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Namale Resort

Namale Resort is a scuba diving destination on the north island of Vanua Levu. There are 22 private bures and villas set out on a 525-acre former coconut plantation. There are garden bures, ocean view bures, Honeymoon bures, villas, and Luxury grand villas with 2 bedrooms. It’s the perfect adults only get away. Furthermore, if you need more privacy, you can rent out the entire Namale Resort. So, each accommodation has complimentary wifi, private deck, and mini fridge. Enjoy our blog article on Experience the Fiji Firewalkers of Beqa Island.

Namale Resort Diving

Namale Dive is the onsite scuba diving center. The Namale Pearl is parked at the private cove and waiting to take you almost anywhere in this region of the soft coral capital. Here, you can arrange multiple day 2-tank packages. In addition, rental gear and enriched air are also available. Some of the top destinations near the Namale Resort are the Namena Marine Reserve, Purple Gardens, Lepper’s Wall, and more. So, most divers visit here to view the kaleidoscope of several hundred soft coral species colors. However, Ribbon eels, clownfish, and juvenile coral trout along with 1,000 other species of fish put on a daily colorful display. Oh, and don’t forget the 500 species of uniquely shaped and colored mollusks. Finally, the turtles, sharks, and sea snakes avail themselves for the perfect photo/image opportunity.

Attractions and Activities

For indoor options, Namale Resort has a Spa, fitness center, an oceanfront basketball court, billiards, darts, a bowling alley, and private lounges. To enjoy time outside, there are two resort pools, hot tubs, a 9-hole golf course, and a tennis and volleyball area. Outside, you can go kayaking, paddle boarding, hiking, or go on a reef walk. Tours to waterfalls, villages, game fishing, and sandbar picnics are also arranged.

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Dreams Cozumel Cape

Dreams Cozumel Cape Resort and Spa in Mexico is an all-inclusive scuba diving resort. They offer 154 guest rooms or suites with Garden, Pool, or Ocean views. Enjoy 24 hour room service or multiple restaurants and bars. Rooms also have a balcony, mini-bar, flat screen TV with satellite channels and wifi even in public areas. Enjoy our blog article Destination Spotlight: Cozumel, Mexico.

Dreams Cozumel Cape Diving

Juan Leca’s Dive House and dedicated dive training pool are onsite. As a PADI 5 star scuba diving facility and they do intro to scuba up to specialty scuba courses.  They also do night dives as well as 2 tank boat trips to some 18 dive sites. From Dreams Cozumel Cape you can view over 300 species of fish and over 100 species of coral. Stingrays, groupers, barracuda, turtles, nurse sharks, spiny lobsters, and eels are everywhere. You’ll have the chance to do explore walls, pinnacles, and tunnels. Most importantly, many of the dive sites near Dreams Cozumel Cape are easy drift dives. Dive boats commonly drop divers off. Afterwards, the boats drift with the bubbles until the divers resurface. Some of the popular dive sites include Santa Rosa, Al Cedrals, The Caves at Palancar Reef, San Francisco, La Francesa, the Bricks. Oh, and don forget the Plane wreck! In addition, you can also dive at nearby Chankanaab National Marine Park.

Attractions and Activities

At Dreams Cozumel Cape Resort and Spa, not only do you have access to four restaurants and two beach bars, but you also have access and privileges at the two sister resorts. So, Secrets Aura Cozumel and Sunscape Sabor Cozumel are just a few steps away. After a swim in the pool, snorkeling, biking, kayaking, the fitness center, or resting on a lounge chair, you may wish to go into town. The Dolphinaris, and the Kaokao Chocolate Factory are popular tourist destinations, but don’t miss the Mayan Show back at the resort.

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Bandos Island Resort

Bandos Island Resort is a scuba diving destination in the Maldives. The resort has 215 accommodations that range from Garden Villas to Sunset Water Villas. So, each room or villa has a flat screen cable tv, air conditioning and mini bar. Beach Villas have a bath tub and outdoor shower while Premium Villas have a jetted tub. The Bandos Island Resort Beach Pool Villas have an infinity pool. Moreover, the Sunset Water Villas have a private pool and direct lagoon access via a private staircase. Enjoy our blog article; The Maldives: A Garland of Islands in the Indian Ocean.

Bandos Island Resort Diving

Dive Bandos is the onsite scuba diving center. There are more than 40 dive sites to explore out here, but the first one should be the Bandos Island Resort House Reef. Manta Point and Banana Reef are also very popular along with most channels, passes, rocks, and caves. Moreover, the local islands are home to 1100 species of fish, 5 species of turtles, 187 species of coral, 145 species of crab, 48 species of shrimp, and 21 species of whales and dolphins. More importantly, there is an onsite Medical Clinic with a decompression chamber.

Attractions and Activities

At Bandos Island Resort, Gallery Restaurant offers buffet style dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Grill Bar has fresh seafood and grilled entrees. So, Sea Breeze is a café that offers a la carte Italian entrees, Indian curries, burgers, and pizzas. Umi Yaki uses Japanese style teppan hot plates with a dash of theatrical flipping and sizzling with its selections. Furthermore, at Bandos Island Resort you can enjoy an Intimate dinner on the beach, a Candle-Lit Dinner, or a Lobster Dinner for two. At sunset, the place to be is Huvan; the Sundeck bar at the end of the walkway covered tombolo. More importantly, Sand Bar is where you can find karaoke, live music, and discotheque events.

Above all, there is something quite relaxing about the swim up Pool bar. It could be the shade, the soft fragrant breeze, or the feeling of bubbles from the jetted stools; we are still testing our theories out. Keep in mind a visit to the Spa, jet skiing, kayaking, the fitness center,  a glass bottom boat tour, a tour of Malé, a whale shark expedition, a sand bank picnic, a sunset dolphin cruise, or other island hopping or snorkeling adventure.

