Okinawa Blue Cave

Good swimmers and divers can visit the Blue Cave independently, walking down the cliff steps from Maeda Misaki, and then swimming roughly 330 feet (100 meters) to the cave entrance. Tour groups often use dive boats to reach the entrance, with the benefit that the equipment doesn’t need to be carried up and down the cliff.

There’s only one access point to the cave, and it’s from here that lines form. Tour groups stop to feed the fish at this point, meaning you can spot some sea life while you wait. If you’ve booked a tour on a bad weather day—windy conditions close the cave—many tours offer the nearby Maeda Flats as an alternative location, which is accessible whatever the weather.

• The Okinawa Blue Cave site is considered easy enough for first-time or beginning divers and snorkelers; however, experienced divers may find it underwhelming.

• Independent visitors should check the Okinawa Blue Cave flag on the Cape Maeda website before a visit. Blue means it’s open; yellow means only groups with diving companies are allowed; red and orange mean it’s closed.

• Water shoes are a good idea to protect your feet.

• Familiarize yourself with the common underwater nasties; sea urchins, stone fish, and sea snakes are sometimes seen here.

• The Maeda Misaki parking lot has public restrooms, showers, lockers, and cafés.

Okinawa’s Blue Cave sits on the main island’s western coast, south of Onna, on the headland known as Cape Maeda. Drivers can pay to park at the Maeda Misaki parking lot, then walk the steep cliff steps down to the ocean. Buses are infrequent, with often complicated journeys, so taxis are an easier option for car-free travelers. Otherwise, organized tours offer pickups from select Okinawa hotels or transport from their diving shops.

The Blue Cave is quieter in the off-peak season, when the weather isn’t too cold—May, June, September, and October are all good months for a visit. Aim to get there in the early morning, after breakfast, to beat the large groups that arrive later on. Remember that the sunlight plays an important part in the light aspect of the experience, so sunny days are always best, and in any case, entry to the cave is forbidden on windy days.

If you want to see more marine life than human life, there are other options. The nearby Manza Dream Hole offers descents for advanced divers down to 98 feet (30 meters), or the sheltered bay of Gorilla Chop, near Motobu, offers beginner-friendly calm waters and coral. Although they’re a little further away, the Kerama Islands are easy to reach by boat from Naha. Here, the remote islets of Aka, Tokashiki, and Zanami offer coral-rich snorkeling in the shallows.