Beautiful, yet mysterious, Bermuda is not only a place of legend and lore; it is a marvelous paradise that beckons divers from around the world. Home to a wealth of marine life and offering something for everyone, including countless reef sites and centuries worth of shipwrecks, it is also an area where dive sites with fantastic overhead environments await. While many reef sites do include swimthroughs, overhangs, and small caves, these seven sites are notable primarily for their geologic interest. Ready for some scenic, spooky diving? Grab your dive light, and let’s take a closer look.
Hangover Hole
Fortunately not named for that awful condition that can follow an evening of intoxication, Hangover Hole is instead named in honor of a splendid series of holes and overhangs, arches, tunnels, and swimthroughs that cut through the huge boiler reef structures that shelter the area just offshore from Warwick Long Bay. A favorite site for local divers, and offering depths from 15 to 50 feet, the area is vast enough so that even frequent visitors rarely take the same route more than once. Here, narrow tunnels guarded by crotchety lobsters lead to huge caverns where groupers, some as large as Volkswagens, can be found. Shimmering swathes of glassy sweepers hide from the tarpon that hunt them, and outside, along the deeper sandy areas, eagle rays and turtles can be seen passing. Turn off your light for a moment inside the caves if you dare; you’ll often see beams of sunlight penetrating from above, creating a fascinating contrast of light and dark.
Cathedral
Located near Bermuda’s original port entrance, Castle Harbor, the Cathedral features huge caves, steep-walled canyons, and magnificent overhangs where schooling margate and snapper can be found in abundance, along with enormous silver tarpon. During the springtime months, colorful parrotfish can be seen schooling in a phenomenon unique to Bermuda and some places in the Eastern Hemisphere.
With so many caves and canyons to explore, navigation can be somewhat difficult; stay with your group to avoid becoming disoriented. Watch for lobsters and big groupers, beautiful nudibranchs and lots of silversides and sweepers, and keep an eye out for turtles that sometimes rest inside the caves. Maximum depth here is 55 feet on the ocean side; however there is plenty to see in water as shallow as about 15 feet.
Blue Hole
While this Blue Hole is not a karst formation as so many of the world’s best blue hole dive sites are, it is magnificent nonetheless. Also known as Eastern Blue Cut, the site features circular walls with sandy mounds on top and a sandy floor in the middle. Some portions of the upper reef break the surface at low tide, and maximum depth inside is 55 feet. The site features a permanent mooring system to prevent damage, and is still in beautifully pristine condition.
A cave filled with little fish including juvenile groupers and trumpet fish begs to be explored, and all around the site, overhangs, cracks, and crevices shelter a myriad of invertebrates and crustaceans, not to mention countless reef fish. Spiny lobsters can be found in abundance, and if you are very lucky, you might encounter the eagle rays that sometimes come here to feed. Watch for blue angelfish and the occasional turtle, too.
Watch Hill Park
Located to the west of John Smith’s Bay, in Smith’s Parish, Watch Hill Park is easily accessed from shore, although it is popular with dive boats, too. Here, the enormous boiler reefs rise up from the seabed about 50 feet below to nearly break the surface, and sheer vertical walls composed of fossilized seaworm sediment, limestone, and ancient coral, covered in swaths of living coral and sponge, create a magnificent backdrop for the abundant marine life. The walls are penetrated by tunnels, with arches and overhangs covered in pulsating soft coral adding even more visual appeal, and huge coral heads act as roundabouts for snappers, tarpon, huge groupers, and the occasional sea turtle. Smaller creatures can be found here as well – look for lots of macro life, including leopard flatworms, heart urchins, and nudibranchs.
Basilica
Located near the Cathedral site, Basilica features huge caverns and caves hidden inside the huge boiler reefs that are so common along Bermuda’s southern face. Home to parrotfish, groupers, angelfish, trumpetfish, and many other tropical species, it is also a great place to see schooling tarpon, as well as the enormous shoals of silversides and sweepers that they hunt. Lobsters and crabs hide inside the tunnels, and the corals are simply magnificent.
As with Cathedral, Basilica is a site that can become confusing if you stray; pay close attention to navigation and watch your depth; while most features are in shallow water, it is possible to go all the way to 55 feet here.
Ben’s Bender
Featuring a chimney that cuts through a massive mushroom shaped coral head, Ben’s Bender is located near the historic fort site of Castle Roads on Bermuda’s southeast side. The chimney is accessed via a tunnel that enters the coral formation, and after a bend, it takes you back up and out the top of the mushroom. Subject to surge and swell, the tunnel is a bit narrow.
The area outside the mushroom coral head is just as magical as the formation’s heart; here, huge sea fans shelter flamingo tongues, and sea rods provide protection to juvenile filefish. Nudibranchs, lobsters, and eels can be found along the walls of the nearby breaker, and underneath overhangs, big tarpons hang suspended, waiting for lunch to pass by. Watch for spotted eagle rays and turtles, and keep an eye out for various parrotfish species too; midnight parrotfish and stoplight parrotfish can be found here on occasion.
Smuggler’s Notch
With a maze of tunnels, caves, and swimthroughs, it’s not surprising that this site is another local favorite. Smuggler’s Notch really was a lair for smugglers in the past; they would hide ill-gotten goods in the caves for later retrieval. One of the most breathtaking sights you’ll see here are swaths of sea anemones in different colors, shapes and sizes; these plus the many hard and soft corals and colorful bouquets of sponge create a fascinating backdrop for schooling snappers and Townsend angelfish, which are endemic to Bermuda. Inside the tunnels, lobsters and crabs wait to be discovered, and glass-eyed sweepers hide from hunting tarpon. Brilliant blue angelfish and trumpetfish, golden chain and spotted moray eels, and huge groupers can be found here as well.
With plenty to see and do topside between dives, Bermuda is suitable for diving year round, with less tourist traffic during the winter months when cruise ships head off to the Caribbean. Visibility in most places usually tops 100 feet, and most sites are well sheltered. A feast for the eyes and imagination alike, beautiful underwater Bermuda is a paradise for all divers, and is one of those places you’ll find yourself daydreaming about once your holiday is over.