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Mexico PacificBaja, Mexico is surrounded by some of the most biologically diverse water in the world. San Benito Islands is a small slice of this pie and is a blast from the past! I like to compare it to California diving of 75 years ago, California diving is fantastic, but the environment at San Benito Islands is like California on steriods!
San Benito Islands is 279 miles south of San Diego, California and is only accesible from a live aboard dive vessel and typically on a trip with a minimum of a 7 day itiinerary. Horizon Charters Live Aboard Adventures is the only live aboard company that is regularly servicing this amazing destination, and has been doing so since 1994.
San Benito is not for the novice diver and takes a full day of travel to reach. Regular departures from San Diego, California take place during the best months to dive this amazing destination during the months of June - September.
When diving San Benito expect to be surrounded by life on every dive. Not only are the kelp forests absolutely amazing, the mixture of temperate and tropical species of fish, as well as three different species of pinneped are quite often too much to absorb on every single dive!
Even though San Benito is far south of sunny Southern California, do not sign up expecting to encounter large pelagics, i.e., whale sharks or mantas. We have seen these animals here, but they are not an animal that frequents San Benito's waters.
For more information about this truly unique biologically diverse destination go to:
website more info about San Benito Islands, Baja including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United States PacificSan Clemente Island is just one of the eight islands that make up the Channel Island chain off of the coast of California. Each island is uniquely different and amazing to behold above and below water.
Kelp diving is the order of the day at San Clemente, and the best way to get to this offshore oasis is onboard a live aboard dive boat. Horizon Charters Live Aboard Adventures has been taking divers to the Channel Islands since 1981, and through there customer service and attention to safety and detail is one of the best live aboard operations in the world.
The kelp forests of San Clemente are an underwater oasis, where you'll be able to encounter sea life as small as a nudibranch to the goliath giant black sea bass (Up to 500 pounds!). The vibrancy of color underwater during a dive through one of San Clemente's kelp forests is truly amazing. The sunrays penetrating through a kelp forest on a beautiful summer or fall day add an element of awe to any diving experience. I like to compare kelp forest diving to a stroll through a healthy redwood forest, with one exception. Instead of looking up at the trees from the bottom, you can fly through the forest tree tops looking down at the sea floor that can sometimes be 100 feet away! A truly amazing experience!
Night diving in a beautiful kelp forest adds another element of wow to the entire experience. Mix in some California sea lions, maybe a 1000' fish school of mackerel, and an occasional 5 - 8 foot soupfin shark and you've completed the total California and San Clemente Island kelp forest experience!
Check out Horizon Charters Live Aboard Adventures at:
website more info about San Clemente Island, California including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Cayman islands Caribbean SeaA great shore dive operated by Divetech in Grand Cayman. Mini wall ranging to 60 feet jsut minutes off shore offers a large variety of sponges, gorgonians, corals and reef fish inlcuding a tarpon cavern. The deep wall is accesible from shore (starting at 60 feet and dropping into the abyss) - about a 10 minute surface swim. All ameneties needed are onsite including setup benches, shade, Restaurant, retail shop, showers and restroom facilities, rental equipment. Great marco opportunities in the shallows are afforded. Rebreathers welcomed. Open 7 days a week from 7am to 5pm.
more info about Turtle Reef including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Kenya Indian OceanHave ben diving at Shark Point several times with Peponi Divers. Its a PADI and BSAC diving centre. Shark Point was my No.1 dive site because it was very colourfull and there is a wide range of under water life. We had a good chance to spot 5 White Dip Reef Sharks, 2 Green Turtles and a big range of different fish at the same time. Also we spotted a huge Patatoe Grouper. The top of one dive wes to see a Whale Shark on the surface. We could swimm with the giant for about 10 to 15 minutes. I can really recomend the diving at Mombasa North Coats as it was my first time to dive in Kenya. I will deffenetly go back there to enjoy some more wonderfull dives.
