Atlantis Adventures invited us to try out one of their activities and we went with the Waikiki Undersea Adventure. When we have staycations in Waikiki, we see flyers about it but never tried it before. Their information booth is located right next to Hilton Hawaiian Village and Tropics Bar & Grill.

We went on the Atlantis XIV, which is a submarine that can house 48 passengers and reaches depths of over one hundred feet. The Atlantis Submarines in Waikiki has designated dive site that is now new homes to Hawaiian fishes, native coral, and other marine life. This eye-opening experience is also a great learning experience as the submarine turns into a classroom as our guide taught us things about the moving images. It’s the best alternative to being in the water; see beautiful aquatic life while also staying drying and comfortable.

Tour duration: 1.5 hours

For the Atlantis Submarines, it’s best to book online since you save $10 off. Here’s the price list:
Adults – $100.00
Adults + Free Child – $115. 00
Child – $38.00
*Children must be a minimum of 36 inches in height to ride the submarine and maximum 12 years of age.

If you’re not sure where to check-in, the information booth will give you directions to the pier, Port Hilton.

Once checked-in again at the pier, they’ll hand you the boarding pass and dive log catalog which has info about things you’re going to see while in the submarine. There are two different colors of boarding passes which you’ll see other groups have and this means there are two different submarines that can accommodate the groups.

To get to the submarines, we first boarded the Atlantis boat. Both groups can go on aboard on this big boat. There’s an upper and lower seating on the boat. I suggest sitting at the top because of the open air and better view of Waikiki.

There’s souvenirs, snacks, and drinks on the boat as well! If you get motion sickness, they have medicine available as well!

It was about a 10-minute boat ride to the submarines. The submarines were actually underwater and you can watch it pop-up while on the boat. It was such a neat thing to see! The boat signaled the submarine that it was safe to pop-up – making sure no other boats were around.

When we docked next to the submarine, we waited for a group to get off the submarine, onto our boat so we can go on the submarine.

When boarding the submarine, you have to turn your back around and go down the steps slowly, holding both of the railings for safety. We boarded the submarine last which gave us the seat next to the captain of the submarine. Also, the beautiful view of Diamond Head.

Here’s what the 48-seater submarine looks like inside. Each person has a seat and a window to view. The submarine also shows how low we are going underwater.

If you don’t speak English, they have earphones for everyone available for you which will translate to Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. Atlantis Adventures also offers Japanese only tours at certain times during the days – you’ll just have to see which time on their website.

Now for the submarine experience itself…

It was our first time inside a submarine so it was neat watching the number thing go higher and higher in feet. We didn’t feel any pressure from our ears when we were going down, all the way to 100+ ft, which was great! Landon enjoyed the sub dive and going the way down.

Once you’re down there, you’ll see sunken ships, airplanes, and other man-made items for coral and sea life. Photos do not do justice when it comes to how clear it was the day we went. We saw a lot of small fishes, sea urchins, starfish, and even a green sea turtle on one of the ships!

The whole time, there’s a staff member on the speaker inside the submarine telling you each sunken object you are seeing along with what fish is visible. One thing we learned is that each sunken item under the sea was purchased by Atlantis Adventure so that corals and sea life have a home. Bringing in more sea life close to Waikiki beach!

Keep in mind, there will be some waiting involved. When an object is shown on the left side of the sub, the captain has to turn around for the right side of the sub to see it. Which continued for each sunken object.

Honestly, I’m glad we experienced the submarine adventure, but we probably wouldn’t do it again. It was a great one time experience but the price for this adventure is a little on the pricey side. It’s perfect for those who have not seen the bottom of the ocean yet and the submarine experience itself. However, Landon enjoyed it and would do it again!

Overall, the Atlantis crew were awesome, very friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. We had a clear day which was incredible! We wouldn’t recommend this for elderly people since there are steep stairs involved and it might be claustrophobic for them. However, if you have kids, this is definitely a fun experience for them. Aside from the Waikiki Undersea Adventure, Atlantis Adventures also offer dinner cruises and a whale watching cruise. There are different activities for the family!