in, I felt that I had entered a blue world. It was eerie and yet exciting. The submarine was a 10-seater – where each person had a small window to themselves. The clarity of the view was quite nice though most of the things seem to appear a little more magnified than what it was. Imagine how our friendly window-cleaner appeared to us. 🙂
Jonathan stepped in at last and checked with us on how many of us were doing this for the first time. With all our hands raised, he smiled and said – his first time too! (with us) And with that joke, he slowly lowered the submarine into the mysterious depths of the Indian Ocean.
Hello underwater world
Curious fish stopped by at our windows to say Hello, while we glided over the coral reefs. The submarine in Mauritius has small plaques installed near the seats that depict all the different fish that you can expect to see in these reefs. This was quite useful as I still have trouble identifying the specific species of fish. I spotted plenty of butterfly fish, clown fish and some schools of snappers. They say that if you are really lucky, you even get to see turtles.
While the corals were quite beautiful, I was not as impressed. Possibly I had seen far more colorful ones in Indonesia and Andamans. Take a look at this small video of our view through this submarine in Mauritius.
[kad_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/yF1b2H9PIPA” width=800 ]
Discovering Shipwrecks
As I mentioned, while the corals did not particularly excite me, what did pique my interest was the shipwreck that we encountered. This was my first personal experience with one and it was amazing catching it live as against watching it on TV. Jonathan explained to us that this was a ship that sunk in 1988. The ship was called Star Hope and it was caught in a storm that resulted in its current state.
I know all of you are thinking of Titanic – and I am sure that the Titanic wreck would be a lot larger and exotic than this one. Star Hope was fascinating precisely because of this imagination. It is also, amazing to discover how it becomes a part of the sea bed and sea life. You can observe how seaweeds and corals grow out of it and how the fish have made it its home.
Besides Star Hope, we also, saw an 18th-century anchor that was swept by the storm and has been lying here for years together.
Bidding Adieu to the Submarine
With our 40 mins up, we headed back to Le Betty des Mascareignes for a quick drink and refreshment. While we waited there, we were shown our pictures that the Blue Submarine guys had captured on our entry into the Submarine. We also, go our submarine certificates – a small rejoice for doing something unusual. With all these, we sped back to the shore and bid Adieu to our submarine in Mauritius.
Overall Experience of a submarine in Mauritius
The Submarine experience is great for a lot of reasons –
- You can experience depths that otherwise need you to have high PADI certifications
- It is comfortable and dry
- The cabins though small, are quite roomy. However, if you are prone to claustrophobia, you might just find it a bit of a problem.
- The ride is quite smooth and chances of seasickness are low.
- You are able to identify what you see immediately
However, having experienced Scuba diving, I missed getting up, close and personal with the world down there. The ship-wreck part definitely has my resolve to dive stronger for I would have loved to be right there, touching it all. I guess, a submarine ride is good when it comes to depth and for people who have the fear of swimming or diving. I think I would resort to it only in case of the former – that is the dive being too difficult or deep for me to access. 🙂
What about you? Are you game for one such experience?
Getting here:
- The Submarine ride is available in the North of Mauritius on the Trou aux Biches beach. You can get here with the help of a cab from any part of Mauritius.
- There are a few local buses that get you to this part of the country. You need to head to Mon Choisy beach or Grand Baie Junction for the same. Here is a useful site that can help you find a bus.
Travel Tips:
- Click here for the official website of Blue Safari Submarine in Mauritius.
- You can use the above website for all information on timings, bookings and prices.
- A submarine ride for one adult will cost you 4700 Mauritian Rupees. (Approx. 8800 INR).
- Prior booking is recommended. Also, please ensure you confirm the same before going – more from a perspective of the weather holding up for your ride.
- Blue Safari also, organizes lunch in a submarine or a wedding too. So, if you wish to exchange your vows underwater, this is a perfect solution.
- Opt for pictures through your cellphone as the submarine glass tends to capture reflection on your pictures.
P.S: I was a part of the media trip organized by Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority.
