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See our Red Sea Section.
"There are some amazing dive sites in Israel from wrecks to marine life. Both in the Med and Red Sea. Wreck site: the Italian Submarine Sire that was sunk by the Brits in WW2 not far from Hiafa Harbor. Marine life: the area of Park Ach ziv. There's diving here all year round. Archology diving at Ceasira or Dor. There is an underwater museum at Caesara. The museum is about the ancient Roman seaport of Caesara Maritna on the Med coast. You dive along a wire with a map. Each exhibit is number so you understand what you are seeing. Fasinating place all exhibits are in shallow water no more than 7 meters. I've dived there on several occasions. "Israel Dive Operators:Dive Tel Aviv Diving Center
Rauven Schneider
Ha Yarkon st. 117
Israel
Tel: +972-54-6627044
E-mail: info@divetelaviv.com
Dead Sea Divers
Dead Sea
Israel
Tel: +972-3-5407638
E-mail: info@deadseadivers.com
"Dive in the Dead Sea like you've never dived before"Muscat
"Surprisingly good, gentle diving. I visited Oman at Easter last year, the water temperature was a warm 26 degrees, and a 2/3mm wet suit is fine. It's a great place for the novice or for people who don't like deep diving as you are unlikely to get much below 15 - 20 m in most of the regular dive sites. Saw the usual culprits: sweetlips, cuttlefish, turtles, morays, etc - lots, really. The corals were mostly hard: cabbage and plate, staghorn plus anemone coral. Not quite the same standard as say the Red Sea, but not bad nonetheless. Oman itself is a great place to visit. You must hire a car and take time out to visit fishing villages and old Portuguese forts. There are 2 main dive centres in Muscat. As I did not want to stay in a posh hotel, who have their own dive operator or sub to Blue Bubbles, I stayed and dived with the Oman Dive Centre, whom I completely recommend."Oman Dive Operators:GLOBAL SCUBA, P O Box 309, Medinat Sultan Qaboos PC115 Oman
Iona Hill
Tel: +968 99317518
Fax: +968 24692346
enquiries@global-scuba.com
http://www.global-scuba.com/Ocean Boat Diving, P.O Box:495 P.C 133, Muscat, Oman
Tel: (+968) 926 45 889
Fax: (+968) 926 45 889
E-mail: info@scubaoman.com
Offer PADI diving courses and daily dive trips. Can arrange accomodation and transportation.Oman Dive Centre, P. O. Box 199, Madinat Al Sultan Qaboos P. C 115, Sultanate of Oman
Tel: (+968) 24824240
Fax: (+968) 24824241
Email: info@omandivecenter.com
"There are 2 main dive centres in Muscat. As I did not want to stay in a posh hotel, who have their own dive operator or sub to Blue Bubbles, I stayed and dived with the Oman Dive Centre, whom I completely recommend. They are headed by Bernard, French guy and his Dutch girlfriend. The Oman Dive Centre is located on the beach and there are dolphin trips you can take, trips into Muscat to souks etc. It's a nice and laid back place with a good atmosphere, but about a 45 min drive from Muscat airport."
Iona Hill
"The Arabian Gulf is mucky and not as good as the Red Sea. They do have some neat fish but that is about it. They throw buses and cars in the water as a natural coral. The visibility is about 3 meters. Stick with the red sea. "See also: Our Saudi Arabia Red Sea section.
Joseph Bergeron
" In the UAE, the better dive sites are: Sharm Rocks, Energy Determination wreck (used to be world's biggest tanker) and a few other notable ones - ask a local diver. Tourists, please be advised that if you ever need a dive chamber in the UAE, you are going to struggle. The only way to get one, is to phone around the offices of the ship-repair companies, and try to "bum" and beg the use of their chamber. There are no readily accessible chambers for the public. And forget about having a chopper evac you "DAN" style- it likely ain't gonna happen, Ace! If you bend, the likely scenario is that you'll be sitting inside your hotel room for hours on end, waiting for a locally-based recreational diver to "beg" a chamber-time favor on your behalf from his informal contact network in the ship-repair industry. "Snoopy Island
Dale
Rating:
"Snoopy Island is an idyllic dive site in Fujeirah. Opportunity to see Black Tip Reef sharks, turtles, and sting-ray. Deeper dives available - but round the island great for a first timer!