All the best to Chris, the owner of Peponi Divers Mombasa
more info about Shark Point including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Ecuador PacificExploramar Diving is the only PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center authorized in Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, also DAN Business Members (Divers Alert Network). Our crew with PADI Instructors, Divemasters and Marine Biologists highly qualified guarantee a first class service and a safety dive. All of our tours are conducted by experienced guides and are carried out in your own language.
website WOLF AND DARWIN ISLANDS Wolf and Darwin are the north western islands of the archipelago, famous because they are the most exciting and desirable dive sites in the world. Strong currents are the ruling feature of these singular dive sites, where a diver can station himself at a rock to watch giant schools of every kind of fish drift past. The sites are especially known for the high presence of hammerheads and big galápagos sharks as well as marine turtles, various types of rays, mantas, dolphins, moray eels, and invertebrates. Here, you may live the unique experience of finding yourself with the greatest fish of all, the Whale Shark, between June to October.
ACADEMY BAY At Santa Cruz Island. This is the bay of Puerto Ayora at Santa Cruz Island, offering 5 dive sites within 10 or 20 minutes by boat from our Dive Center . Three of the sites are generally calm with little current; ideal for students or novices. At the other two sites the dives could be a little more complicated if there is current, so they are suitable for intermediate or expert divers. It is possible to see reef fish, sea lions, sting rays, golden rays, eagle rays, invertebrates, morays, garden eels, turtles, marine iguanas, and white tip reef sharks.
SANTA FE ISLAND This island is about an hour away from our Dive Center, and offers 4 dive sites. Generally the waters are clear and the currents mild, so they are ideal for novices. At the same time, the animals and topography make them interesting for intermediates and experts. We can see reef fish; sting and eagle rays, garden eels, turtles, sea lion colony, invertebrates, morays, pelagic fish, maybe white tip reef sharks or hammerheads.
FLOREANA ISLAND Floreana is about 90 minutes south from our Dive Center. The 9 dive sites usually have calm water but when we find strong current at one we can quickly move to another. This makes Floreana ideal for all levels of divers. You may see coral heads, endemic black coral, reef fish; sting and eagle rays, turtles, sea lion colony, barracudas, pelagic fish, white tip reef sharks, galápagos sharks, hammerhead sharks, sea horses, morays, garden eels, invertebrates.
NORTH SEYMOUR ISLAND This island is about 90 minutes north of our Dive Center. There are 5 dive sites suitable for all levels of divers, although sometimes the currents can be strong. We can see reef fish; sting and eagle rays, a large garden eel colony, turtles, invertebrates, sea lion colony, morays, pelagic fish, and usually white tip reef sharks and hammerheads. Occasionally the galápagos sharks.
GORDON ROCKS This rock formation is a world famous dive site close to Plazas Islands, about one hour from our Dive Center. There are 5 dive sites in the area, but only the three at Plazas are for novices. The other two sites are for intermediates and experts because there can be strong currents and surge. The Gordon Rocks dive sites are mostly walls with a deep bottom. Reef fish, large pelagic fish; golden, sting and eagle rays, turtles, sea lion colony, endemic galapágos fur seals, morays, invertebra
more info about Galapagos including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Indonesia Timor SeaTo quote a dive guide's words: "This site is the ancestor for pelagics!"
This is a seamount in the middle of a narrow strait. First time I dived here it was a hand to hand grasp on the baren rock to get across the top of the seamount at around 12-14meters. Once you get over the northern side of the seamount it is a drop off with a ledge around 25-35 meters. During good season; april to november, the visibility is incredible; 25meters +. At first you see shadows - big shadows. And it materialized... huge dog-toothed tunas, each as big as a cow! These can number in the 30s or more. The corals are mostly short and mixed with soft corals, very colorful, but with all the pelagics around you forget it existed. Just to sum it up, big-guys I've seen here: Napoleon wrasse, eagle rays, cheveron barracudas, big-eyed trevally, giant trevally, giant grouper, black-tipped, silver tip, white tip sharks, thresher shark (this one was huge!), and ofcourse the ever-present dogged-toothed tunas. Side note: I read in a guide book about the giant grouper here, 2 meters and not a cm smaller. yah, right. Right? But guess what? I did see it. no kidding, big as an VW bug! even them grey reef sharks kindof stay away from it. However it was on its way somewhere though, didnt stay around too long.
