Prerequisites
Have these sorted before you begin; they cannot be fixed mid-run:
- A checklist for untracked sets
- An hour or two per full set
- A helicopter or plane for rooftop and mountain items
- Story progress to the point where the relevant character or equipment is available
Doing GTA underwater secrets the right way
Treat this as a checklist on the first run and a reminder on every run after:
- Check the trigger conditions for GTA underwater secrets: time of day, weather, 100% completion, a specific protagonist or a mission already finished.
- Set up: use a save with 100% if the secret needs it, set the time by sleeping at a safehouse, and arrive before the window opens.
- Approach the way guides specify - the Mount Gordo ghost appears between 23:00 and 00:00 and vanishes if you get close; the Fort Zancudo UFO sits at 3:00 above the base.
- Verify against a dated source, because mods and fan videos have added fake secrets that spread faster than the real ones.
If a step fails, the troubleshooting notes further down cover the usual causes.
Pro tips for ocean secrets GTA
Shorter notes, each one worth a minute:
- →Director Mode lets you preview reward vehicles before you earn them.
- →The golden peyote needs 100 percent completion, foggy weather and the early-morning window on specific days.
- →Military base entry: Fort Zancudo gives four stars on entry; approach from the northern cliffs and drive straight to the hangar.
- →Sonar on the submarine beeps faster as you near a collectible.
- →Bigfoot: as Franklin, 'The Last One' Strangers and Freaks mission unlocks at 100% and has you hunt the Sasquatch.
Our guide to GTA Bigfoot goes through the same ground from the other direction.
Checklist: GTA underwater secrets
Print this or screenshot it; it is the page in miniature:
- ☐Record or screenshot immediately; some secrets despawn after one trigger per in-game day.
- ☐Move to related secrets nearby; Rockstar clusters them (Mount Chiliad, the Alamo Sea...
- ☐The underwater UFO wreck north of Paleto Bay needs no conditions - it is always there for anyone with a sub or scuba gear.
- ☐Franklin's Chop can bark near some hidden items in the Chop app era.
GTA underwater secrets: the numbers
These are the figures we check against after each update:
| Set | Reward | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 50 Hidden Packages | Underwater cash bundles | Not required for 100 percent |
| 25 Under the Bridge | Low-altitude flights under bridges | Any helicopter is easiest |
| 30 Nuclear Waste barrels | 23,000 dollars each plus a 250,000 dollar bonus for all 30 | Needs the Sonar Collections Dock and the submarine |
| 50 Spaceship Parts | Omega's strand; reward is the Space Docker | Far Out mission starts it |
| 5 Epsilon Tracts | Part of the Epsilon Program strand | Michael only |
| 50 Letter Scraps | Leonora Johnson murder; reward is the A Starlet in Vinewood mission | Any character |
| 10 Monkey Mosaics | Reward is the Go Go Monkey Blista | Next-gen versions only |
| 50 Stunt Jumps | Counts toward 100 percent; 25 required | Also shown on the in-game map after discovery |
Three rows carry most of the weight: 50 Hidden Packages, 25 Under the Bridge and 30 Nuclear Waste barrels. The remaining entries explain the exceptions.
Avoid these with GTA underwater secrets
These are the errors we see most often with GTA underwater secrets:
- Collecting with one character when the set is character-specific
- Assuming an online guide's numbering matches the in-game order
- Walking up to the Mount Gordo ghost; it disappears when approached
- Searching for the jetpack from the Chiliad mural; it was never in story mode
- Looking for UFOs without 100% completion - the Zancudo and Chiliad craft need it
Several collectible sets unlock exclusive rewards - the Space Docker, the Go Go Monkey Blista, a 250,000 dollar bonus for nuclear waste - that never appear otherwise.
The dates and prices here are shared with best settings GTA 5; if one changes, both pages are updated.
Go deeper
Further reading on the GTA series, picked for overlap with GTA underwater secrets rather than popularity:
- ↗GTA secrets - GTA Secrets Every Player Should Know Hidden Gems
- ↗GTA 5 underwater - GTA 5 Underwater Secrets Submarine Locations
- ↗best GTA games ranked - Best GTA Games Ranked All Time Tier List 2027 Worst to Best
- ↗best GTA games ranked worst best tier list 2027 - Best GTA Games Ranked Worst to Best Tier List 2027 Complete
When it does not work
Before you report a bug, try these:
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Reward did not unlock | Some rewards require a follow-up call or mission after the last item. |
| Item not spawning | Check character, time, weather and whether the required strand is active. |
| Counter stuck | Reload the save and revisit the location; a few items register only after a reload. |
Which approach fits you
Different starting points call for different GTA underwater secrets plans:
Condition checklist
List the trigger conditions, set them all, then go. Most 'it did not work' reports are one missing condition.
Underwater sweep
The Kraken or Dinghy for the sunken UFO off Paleto Bay, the hidden packages and the shipwrecks; the Zodiac Dinghy is enough.
Myths vs facts
Popular belief versus what the game actually does:
| Claim | Reality |
|---|---|
| The Chiliad mural hides an unsolved jetpack puzzle | Rockstar added the jetpack to GTA Online instead; the mural's known elements have been found. |
| You need every collectible for 100 percent | Only specific sets count; hidden packages and others are optional. |
| Bigfoot roams randomly | He appears in a scripted mission and as a peyote transformation under specific conditions. |
Why GTA underwater secrets matters in 2027
The Mount Chiliad mural sent players searching for a decade; the resolved parts (UFOs, the Sasquatch, the hidden UFO wreck) are all repeatable with the right conditions, and the unresolved parts are probably art, not puzzle.
Collectibles count toward 100 percent, which is required for the golden peyote and a handful of other secrets.
- ✗Not saving between regions
- ✗Trusting modded videos of secrets that do not exist in the base game
- ✗Skipping the submarine and trying to free-dive to deep items
Context before tactics
Rockstar's secrets fall into three kinds: scripted (the Mount Gordo ghost appears every night), conditional (UFOs need 100% completion) and misread (random shadows and textures). GTA underwater secrets needs to be sorted into one of those before you spend time on it.
The Mount Chiliad mural sent players searching for a decade; the resolved parts (UFOs, the Sasquatch, the hidden UFO wreck) are all repeatable with the right conditions, and the unresolved parts are probably art, not puzzle.
GTA underwater secrets is one of those tasks where a plan saves hours: the items are fixed, the map is big, and the only variable is the order you visit them in.
Collectibles count toward 100 percent, which is required for the golden peyote and a handful of other secrets.
New and returning players: the steps assume nothing, and the tables give veterans the numbers they came for.
A common follow-up is GTA 100 percent easy; it uses the same session setup.
Final word
Strip GTA underwater secrets down and it is a handful of facts and one sequence. The facts are in the table; the sequence is in the numbered list. Everything else on this page is insurance.
The GTA 6 trailers show a map with wetlands, keys and small towns - exactly the terrain Rockstar likes to hide collectibles in. Expect a far larger hunt after November 19, 2026.
For the next step, see best GTA cheats and best radio stations GTA.
