The Deepest Swimming Pool in the World, Nemo 33

When you think you’ve seen it all you discover the deepest Swimming Pool in the world, Nemo 33 in Brussels, Belgium. In addition, it is possible scuba dive up to the floor, 33 meters underwater if you have the right certification. At that time I was a PADI OpenWater certified and I was able to dive up to 18 meters, which is the limit of my license. For certified divers the price of diving for one hour, with all equipment included is 22 EUR. For those who do not have a license but want to take a baptism dive, the price is 30 EUR, but it is necessary to schedule a dive instructor beforehand. The non-certified can dive up to 5 meters, which I definitely do not recommend, because it will not be fun. I went with Edita and Martin there, they hosted me in Brussels through the couchsurfing. As they had not scheduled, they could not dive because of the lack of an instructor.

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The diving process is very well organized and dives as made every one hour.I booked my dive for 6PM and I had to be at 5:45PM at the main entrance, where the previous preparations take place. First we changed clothes and left our stuff in a closet that costs 0.50 euro cents. The key stays on a plastic wristband in your wrist and is waterproof. Upon arriving at the pool, we got 10 minutes to swim and set ourselves at the pool temperature, which is relatively high (30 degrees). One curious thing is that inside this pool there are exercise bikes.

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After this ambience we have about 5 minutes to equip ourselves. We chose the vest of our size, we take a full cylinder, and for those who did not brought fin and mask, they provide it. We assemble the equipment connecting vest, cylinder and regulators and after testing everything, we go to the water with the complete equipment. As the water temperature is high, there is no necessity to wear swimsuits.

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I paired up with a French dive master and his  daughter because as a rule of the license it is not allowed to dive alone. One of the most interesting parts of the pool is the windows that allow you to see Nemo33’s restaurant. In addition, inside the pool there is a white globe, that I took photographs with a GoProHero Black 3+.

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When you reach the deepest part of 33 meters, you can see a wind rose far in the bottom. A ladder is available for those who want to hold themselves during descent or climb.

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After about 50 minutes, we returned, unequipped ourselves and return the material in its proper place. The dive master signed my dive logbook stating that I performed the dive on site.

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In addition to the restaurant, there is also a dive shop, a gym and a bar / lounge. I went up to 18 meters and I really enjoyed this landmark, my twelfth dive, but this time, in the deepest pool in the world!