However this site isn't for the faint of hearts. You'd first of all need a very good guide who can determine the best time to dive here, as you may wait up to 1/2 hr or more here just to wait for the current to slow down. Even while waiting you might think you're in the middle of a white-water rafting trip in a river rapid! besides that you can even see wake on the anchor line! Once it settles down (not completely, because you want to arrive in the ledge at min current) you go down the line hand-on-hand to the top of the mount and grasp the baren rock to move forward. But once you're on the ledge it's calm enough, even to move around. This site isn't like other sites where you constantly move about, more like staying put on the norther ledge which is about 30 meters long, between 20-38 meters. Watch your air-carefully as you may go deep here and you'd definitely needed the safety stop here. Obviously this site ain't for beginners. I'd suggest min experience of 100 dives or more. Another thing: having a glove helps...
Another reminder, this site is also not for those who don't listen to their guides; or for those who thinks they know everything, no matter how many dives you had. With this sort of attitude you definitely could get into trouble here. You basically dive during tide-interval, and they varies. When the tide changes, you have to get out of there, and I don't care how much air you got left. If you think you don't get your dive worth (air/time wise), suck it up on the boat! Once the current gets moving, even boats can't move forward here! (I have seen; not just once but many times, boats moving backwards here. An experience skipper would go very close to the island [kepa island] where the current subsides or move in opposite direction) not to mention a diver!!!
Alor area dive sites are excellent by any standard. Straight walls full of corals down to 50meters plus with vis up to 30M or more. But once you've been here and seen the pelagics, thats it. Its like narcotics, you just want to come here again and again. One trip me and my mates were diving here for 4 dive days I think, gues how many time we dived here? 6 times!
For those of you who like to dive here can get in touch with me: blueplanetbali@indo.ne.id. With 4 trips and about 40 dives + in this area, I can say that I know quite a bit about this area...
more info about Kal's Dream, Alor islands including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Brazil Atlantic (South)Situated in the Região dos Lagos, the city is famous among the scuba divers and those who love the sea. White sand beaches and crystal clear waters are an invitation to relax.
Arraial is strategically located near to Cabo Frio and the sophistication of Búzios. All this intense night life is close to the charming comfortable pousadas of Arraial.
Distance (approximately): 180km from Rio de Janeiro. 15min from Cabo Frio and 30min from Búzios.
How to arrive:
Bus: regular lines leave the Terminal Rodoviário Novo Rio (bus station)
Car: use the Via Lagos highway until Cabo Frio, then take the proper exit to Arraial do Cabo.
More than 40 dive points scattered around the small bay formed by the continent and the Cabo Frio Island. The map above indicates just a few of these points.
Depths can vary from 12m to more than 50m in some spots.
During the dives you will be able to observe turtles, moray eels, large schools of fish, sea horses, rays, octopus and much more.
For the experienced diver we offer the chance to explore underwater caves, historical shipwrecks and submersed canyons.
The rocky bottom is covered by rigid and soft corals, sponges of many different shapes and colors.
Making the submarine scenario very special.
Dive Center:
Dive Point Atividades Subaquaticas
click here to email website If you fly into Rio de Janeiro and have a little time, it definitely pays to visit this dive shop before planning your diving in Brazil.
The friendly staff will gladly help you book your trip and can tell you about other great dive destinations in Brazil as well.
more info about Arraial do Cabo including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Italy Mediterranean SeaPool Diving offer the best cave diving in the Mediterranean Sea at very low prices. We are open all year around and we have 1 large steel boat (17mts) and 2 dinghies. We provide a transfer service and we also help our customers to choose the most suitable accommodation according to their needs. For more info: 0039 079 979229; mailbox@pooldiving.com;
website more info about Alghero and its dive sites including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Portugal AtlanticIt's THE MAGICAL PLACE. At 13 meters you have a seamount with hidrotermal activity. This brings lots of live to the surface and unique life forms in shalow vents. Schols of Barracuda, tunas, bonitos and other pelagic fish are a certain! Be carefull with boilling water, gas, ammonia and currents or swells. Once I broke a camera there! Check out some photos at http:andrebarreiros.blogspot.com
more info about D. João de Castro Bank including maps, reviews, and ratings...
