While Barbados is blessed with some of the most stunning beaches on the planet, this tiny island also has a treasure trove of beauty beneath its waters. Home to over 24 dive destinations, Barbados today, offers some of the most incredible scuba diving and snorkeling opportunities in the region. The underwater visibility here is more than 30 meters and with a plethora of marine life, diving in Barbados is a wonderful escape, especially for those looking for an extraordinary adventure.

The western and southern coasts of Barbados have the best dive spots on the island and are the habitat of soft corals, sea fans, flat corals, brightly colored sponges, anemones and gorgonians. Add to this over 50 species of fish and more than twelve sunken shipwrecks and you have a wonderful underwater world to explore. The waters off the coast are unusually calm and make Barbados a perfect snorkeling paradise as well.

The best dive sites on the island lie between Maycock’s Bay and Bridgetown in the west, and in the south as far as Saint Lawrence’s and Dover Beach. Certified divers here can enjoy wealth of sights such as the sunken wreck of the Stavronikita, a large Greek freighter that went under in 1976. Now an artificial reef, you can spot sponges, vibrant tropical fish, barracuda and moray eels out here.

Another popular dive zone has to be Bell Buoy. A reef shaped like a dome, Bell Buoy is a great place to catch sight of schools of fish gracefully swimming by. At Dottins Reef, you can even spot hawksbill turtles living amidst the beautiful coral. Asta Reef is another well known dive site in Barbados with a steep drop of 24 meters and a profusion of reef fish. There is a sunken shipwreck here to explore as well. If you are on the island for only a short while, do definitely go diving in Carlisle Bay. Here not only can you find many old relics such as cannon balls, cannons and old anchors, but you also get the chance to see the sunken Bajan Queen, Barbados’ newest shipwreck.

With a multitude of diving opportunities it is no wonder then that diving in Barbados is so popular. And with professional PADI and NAUI courses on hand for first time divers, there are ample prospects for an exciting underwater escapade. Offering a diverse range of sights and scenery, each dive you take in the Barbados promises to unfold new purviews.