With incredible underwater topography and spectacular marine life, Rota is a diver’s dream come true. Whether you’ve been diving for years or if you are brand new to the sport, you’ll find sites to explore which are just as compelling from a historic standpoint as they are for their beauty. There are wrecks, reefs, and other wonders just waiting – here are five to help you on your way toward what is certain to be one of the best diving vacations ever.
Table Top
An amazing site which is suitable for all divers, and which offers depths from fifteen to sixty feet, Table Top is a huge rock tower that begins just about five meters from the surface to the top of the rock, which is an almost flat area which features fields of anemones where dusky anemonefish can be found in abundance. These little fish are close relatives of clownfish, with white bands around their bodies and orange highlights on their dark sides. As you make your way down the tower, you’ll find yourself among Moorish idols and butterfly fish, rockwater wrasse, and gobies, along with trumpetfish and the occasional larger creature. Be careful of the scorpionfish!
Coral Garden
A marine protected area which is simply spectacular, the Rota Coral Garden is home to a wealth of underwater life, all swimming against a colorful backdrop of corals in various shapes and sizes. Take your time to inspect each formation slowly, as there are different creatures living in symbiosis with one another and with the coral itself. Watch for nudibranchs and sharks, clownfish peering out shyly from their anemone homes, and some particularly friendly turtles which are happy to continue their foraging so long as they are not harassed. Suitable for all divers, this site offers depths from fifteen to sixty feet, and can be easily accessed from shore or visited by boat.
Pinatang Park
With huge coral heads that resemble mushrooms rising up from the brilliant white sand of the sea floor, Pinatang Park is home to a colorful abundance of fish and other marine life that must be seen to be believed. Easy to access from shore and accessible by boat as well, the site is suitable for all divers and offers depths from thirty to more than sixty feet. Watch for the occasional pelagic visitor as you enjoy being surrounded by yellow spotted emperorfish, parrotfish and surgeonfish. Schooling goatfish and gangs of big Moorish idols swim fin to fin with emperor angelfish, while conchs and nudibranchs try not to trip over the stonefish which hide in plain sight.
Harnom Point
Featuring depths from 50 to more than 110 feet, and offering the opportunity to drift in unpredictable currents, accompanied by schooling pelagics, Harnom Point is suitable for experienced divers only. The wall itself is amazingly colorful, and leads to an area which is popularly referred to as the fish bowl. Here, you will find swaths of pelagics, including dogtooth tuna and jacks, fleets of big blue barracuda, napoleons, and huge humphead parrotfish. In addition, the site is traversed by sharks and turtles, along with the occasional marlin.
Cable Run
Named for the remnants of the cable car system which once brought phosphates from the Sabana on the mountaintop to the factory below, Cable Run lies directly offshore from the old abandoned phosphate factory itself. Besides the huge coral heads and the lovely reef which are found here, there is the broken wreck of one of the three Japanese sub chasers that can be found at Rota, and there is a huge propeller blade that came off an unknown ship. Among the colorful reef fish that swim through the waters here, you’ll find big lionfish, quite a few hidden stonefish, and a few reef sharks. Watch for turtles and rays, too!
You can easily take a diving vacation to Rota without making too many plans in advance, as there are so many wonderful shore dives available, but most of the wrecks, along with the many cave dives which can be enjoyed here require the services of a dive boat. With excellent resorts and beautiful white beaches, Rota is a fantastic place to get away from it all and enjoy some of the Marianas best dive sites.