Popularly referred to as a Restless Ball of Energy. My Mom refuses to entertain my complaints about my equally restless daughter & assures my husband that I was born with a travel bug.
I am a Post-Graduate in Marketing by qualification and a travel blogger by passion. Besides travel, I enjoy photography and if you don’t find me at my desk, I would be out playing badminton or swimming or just running. I believe in planning for every long weekend through the year. And when I cannot travel physically, I travel virtually through this travel blog. My travel stories have also, got published on various websites and magazines including BBC Travel, Lonely Planet India and Jetwings. I have recently published my first book – When Places Come Alive – a collection of stories that are based on legends, landscapes, art and culture of a place which is available in both ebook and paperback format.
Wow! This sounds and looks so exciting. I would definitely love to go on a submarine ride.
It was great to read about your experience. And amazing captures 🙂
Thank you Purba. The Submarine experience is definitely unique and interesting and I hope you get to it soon!
Must have been a great experience.. Something similar is available in Maldives too
Was a unique experience alright. It was good to see the shipwreck here.
adventurous and amazing experience, it was really very nice to go through this post with the pics and the video.
Thank you Jyotirmoy. Happy that you enjoyed my experience. 🙂
Such an thrilling experience this must have been! Will definitely try this when we visit Mauritius!
And am sure you will enjoy it thoroughly. 🙂
Wow! This is so awesome and I would love to get into a submarine. I recently tried snorkeling and panicked at scuba diving. So, I think this thing is for me. The scooter is more claustrophobic than the submarine I guess. Great shots too 🙂
The scooter is good if you just want to ride it yourself. But it does not go as deep as a submarine. And since you panicked with Scuba, this will be perfect for you. Thanks for stopping by Parul
That must have been a real good experience. To wrap it up a certificate too :-}
Well made video .
Thank you so much Joe. It was a fun experience indeed!
What a fun thing to do. I have seen these in various places but haven’t been on one yet. Maybe a good reason to go to Mauritius … as if I needed one! Happy travels.
Thank you. You should just try out one for the fun of it. A novel experience ! Thanks for stopping by Matt.
This really is a WOW! experience. Loved the video and the pictures.
Thank you Maniparna. Glad you loved the video and pics.
Very exciting! As an avid scuba diver, of course I prefer to do the “right” way and explore it in SCUBA 🙂
But I definitely would give it a try. Mauritius is on my radar to visit someday!
I agree, Scuba beats this experience as it allows you to get closer to the wrecks and reefs. However, the huge 30+ m depths I suppose are good through the submarine. I will need quite a few levels before I can attempt this in Scuba.
So crazy! I just read someone elses post about being in a sub in the Caribbean. I didn’t even know this was a thing! What an awesome way to see the ocean though! I’d be so interested.
I did not know much about it till I saw them and experienced them in Mauritius. Glad to discover it though.
Sounds fun … nice way to experience the amazing marine world without getting wet. We did Sea walking in Bali and it was way too much fun 🙂 but ya Submarine experience is still pending.
Sea walking is fun indeed but I guess, scuba will always be my favorite. Submarine is just a different experience, especially to explore greater depths. Thanks for stopping by.
I’m actually surprised how deep the passenger sub can go. I’ve seen these advertised in a few locales but never researched it because I thought it was much more of a surface experience. I’d be into it (I don’t have my PADI cert).
Some of them are surface submarine but a few go down as deep as this. Amazing right?
What a cool experience that must have been! First off, I’ve never been on a submarine before. Plus, it is a great way to see what’s underwater!
It sure is…a little sense of adventure to discover the unexplored under water. 🙂
This is really a cool experience. I never had a chance to try this before. You must be so lucky and feeling grateful.
I sure am Zarina. I am glad that I got this opportunity. I hope that you get one too. 🙂
We’ve love tourist submarine rides too. We’re scuba divers, but not high level experts. We like hitting deeper depths. We love scuba diving, but the one key advantage of the submarine is being able to speak to each other as we see the sights and share the experience.
I agree, the higher depths are a challenge but somehow this experience left me wanting for more.
