Jules’ Undersea Lab is the only establishment of its kind. My husband has wanted to visit here for decades and we finally did as his Christmas present. Even after months of research, I was unsure what to expect. Here is a detailed breakdown for those in the same situation or who are just curious.
The habitat was built as an undersea scientific research station, named La Chalupa, for the PRINUL Program (Puerto Rico Inter-National Undersea laboratory). It was transported and stationed off the coast of Puerto Rico from 1972-1975, completing 12 research missions. During each mission four aquanauts lived and worked full time underwater in the station. In 1986 it was converted to a hotel and brought to Key Largo, Florida. This is the world’s only publicly accessible undersea hotel and you have to be dive certified to stay there, or even merely get there to visit and take a tour.
You can fly into Miami or Key West and drive to Key Largo. Due to traffic, it is recommended you arrive the night prior. We flew into Miami on Friday afternoon, rented a car and drove down to Key Largo in bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go traffic. I booked a room for the night at Snappers Lodge, in Key Largo, which has four basic rooms above the Snappers Oceanfront Restaurant and Bar. The rooms are definitely nothing fancy, but I loved being right on the water, they had a large menu, and had live music which I could enjoy upstairs in the room. Thankfully the music stopped by 10 pm. I’d stay here again if in Key Largo.
We started the morning of our first day with breakfast at Doc’s Diner, which has a large traditional breakfast menu. It fills up by 9 so I’d get there early. Then we headed to the Marine Park.
9:45 AM arrival. We were a little confused on what time we should arrive. We received different guidance over the weeks and months leading up to our trip. They open at 8 am. Your stay underwater is 24 hours and you have to surface 24 hours prior to your flight home. 9:45 worked out for us but I might have preferred to get there closer to 9:30.
It was a busy morning. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they are a full dive center and marine research lab. They had several classes going on including a vintage dive class with the old large bronze helmets and suits, and classic dive gear from the late 50s and early 60s, popularized by the television show Sea Hunt.
We spent about 90 minutes getting a tour of the marine park, filling out paperwork, ordering meals for our 24 hour stay, packing what we would bring down with us, and getting fitted in our wet suits and rental dive gear.
11:17 AM we entered the water. The team was super friendly and took lots of photos.
They will also transport a small bag for you in a watertight and pressure=proof case. It is recommended you bring comfortable casual clothes to hang out in the lodge. I also had two books, a magazine and my journal with me. I was asked if I needed so many books but when I said I did, they said it was no problem. Joe just had to make two dives down to the lodge with our stuff.
You have to scuba dive down to the lodge, but it is only 22 feet deep. For orientation, you take the long way around the lagoon, to get a tour of the site, which took about 25 minutes. You enter the lodge through a “moon pool” wet porch. When I googled why it was called a moon pool I found that the early scientists called it that due the moonlight’s reflection on calm nights.
When we arrived our dive guide Joe gave us a tour of the lodge. The lodge can sleep 4 but because of the close quarters they typically only book one couple at a time, or families. There is a shower with hot water and a toilet. The water is potable. The lodge has precision climate control and WIFI. There are three flat screen TVs. The kitchen doesn’t have a stove, but there is a microwave, a coffee maker, a refrigerator, and the place is well stocked with snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. You have 24-hour communication with the staff through text, phone and video. While guests are staying in the lodge a staff member is on duty 24 hours, and someone sleeps on shore in the mission control trailer. There is only one video camera in the lodge, and it’s pointed only at the moon pool, to verify arrivals and departures.
1 PM Lunch. While topside we had ordered our lunch and dinner to be delivered by diver guide. The options from a nearby restaurant were a wide selection of sandwiches, burgers and salads. We both chose a grilled cheese sandwich and salad for lunch.
Afternoon. If you want the PADI Aquanaut diver certification you need to make at least three structured dives during your stay, but you are allowed to make unlimited unguided dives during your mission. Additional air cylinders are brought down as required. At 22 feet, Nitrox isn’t provided or needed. All dives require a buddy. Prior to and following each dive you call or send a text topside to let them know you are going out. For the three certification dives you have three tasks: 1) A dive for fish and marine life survey and identification. A laminated booklet of photos is provided for convenience. 2) A dive to practice navigation to, and exploration, survey, and measurement of, a simulated archeological site, including large anchors. 3) A dive to complete an easy work task involving dexterity and buoyancy, to demonstrate living and working underwater as aquanauts. During our mission our task was to assemble a 4-inch pipe valve flange with wrenches, nuts and bolts. It was quick to navigate to the site, and took 5 minutes to complete the task.