New Zealand PacificBeneath the waves at the Poor Knights an ocean of diving has been compressed into a relatively small area. The caves, arches, tunnels and sheer cliffs provide a great variety of habitats to explore.
From turbulent sunlit waters and kelp forests on the upper reaches of the tumbling "giant staircase," to the dark waters of the islands' many caves, the Poor Knights offer an extraordinary variety of underwater experiences. Sponge gardens and gorgonian fields are inhabited by a myriad of fish, shellfish, urchins and anemones, with black coral found in deeper waters.
The steep cliffs, which fringe the islands, plunge 100 metres below sea level in places before reaching a sandy seafloor.
The arches are some of the most interesting places to explore. A rich nutrient soup is washed through them, feeding the countless animals that compete for space on the walls. Squadrons of stingrays can also be found cruising the waters of the archways during warmer months.
Many of the subtropical fishes living in the marine reserve are found nowhere else in New Zealand, having found their way to Poor Knights on the subtropical East Auckland current. Some of the fish include subtropical species such as spotted black groper, mosaic moray and Lord Howe coralfish. They are renowned for their friendly nature and make visiting the marine reserve a truly memorable experience.
Nursery Cove, The Gardens and some of the shallower parts of the South Harbour are the best places for novice divers. Experienced divers can find spectacular and challenging dives all around the islands.
more info about Poor Knights including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Ireland AtlanticFungi the dolphin was there in 2005 when I went.
The local dive centre said he wasn't really interested in divers and you would be lucky to get a dive with him.
There's a lot of competition with the local fungi watching boats during the day anyway
But you can be reasonably sure of snorkelling with him if you get up early enough. Don't bother paying for a guided snorkel, just go to the bay next to the lifeboat station as early as you can. If he's there, you might get lucky
more info here
website more info about Fungi the Dingle Dolphin, Ireland including maps, reviews, and ratings...
MexicoSitting in the middle Baja California Sur's premiere marine reserve, this site sits in shallow water giving plenty of bottom time. On a good day, all that bottome time is needed to fully take in all there is to offer at this site. The water temperature ranges between 60F and 90F, giving an amazing variety of life during a year.
You can find everything from the tiniest Nudibranch and shrimp, to the largest Whale Sharks and Manta, depending on the time of year.
Shoals of a variety of fish abound, including shoals numbering well into the thousands of Jacks. Occasionally Sea Lion grace the waters as they feed in the waters.
A large variety of Eel, and tropical fish are to be found on the reef all year round.
Rays of several varieties, including impressive shoals of Bat Rays, Golden Cow Nose Rays and Mobula Manta can be seen during the year.
There is a variety of both hard and soft coral abounding the structure surrounded on all sides by sand. The site is not the largest, however there is so much to see that you have more than used your botom time before coming to the end.
The people at Vista Sea Sports, located in Buena Vista (about 1 hour north of San Jose del Cabo) are a great friendly bunch and are willing to help in any way they can.
website For the non diving member of the group, they offer snorkelling trips to a nearby remote beach. The ride is about an hour by "Panga", and during the cooler season, whales are often seen on the journey. Dolphins occasionally make their apearance in the waters on the way to and from the dive sites.
Although El Bajo has the most life, there are several other fascinating sites in the area. All dive sites in the area are very distinct from one another in their structure.
more info about El Bajo, Cabo Pulmo Marine Reserve including maps, reviews, and ratings...
French Polynesia Pacificthis dive is amazing. starting outside the pass (during the incoming tide) the zodiac drops you into the blue. by the time you meet up with your buddies under the boat, the sharks are already arriving, usually oceanic silvertips, silkeys and reef. dropping down to about 40 metres you will probably see a great hammerhead or two cruising the outer edges of the pass , usually they trail the large schools of eagle rays that cruise the area. if the visability is good you'll be able to see literally hundreds of sharks circling a submerged seamount below you. catching the tide you'll pick up speed as you "fly" through the pass , as hundreds of barracuda, the resident dolphins and some really big mantas glide past. ducking into one of the small caves is a great way to get out of the current and watch the amazing show , its also where you'll find the "sleeping" sharks . as you drift through the pass you'll be gradually getting shallower until you arrive in the lagoon and the end of an amazing ride . and like all great rides the first thing you want to do when its over is do it again.
more info about Rangiroa atoll including maps, reviews, and ratings...