We stayed at Sandy Beach Motel - cheap friendly and much more hygienic than the youth hostel! Ask for a sea view! Dive centre is next door. It costs 1600 Dirham for a full Open Water course (£240 GB May 2004). Perfect for a relaxing weekend break to get away from the hubbub of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Professional and fun diving."
Kathryn Harter
"Snoopy Island is a little island about 150 to 200 m out to sea. You can walk to it at low-tide. It's a nice, safe little place for newly licensed Open Water divers, or, for those seeking an easy "sun-bathing and dive day" at the beach. By no means, though, can it be descibed as a "top dive". I have dived Red Sea often, as well as Sipadan and Maldives, and Snoopy Island, although a pleasant little place, is probably about 45% as good as a place like Yolanda Reef in the Red Sea. You cannot even put the names on the same page!Martini Rock
Let's get real: with the average depth being around 10 m, you just don't see pelagics, and, the reef is nothing to write home about either. It might make it into the Top 500 dive-sites if you're lucky. Please forget about diving anywhere in summer (June to August), unless you can handle daily outside tempaeratures of not less than 45 degrees centigrade, and humidity that fogs your sunglasses.
Try diving a place called the Musandam, which is a province of a neighbouring country called Oman- a few minutes boat ride further along the same coast as Snoopy Island. Now THAT is incredible diving! Dolphin sightings are frequent, and the diversity of sea-life could get a few of the Musandam's dive sites into the Top 100 in my humble opinion.
In the UAE, the better dive sites are: Sharm Rocks, Energy Determination wreck (used to be world's biggest tanker) and a few other notable ones - ask a local diver. "
Dale, 2005
Rating:Inchcape II
Three Big Rocks lying underwater with Teddy Bear corals. The best dive site in UAE. Many different kind of fishes in the marine life like Snappers, pufferfish, honeycomb morey eel, yellowmouth moray eel, etc. Try to look at the deep site on the rock, you will find a couple of beautiful nudibranch or if you are lucky, you will see also sea turtle on the surface or underwater. "
Sys
Rating:Musandam Sites
"A very accessible, fairly shallow, small wreck site, but with luck you can find sea horses, frogfish, nudibranch and rays along with the more routine morays, and reef fish. "
Richard
Rating:Dibba Rock, Fujeirah
"A wide range of exciting dive sites a few hours away. Pelagics as well as the reef species. "
Richard
Rating:Further reading: UAE Underwater Explorer: covers the top dives sites around UAE.. Dive Operators:
"It's a strange location to try and boast as a number 1 dive site however if you want a dive location that should guarantee over the course of a week the following, then go to Dibba Rock. Visibility is never brilliant - mostly OK. Mantas, Rays, Black tip and grey reef sharks, Whale sharks, All the usual tropical fish in huge abundance plus massive shouls of barracudas, snappers, trevallies. Loads of turtles, cuttle fish, and more. I dived Fujeurah for years - never really appreciating it until I clocekd up hundreds of dives around the world. Fujeirah itself has little to offer - but hey you're only there for the diving. Check out Freestyle divers in Fujeirah."
Brendan Coote, Ireland, 11 February 2011
Al Boom Diving, Al Wasl Road, Dubai, Tel: 04 342 2993, Fax: 04 342 2995, abdiving@emirates.net.ae
Pavilion Dive centre, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, Tel: 406 8827 Fax 348 4754, phil.oshea@thejumeirahbeachhotel.com
Scuba Dubai, Trade Centre Apartments, Block C, Dubai, Tel: 04 3317433, Fax: 04 3310680, info@scubadubai.com
Scuba International, Heritage & Diving village, Dubai, Tel: 04 393 7557, Fax: 04 393 7883, scubaint@emirates.net.ae
Scubatec, Sana Building, Dubai, Tel: 04 334 8988, Fax: 04 336 6461, scubatec@emirates.net.ae
Blue Dolphin Diving Center, Inter Continental Hotel, P.O. Box 5204, Dubai, Tel: 04 666 9392, Fax: 04 666 6800
Freestyle Divers, Dibba (Royal Beach Hotel) Dive Centre, Tel: +971 9 244 5756, Fax: +971 9 244 5836, e-mail: freestyle@eim.ae
Scuba 2000 Diving Resort: Rating
Al Bidiya Beach, Half way between Khorfakkan and Dibba, Tel: +971 9 2388477, Email: scubauae@emirates.net.ae
Have 2 comfortable rooms accommodation only for divers. Book in advance. 200 dirhams (2005).
