P.O.D.I.

Blue Hole — Dahab, Egypt

PODI Plan: Swim the Arch on single tanks. Air only. No guide line. No redundant light. No computer. No buddy separation protocol. No contingency plan. No idea what the current is doing. No backup gas. No timing. No deco obligation awareness. No narcosis management strategy. No exit plan. No check-in with surface. No concern.

Dahab's Blue Hole features an "Arch" — a 26-meter tunnel at 55 meters that is famous in the dive industry as the kind of thing you attempt only with proper training, equipment, and gas planning. Kyle has none of those things. He watched a YouTube documentary about the site and paused it during the parts that looked hard. "The Arch is just a swim-through," he says. "People overthink it." Kyle will be descending with a single aluminum 80 tank that he acquired for free from a man who was "moving to Arizona." The tank's hydro date is 2018. Kyle "can't remember" if it was filled with air or "something else." He has packed one dive light, which he bought at a gas station in 2019. The light does not have a backup because "it's brand new" (it is not brand new). No dive computer — "I'll use the sun." No redundant gas — "I'll hold my breath." The dive plan: "Swim in, find the Arch, go through it, come out the other side, ascend. Simple." Kyle has not considered what happens if the viz drops, if he gets disoriented, if the Arch is longer than expected, or if narcosis makes him forget which way is up. "I'll figure it out," he says. "I always do." The rest of the trip includes 6 days of "whatever feels right" — no itinerary, no schedule, no dive plan. Just vibes.

🔵 8 days / 7 nights — $2,799 — No buddy checks. No briefing. No plan.

Thinwana Kandu — Maldives

PODI Plan: Dive a known accident site with zero cave training. Single tanks. Air only. No guide lines ("they ruin the photos"). No silt protocol. No navigation plan. No understanding of overhead environment hazards. No respect for the 30m recreational limit. No backup whatsoever.

Thinwana Kandu made global headlines in May 2026 when an experienced group of divers became lost inside its two-chamber cave system at 50-58 meters and never made it out. The cave consists of two chambers connected by a 3-meter-wide tunnel, with a sandy bottom that turns to zero visibility at the slightest fin movement. PODI's expedition leader Tiffany Reef has done extensive research — she saw the incident trending on social media and read the headline. "The photos from inside the cave are incredible," she says. "The lighting is perfect for portrait mode." Tiffany will be navigating using her phone's compass (in a waterproof pouch from Amazon) because "I have good spatial awareness." She has not taken any cave diving course. She has not practiced any silt-out procedures. She does not know how to run a guide line. She brought a GoPro, her iPhone, a ring light attachment, and a reflector card. "I have a vision for this shoot," she says. The dive plan: "We'll go in, I'll get some shots, we'll come back." The backup plan: "We'll figure it out." No reels. No stage bottles. No redundant anything. "It's only 50 meters. That's not even deep." She says this while holding the trip itinerary she printed on pink paper.

🇲🇻 10 days / 9 nights — $4,499 — 0 cave certifications among the entire group.

Eagle's Nest Sink — Florida, USA

PODI Plan: Penetrate a silt cave with no guide line. Single tank, air. No redundant light. No silt protocol. No thirds rule awareness. No concept of lost-line procedure. No primary reel. No backup reel. No practice. No plan for zero viz. No idea what the Grim Reaper sign means.

Eagle's Nest Sink has a warning sign featuring the Grim Reaper. It says "Do not dive unless you are a certified cave diver." Chad "No-Stop" Thunderson saw a photo of the sign and said "I want a selfie with that." He is not a certified cave diver. He has never taken a cave diving course. He has read zero books on cave diving. When asked about the thirds rule, he said "I don't drink, so I don't care about thirds." (He meant gas management. He doesn't know what gas management is.) Chad's equipment for the dive: one aluminum 80 tank filled with air from a compressor that he "found behind a dive shop." One dive light purchased at a pawn shop — "it turns on, that's good enough." No backup light — "I'll use my phone flashlight." No guideline — "we'll feel the walls." His dive computer is a watch he bought at a gas station in 2022. He has not checked the battery. He has not checked the o-ring on his tank. He has not checked his SPG — "I'll know I'm low on air when I can't breathe." Chad's pre-dive ritual: "I stretch my hamstrings and think positive thoughts." He has packed trail mix and a can of Monster Energy for afterwards. "I'm gonna send it," he says. He is referring to a cave that has killed divers with full cave certification, rebreathers, and years of experience.