Wow Ami. This is really thrilling!! I am not much of a swimmer. And looking at all those beautiful underwater pictures I have always wondered if I will be ever able to experience them. Now, you have showed me the way 🙂
I am sure you will love this…best way to get around underwater without swimming.
This is such an amazing experience. Would love to do so much and Mauritius is def hight on our list! Maybe and hopefully this year we will go!
Hope you do….and you are sure to have fun here.
This is so cool. I have never tried scuba diving and this seems to be the perfect solution. Thanks for this share.
Yes indeed…and the best is that you don’t even get wet 🙂
What a lovely experience. The underwater world is really fascinating. Add to that the romance of a submarine, that is really something special. i too had images of submarines firing torpedoes and slithering away in the dark waters based on novels of warfare read during the teens, but this is something totally different.
I know…blame it all on those Alistair Macleans that I read. But this experience was something else altogether
Why this all things are not happening in India. Even India is sharing boundaries with many oceans
I suppose it is quite an expensive affair. But I agree, we must have one in Andamans or Lakshwadweep.
This blog is fantastic. That’s not really a really huge statement, but its all I could come up with after reading this. You know so much about this subject. So much so that you made me want to learn more about it.Â
Thank you. I think it is the experience that makes the whole bit richer. 🙂
We were looking for people who have done the subscooter experience. Glad to have found your post! Is 3 minutes in the subscooter enough? The certificate looks so cute and a nice memory of Mauritius. Did you try scuba diving as well?
Did not try the scuba scooter. I wish I could have. But the submarine ride was awesome!
Wow! This sounds really interesting! I did not even know these existed. For a person like me who does not swim, hence does not so snorkeling, that would be very entertaing. Thanks for your article. It is very well written, informative and clear! Keep it up!
Thank you Iulia. The Submarine experience truly was a fun thing. Though Scuba for me is a little more fun. Cheers
This looks like an incredible experience! I do however suffer from claustrophobia (!) I wonder if there’s a bigger cabin available?! I do however like being underwater and I can only imagine how stunning the fish and marine life are. So cool you got a certificate too!
This is a little small in terms of cabin. Maybe you can try the waterscooter instead. 😀 Thanks for your lovely comment , Lisa
Underwater experience in submarine with marine world must be so memorable. Would love to experience those colorful fishes and corals without getting wet. Congrats to you for being part of media in promoting Mauritius tourism.
Thanks Yukti. It was a different and lovely experience
This sounds like an awesome activity for Mauritius. It reminds me of my own experience on the Oki Islands in Japan. There, I boarded an underwater viewing boat (not the same as a submarine but exciting nonetheless). I loved watching the watery world pass by. The shipwreck in your pics looks particularly cool!
The glass bottom boats are or the half sunken ones are pretty cool too but the submarine is a different experience all together. Hope you get to see that
I haven’t heard of too many people go on submarine rides, it’s actually pretty new to me because I thought submarines were a thing of the past! This looks super cool though and the photos you captured are stunning. I would love to visit Mauritius and try This!
This is the first that I have seen or done myself. Glad I could for it was a unique experience. Hope you get to it too.
You are so lucky to be able to have that experience! Mauritius is already on my travel card so this just confirmed it. I’ve just realised it could be a perfect opportunity for me to try Scuba diving for the first time too 🙂
Scuba should definitely be fun for you. Hope you get to Mauritius soon. Cheers
I was expecting something really big so was pretty surprised to see this submarine. This looks really cool and a great experience for anyone who does not fancy diving. What a lovely stress free way to see the underwater world.
It definitely is a unique way to explore the depths of the ocean without worrying about the pressure or the wet state of affairs 😀
What a fun activity for family! It is a great alternative for those who don’t want to get wet. And you can really see the corals and marine life clearly with such good visibility!
The visibility is really good but then that is Mauritius in general for you. Hope you can try this one out Cat.
I would love to do this but Im getting a bit of anxiety looking at your photos. I will have to face my fears as it looks totally amazing!
It is pretty cool to do it. Much easier than diving. Go for it.