Sandy Beach Motel
Sandy Beach Motel has an onsite dive facility, that was very well run by a company called Al Boom Marine. For some reason, Sandy Beach ejected Al Boom perhaps 3 years ago. Sandy Beach Motel now runs the operation- or, what's left of it. The retail shop has degenerated into an empty shell, with hardly any equipment on sale. Their website still advertises them as a "5 Star PADI Diving Centre", and a "PADI Training Centre". I really do not see how. The reality of the situation is that there are no class-rooms, and until about 6 months ago, there were no instructors nor dive-masters either. The boat skipper would simply ferry you out to the dive-site, and provide a rudimentary briefing about the site. No-one would accompany the divers at all. Diving with Sandy Beach is ok if you do not need hand-holding, and if you are a resident expat in the UAE, who accepts that you aren't going to get many world-class diving facilities in these parts.
Dale, 2005
Divers Down: Rating
Oceanic Hotel in Khor Fakkan on the UAE's East Coast.
Good value for money by UAE standards. This is the closest dive operator to the sites such as Martini Rock on the East Coast of the UAE. They also organise regular weekend liveaboard visits to the dive sites of the Musandam Peninsular. They are a full PADI Gold Palm and IDC centre with well qualified staff and high standards and in our experience take great care of their clients.
Richard, 2005
Please our Brazil diving section...
Further reading: The Rough Guide to Brazil (Order from the UK)
Lonely Planet Brazil (Order from the US)
"Water a little murky as fed by rivers. However, very large wildlife: lobsters, sharks, turtles, all oversized (lobsters up to 15 lbs). depth range 50-150 ft, large rocky bottoms, boulders, formed shallows where life is abundant. very remote "
"Murkiness was okay because of all the creatures. "Los Roques
Krent, 2007
"The National Park the Roques is located about 150 km north of the Central Coast of the state Vargas of Venezuela. The Archipelago the Roques, comprises about 42 small barren islands and 200 keys and banks of sand that include a surface of but of 221,000 Hectares and separated of the neighboring islands and the continental coast by depths superior to the 1000 m.s, bathed by warm oceanic waters (25?-30? C) all the year and under the tradewinds influence that blows of the E or of the E-NE. The coralline, ambient reefs are exceptionally varied in habitat where small spaces of rompientes and calm waters are generated and zones of lights and total shades of nutrients. Of great commercial value they are the pargos, rabirrubias, carites and mere; and greater value still has the thorny lobster, since more from 90% of the national production it comes from the Roques."Venezuela Dive Operators:
Pedro R Marquez G, Eco-Challenge Ecotourism and Adventure company
Learn Spanish and Dive, Jakera Lodge, Playa Colorada, Venezuela. info@learnspanishanddive.com
"30 ofshore islands, untouched, real! Very good value for money - spanish, accommodaton, meals and diving all for about $300 USD per week. Not as touristy as other places - diving was very good - lots of fishlife. Would rank it in the top 10% of my dives - but not top! "Blowing Rock, Big Corn Island, Nicaragua
Tara Burke G, 2006
" Big fish, turtles, pinnacle out in the middle of the Caribbean, untouched. "The Wreck of the RMS Rhone
Justine, 2007
"The Rhone because it is blanketed in color -- encrusted in coral and sponges. You almost always see turtles and barracuda and it's teeming with fish: sergeant majors, angelfish, parrotfish, durgon. But it's a popular dive site for other reasons as well. It is the wreck of a 310 foot steamer that went down in a hurricane in 1867. She's in two sections. The bow is about 150 feet long and at about 70-80 feet of water. You can swim inside. You can see the bowsprit, foremast with crow's nest, a cannon. Stern is in 30 feet with a huge propeller
Kathy Brandt
"The best place to dive in Argentina is in Valdez Pen?nsula, in the Golfo Nuevo (New Gulf), there is a City there called Madryn and a small village call Puerto Pir?mide. The water is a little cold, between 8 and 20 ºC. I recommend going between November and March, the whales are between June and November, but it isn?t posible to dive with them.
