Substation Curaçao's Explorers Dive

As we planned our itinerary for our week in Curaçao, Substation Curaçao may have been the thing we looked most forward to.

When we first found out about Substation Curaçao, they offered three different dives. Between discoving the existence of this opportunity to ride in a submarine and actually booking the experience, we noticed that the offering alternated between one and three possible experiences.

At the time of this writing, these three experiences are offered (dive duration and prices advertised at time of this post's original writing):

• Adrenaline Dive (450 feet dive, 1 hour, $350/person)
• Explorers Dive (600 feet dive, 1.5 hours, $500/person)
• Combo Dive (1000 feet dive, 2 hours, $650/person)

Each of the three types of dives includes an introductory safety discussion and overview of what the submarine ride will entail for 30 minutes and we opted for the Explorers Dive (it and the Adenaline Dive were the only two offered when we booked). The safety briefing includes descriptions of the many different scenarios that could go wrong and the preparations for those scenarios. Although bringing up the "what could go wrong" adds a bit to any nervousness, it is a relief to see how well thought-out the preparations and plans are for how to handle those unlikely to happen events.

Captain Bruce piloted the submarine and communicated regularly with those on the surface (at least every 15 minutes).

The submarine is relatively new and allows visibility for nearly 360 degrees.

We had four adults in our party and that is the maximum number of passengers (in addition to the pilot).

The initial submersion is exciting and is probably the only portion of the dive that might be labeled slightly unnerving.

Once confidence in the glass encasing of the submarine is recognized, it's time to focus on underwater exploration.

I found myself looking all around trying to take it all in as we began the initial descent.

It was interesting to look up and see the surface above and still be completely dry.

In fact, we wore shorts and shirts without any swimwear. I do recommend wearing water shoes or flip-flops because there are small puddles of water you might step in boarding and disembarking from the submarine.

The surrounding water got darker as expected as we dove deeper and the submarine's lights need to be turned on to see things better.

It was interesting to see how little life was at the lowest point of the dive (deeper than divers go) and then fascinating to see more coral and fish at a level too deep to see by snorkeling.

We also saw two sunken tugboats (neither is the tugboat sunken at a much shallower depth at Curaçao's well-known Tugboat Beach).

All good things must come to an end and we eventually ascended and emerged above water.

We had been given foam drinking cups before the submarine ride to draw on with markers and these cups went with us in a bag on the outside of the submarine. They returned the dramatically shrunken (and now really dry) cups to us after the submarine dive. The next photograph shows how small the cup now is by placing it next to a pack of gum.

Substation Curaçao's Explorers Dive is pricey (it cost us about the same amount per person as the combined cost of all our other paid excursions/tours that included Curaçao Sea Aquarium's Ocean Lens and Animal Encounters experiences), but we felt like the significant cost was worth it for an opportunity that is likely to truly be "once in a lifetime" for us and has been a truly remarkable experience that we will not forget.

When you think about all of the personnel involved in preparing the submarine and supporting its dive as well as the investment in the impressive submarine itself, much of the cost is understandable. This submarine and its older counterpart are used in research and it's nice to play a small part in supporting that as well.