Because of the often challenging visibility it is recommended to do the fish identification dive the following morning, before the lagoon gets busy.
We let our lunch settle and then went out on our first dive around 3 pm. It was a short dive but the entire process of putting on your gear, diving, taking off your gear, rinsing off and warming up takes about an hour.
We then hung out reading and watched a movie before dinner. The lodge has a DVD player and a small selection of ocean themed DVDs. There’s also fast WiFi, that allows you to connect your streaming services to the TVs. We chose to watch the 1951 classic The African Queen. The actual boat used in the movie is available for tours in Key Largo, and we had plans for a tour the following day.
6 pm Dinner. And suddenly it was already time for dinner. Joe delivered our pizza and salad around 6 pm.
8 pm Dive #2. We had plans to wait an hour or so after eating and then go out for our second dive. However, I don’t love night dives and I ended up chickening out. In retrospect, we should have done two afternoon dives but instead we did two dives the following morning. But again, for those interested, you can dive as many times as you want and as late as you want.
Evening. We watched a little more TV, read, and went to bed. The lodge is equipped with sheets, pillows, and spare blankets. This is definitely not camping. The air conditioner thermostat can be adjusted topside by mission control, and if too cold or warm you just call or send a text.
I run cold and the idea of getting in and out of the water multiple times, and putting on and off wet gear had me worried. However, the availability of a shower with unlimited hot water solved this problem.
We slept surprisingly well. You have the noise of constant positive pressure excess air gurgling out through the moon pool, but after a few hours it just becomes background noise. Additionally, there has been research about the physical and mental medical benefits of extended underwater pressure. My hip felt better than it had in months and the lodge’s marine research center is working with a group of military veteran’s on how it may assist with PTSD.
This is probably a good point to note that getting in and out of the port holes, moving around to different rooms of the lodge, does require a minimum amount of mobility and dexterity.
Early Morning. I am a morning person and was up hours before the sun. But I made a few cups of tea and hung out by the portholes reading.
The shallow depth means the water will lighten and darken about the same time as the sunrise and sunset.
7 am. Dive #2. We went on our second dive at sunrise. I enjoyed this dive the most of the three since there was less suspended silt and sediment, and no other divers in the lagoon.
8 am. Breakfast. The kitchen is well stocked. We had yogurt, fresh fruit, pastries, orange juice, and coffee for breakfast.
9 am. Dive #3. We went out for our 3rd dive so my husband could earn his PADI certification.
Mid-Morning. Following our last dive we had about an hour to enjoy the lodge, watch the fish, and pack up. At about 23 ½ hours, Joe returned to help us pack up into the waterproof and pressureproof containers, and we surfaced 24 hours after our initial decent.
The team is obviously passionate about they do at Jules Undersea Lab. Once topside we took showers, changed, and paid the rest of our bill. It was the kind of stay where it took an hour to say goodbye and there were multiple hugs all around.
Honest review of the limitations: This is not a trip for great diving beauty or extensive marine life. The water isn’t cold, but it isn’t warm either. This is Florida wetsuit diving, not drysuit conditions. The visibility is usually poor, from 4 to 10 feet. It sits in a wonderfully protected mangrove lagoon, but that means the water is often green with silt, algae, and plankton. We saw some fish but nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary.
Many people would not consider this a budget friendly trip. I used points for our plane tickets, and still the entire trip came to about $3000. That cost included our hotel room for the nights before and after our 24 hour mission, renting a car, meals the day prior and afterwards. On a nightly basis this is probably my most expensive trip ever. However, it was also one of the most unique and it is short, which makes the cost manageable.
I expected to be bored but I wasn’t. The time went by very quickly. I also was worried about the small space and if I would feel claustrophobic. But I didn’t. It was surprisingly roomy and comfortable. The lodge is well cared for, and didn’t feel dingy. Again, it was clean and comfortable.
This trip is great for “dive geeks” who like the history and science part of diving. My husband says he disagrees with that label, but “not strenuously”. In any case, it is also perfect for those that thrive on one-of-a-kind superlative adventures.
We completed Mission 4718. Since 1986 there have only been 4717 groups before us. As the only publicly accessible underwater hotel, that means there are less than 10,000 people on earth that have shared this particular experience. That makes it pretty cool in my book!!
Life Kinetic Travel Research 