Home to one of the world's most sought after wreck dives, the President Coolidge.

The scuba diving in Vanuatu is superb and offers reef and wreck dives suitable for the novice and experienced divers.

The President Coolidge is the largest, most accessible shipwreck in the world and considered by many people to be the best wreck dive in the world. A 654 foot long luxury liner, she was converted to a troop carrier during the Second World War. While entering Santo Harbour on 26 October 1942 she hit two "friendly" mines.

Almost completely intact, you can swim through numerous decks and holds observing the many reminders of war. You can also see the famous "Lady", a porcelain statue that is positioned above the fire place in the smoking room and one of the most famous wreck diving icons in the world. Diving on the President Coolidge is broken up into many different sites with dives to suit every experience level. The 'Coolidge' is off the island of Espiritu Santo and is recommended only for the experienced divers who have several days to explore.

If anyone would like more information, just email us and we'll assist. Click for more pictures and information about the "Coolidge".

Dive sites include:

• Twin Bombies : There are two 'bombora' formations and a sheer wall on this dive. The grottos and coral are alive with a variety of welcoming fish. 32 feet on top of the reef to 60 feet over the drop-off.
• Fila Island Reef : Just 15 minutes from the dive base with a depth of 20 to 50 feet. Lots of colorful coral and a variety of colorful small fish.
• Blacksands Reef and Caves : 26 - 45 feet with a variety of fish and rays on the sandy bottom. There is a series of interlocking caves and swim-through tunnels honeycombing this reef.
• Mele Reef : An extensive reef that rises up in the middle of Mele Bay to around 20 feet from the surface. There are lots of dives around here - a good one is along a vertical wall to a shallow reef to finish.
• Cathedral : A delightful dive in a vast cavern off the Pango peninsula to 85 feet. Shafts of light create unusual effects. You can swim through to the back and up a 'chimney' to a large pool on the surface inside the reef - then back to the outside and along the wall to explore and look out into the deep open ocean.
• Ollies Lolly : Near Hideaway Island this is a large bommie starting at 30 feet. A range of hard and soft corals and heaps of fish - large and small. Great for photography.
• Konanda : This is a lovely wreck dive. Konanda sits on a flat, sandy bottom at 85 feet with her derricks and rigging reaching up to within ten metres of the surface. She is an Island Trader, 146 feet long, which was damaged in a cyclone in 1987 and deliberately sunk for the delight of scuba divers. She has been carefully prepared so penetration into the cabins and holds is totally safe. An ideal introduction to the fun of wreck diving.
• Star of Russia : This grand old lady of sailing ship days rests in Port Vila Harbour. She's 260 feet long and 42 feet wide and down 107 feet. Divers can swim through the body of the ship, swim up the three massive masts, around the romantic, shapely bow and check out the wheel, rudder and anchor machinery. There's some history here too. The Star of Russia was built by Harlan and Wolff of Belfast who also built the Titanic. It was also part of a race between herself and one of the new steamships in the early 1900's. The race was from England to Australia. They took different routes (as 'Russia' was subject to the prevailing winds) and the sailboat took the honors with the steamship three days behind!
• Tasman : Here's a dive with a difference - a Qantas S26 Sandringham Flying Boat. A bulky plane with a wingspan of over 97 feet. The dive begins at the tail, down over the body to the nose where you can climb through the cockpit window and out the other side. Divers need to plan for 130 feet here. This plane was also a record breaker - she was the first to cross the Tasman Sea from Auckland to Sydney in under eight hours! (Today it's around two.)
• Semle Federsen : A cargo-carrying trading vessel which was sunk along the Pango Coast in Mele Bay in 1985. Now home to lots of plants and animals, the stern area, cabins and wheelhouse can be dived within 130 feet. The visibility here is outstanding (200 feet) and the whole ship can be seen at a glance while descending the mooring line. A valuable dive as a build-up for divers wanting to take on the 'President Coolidge' in Santo.