The Grotto
A collapsed limestone cavern joined to the open sea by three underwater holes, reached down a hundred-odd concrete steps.
- Depth
- 5–20 m16–66 ft
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Entry
- Shore
- Typical current
- Moderate
- Coordinates
- 15°15.702′N 145°49.050′E
- Activities
- Scuba · Freediving
A sinkhole on Saipan’s north-east coast whose pool connects to the ocean through three tunnels. You walk down 116 steps in full kit, giant-stride into the pool, and swim out through one of the openings into blue water at about 20 m — or stay inside and watch the light move through the holes, which is most of why people come. Surge is the thing to respect: on a calm day this is a straightforward cavern, and on a day with swell the openings are a washing machine and the entry ledge is genuinely dangerous. Most operators simply call it off. The steps back up, with a tank, are the part nobody warns you about.
Thirty minutes by road from Garapan to the north-east coast; the entry is on foot down the steps.
Best season
- ExcellentDec–Apr
- GoodMay–Jul
- GoodOct–Nov
Before you get in
- An overhead environment: there is no direct ascent to the surface. Not a dive to make without the training, a guideline and redundant gas.
Taken from this site’s recorded depth, type and current, and nothing else. An empty list is not a safe site — the sea on the day, the local geography and the boat traffic are not in it. The briefing on the spot comes first.
Conditions
No live conditions for this site yet.
We only show numbers we can attribute to a source.
Sea state and tide
Marine life you may see
- Green turtleChelonia mydasCommon
- Giant morayGymnothorax javanicusCommon
- NudibranchNudibranchiaCommon
- Whitetip reef sharkTriaenodon obesusSeasonal
- Bigeye trevallyCaranx sexfasciatusSeasonal
- TrumpetfishAulostomus chinensisCommon
- Moorish idolZanclus cornutusCommon
- Feather starCrinoideaCommon
From divers
What people who were in the water reported. Not a forecast, and not a judgement about whether the site is safe to dive.
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