6 sites · down to 34 m (112 ft) · 4 suitable for an intro team
Cave diving on Grand Bahama
- Sites6
- Max depth34 m (112 ft)
- For intro teams4
- Dive centres2
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Why come here
Beneath Grand Bahama lie caves with fresh water over salt water: in Ben's Cave the halocline sits at ~8–10 m, with warmer salt water below. The Lucayan Caverns in Lucayan National Park are among the world's longest charted underwater caves, and the Old Freetown system, with Owl's Hole and Mermaid's Lair, offers plenty of daylight and rich decoration. You dive them guided as cavern dives from Freeport and Lucaya; cave diving in the park is only allowed with permission from the Bahamas National Trust and an authorised instructor arranged in advance. Bring 5–7 mm with a hood and use no sunscreen or lotion before the dive, because the freshwater lens is the island's drinking water. Hurricane Dorian caused a ceiling collapse in the Mermaid section in 2019, so expect changed passages.
Don't miss
- Ben's Cave & Burial Mound Cave (Lucayan Caverns): two entrances lead to stalactites, fossil coral and a column broken during the ice age, in the cave where the remipede Speleonectes lucayensis was discovered.
- Owl's Hole (Old Freetown system): the largest daylight zone of Grand Bahama's caves, with light effects in the halocline and owls nesting in the hole.
- Mermaid's Lair (Old Freetown system): beyond a shallow pond a chamber ~12 m high opens up in clear water, in one of the island's best-decorated caves, full of stalactites, soda straws, flowstone and dogtooth-spar crystals.
- Crabbing Bay Blue Hole: a blue hole at McLean's Town full of snappers, parrotfish, angelfish and lobsters, good for an easy day.
On a rest day
- Lucayan National Park: Walk the boardwalk along Gold Rock Creek, the last intact mangrove tidal creek on the island's south shore, with fish and wading birds, and visit the well-known Gold Rock Beach.
- Garden of the Groves: A 12-acre botanical garden in Freeport with shaded paths, streams, waterfalls and a white chapel by a pond.
All 6 sites
2 closed not shown ·
| Site | Max depth | Type | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben's Cave & Burial Mound Cave (Lucayan Caverns)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern | 22 m (72 ft) | Backmount | Cavern |
| Crabbing Bay Blue HoleEntry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern | 18 m (59 ft) | Backmount | Cavern |
| Mermaid's Lair (Old Freetown system)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern | – | Backmount | Cavern |
| Owl's Hole (Old Freetown system)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern | – | Backmount | Cavern |
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.
Map
Dive centres and fill stations
2 dive centres, fill stations and instructors
Dive centre
Calabash Eco Adventures (Freeport)
Freeport, Grand Bahama
- Ben's Cave & Burial Mound Cave (Lucayan Caverns), Owl's Hole (Old Freetown system), Crabbing Bay Blue Hole, Mermaid's Lair (Old Freetown system)
- Tanks and weights are included; the rest (mask, fins, suit, torch, BC, regulator) through a dive shop, $10 per item
Independent instructor
Cristina Zenato
Works in: Grand Bahama
- Cavern, Intro to cave, Full cave, Sidemount, CCR · NSS-CDS, TDI · Listing at the agency ↗
- Ben's Cave & Burial Mound Cave (Lucayan Caverns), Mermaid's Lair (Old Freetown system), Owl's Hole (Old Freetown system)
Order: partners first, clearly marked as partner; then dive centres by distance from Lucaya (Port Lucaya) and independent instructors by name. Not a recommendation: check what they offer yourself.
On this list, or should you be? Get a free partner card →Where to stay
Find a place near Lucaya (Port Lucaya), Freeport
Villages that work well as a base for the caves in this region. Find a place for your team:
- Lucaya (Port Lucaya)Booking.com ↗
- FreeportBooking.com ↗
The links to Booking.com are affiliate links: if you book through one, DiveTripPlanner earns a small commission. You pay the same.
Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers
Emergencies
- 911 or 919; police Eight Mile Rock +1 242 348 6444, West End +1 242 346 6444; fire Freeport +1 242 352 8888; BASRA +1 242 322 3877 / 325 8864. Hyperbaric chamber in Nassau: Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre, Western Road, Lyford Cay — +1 242 362 5765 / 422 2434. DAN America +1-919-684-9111.
Access and rules
- Lucayan National Park (Bahamas National Trust): Ben's Cave and Burial Mound Cave. Cave diving only for qualified divers with BNT permission and with an authorised instructor arranged in advance (bahamas.com). According to Cristina Zenato every diver in the Lucayan system must go with a local guide: Calabash guides only in the cavern, and Cristina Zenato and Kewin Lorenzen guide in the cave itself (OC or rebreather, sidemount only). No one may dive through the Burial Mound Cave entrance: it is a heavily protected heritage site; since 2015 the whole cave system lies inside the park, not only the entrances. Park open Sat–Sun 9:00–16:00, day pass $15 (adults). Migratory bats raise their young in the caves in summer. No sunscreen or lotion before a cave dive: the freshwater lens is the island's drinking water.
- Operators: Calabash Eco Adventures (+1 242 829 7400, reservations@calabashecoadventures.com): guided dives Ben's Cave ($180; $160 pp for 2+), Owl's Hole ($200/$160), Mermaid's Lair ($220/$200 + $15 park fee), Crabbing Bay and Rocky Creek blue holes ($220/$180); open-water level accepted; tank and weights included, other rental $10 per item. UNEXSO (Port Lucaya) ran cavern and cave dives (including Mermaid's Lair, Scuba Diving 2023), but by its own listing now only offers snorkel and glass-bottom-boat trips and will 'soon' relaunch diving — ask. Cristina Zenato (NSS-CDS/TDI): cavern course 3 days/4 dives $1,275; full cave 5 days/8 dives $2,050 (100 logged dives, advanced nitrox/deco, 18+), sidemount only, pickup in the Freeport area; also guides in the cave of the Lucayan system; O₂ and nitrox fills extra.
Water and season
- Water: fresh water on top, halocline at ~8–10 m in Ben's Cave, warmer salt water below; bring 5–7 mm with a hood (Scuba Diving 2022). Mangrove caves (Pirates Mew, Anaconda Swamp, Citrus Farm) have tannic water, H₂S and poor visibility (POW).
- Ocean blue holes and tides: the Chimney sucks water in twice a day and blows out twice, with ~20 min of slack; Cemetery Hole near McLean's Town is only dived on calm days, in daylight, at slack before the reversal (POW).
- Hurricane Dorian (September 2019) stalled over Grand Bahama for about a day with a 3.7–5.5 m storm surge. POW reports a ceiling collapse in the Mermaid cavern (Old Freetown), a Pirates Mew entrance blocked by rubble and heavy damage around the Zodiac caves (Sweeting's Cay).
Safety
- Accidents: blue holes and caves are overhead environments. On Abaco three divers without cavern or cave certification drowned in Big Boil Blue Hole in April 1994, on Grand Bahama two divers without cave certification drowned in a blue hole in May 1994, and in January 2003 two divers went missing in King Kong's Cavern on Andros. Go only with cave training and a local guide.
Getting around
- Getting there: Grand Bahama International Airport (FPO), flights from the US (e.g. American Airlines and Bahamasair from Miami/Fort Lauderdale) and Canada; Baleària fast ferry between Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades) and Freeport; Bahamasair or Western Air to other islands; Pinder's Ferry McLean's Town ↔ Crown Haven (Abaco): from McLean's Town 8:30 and 16:00, back 7:00 and 14:30.
Rest day
- Rest day: snorkel or jump at Owl's Hole (metal ladder; owlets in April–May; beware of poisonwood along the trail) or visit the viewing platforms at Ben's Cave.
News
News articles that mention one of the caves in this region, collected automatically and not checked by us.
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines.
Searched automatically, last on 13 Nov 2026.
Going to Grand Bahama with your team?
Marcel finds the sites that match your team's certifications.
Plan a trip