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Since the 16th century, seagoing explorers venturing west from Europe and beyond have dashed their boats on Bermuda’s shallow reefs, sinking on the spot or near it. The proliferation of their emptied-out hulls dotting the underwater landscape has earned Bermuda the title of shipwreck capital of the Atlantic. Many 18th- and early-19th-century vessels, commissioned for trade or war, still sit, largely intact, on the ocean floor. By some estimates, there are upwards of 300 wreck sites around the island—contributing to the Bermuda Triangle mythology and making its waters an especially thrilling playground for divers and snorkelers alike.

In Bermuda, the best diving and snorkeling is done from a tour boat, which shepherds you out to specific sites, where you’ll encounter wrecks as well as angelfish, the occasional sea turtle, and stingrays. For the uninitiated, here’s how they work: Dive tour operators often also offer snorkel tours. Most scuba dives last around 35 to 40 minutes, depending on your size and breathing rate, and most dive trips stop at two separate sites over the course of a morning or an afternoon. The sites you visit on a tour are ultimately at the divemaster’s discretion, but most are receptive to suggestions and requests. Here, we take you through the most exciting dive and snorkel spots on the island’s east and west ends, rated by level of difficulty, how to get there, and what to expect when you do—so even if it’s your first time out, you’ll sound like a veteran.

Perhaps due to its proximity to some of the most beloved shipwrecks around the island, the west end of Bermuda is home to a bevy of solid dive and snorkel tour operators. But there are a handful of standouts:

Blue Water Divers, the longest-running PADI dive center on the island, and Snorkel Bermuda, a snorkel shop in the Royal Naval Dockyard whose “bread and butter is shipwreck snorkeling” says owner Sonny Sullivan. Guests of the

Fairmont Southampton might also look to the hotel’s excellent Dive Bermuda shop (dive trips from $150, including equipment). Blue Water Divers offers year-round morning dive trips (two tanks, meaning two separate sites, departing at 9 a.m. in the summer and 10 a.m. in the winter and lasting about four hours, starting at $130) and, during the summer, afternoon one- and two-tank tours departing at 2 p.m., as well as PADI certification courses of all levels. Snorkel Bermuda’s trips depart daily in the summer at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., and 3 p.m., and last about two hours; tours start from $60 per person. Both shops rent equipment, in case your BCD didn’t fit in your carry-on.

The Lartington, the Constellation, and the Montana

To the northwest of Bermuda, a cluster of three 19th-century wrecks has become a regular destination for divers: the Lartington, a massive English steamer that sank in 1879, the Montana, a Civil War-era blockade runner that sank in 1863, and the Constellation, an American cargo ship that sank in 1943. All three sank in relatively shallow water, making them especially great sites for novice divers; the latter two eventually became the basis for Peter Benchley’s follow-up to Jaws, The Deep. And, according to Sullivan, they’re excellent snorkel and dive sites not only because of the wrecks themselves, but because of the expanse of healthy, thriving coral reef that grows around them.

North Carolina

An English sailing ship that ran aground in 1880, the wreck of the North Carolina can now be found to the southwest of Bermuda at depths between 25 and 45 feet—shallow enough for beginners, varied enough for more experienced divers. Along the edge of the ship, “deadeyes”—part of the sailing rigging, so named because they look like cartoonish skull faces—line the hull, peering back at you with an eerie fixed gaze. It’s worth stopping at a local drugstore (or checking out the dive shop) for a disposable waterproof camera to capture the deadeyes.

Eel Garden

Bermuda’s not only about the wrecks, and on the west end of the island, there’s one especially good naturally occurring site: the Eel Garden, named for the field of threadlike little garden eels that peep their heads up from the sand, waving in the current like kelp. Split over shallower and deeper waters—ranging from roughly 30 to 70 feet—Eel Garden also makes for a good all-abilities destination.

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A proliferation of great underwater sites makes Bermuda an especially thrilling playground for diving and snorkeling.

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The wreck of the Sea Venture, an English sailing ship, on Bermuda’s reefs in 1609 marked the beginning of the British colonial presence on the island. Since then, myriad other boats have met their end on the reef, but the east end is also home to Bermuda’s more notable non-wreck sites like the Cathedral, North Rock, and Eastern Blue Cut. To take you there, we recommend the Grotto Bay Beach Resort outpost of Dive Bermuda (two-tank dives from $150; snorkel trips from $70 per person), whose operation is just as polished as its west-end counterpart, but tends to frequent the east-end sites highlighted here.

The Cathedral

On the east end of the island, the Cathedral site comprises a series of coral formations and canyons populated by angelfish, parrotfish, and other critters. But its main attraction is a vaulted reef structure (where a single shaft of light reaches through a hole in the top like a skylight) that divers can swim through. Still, its varied depths—from 26 feet to 55 feet—mean it’s a great destination for snorkelers and divers, even if its main attraction is out of reach if you don’t have an oxygen tank.

North Rock

You’ll know you’ve arrived by the massive yellow-and-black beacon on top of the reef, designed to ward ships away from the shallows. (Perhaps there are enough wrecks around Bermuda.) It might not seem like an auspicious start to a dive or snorkel, but underwater, it’s a different matter: Expect some of the most pristine reefs around, with undulating purple sea fans, massive coral formations, and different species of fish—including, Sullivan said, some “big huge monsters” of grouper. Like the Cathedral, North Rock features reef formations shallow enough for snorkelers and water clear enough to peer from the surface into the deeper depths. But it has even shallower formations and a maximum depth of around 30 feet, regularly excellent visibility, and a massive area to roam.

Eastern Blue Cut

A “cut” is a break in the reef, and there are two major ones that attract divers and snorkelers in Bermuda. The Eastern Blue Cut is, according to the University of California at San Diego’s study of the best dive sites on the island, one of the largest, a spot where “the flow of nutrients” results in a super-healthy reef with bountiful (and huge) fish. It’s slightly shallower and less trafficked than the Western Blue Cut, so it’s especially good for snorkelers during peak tourism season in Bermuda.

Cristobal Colon

When Bermuda made National Geographic’s list of the best places in the world to dive, it was the Cristobal Colon that the magazine called out. A Spanish cruise liner that ran up on the reef just a few miles from North Rock in 1936, the ship was looted pretty substantially after it sank; four years later, the surviving contents of its cargo were auctioned off. Despite the lack of sunken treasure on board these days, it’s still a popular stop: Measuring 499 feet when it went down, the Cristobal Colon remains the largest ship to wreck in Bermuda, and, ranging from 15 feet to 60 feet in depth, it’s both shallow enough to give snorkelers a good vantage and deep enough to attract experienced divers. (It used to protrude above the surface of the water—but that was before the U.S. Air Force started using it for target practice during World War II.)

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