🇺🇸 5 days / 4 nights — $1,699 — Full cave certification not required. Actually discouraged.

Boesmansgat — South Africa

PODI Plan: Descend into a 283-meter deep shaft. No trimix. No rebreather. No staged decompression. No understanding of high-pressure nervous syndrome. No concept of helium's purpose. No idea what 283 meters of water pressure does to the human body. No plan for the body recovery equipment entanglement scenario that killed two people here.

Boesmansgat is the third deepest freshwater cave on earth and the site of diving's most infamous body recovery gone wrong — Dave Shaw's 2005 descent to recover Deon Dreyer's remains, which ended with both divers entangled at 270 meters, their bodies rising together three days later. Derek "The Bend" Compress watched a YouTube video titled "Deepest Cave Dive Ever (GONE WRONG)" and his main takeaway was "I could do that." Derek has practiced his entanglement drill in Kyle's 1.5-meter backyard pool using a garden hose. He practiced for 15 minutes. He got tangled twice. "I learned what not to do," he says. He is not sure what he learned. Derek's descent plan: "I'll go down until it feels sketchy, then I'll come up." He has set his "turn pressure" at "whatever's left when I decide to turn around." He is bringing a backup mask from 2015 with the strap held together by a zip tie. His dive computer is a Casio watch from 2008 that cannot measure depth. "I'll count meters by feel," he says. He has printed and laminated directions to the nearest recompression chamber. The directions are from Google Maps and include a note that says "turn left at the big rock." He has not checked if the chamber is operational. "Probably," he says. He will be descending on a single tank of compressed air. When asked about narcosis at depth, he said "I'm naturally narc'd anyway." He winked. It was not reassuring.

🕳️ 7 days / 6 nights — $3,499 — Weight belt included (you will need it). Chamber directions laminated.

Plura Cave — Norway

PODI Plan: Attempt one of the world's most dangerous cave traverses. No rebreather certification. No scooter training. No drysuit experience. No cold-water cave protocol. No concept of 130-meter depth on the body. No buddy separation plan. No entanglement procedure beyond "figure it out." No backup for any single piece of equipment.

Plura is a world-class cave system in northern Norway that claimed two Finnish technical divers in 2014 — documented in the film "Diving Into The Unknown," which Gary "Cross-Thread" Wrench has watched six times. His reaction after each viewing: "I could do that. Those guys just made mistakes." Gary's equipment: a rebreather purchased off Facebook Marketplace from a seller whose profile said "diving stuff — sold as is." The unit is a "Kiss Classic" from approximately 2009. Gary has pressure-tested it in his bathtub. "It held air for 10 minutes," he says. "That's enough." The water in Plura is 4°C year-round. Gary owns a 7mm wetsuit with a torn zipper that he "fixed with duct tape." He has also packed a "waterproof" jacket from a camping store that he plans to wear over the wetsuit. "Two layers is basically a drysuit." He has not taken any rebreather course. He has not dived a rebreather before. He watched a 45-minute YouTube tutorial called "Rebreather Basics for Beginners." He skipped the section on CO₂ scrubbing because "it seemed complicated." The expedition plan: traverse from one cave entrance to the other through passages as narrow as 1 meter wide at depths exceeding 130 meters. Gary's backup plan: "I'll just switch to open circuit if anything goes wrong." He does not own a bailout cylinder. "I'll use my buddy's." His buddy does not know this. The Norwegian Speleological Society has been notified. They sent an email that said "we strongly advise against this." Gary replied "noted" and continued packing.

