Diving deeper, longer, and into unknown places has long been the dream of many divers. Hence, the reason for increasingly advanced dive gear, more complicated gas mixtures, and specially-designed submersible-suits. If you're one of these budding explorers who just can't seem to get deep enough, then I've discovered your next trip: you'll be heading into the abyss with Deep Ocean Expeditions. Who knows, while vacationing up to 17,000 feet below the waves, you might discover a new species!

Deep Ocean is the brainchild of Australian adrenaline-junkie Mike McDowell, founder of Quark Expeditions. Deep Ocean -- as the name suggests -- explores the nether-regions of the oceans using 25-foot-long MIR submersibles. Rather than just take you down, show you around, and then surface, however, Deep Ocean "educates through exploration." In other words, you'll be treated to in-depth discussions by noted experts who will explain what you're seeing. Happily, the deep blue company is decidedly green: all their visits to the seafloor are conducted with "negligible or no impact on our oceans."

In addition to visiting hydrothermal vents around the world, Deep Ocean has taken passengers to wrecks like the Bismarck, and subs, including Komsomolets, Kursk, and the I-52; they even assisted James Cameron in the making of Ghosts of the Abyss. In the coming years, Deep Oceans' crew will be making trips to explore shipwrecks of the Mediterranean and -- in my mind, the most intriguing -- the Coral Triangle area off PNG. Unfortunately, these trips don't come cheap: according to the itinerary (PDF), a 15-day visit to PNG will cost between $4850-$6300, depending on berth selection. To help you decide if that kind of cash outlay is right for you, check out Deep Ocean's small but sweet video gallery. You'll be asking, "Where do I sign?"

[Via X-Ray Mag]