06.02.2010 - We are in the very pleasant San Miguel Marina, a grow­ing concern in this delight­ful corner of South Tenerife, on a wonderful sunny after­noon.  Our vessel, the yellow submarine run by Submarine Safari, is docked off the ma­rina, just beside the shop and office (which also boasts an upstairs shaded bar, great for relaxing even if you aren’t taking a dive).  The hour approaches, and we enter the very spacious and air conditioned sub, posing first for a top-deck photo­graph, with places for up to 44 passengers, each facing a large window, so every seat is a ‘good’ seat, and before we know it we have set off on the underwater trip of a lifetime.

Our guide first directs our attention to a safety video (similar to an aircraft, it’s good to know what to do if..). However unlike an air­craft as we are not in a pres­surised cabin there are few restrictions on who can trav­el – passengers must be over two years of age and a mini­mum level of mobility is re­quired (to be able to get up and down the steps) - and unlike a scuba dive, there are no restrictions on flights after this immersion.

As we move out of the port into the sea the underwater residents swim by, some ig­noring the odd shaped tube moving through their wa­ters, some more curious.  Inside the levels of interest are much higher, as my ap­prentice is beside herself with excitement, eyes glued to the windows in search of sharks and octopuses, but just as happy with the small­er denizens of the not-so-deep who are alongside.

There’s also a camera on top of the sub feeding live images directly to the small TV monitors in front of each seat. Our well in­formed guide lets us know the names of the fish we are seeing – parrot fish, barra­cudas, damsel fish, trumpet fish, even a shoal of grunt fish and what’s nice is that he doesn’t talk too much, as people are happy to watch and chat among their own groups – he explains to me that as they know in ad­vance the nationalities of their passengers they adapt their chat/language choice to suit each group.

Visibility is good and as we’re not above the waves there’s no danger of any sea­sickness. And even though, in a sense, we’re the ones in the goldfish bowl, it feels perfect natural to be almost sitting on the seabed.  Now we approach one or two boat wrecks, and sudden­ly there’s a diver outside, swimming with the sting­rays, which seem totally at ease with her, following her around the submarine as she plays with them and feeds them, giving us the odd wave as she swims by.  Cue even more shrieks of delight from young apprentice, who wants to go outside as well.  Up until now we have been asked to remain seated, but as the sub is stationary for a few minutes we can get up and move around a bit.  However as most of the ac­tion is taking place outside rather than inside, we are anxious to set off again, as the sub turns and we begin our journey home. Given the excellent viewing windows all along both sides, every­one gets a chance to see the side of the ocean they missed on the way out.  And as we approach the port once again, the strains of Yellow Submarine waft through the cabin, and voices young and old are happy to join in “....Sky of blue and sea of green, In our yellow subma­rine, all together now....”

The submarine itself is spa­cious and airy with no sense of being cramped, and is custom built for the tourism in­dustry – one of only 15 large commercial submarines in the world.

While you’re un­likely to find yourself on The Hunt for Red October or stumbling across the lost city of Atlantis, you will find lots to keep you and the fam­ily enthralled and amused on your underwater safari, a highly recommended trip with a diving certificate for everyone at the end to take home. 

There are up to eight dives a day, duration one hour, Monday to Saturday, and trips can be booked directly through the office, open daily from 9am to 7pm, 922 736629.  There are free coach transfers from various zones in the south and south west of the island (confirm pick up times when making your booking), and a number of day trips from the north which include a few hours in Playa de las Américas af­ter the dive.  Group book­ings (with discounts) are also available, ask for details when booking. 
By Clio O’’Flynn



This article appears in the print edition 609 of Island Connections

Gallery: The adventure of a lifetime

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