🇳🇴 8 days / 7 nights — $4,299 — Rebreather instruction manual not included (Gary lost it).

Tank Cave — South Australia

PODI Plan: Enter one of the longest cave systems in the southern hemisphere with zero cave certification. No guide line training. No navigation protocol. No understanding of 10km of passage complexity. No exit strategy beyond "follow the mannequin." No respect for CDAA access restrictions. No permit. No clue.

Tank Cave stretches over 10 kilometers beneath a sheep paddock near Mount Gambier — a labyrinth of low-ceilinged passages, narrow restrictions, and silt-covered floors that have claimed the lives of divers who knew what they were doing. Access requires advanced cave certification through the Cave Divers Association of Australia, which requires dozens of supervised dives, theoretical exams, and demonstrated competency. PODI has none of those things. Instead, we have Bubbles the Mannequin, who has been promoted to "Senior Cave Navigation Consultant" for this expedition. "Bubbles floats," explains Kyle. "If we tie a line to Bubbles and send him into a passage, we can see which way the current is going. Then we go that way." Bubbles was issued a plastic slate with the word "EXIT" written in permanent marker. Bubbles cannot read. Bubbles cannot swim. Bubbles is a plastic mannequin that Kyle once used as a Divemaster candidate as a joke that became official policy. The guideline for the expedition will be a 50-meter clothesline purchased from a hardware store for $4.99. "It's the same concept as cave line," Gary insists. "It's rope. It goes from one place to another. I don't see the difference." The group will not be doing a buddy check because "we know each other." They will not be doing a gas-matching drill because "we all have the same tank, roughly." No one has a dive plan written down. "We'll figure it out when we get there." Bubbles has been briefed. Bubbles has no questions.

🇦🇺 7 days / 6 nights — $2,999 — Bubbles included. Clothesline included. Permit... pending.

Hranice Abyss — Czech Republic

PODI Plan: Dive the deepest flooded cave in the world. No rebreather. No trimix. No understanding of CO₂ toxicity. No concept of acidic water effects on equipment. No drysuit. No staged decompression capability. No support divers. No surface gas supply. No idea that the air above the water is unbreathable. No fear.

Hranice Abyss descends over 450 meters underwater — the deepest flooded cave on earth. Its water contains 1,500-2,500 mg/L of dissolved CO₂, making it a weak carbonic acid that stings exposed skin. The air pocket at the surface is so rich in CO₂ that it is unbreathable — divers must stay on tank gas even before entering the water. A permanent decompression habitat is installed at 10 meters because the ascent from any real depth takes hours. Chad "No-Stop" Thunderson heard the words "deepest in the world" and immediately booked a flight. "I've been deep before," he says. When asked how deep, he said "I hit 50 meters once on a single tank." He does not see the difference. When told the water is acidic, Chad said "so it's spicy water." When told the surface air is unbreathable, Chad said "I'll hold my breath until I'm underwater." Chad will be diving in a 7mm wetsuit with a hood he bought at a surf shop. "It's for cold water," he says. The water is 4°C and acidic. His fins are from 2004. His mask has a crack he "fixed with superglue." He has one dive light that he tested by turning it on in his living room. The beam is yellow. He didn't test the battery life because "it's a new battery" (the battery came with the light when he bought it used in 2017). Chad's ascent plan: "I'll come up slow." He cannot define "slow." He does not know what a decompression stop is. He does not own a deco gas. He does not own a computer that supports multi-gas mode. He does not own a computer at all — "I'll use my phone." The Czech Speleological Society sent an email titled "URGENT: DO NOT DIVE HRANICE ABYSS." Chad deleted it. "Negative energy," he said.

🇨🇿 6 days / 5 nights — $3,899 — Acid-resistant exposure protection not provided. Chad declined.

Twin Cave — Florida, USA

PODI Plan: Cave dive with no cave training. No redundant gas. No light redundancy. No silt protocol. No guideline discipline. No knowledge of the 2025 rebreather incident on site. No understanding that narrow clay tunnels at depth become death traps when silted out. No perception of risk. No panic plan. No plan at all.

