Museo Atlántico: diving in Lanzarote

Don’t miss the first and only European underwater museum by artist Jason Taylor.

The Museo Atlántico is on my bucket list since I’ve missed Jason de Caires Taylor’s first underwater museum near Isla Mujeres – Mexico due to a stupid and unexpected inconvenient (I was sleepy and I didn’t see at all a road sign I’ve stumbled upon with all my strength *epicfail*)

Both museums have been conceived as places to preserve and protect the marine environment as well as to declare artist’s ideology against the current society approach to migrants issues and careless management from our government.

The Museo Atlántico project is about a huge artificial reef made up of more than 300 life-size sculptures which – as the years go by – will help the marine environment flourish and facilitate the reproduction of species on the island. The statues are made of pH neutral cement sculptures and have been submerged in 2014, and organized into 12 installations.

Click the image to view the detailed brochure

HOW TO VISIT THE MUSEO ATLANTICO, THE FIRST AND ONLY EUROPEAN UNDERWATER MUSEUM

Trips for divers and snorkelers are available and arranged all over Lanzarote, but Playa Blanca is the nearest spot if you want an easy peasy Museum visit. It can be accessed by scuba divers (€12pp) and snorkellers (€8pp) with departures from the Marina Rubicón port located in the south of the island.

Since I had never dived before, I looked for a diving school that could also offer a first diving intro + the museum dive.

Here’s the list of the best diving school in the south of Lanzarote Island. If you wish to discover the Museo Atlántico you must do so with a certified diving company that have EDG-trained instructors (Eco Diver Guides) who attended the training taught by the artist himself.

MY FIRST DIVE

After a couple of mails shared with 2/3 diving schools when still in Milan, I choose the Rubicon Diving. They offer a full day package (150 € pp) called “A day at the Museum” which is a non-certification pack that allows non-divers to make their first dive and experience the thrill of the museum. The price includes equipment hire, open water training & open water dive, boat trip and entrance fee (8-12€) to the museum.

Once you have completed the initial morning Try Scuba Diving programme, you have time to take a break for lunch. After lunch comes the highlight of the day, the trip out to the museum. The dive boat leaves from the marina at 3pm for a 10 minute ride to the dive site. Once at the entrance to the Museum you will enter the water with your instructor and slowly descend along the fixed line down to the start of the museum tour. At all times your instructor will be with you guiding you and ensuring your safety. The dive lasted around 40 mins.

LET’S DEEP DIVE

Since I was so concentrate to feel comfortable breathing underwater and trying not to panic again 🙂 I didn’t take many pics during the Museo Atlántico dive. But you can see this incredible place in this Rubicon Diving video:

If you want to discover more about the work of this artist, have a look at the video below where, in a TED talk, he explains how his art is half sculpted by him and half crafted by the ocean and introduces his last work, the Museo Atlántico

Have you ever been to such an unsual museum?

Tell me your experience in the comments below! I’d love to hear about interesting museums all over the world.

HOW TO VISIT THE MUSEO ATLANTICO, THE FIRST AND ONLY EUROPEAN UNDERWATER MUSEUM

MY FIRST DIVE

LET’S DEEP DIVE

Have you ever been to such an unsual museum?

You May Also Like

Wine tasting in Lanzarote

The genius of César Manrique

Leave a Reply Cancel reply