Alejandro
"Diving in Argentina is in cold waters (from 6 oC to 15). The best spots are are Peninsula Valdes and Patagonia/Ushuaia.
Peninsula Valdes is an Argentinian Marine Wildlife Reserve; home of dolphins and whales (even orcas), elephant seals, seal lions and penguins, which may be spotted and observed from a distance, although it is not uncommon to hear the whales' songs all the way through a dive! Among the dive sites two shipwrecks can be visited, sunk decades ago during storms. The best period for whales is from July to November. All Diving companies are in Puerto Madryn (outside the reserve, one hour drive from the reseve) and/or Puerto Pyramides, one and only pretty little town inside the reserve. For a honeymoon, I would advise to book in Puerto Pyramides : try Lonely Planet Argentina for more up-to-date details about lodging and diving. About my own experience of diving in there, try our Web Site here http://www.stp-trade.com/worldtour57.
In Patagonia, a dry suit is compulsory : the water temperature is about 6/7 celsius degrees at maximum. Ushuaia in Tierra Del Fuego, the biggest southern city in the world (the most southern City is Puerto Williams, a few miles more South), is offering some Diving Centers. I have not try.
Gerald
"There is some amazing diving in south east of Argentina, approx 800 km from BA. The name is Peurta Madryn. I was there out of season and did a few coldish dives with seals. theres also whale watching and from Oct to April and three types of penguins. Its a beautiful place too which I would highly recommend.
Steve
For the Galapagos see our Americas section, and Issue 90 of SCUBA News
You can dive all year round in Belize. The rainy season is from June to November, but showers are generally short and the visibility at offshore sites isn't usually affected. March, October and November can be windy. The best time for diving is probably between April and June.
Great Blue HoleRating:
"Ring coral reef surrounding a large hole. Dive 14 m to the edge of the hole and then drop straight down into the hole. Hole reaches 148 m but there is on overhead ledge at 25 m. Habitated by mako sharks and assorted large tropical fish. 75 oF at surface, 68 oF at 33 m.
Bob Hall
The Blue Hole is an amazing hole in the reef approx 2 hours away from Caye Caulker in Belize. It's 90 m in diameter and extremely deep. Once you have dived down approx 25 m, the hole opens up inside and there are amazing stalactites. The main life forms inside the hole are bull and lemon sharks. "
Vincent
Amazing dive...dropping down to 40 metres and swimming under the ridge between the rock formations while seeing sharks. Great dive! "
Sharon West
Incredible caverns with stalactites and stalagmites at 130 feet. Black tip reef sharks and hammerheads, plus many large groupers. "
Allison Stettler
"Quick descent to 40 m then swim through staligmites. Look for schools of carribean reef sharks between 80-20ft on the ascent. "
Frank
"Is there another sight like it? 100 ft visibility coming over the bathwater warm reef of vibrant colors, descending into a cool, deep blue hole where the water begins to waver and shimmer as you enter the transition from salt to fresh water at about 50 ft. Watching the enormous tuna and other pelagics dive into the hole to clean themselves as you briefly remove your octopus to taste the fresh water. Then descending another 70 feet to explore the stalagtites and stalagmites of ancient caverns and you come across a man sitting there drawing on a canvas. "Shark Cave
Rebecca Ramaley, 2007
"Bottom half of an hour glass, full of sharks. Vis = 80 m, water temperature = 30 oC. "Half Moon Wall
Tim Nicholson
"Excellent visibility, coral of vibrant colours and many fish - located just off Half Moon Caye. "Long Caye Wall, Glover's Reef
Allison Stettler
Rating:
"Dived the top of the wall during open water certification dives. Fantastic site, approached across sandy flats complete with garden eels and more. Huge coral formations rise above the top of the wall, plenty of Creole Wrasse, Nassau and Tiger Grouper, Barracuda, Stoplight parrotfish, Queen Angelfish and much more. Managed to miss an overflight of sea turtles on the first dive, as we were too busy taking in the sea life in the reef. Wide variety of corals: Staghorn, Elkhorn, Brain coral and numerous sponges and sea fans."Belize
Gordon Tingley
"You should take a look at Belize. I lived there for 10 years and found the diving to be world class. "Dive OperatorsTurneffe Island Resort
Phil Davies
"This is a little private island in Belize, located 35 miles off the coast. They offer 7, 4 and 3 nights all-inclusive diving packages. The lodge is only 5-10 minutes away from the best dive sites, with a maximum of 22 divers per week. Their 7-night dive package includes 17 dives, a day trip to Lighthouse Reef Atoll and the Blue Hole, and one night dive."Ocean's Edge, sroperville@yahoo.ca
See their promotional video.
