The World's Best Places for Freediving
A freediver fins through Taj Mahal cenote in Mexico
Joel Penner
Riviera Maya, Mexico
Like the number of cenotes themselves, the reasons to freedive the Riviera Maya’s interior are myriad.
“Casa Cenote is fun because it’s shallow and you can swim between tree roots,” says world freediving record holder Alexey Molchanov of one of the sites he favors, reachable by driving 10 minutes north of the town of Tulum.
“Angelita was the hardest [for me] because it was the deepest,” he says of the spot 10 minutes south of Tulum. “Posing at 90 feet without fins was tiring.”
Regardless of the challenge a cenote presents, Molchanov is transfixed.
“In cenotes, there are a lot more light changes than in the ocean,” says the freediving instructor. “Swimming from darkness through the fog of a halocline into the light is exciting.”
A school of bigeye scad surround freediver Deron Verbeck off Kona, Hawaii
Greg Lecoeur
Kona, Hawaii Island
Every Sunday, you’ll find Byron Kay at church — only the one he attends has no pews and no pulpit. Rather, the owner and operator of Kona Honu Divers joins local freedivers at a site called Two Step.
“It’s called Two Step because you take just two steps before you’re in the water,” says Kay.
That water plummets several thousand feet, beckoning to worshipers who prefer celebrating alongside dolphins, eagle rays, whitetip sharks and, in winter, hammerheads.
Those still learning the mechanics of answering the call can join Kay for a Sunday school of sorts. Kona provides an excellent freediving classroom thanks to nearshore drop-offs and a coastline riddled with protected bays.
Plus, its underwater topography, sculpted by volcanoes, and thriving animal population add challenges to entice any diver to stay down just a smidge longer.
New Providence, Bahamas
“Freediving in a wreck is a very different thing from freediving into the deep blue or freediving with predatory animals,” says Liz Parkinson of Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas.
All of those are experiences one can have in New Providence. Stuart Cove’s is known for its shark dives, which the tankless are welcome to join.
“Swimming with 50 sharks is no joke,” she says, “but it’s pretty magical.”
Competitive freediver Marianna Krupnitskaya exploring a reef off Roatan
Lia Barrett
Roatan
Since 2013, Roatan has been home to the Caribbean Cup — one of the region’s biggest freediving competitions — thanks to Esteban Darhanpe ... and sharks. On scuba, Darhanpe was logging hours at the site known as Face to Face, trying to approach closer than bubbles would allow. Switching gears to freediving, Darhanpe found what he’d so long sought: a connection befitting the site’s name. He also recognized that the same conditions — visibility stretching 110 feet or greater, plus typically calm weather — that make the Honduran island a scuba hot spot also create a welcoming classroom for new freedivers, who Darhanpe, a PADI freediving instructor, now teaches through scuba center West End Divers.
Perhaps best of all is that anyone who can swim 200 yards can reach a drop-off to 750 feet.
Says Darhanpe, “It’s convenient to go swimming from shore and get enough depth for any kind of training.”
Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
Freediving off Gili Trawangan is a holistic experience.
Offshore, find warm water, 100-foot viz and 650-foot-deep sites quickly accessed by boat.
Make the school Freedive Gili part of your trip, and you gain the benefits of an 82- foot training pool, plus a dedicated on-site yoga instructor and shala. The experience will likely leave you with a calm, meditative mindset — exactly what you need to relax and set a new personal best.
A pod of sperm whales swims past a freediver off Sri Lanka
Alex Voyer
Sri Lanka
“Sri Lanka was a dream for a long time because I knew it was one of the only places in the world where you can dive with blue whales,” says Alex Voyer of his decision to trek to Sri Lanka, a stop along the animal’s migration route. However, the blue whale — not the biggest whale but still big at an average of 98 feet — can be elusive. Voyer estimates studying the horizon for 40 hours, stopping to freedive with dolphins and other whales, before spying the quarry that inspired the trip.
“We swam with them for only one or two minutes, so it wasn’t the best ratio in terms of time,” says Voyer. “But still — it was incredible!”
Isla Contoy, Mexico
A wetsuit or life vest is required to swim with summer’s congregation of whale sharks off Isla Contoy — not because whale sharks are fashion sticklers, but rather, boat operators want to ensure that both guests and the animals they’ve come to see are safe.
“You need to be comfortable in the water so you don’t hurt yourself or the whale sharks,” says local freediving instructor Camila Jaber.
“Plus, you gain a much greater appreciation when swimming alongside the whale sharks as opposed to seeing them from above.”
A freediver explores the Kittiwake shipwreck off Grand Cayman
Ellen Cuylaerts
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
With no river run-off, Grand Cayman delivers some of the Caribbean’s most impressive year-round visibility, spanning 120 feet and greater. For freedivers, this means sunlight isn’t filtered in the slightest from most depths reachable on a breath-hold.
“Students are much more comfortable when they can look up and see the surface,” says Jo Mikutowicz, freediving instructor and owner of Divetech.
For newer freedivers, Mikutowicz suggests a dip to Guardian of the Reef, a 13-foot bronze statue at 70 feet.
“It’s like having a target to hit when you swim down and sit next to him,” says Mikutowicz. “That helps push you down a bit farther.”
Long Island, Bahamas
With a bottom at 663 feet, walls offering protection from waves, and year-round warm salt water, Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island in the Bahamas offers the best of both worlds: the controlled conditions of an indoor pool and the natural sense of communing with the ocean. Thanks to these ideal waters, it has served as the setting for the Vertical Blue freediving championships since 2008 and is the site of myriad broken records.
“It makes you feel like you can go deeper and deeper,” says freediver Estrella Navarro of peering into the cavelike setting.
The only downside is darkness.
“At first, it was so black, I could see nothing,” says Navarro. “But then that darkness helped me relax.”
READ MORE: Check out the best sites for underwater photography and night diving.