The Grotto

Also known as: Saipan Grotto · Grotto Saipan

Saipan's signature dive starts inside a natural pool at the foot of a cliff, reached by a long staircase of about 110 to 120 steps depending on the count. From the pool three wide openings lead out to the ocean, and the sunlight entering through them fills the cavern with an intense blue glow, with curtains of light in the summer months. Outside, the cliff wall drops far below recreational depths and offers walls, swim-throughs and a further cavern to the southwest that locals call the batcave. White-tip reef sharks, a small group of barracuda, pyramid butterflyfish and, at times, turtles, Napoleon wrasse, tuna and spotted eagle rays are reported. Visibility is among the best on the island, but re-entering from the surface outside is often impossible, so divers must keep enough air to swim back in underwater for their safety stop.