Estonia - Rummu - diving trip

A trip to Rummu, Estonia, is an exciting option for both beginner divers and experienced divers looking for new destinations. It’s a fairy-tale-like place offering a variety of underwater experiences: submerged architecture and machinery from a former quarry and prison, as well as a wealth of flora and fauna in a relatively shallow body of water with excellent visibility. Moderate temperatures allow for wet suit diving even in October.

Diving in Rummu – The Submerged Gulag. October 14–18, 2026

Rummu in Estonia is my favorite place. It’s the discovery of a lifetime. An incredible spot that combines the charm of a quarry with crystal-clear water, a fantastic lake teeming with marine life, and submerged industrial infrastructure. There used to be a prison connected to the quarry here. Several buildings were erected in the quarry basin, a long wall was built, and huge mining machines were set up. All of this ended up underwater when the decision was made to cease quarrying operations. This now offers a unique opportunity for urban exploration diving. The body of water isn’t deep—the maximum depth is about 13 meters at its deepest point. In parts of the former quarry, visibility often reaches 10 meters. In the area where the buildings are located, the depth ranges from 5 to 6 meters.
The buildings are small and often open on several sides, so navigating inside is straightforward, and you can enter them with basic diving certification.

Underwater, the Wall and the Buildings are definitely worth visiting; right next to them is an incredible flooded forest. This is the farthest part of the reservoir for us; halfway across, you’ll also find the Barracks and the Pumping Station (the deepest spot—the building housing the dewatering machinery—lies in the deepest basin of the reservoir). In addition, it’s worth checking out the triangle of mining machinery and simply enjoying a few great dives in the old part of the excavation site, located closest to our lodging facility.

For more details and an interesting account of my experiences from my trip to Rummu, visit my blog Nurkolog.pl – “Rummu – in Faraway Estonia”

Price – 2,500 PLN

The price includes
Accommodations in cabins at the Paekalda resort. Loft-style dorms for 4–6 people, double rooms, and cabins for 6–8 people. Rental of a motorized raft to transport us to dive sites throughout the reservoir. Dives from the raft and from the shore.

The price does not include
Transportation by Nurbus (depending on the number of people—likely approx. 500–700 PLN). Diving equipment rental. Diving tank refills (we’ll likely bring a compressor from Poland; alternatively, we’ll refill at a partner dive center near Tallinn)—estimated costs: twinset 50 zł, 15-liter tank – 35 zł, 12-liter tank and smaller – 25 PLN. Meals are on your own (the cabins are equipped with decent, fully-outfitted kitchens; there are barbecue areas and a campfire site; we’ll chip in 150 PLN each for group grocery shopping).