BOB Diving in Tenerife - a unique underwater experience

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BOB diving? What on earth is that? I hear you ask. Well, you remember those James Bond films after Sean Connery, when Roger Moore used to have some nifty underwater gadgets to get around in? The "BOB" - or "Breathing Observation Bubble" - is a bit like one of those!

The BOB is a sort of underwater scooter, where your head fits into a large sphere, for maximum observation. The mobility of the scooter part of it means you can move effortlessly around under the waves. It is literally like scuba diving - on a scooter!

No diving experience is needed. At the dive site, the BOB is lowered into the sea, then you follow it, in your wetsuit, and duck under the water, to fit your head into the bubble, where you can breathe normally. You sit on the scooter, grasp the controls and off you go!

One major plus of this activity is the fact that your hands are exposed to the water and you will be able to feed the many exotic fish that come flocking around you. They are so tame, they will even let you stroke them!

The scooters can descend to a maximum depth of over 16 feet and, at that depth, the visibility is superb and the environment is unbelievably tranquil.

To indulge in this activity, you have to be at least five foot tall and under 74 years of age(!).

This unique attraction is operated by a company called BOB Diving in Tenerife, based at Puerto Colon, Las Americas. You'll find them at "Pier 4", which is just opposite the Victoria Restaurant.

There are two outings per day and they only take small groups of up to 10 people at one time, so advanced booking is advised. There are only six BOBs on the boat.

There is a twenty minute journey on the boat, then it drops anchor. A few minutes' instruction follows on how to operate the BOB, which basically is "press this button to go forward and use the handlebars to steer". The dive itself lasts 25 minutes and the whole trip lasts two hours.