Roatán Institute for Deepsea Exploration

The Roatán Institute for Deepsea Exploration is the fancy name for an American kid with a homemade submarine, which he uses to take tourists into the deep-sea trenches just off Roatán’s north shore. This is one of only two operations in the world that take Joe Public deeper than 91m. And the Idabel, as the sub is called, goes much deeper than that – more than 610m down, for as long as seven hours. There is no vegetation after 91m (and no light after 520m) and only the strangest of life forms: bioluminescent sponges, swimming sea cucumbers, six-gilled sharks, all amid huge limestone boulders and fossilized coral formations. The sub’s creator, Karl Stanley, got into submarine building with no formal engineering training, or even advanced welding, for that matter. He admits he has no special insurance (nor the international certification he’d need to secure it); if anything happens, says Karl, he’s not coming up either. The sub does have redundant safety systems and three days’ worth of air and supplies, and has had no major incidents in hundreds of outings. Up to three passengers can take trips of varying lengths: 1½ hours to a maximum depth of 300m (L$7560), 2½ hours to 460m (L$11,340), or 3½ hours to 610m (L$15,120).