info@turnefferesort.com
http://www.turnefferesort.com/
Off The Wall Dive Center and Resort, Long Caye, Glover's Reef Atoll, Belize, Central America. offthewallbze@xplornet.com
"One and a half hours off the coast of Belize, from Dangriga. Would definitely dive with them again."Further reading: Honduras and Belize: White Star Guides Diving North Rock
Gordon Tingley, 2006
" Coral Reef 8 miles Nort East of Bermuda. "Bonaire
Rehan Syed
Rating:
" Wonderful coral. Easy dive profile. 30 meter + vis. Great places to dine and comfortable places to stay. Also, the island is safe and friendly. What's not to love?
We really liked the Hilma Hooker dive site. Big, big wreck with nice sponges on it and fish in the vicinity. Plus it lies on the sandy bottom of a beautifully reefed slope. Pristine coral. Terrific soft fans and loads of fish. A dive with something for everyone. "
Jim Reilly
"I had heard and read about Bonaire for at least 20 years and was prepared for excellent macro-life. A recent Rodale survey even gave Bonaire top marks (or maybe #2) for small life.
To be candid, I was disappointed: The coral was fair in some places, but very good to excellent in others. There was some incredible night life - specifically a group of LARGE tarpon that were habituated to night divers and would zoom around you all dive long, using your dive light illumination as a hunting aide. These were easily 5 foot long fish and it was quite a thrill to have one come up from behind you and pass within a couple of feet.
But the macro life was disappointing compared to places in Western Australia and the Philippines, amongst other places.
That said, unless you WANT to spend days getting across the Pacific, Bonaire is a completely acceptable dive destination and I would go back without hesitation - just with slightly lowered expectations.
The island is set up wonderfully for shore diving with what has to be at least 3 dozen spots marked on the perimeter road. As the reef starts not more than 15m from shore it is a very easy place to dive.
Klein Bonaire, a km away, adds another dozen-or-two boat-only accessible sites.
And the reputation of the Town Pier is worth it for night diving, which is very easily done (though must be guided for a USD20 or so charge).
Re-breathers are available on the island for a reasonable charge, for those certified, or for those who want to learn.
All-in-all the diving wasn't as good as some Pacific locations or the Red Sea, but was better than some other locations.
Unfortunately I'm too jaded from years of going to lots of good dive places, many remotely located. If I had primarily experienced cold-water, or cloudy conditions, I would be thrilled with Bonaire. It is a fine place to go and my comments about being disappointed probably are MY problem, where most would have every expectation met or exceeded. How can you complain, in reality, when in a week you go to three dive sites that have seahorses?
Alan Gurevich
" I really enjoyed Bonaire in November. The water was crystal blue and visibility unbelievable. The marine life set the tone and moray eels from spotted to green 6 footers. The weather was sunny warm and the people were very good hosts. I am a member of NABS (National association of Black Scuba Divers) and our summit was held at the Plaza Resort of Bonaire. A great trip and a lot of dive sites. They even have good off-shore diving day and night. "
Terron (Mr.TEE) Whitehead NABS
--
"Karpata is great site from shallows to deep. Staghorn coral."
Les Dunning, 2006
--
"Lac Cai: Murky water with 100+ tarpons and then.....heaven. Eagle rays, stingrays, sometimes sharks. Big stuff."
Edwin van Velzen, 2008
--
"Hilma Hooker, Bonaire: Wreck dive-- very deep, but it was my first wreck dive and I was amazed!!! "
Shelly Gleaton, 2009
--
"Country Garden, Bonaire: Absolutely Breathtaking! "Dive Operators
Shelly Gleaton, 2009
--
Rating:
"I spent a week staying and diving at Buddy Dive Resort on Bonaire and was very pleased with the operation. Actually, I don't think, in 28 years of diving, that I've been to a better organised, more diver friendly land operation anywhere.Saba
They have the equipment room and tank storage set up so you can dive 24 hours a day, either off the dock or by taking tanks and gear and driving to tons of shore-dive spots.
