For divers who crave a bit of history with their underwater adventure, a new wave of cruises is offering a rare glimpse at what lies hidden beneath the surface. Read on for your passport to sunken worlds, submerged crumbling ruins, legendary shipwrecks and a some of the memorable historic stories that go along with them.

Baiae, Italy: submerged playground of emperors

Think of Baiae as ancient Rome’s answer to Las Vegas, only with more toga parties and fewer neon lights. Once a playground for emperors who wanted their fun far from judging eyes, this Roman resort city eventually sank below the Bay of Naples, thanks to the area’s rather lively volcanic activity. Today, Baiae is a UNESCO-protected underwater archaeological park, and lucky divers get to explore its remains.

You’ll glide over intricately tiled floors, past crumbling statues of gods, and through the remnants of lavish Roman villas. It’s like walking through a museum, except that you’re in a wetsuit and the museum is underwater. Your guide will likely share stories of emperors who lived extravagant lives and left behind ruins that are equal parts beautiful and eerie.

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Bermuda: the shipwreck capital of the Atlantic

Bermuda’s once treacherous waters have snagged more ships than Blackbeard. With over 300 wrecks scattered around the island, Bermuda is the place to be for divers who want to time-travel back to the days of schooners and ship-chandlers. Forget sunken treasure—here, it’s the ships themselves that are the prize.

From Spanish galleons to American warships, there’s a whole underwater museum waiting. The Cristóbal Colón, a luxurious Spanish liner, now lies in two massive chunks on the seabed. More ambitious divers can head over to the Constellation, which went down in the 1940s, along with its cargo of medicinal bottles and glassware that remain scattered across the sand. This wreck dive has it all: history, intrigue, and the odd eel darting out from the ship’s once-elegant stairwells. Bonus points for the haunting local lore, filled with ghost sightings and tragic tales.

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Yonaguni monument, Japan: the lost Atlantis?

Yonaguni. Is it an ancient civilisation? A natural rock formation? A portal to another dimension? Depends on whom you ask. Found off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, the Yonaguni Monument is an enormous, mysterious stone structure that some claim to be a lost city dating back to 10,000 BC.

Whether it’s a genuine lost city or just Mother Nature showing off, one thing’s for sure: it’s eerie. Some divers have reported feeling strangely drawn to the monument’s terraces and “walls,” while others have called it an elaborate case of pareidolia (that’s the tendency to see patterns that aren’t there, for us landlubbers). Back on board, expect some lively debates over cocktails as the dive guides argue over its origins.

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The Antikythera Wreck: artefacts of Ancient Greece

Greece doesn’t just have ruins on land—it’s got its fair share under the sea, too. The Antikythera Wreck is one of the most famous underwater archaeological finds in the world, complete with artefacts dating back to 100 BC, including the enigmatic Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient “computer” used for tracking the heavens.

Dive here, and you’ll find fragments of marble sculptures, amphoras, and bronze statues strewn across the ocean floor. Onboard, expert archaeologists might enthuse over how this ship’s treasure trove has changed the way we understand ancient Greek technology. Meanwhile, you’ll be wondering whether its possible to squeeze a bit of marble into your dive bag as a souvenir.

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More Than Just a Dive: The Onboard Experience

But these cruises aren’t just about the dives. On board, it’s an underwater historian’s paradise, with marine archaeologists, conservationists, and resident skeptics who’ll fill you in on the stories behind each site. They’ll make sure you’re getting the full historical context (along with a few side-eye-worthy myths), transforming these cruises into a floating masterclass on underwater history.

Forget beach resorts or glass-bottom boats—these scuba diving cruises give you the chance to swim through ancient history. Whether it’s gliding through an emperor’s sunken living room in Baiae or creeping around Bermuda’s ghostly shipwrecks, these dives deliver that rare thrill of discovering history firsthand. So, pack your gear, bring a taste for the macabre, and prepare for a deep dive into some of the world’s most unforgettable underwater time capsules.