Twin Cave is one of Florida's most popular cave systems — clear water, wide entrance, extensive passageways that narrow into tight, silty restrictions. In March 2025, an experienced rebreather diver died here after silting out a 2ft x 3ft clay tunnel, bailing off his functioning rebreather into open circuit, and draining a full 3,200 psi bailout cylinder in 10 minutes because stress destroyed his gas consumption rate. His body was found in zero visibility, his rebreather still functional. Brenda "No-BCD" Wave's reaction to this story: "That's why I don't use rebreathers. Too complicated." Brenda's equipment for this dive: one aluminum 80 tank, one set of fins, one mask, one dive light that she "found in a parking lot." No backup light — "I trust my eyes." No backup mask — "I've never lost a mask." (She has lost three masks.) No backup anything. Brenda's dive plan: "We'll go in and see what happens." She has set no turn pressure. She has no maximum depth. She has no maximum time. She has not discussed a lost-line procedure with her buddy because "I won't lose the line." She has packed snacks in her BCD pocket — beef jerky and a bag of gummy worms. "Diving makes me hungry," she explains. When asked about the silt in the narrow sections, she said "I won't kick." She always kicks. The cave entrance has a sign that says "Cave Divers Only Beyond This Point." Brenda read it and said "I'm basically a cave diver." She has zero cave dives logged. She has zero full cave certifications. She has zero understanding of why that sign exists. She stepped past it anyway.

🇺🇸 4 days / 3 nights — $1,499 — Cave certification: not required. Common sense: not included.

Great Barrier Reef — Australia

Reviewed by: Skip Stevedore

I took the S.S. Liability out to the Great Barrier Reef and immediately ran into problems. First, they have designated mooring points. You can't just drop anchor. I anchored on a coral head by accident and three different boats came over to "have a word." One of them called the coast guard. I told the coast guard I was a licensed captain. They asked for my license number. I gave them the one I wrote on my arm before leaving. They didn't accept it. Second, the visibility was 30 meters. That's suspicious. I don't trust water I can see through. Third, they have a "no diving alone" policy that they enforce. I told them Skip dives alone. They said "not on our reef." I snuck in a solo dive during surface interval when everyone was eating lunch. No safety sausage. No surface marker. No one knew where I was. I surfaced 200 meters from the boat. No one noticed. The Yongala wreck was "too intact" — I prefer wrecks that have fallen apart so you can explore the inside. They said "you can't penetrate that wreck." I said "watch me." I got stuck. I got unstuck. I lost my fin inside. 2/5 stars. Also they charged $45 for a "marine park fee." I told them I was the marine park now. They didn't think it was funny.

Great Blue Hole — Belize

Reviewed by: Chad "No-Stop" Thunderson

Everyone said "it's the best dive in the world." I showed up. I descended. I saw stalactites. That's it. No coral. No fish. Just stalactites. The max depth is 40 meters. I hit the bottom in 2 minutes on a single breath from 10 meters because I wanted to see how fast I could go. My ears hurt for three days after. Worth it? No. There was one other diver on the descent line with me and he kept checking my depth. Mind your own computer, buddy. My buddy — some random guy who was assigned to me — did a "decompression stop" at 5 meters. I don't do decompression. I surfaced right after. The boat captain yelled at me. The other divers looked annoyed. I don't know why. I was having a great time. They wouldn't let me take my scooter — "No DPVs allowed" — so I tied it to the mooring line and it drifted into the wall. Lost $800 worth of scooter. Over it. The dive operator also made me do a "pre-dive safety check" which is 5 minutes I'll never get back. 2/5 stars. If you want to see a hole, look at a drain. Free. Better.

