Brace yourself…this particular type of tourism does not come cheap.
Deep sea voyages are adventure tourism reserved for those wealthy and eager enough to invest around US$30,000 in their underwater venture. Forget snorkeling and scuba diving, this is requires submarine or deep sea submersible. Since visitors started the exploration of ocean basins in the 1990s, voyages to the deep sea bottom has become a growing industry.
Here is the list of the most popular underwater tourism sites:
The Titanic
The unimaginable scale of the human toll of the world’s most renowned shipwreck can be seen at the bottom of the northern Atlantic where the Titanic rests. The luxurious liner defied the claims of her being unsinkable on April 15, 1912, when, after colliding with an iceberg on her maiden voyage, she slipped below the waves taking some of the world’s most well-known names down with her. Fanatical (and wealthy) Titanic fans can voyage the ship’s final destination under the guidance of an instructor with prices ranging from US$30,000 to 60,000. The personal belongings that litter the debris field around the wreck are perhaps the most poignant reminder of those who died, comments Alfred Scott McLaren, a former US Navy captain.
The Bismarck
German battleship Bismarck met its’ end navigating along with heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen to the Battle of the Denmark Strait on May 24, 1941. The Bismarck was supposed to divert the attention of the British allowing the Prinz Eugen to attack and damage the enemy’s ships. But the battleship came under the sustained attack of the ships and aircraft of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pursuing it. After two days the Bismarck would fall victim to a bomb attack and on the morning of May 26, 1941, it sank under the waves of the Celtic Sea with the majority of its crew of about 2,200 sailors. Not only is the wreck well-preserved, the footwear of the German crew bears witness to scale of the loss of life, McLaren says.
Atlantic hydro-thermal vents
An alien environment is hidden beneath the water off the coasts of Azores, Portugal. At a depth of nearly 10,000 feet, this marine diversity lives largely unknown by science, hidden on the hydro-thermal vents found on a Mid-Atlantic ridge of rocks that blow out volcanic and sulphurous black mist. Little is has been discovered about the diversity of life at this depth according to McLaren, and there still is much to find out.
By Olga Leleka, content writer at hotel reservation website www.booked.net.
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