New Zealand PacificDive site is real choice. Middle arch is what it is, It's a large swim through which is equally exciting during the day as at night.
Large fish are found on the odd day, with the odd sting ray. I have just come back from a live aboard week end when i had chance to dive this wounderfull location at night. Fish life was abundant from the moment we entered the water until we surfaced.
At 17 metres I had the chance to video my dive buddy stroke the snout of a large sting ray just resting at the bottom just past the kelp line. It was amazing to see it eyes just flicker and it's lip turn up. Middle arch is home to all types of fish species some I have yet to learn the names of.
Another good dive is just out side of the arch where there is a large cave enterace where it is quite easy to enter, once inside it is fun to find a frog and teddy bear that some one had put there some years ago, always a thrill for tourist to find. The cave enterance is in about 14 metres of water and at the back you can accend to approx 8 metres where there is a air bubble you can swim up to and investigate, always good to see your self if you have a strong lite in the reflection of the water as you brake through. Before leaving the cave on our last dive it was just incredible the amount of big eye fish we encounterd just hanging around the enterance from blackness to the deep blue reflection from the outer enterace of the cave.
This dive site and many others can be found at the poor Knights !3 miles outside of Tutukaka north island of New Zealand
more info about Middle arch including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Tanzania Indian OceanDiving expedition liveaboard in the Northern part of the Mozambique channel, for active diving holidays in a heavenly setting.
Have you ever dreamt of taking part in an oceanographic expedition? Yes? Then you are most welcome to The Kairos Company.
The Kairos Company organises 4 expeditions a year, each spanning a two or three month period, with a real mission, a goal you’ll help achieve as part of a team comprising the Expedition Leaders, the technicians, and the crew, all united in the same spirit of adventure.
Each expedition is divided into periods of 7 to 10 days, enabling you to bring your own stone to the final result. You will be given the opportunity to act as a scientist, an explorer, a discoverer, and will never forget it.
more info about The Kairos Company including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Egypt Red SeaEel Garden dive site is located in the Ras Mohamed Park. The site is right in between Jackfish Alley dive site (north) and
Sharks Observatory (South). The dive can be done by boat or shore. The dive normally starts at a shallow cave, 0.5 meters
at the surface down to a depth of approximately 5 meters. Starting from the entrance of the cave, there is a sloping sandy bottom with a huge population of Garden eels (which are endemic to the Red Sea). Once you have seen the Garden eels and cave, you can then either move north towards Jackfish Alley or south towards Sharks Observatory. The current can be
in any direction and if diving from boat it is better to do the dive as a drift dive, as the current can be strong at times.
If moving north towards Jackfish Alley, you will find a wall type reef, starting at the surface dropping down to about 13 meters, from this depth it becomes a sloping reef with coral pinnacles and sand down to a depth of 35 meters.
At 35 meters is basically a sand "road", approximately 50 meters wide. If you continue into the blue will you find satellite reef, which varies in depth from 26 meters to 40 meters +. I have encountered Grey reef sharks and huge shoals of
barracuda / jacks on the satellite reef. The main reef itself offers lots of caves, with glassfish, groupers, lionfish, moray eels, scorpionfish, crocodile fish, turtles etc. If you do this dive in the afternoon, you will find many jacks passing by in the
blue.
If moving south towards Sharks Observatory, you will find a wall type reef, starting at the surface dropping down to 50+ meters. Approximately 30 meters from the eel garden at a depth of 18 meters, are some nice pinnacles with lots of glassfish and groupers. Moray eels, lionfish, scorpionfish, snappers, napolean wrasse, turtles, eagle rays, electric rays, blue spotted rays have all been spotted at this site. If you keep your eye on the blue you will see jacks and barracuda passing by.