The hotel part is made up of 1 - 3 BR condominium suites, with a couple of 1 BR hotel rooms available as well. There is a good on-site restaurant and the entire place is quite attractive with friendly staff.
One of the packages they offer includes a mini 4-passenger pickup, with a tank rack in the back, and they even have a drive through station to pick-up and drop-off tanks for shore dives, so you don't have to carry them to/from the dock. Nitrox is available at the dock and at the drive through."
Alan Gurevich
Rating:
" 80 ft + Vis, Turtles, Black tipped Reef Sharks, Slugs, schools of Jacks, some soft corals. Fathoms Mag describes this local to be one of the greatest dives, well I've seen better colour in Carmel, Calif. Pt Lobos. but the dive was still nice. The trip there from St. Martin cost $65 by cat, round trip. They supply beer, soda, bottled water. 1Hr.30 each way.Curaçao
Found out from some regular divers the Island of St. Martin diving was all but destroyed by a storm. The only good sites left currently are a wreck dive and Saba Island. "
John Nelson
Curaçao is an island of 180,000 people. It is 40 miles long and 3 to 5 miles wide, sitting 40 miles north of Venezuela and 48 miles east of Aruba. For an article on diving and other activities around Curaçao see Tab Hauser's article. Further reading: The Dive Sites of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao La Parguera"Magnificent wall dive with complete reef coverage, black coral forest, lots of sponges and rich marine environment. "Providencia Island
A. Lisowski, 2006
Rating:
"The most beutiful place I have ever been. There are many places to rent a boat and diving equipment. Cost may vary from season to season. I went in high season (Dec-Jan) and the price is approx $50 for one dive. Much better than other places such as Costa Rica. Not only the diving is amazing but the island is magical. "Gorgona Island
Paula
Rating:
"Gorgona island, until 1985, was a jail; it's now a sanctuary. The land tours are great and you wlll see sharks, sea lions, dolpins, whale sharks, Whales (sometimes) and its not over populted with tourists. Gorgona was awesome, As good as the Galapagos. Colombia is more safe than the media would have you believe. "San Andres Island
Mark Infanger, 2008
Rating:
"I had a blast. Sunken ships. Sunken 737, Lots of big and bigger barracuda. Stingrays and a great trip to Johnny Cay to feed them in the evening. If you got to San Andres AVOID the Sunrise Hotel. It just plain old sucks and costs way too much. The Decameron Hotels are MUCH better. "Isla Rosario
Mark Infanger, 2008
Rating:
"If you like diving the reef and looking at tiny stuff 24/7 this is the dive for you. I would rate Cartagena as over promising and under delivering."Malpelo
Mark Infanger, 2008
Rating:
"The sinister and forbidding Malpelo Island is located 314 miles (506 Kilometers) off the coast of Buenaventura, Colombia in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Malpelo is home to an important coral formation as well as a large variety and quantity of marine creatures. Of special interest is the hammerhead shark with its awe-inspiring schools reaching up to 300 hundred individuals. The two most outstanding phenomena in Malpelo are the huge number of cluster and free swimming moray eels and the enormous congregations of silky sharks who often mix with hammerheads to form colossal shark schools.
Other common sights are the white tip shark, Galapagos shark, giant schools of angel fish, Creole fish, jacks, tuna, and occasionally a sail fish, whale shark and even Humpback Whale. "
Jairo Criollo
"One of the most beautiful sites to dive in the world. Best of all is still unexploited by tourism. "
Sonia Matthews, USA, 2006
"Dirty Rock, Malpelo, is 350 miles west of the coast of Columbia. This site is home to hundreds of hammerheads, blacktips, white tips, whale sharks, mantas, yellow fin tuna, etc. 65 deg water with 4-6 ft seas, but high-octane excitment. "Colombia Dive Operators:
Scubajack, USA, 2008
Diving Planet,
Ciudad Amurallada, Calle Estanco del Aguardiente #5-94, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Tel: (57 5) 664 2171, Cel: (57) 300 815 7169 - 300 603 7284, E-Mail: divingplanetctg@telecom.com.co. " Andres knows his stuff "
Mark Infanger, 2008
Please see the Americas section.