Molokini Crater — Hawaii

Reviewed by: Tiffany "InstaBreathe" Reef

I was so excited for Molokini. Every influencer goes there. But honestly? The lighting was terrible. We had to dive in the morning because of wind, which meant the sun angle was all wrong for content. Also there were SO many other divers — I kept getting photobombed by people in rental gear. I tried to get a shot of me ascending through the crater wall with the sun behind me and some guy's fin entered the frame. Unusable. I also broke the dive briefing rules — the guide said max depth 15 meters and I went to 28 meters because the lighting was better. My phone case said it was waterproof to 15 meters. It was not. I lost $899 worth of phone. No photos from the deep part. Not my fault. They should have better phone cases. The divemaster started doing headcounts every 5 minutes because he "noticed I wasn't following the plan." Rude. I got one good shot of my mask reflection in the shallow part. That's it. I also tried to feed a fish my snorkel mouthpiece for content. The fish swam away. The divemaster gave me a "talk." 2/5 stars for content. Would not recommend for my followers. They expect quality.

Koh Tao — Thailand

Reviewed by: Kyle "Dropout" McSplash

I went to Koh Tao fully expecting to find my people. I did not. Every dive shop there follows the standards. ACTUAL standards. I walked into one and asked about their Open Water course and they started talking about confined water sessions and knowledge development. I said "can't you just text me the PDF at 2 AM?" They said no. I asked how long the course was. They said 4 days. I laughed. They didn't. They have a pool. A real one. With a "No Diving" sign that they actually enforce. I tried to demonstrate a cramp removal drill with one of their students — we weren't even in the water yet, I was just showing him on the dock — and the instructor asked me to leave. I told him I was a Lead Instructor from PODI. He had not heard of us. I explained PODI's methodology. He asked me to leave again. I tried to do a mask-off swimming drill at Sairee Beach without telling anyone. A local divemaster saw me and started blowing a whistle. I don't know why. I was just doing a skill. The viz was too clear. Water should have character. Koh Tao is great if you like "rules" and "safety briefings" and "people checking your certifications." I do not. 1/5 stars. Too many standards.

Cozumel — Mexico

Reviewed by: Brenda "No-BCD" Wave

I went to Cozumel expecting freedom. I got policies. First, they insisted I wear a BCD. I said "I don't believe in them." They said "it's our insurance requirement." I wore it but didn't inflate it. I did the entire dive with a deflated wing because I refuse to compromise my principles. The current was so consistent and predictable it was boring. No challenge. No fight. Nothing. I tried to swim against it to create some excitement and ended up lost for 20 minutes. The divemaster found me. He looked annoyed. He asked to see my dive computer. I don't own one. He asked what my max depth was. I said "I don't know, I was feeling it out." He asked how much air I had left. I didn't have an SPG. I had a 2016-era aluminum 80 that I never got around to having tested. He cut the dive short. Everyone was mad at me. I tried to go through a swim-through I found off the mapped route and a coral head fell on me. The guide said "stay on the buoy line." There are too many rules in Cozumel. 1/5 stars.

Sharm el-Sheikh — Egypt

Reviewed by: Derek "The Bend" Compress

Sharm is supposed to be one of the best diving destinations on earth. I went to Ras Mohammed National Park. The visibility was 40 meters. The coral was pristine. The marine life was abundant. I hated every second of it. The dive center was so professional they did a full equipment check before letting me in the water. They found a crack in my regulator hose. I said "it's fine, it only leaks when I turn my head." They confiscated it and made me rent a new one. $45 for a hose I didn't need. The guide gave a full briefing with hand signals, depth limits, and a dive plan in writing. A DIVE PLAN. IN WRITING. They also did a headcount after every dive. 12 of us. They counted 12. Every single time. I tried to sneak a solo exploratory dive during the SI. A zodiac came after me. I had no SMB, no surface signal, no way of knowing the boat would come looking for me because I didn't think they would notice. They noticed. The manager gave me a "warning." He said "if you dive alone again, you're off the trip." I said "my certifications don't require a buddy." He asked to see my certifications. I showed him my PODI certification. He had not heard of PODI. I explained PODI. He started writing on a clipboard. I don't know what he wrote. 3/5 stars. It's the Apple Store of diving.