Disclosure: Complimentary admission was provided for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
My son has been a fan of submarines and marine life ever since he rode the Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland this past May, so he was ecstatic when I told him that I would be taking him on an adventure aboard one of Atlantis Adventures' submarines in Waikiki.
We arrived at the Hilton Hawaiian Village thirty minutes before our scheduled tour time, and checked in at the kiosk located on Waikiki beach in front of the Hilton's Ali'i Tower.
After we received our boarding passes, we headed out on the walkway to the Hilton Port where we waited to board the Atlantis Discovery shuttle boat.
The Discovery had an upper level and lower level. My son preferred to sit on the lower level, which was nice as it was cool and spacious (most people sat on the upper level).
During the ride out to the submarines we enjoyed the views of Waikiki and Diamond Head. Midway to the dive site, my son got hungry, so we purchased a bag of M&Ms and a fig bar from the snack shop on the lower deck, which were reasonably priced!
After a short ride, we arrived at the dive site. The passengers that held tickets for the "Premium Submarine Tour disembarked first aboard the Atlantis XIV, which is a larger and more luxurious submarine (larger view ports, individual seating with seat backs).
Less than 10 minutes later, we arrived at the Atlantis IX submarine and made our way down the steep steps into the submarine.
This particular sub had a 48 passenger seating capacity, and as you can see, every seat was taken.
We were lucky to get seats close to the front of the submarine, so we got a good view of the controls and of our narrator, who did a great job of educating us on coral, reef life, and the submersible.
Throughout the tour we came across a number of man-made, artificial reefs that were installed by Atlantis with the assistance of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and UH's Sea Grant Program.
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| Pyramids |
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| Airplane |
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| Sunken Ship |
If you look closely at the picture below, you can see see two turtles!
My 4 1/2 year old son loved this experience from the moment we checked in. He loved riding the shuttle boat out to the dive site, and had an even greater time on the submarine once we started seeing the fish swimming past our view ports. For me, I enjoyed learning about the self-sustaining habitats and the importance of stewardship and protecting Hawaii's marine environment.
If you are a Kama’aina, don't miss out on Atlantis' September Kama’aina promotion:
For the Atlantis Undersea Adventure 48 passenger submarine, get one free Keiki ticket with each paid $30 Kama’aina adult ticket! This offer is available during the month of September in celebration of Atlantis Adventures’ 30th anniversary. Cannot be combined with other discounts.
Note: keiki (children) must be at least 36" in height for safety reasons.
For more information on the Atlantis Adventures Submarine Tours, or to book a tour, click HERE.