Wreck of the Bahama Mama, New Providence, Bahamas"Jean Pierce's book Unofficial Guide to the World's Best Diving Vacations describes this dive as a pretty ordinary wreck which attracts a wide variety of fish making it excellent for photographers - well she must have been unlucky (or possibly not looking, as the book does seem to leave out dive sites well known around the world to people from outside the US!) to miss around a dozen Caribbean Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus perezi)in their natural environment. We didn't want to go on one of those commercial kneel in a circle on the sea bed while a divemaster in chain mail feeds sharks from a basket of chum dives that occur in parts of the Bahamas, and had not necessarily expected to see sharks at all. Our DM told us in our briefing we may see some and indeed as the bubbles from the giant stride entry cleared one unmistakable shape was visible as we looked down towards the wreck. Some swam parallel to us as we passed the wreck and swam along the edge of the reef, shadowing us - remaining a respectful distance away but close enough to let us know we were the visitors. Returning to the wreck later in the dive in shallower water with a sandy bottom we were definitely on their patch and they were all around us, circling the wreck, crossing above, below and parallel to us, closer now especially when we were stationary doing a stop on the anchor chain. Having seen sharks some distance below on a wall dive in the Red Sea, and larger numbers of inquisitive ones much closer on a night dive on the Great Barrier Reef which involved green eyes coming towards you then turning away as they realised what you were, to see these magnificent creatures up close in such clear water in daylight really was a great experience. On top of that is the fact that it's a nice little wreck on the edge of a reef with lots of other fish around which made this dive extremely memorable. "
Ben Sennett
"Nice wreck, sharks, lion fish, swim throughs. Got it all. "Sugar Wreck, Grand Bahama Island
Jay, 2007
"Sugar wreck near Grand Bahama island. There is more variety of sealife at this 1800's wreck than any one place I have ever been. A true underwater photographers paradise! "Steel Forest, Nassau
Robert Abraham
"Great wreck diving! Three wrecks in a row. Great swim thrus."Shark Dive, Nassau
Brandon Knopp
"Amazing close up shark experience. A must do. Caribeean reef sharks."Further reading: Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Bahamas
Brandon Knopp
See our Dominican Republic page.
See also our Dominica Section.
"I'm a PADI Dive Instructor who has been living in the Commonwealth of Dominica for over two years now, and I'm still in love with the diving here.....pristine reefs, incredible sponges, loads of rare critters all on an island that looks looks like they should have filmed Jurassic Park here."Toucari Caves
Kaj Maney
"The healthiest reef in the Caribbean, teaming with fish, incredible sponge diversity, swim-through, coral arch and bubbles rising from the reef...just a stunning dive"Further reading: Dominica - Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Guide
Kaj Maney
You can dive all year in the Cayman Islands. The rainy season starts in May and peaks in October. Spring and Autumn plankton blooms reduce visibility.
Grand Cayman"Grand Cayman ....Very poor in marine life."Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
Jason Rabbow, 2006
"Dive down the grand cayman wall to about 30 metres, follow the wall along then come back up in a sand chute with large coral heads. A very good dive. "Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman
Alex Witschey
"Great visibility and drop off features. "
Michael Rodriguez
Visibility to 200 feet, sheer wall dive with healthy soft and hard corals, and multitudes of variations of fish.
Kevin Jungfleisch
"The best wall diving in the Caribean Sea "
Juan Videgain
"Swarms of sharks and rays, dramatic drop off into the black, layers and layers of beautiful ecosystems. Yum! "
Ray Kloss
"Wall starts in the 60 foot range and drops off into 6000 feet of deep blue. Unbelievable sponges and reef life--occasional large ocean travellers."Cayman Brac
Robert Osborne, 2006
"Cayman Brac had a lot of good diving...it had tons of rays, a few turtles, reef and nurse sharks, sea turtles, barricudas, and plenty of other creatures.....the diving was great overall.....the sunken russian ship was very interesting and so was the recreation of the underwater "Atlantis"....the walls were cool and the dive instructors were awesome...the water is also very clear....it was a great place to dive..... "Further reading: Lonely Planet: Diving and Snorkeling Cayman Islands Dive Operators: Southern Cross Club
Ryan K
Rating:
"My diving in the Caribbean Sea on Little Cayman Island this December 2004 was spectacular. The Southern Cross Club provides excellent, modern, clean and serene accomadations with three full gourmet meals a day. The dive boats (2) never had more than 6 or 7 people a day. The dive instructors are very experienced, professional and warm friendly people who are focused on your safety and enjoyment. I would definitely go back again. "
Martha
Please see the Turks and Caicos section.