The reef to the south also have lots of caves and overhangs.
more info about Eel Gardens, Ras Mohamed Park including maps, reviews, and ratings...
East Timor Banda SeaLocation: 29.3km West of Dili. Find the Indonesian military graveyard for Indonesian soldiers killed during the 24-year occupation and park near the piles of white rocks.
Entry: The entry is straight out from the NW corner of the enclosure. Gradual entry on small rocks and sandy bottom.
UW profile: To the West there are coral gardens with brain coral formations. To the East, the area is marked by a predominantly sandy bottom with large coral formations. The sandy bottom is covered with small holes where hot water and gas caused by geothermal activity are escaping.
Points of interest: A large coral formation to the NE of the entry point holds several Moray eels. The sandy area is often frequented by blue spotted rays.
Topside There are no trees near the entry point but 100 - 120 meters to the West there is a large tree with good cover.
Go to
website for a list of dive operators in the area.
more info about Bubble Beach including maps, reviews, and ratings...
East Timor Banda SeaLocation: 9.5 km West of Dili. A few hundred meters after passing the Pope's monument and right before the big rock turn right on the dirt road to the water's edge.
Entry : Big rocks on entry then sandy bottom to a gradual drop with the reef to the west
UW profile: Initially, sandy bottom with coral cover on the slope ranging from 5 - 21 meters.
Points of interest: Coral garden slightly West of the entry point at 3-5 meters depth. Coral head at 20 meters with interesting mix of fish, moray eel, groups of 5-7 lionfish. Also seen: Puffer fish, turtles, ghost pipe fish, stone fish, frogfish.
Great place for night dives since it is only a 15 minute drive from the center of town.
Topside: Open expanse with no trees.
Go to
website for a list of dive operators in the area.
more info about Popes' Monument including maps, reviews, and ratings...
East Timor Banda SeaLocation: 36.3KM East of Dili. The turn off for Black Rock is right before the small ridge which overlooks Dollar Beach. Turn off the road and follow the tracks between the trees to the water.
Entry: Black Rock is a beautiful dive, but can be very challenging if the currents pick up during the dive. Consult the tide charts before you go. (See Tide Charts at left). Avoid times when the tide is changing especially during neap tides. Avoid diving here if the water looks as if it is "boiling". There can be three different currents acting on this site at the same time, Northward, Eastward and Westward. The most popular entry is on the East side of the rock in order to circle around the rock to the West and then back to the beach. The first part of the entry is marked with a flat shelf of broken coral. At low tide this can make for a bit of a walk before it starts to get deep.
UW profile: There is a wall to the East of the rock with depths up to 20+ meters. There is a gradual decrease in depth going Eastward towards the rock. Once around the rock and on the return to the beach, there is a nice coral garden ranging from 3-5 meters depth.
Points of interest: Two large cracks in the wall on the East side of Black rock hold many fish in small caves in the sides of the wall. Also seen: lobster, nudibranchs (various).
Topside: There are some shade trees near the water which can make for a nice picnic spot.
Go to
website for a list of dive operators in the area.
more info about Black Rock, Dili including maps, reviews, and ratings...
East Timor Banda SeaLocation: 44.5KM East of Dili. Coming down over the ridge after Behau Village the turnoff is marked by a rock with "HB" painted on it. Follow the tracks 15-20m to the water's edge.
Entry: The beach is covered with medium sized smooth rocks. The entry is gradual starting with rocks, going to sand and then coral gardens to the West.
UW profile: To the West, a gradual slope is covered by low lying coral leading to larger coral formations, small walls and coral covered ledges.
Points of interest On entry and after the rocks there is a group of several dozen garden eels that live in the sand at about 5-6 meters depth. One of the ledges further West, is covered with two giant clams approximately 50cm in length, at 9-10 meters depth. Also seen: Napoleon wrasse, lobster, banded sea snake.
Topside: The area at the water's edge is nicely covered with trees and great for picnics.
Go to
website for a list of dive operators in the area.
more info about Behau Forest (Bob's Rock) including maps, reviews, and ratings...