Vancouver Island, British Colombia"Abundant wild life ranging from giant lingcod to river otters, octopus to killer whales. Hundreds of diverse dive sites located on the island, all offering something new, exciting and unexpected. "
Jessica, 2010
"Check out diving in BC. Though the coral reefs aren't here the sea life is bountiful and colourful. Some Harbour seals are tame enough to swim with the divers. The waters can be chilly but visibility is excellent. Porto Cove, just outside Vancouver, is a popular dive site and does not require boat access. "
Denise A. McCracken
"There is a wonderful dive boat that operates there off Vancouver Island, Nautilus Explorer. Mike Lever has a great vessel and offers awesome dive trips ranging from 4 days to a week or longer. Many opportunities to see wolf eels, giant pacific octopus, six-gill sharks, rock fish, nudibranchs, and the list goes on. It's definitely a place to visit, although I highly recommend dry suits. Most of the dives are current sensitive, but Mike has the timing down to a science and does a marvellous job of optimising all the dive sites. It's a trip worth taking. "Kingston, Ontario
Anita Floyd
"The diving in Kingston Ontario Canada is the best of the great lakes, but not many divers are aware of this. It offers historical shipwreck diving. Artefacts on wrecks are protected by Kingston's "Protect our Shipwrecks" for future divers to enjoy. The Wolf island ferry wreck, for example, has the bow sitting at 70 feet with a small perch hovering stern at 110 feet and propellers intact. Penetration diving is possible with a rope, the wearing of helmets and a good lighting system. This area is Canada's best kept secret for diving shipwrecks. "Hornby Island, British Colombia
Maureen Cameron
"Swim with 6000 pound sea lions wanting to play with you while you dive. "Browning Wall, Port Hardy
Jessica, 2010
"The best Cold water dive I have ever done and one of the best drift dives I have ever done. The wall has some of the most amazing invertebrate marine life I have ever seen. So abundant you feel like you can stare at a square meter of the wall for your whole dive. A must see. "Nova Scotia
G Pavan
"I love tropical dives but last year I went back to Nova Scotia to see if I would still enjoy colder diving and it was fabulous! I would probably not be an enthusiastic winter diver like I used to be but Nova Scotia in the summer is a wonderful place to dive! The colors are not as dramatic as you see in warmer waters but there is an amazing variety of plant and animal life and of course lots of wrecks to keep it interesting. And you can dive right off the shore almost anywhere. "Birchy Head, Nova Scotia
Janice Fleming, Canada, 2006
Rating:
"If you want a challenge try BirchyHead located in Peggys Cove below Halifax Nova Scotia....If you like brush humping and cliff climbing to get to the site wow, this is the place. Overall visibility was great, cold water, and do to a recent passing of the storm front entry was complicated and exit was very challenging... Birchy Head is sand bottom, isolated rocks, there are walls to dive but nothing special and they are shallow and effected by the swells. Saw lots of lobster and scallops, some pelagic and the benthics in large number, like sea anenomies. "
Matilda Duffy, USA, 2007
Please see our Americas section.
We endeavour to keep this site as informative and current as possible. If you would like to recommend, or warn about, a particular diving location or operator we'd love to hear from you.
Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die Chris Santella, 2008, 224 pages, HardbackBuy with 20% off at Amazon.co.uk
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Monty Halls' book describes 60 of the world's best diving areas, and highlights specific dives not to be missed whilst you are there. It also aims to provide independent travellers with the other information they will need, such as about water temperatures, visa requirements, the best time of year to go and addresses of dive centres and recompression chambers. For more details read our review... or visit amazon.co.uk or amazon.com.
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