 

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Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort

Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort is a scuba diving destination in St. Eustatius. The newly designed resort opened in September of 2021. They are located near Oranjested behind the Quill volcanic mountain. They have ocean views and mountain views. They have Junior suites and Superior suites. Each suite at Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort has a balcony or patio. Each unit also has a coffee maker, microwave, kitchenette, mini-fridge, toaster, dishwasher, and more. The private bathroom has a shower, hairdryer, and bathrobe. A wardrobe, flat screen TV, and seating area are also standard features. Free Wi-Fi. Enjoy our blog article on Sea Turtle’s; The Godfathers of All Dive Magazines?

Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort Diving

For scuba diving you may wish to visit Scubaqua Dive Center. They are the number one dive operator on the island. More importantly, they have Green Flash, a 36′ long boat, and Yellow boat, a 28′ long boat. In addition, there guided dive ratio is 6 divers to 1 dive master. They cater to experienced divers with personal attention to newer ones. Also, they have air and free nitrox available, and also do snorkeling tours. Finally, before you visit, you should know that all the marine waters around this dormant volcanic landscape are part of the protected Statia National Marine Park and a small fee of around $30 per year is required to dive this protected marine reserve.

Moreover, because of the volcanic nature of the island, expect to dive soft and hard coral encrusted lava fissures, pinnacles, and walls. There are 36 official dive sites all within 5-20 minutes by boat and some accessible by shore. Some sites to visit while staying at Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort include: Grand Canyon, Hangover, Barracuda, Drop Off, Mushroom Gardens, Aquarium and The Cave. For wreck dives there is the 327′ long cable layer Charles L. Brown (Charlie Brown). Furthermore, they have Double Wreck and Chien Tang.

Attractions and Activities

Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort is the onsite location of The Breeze Restaurant. Their chefs prepare delicious dishes lunch and 3-course cuisine for diner. There is also an onsite tennis court, a pool, children’s playground, fitness room, and gift center. Smoke Alley Beach and Lynch beach have great sand for laying down and getting tanned. Zeelandia is a black sand beach, so be sure and bring a beach towel. Crooks Castle beach is great for snorkeling. Be sure and keep a lookout for 17th century blue beads. For hiking, you can hike the Quill dormant volcano and step into the jungle filled crater.

You can also do a history tour, or visit Fort Oranje, the St. Eustatius Historical Museum, or the Historical Foundation Museum. The Miriam Schmidt Botanical Gardens are a beautiful sight too.

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Iberostar Cozumel

Iberostar Cozumel is an all-inclusive  resort on the scuba diving island of Cozumel in Mexico. The resort features 293 guest rooms. In total they have 12 categories of double rooms and suites. They have secret garden views, pool views, ocean views, near pool, and ocean front rooms. They also have palm thatched roof bungalow-style suite ocean view rooms. All this ensures that there is a guest room to fit just about any desire. More importantly, Iberostar Cozumel is a 5 Star all-inclusive resort. Each accommodation comes complete with an in-room mini bar, air conditioning, and bathroom with shower. Furthermore, each unit has a flat screen tv, and a coffee maker. Best of all, each accommodation has a private balcony with hammock.  Enjoy our blog article on Cozumel Mexico, Always A Top Dive Destination.

Iberostar Cozumel Diving

Dressel Divers is the onsite scuba diving center but other dive operators can be specified. They use two boats to do two tanks and one tank dives daily as well as offering a night dive. The destination depends on weather and currents.  So, at Iberostar Cozumel, the local shoreline is rocky. Therefore, all dives here are done by boat. Fortunately, this works well because most local diving is drift diving. More importantly, most dive sites visited are less than 10 minutes away.  So, from Iberostar Cozumel expect to see some of the 300 species of fish and over 100 types of corals. However, you may use the stairs near the far end on the elongated dock to go snorkeling. Stingrays, grouper, barracuda, turtles, nurse sharks, and spiny lobsters are everywhere. You may also have the chance to do wall dives, explore pinnacles and tunnels.

Some of the popular scuba diving sites include: Santa Rosa, Al Cedrals, Palancar Garden, San Francisco, La Francesa, and the Plane Wreck. In addition, you also might like to spend a day diving at nearby Chankanaab National Marine Park.

Attractions and Activities

The Iberostar Cozumel international buffet has nightly themes. Some popular themes include: Italian, Mexican, and American cuisine. Cantina Las Dos Marias offers Mexican and American ala carte meals. So, reservations are recommended here. Moreover, LA Pagoda offers cold and hot ala cart dinning featuring Asian cuisine. Here, reservations are required. So, dishes range from Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Korea, the Philippines, and Japan. There are some dress codes for the ala carte venues. Drinks can be served at the El Patio lobby bar, La Perla pool bar, and La Cieba Beach Bar. In addition, at the Theatre Bar, they have nightly entertainment. The spa, fitness center, and sauna are all located onsite. There are two pools for adults and one for kids at Iberostar Cozumel.

Lucy’s Kid Club is also available for kids 4-12. During the day you can try kayaks, catamarans, and windsurfers for the first hour free. Dedicated loungers are located in a special shallow area of one of the pools. The nearest sand beach is San Francisco Beach located south about half a mile away. Peacocks, Parrots, Flamingos, and Iguanas appear to have the right away on all secluded paths.

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Blackbird Caye Resort

Blackbird Caye Resort is located on Turneffe Atoll off the coast of Belize. This PADI 5 star scuba diving resort has 20 oceanfront cabanas. They offer new Beach Villas, Deluxe Cabanas, Superior Cabanas, and Triplex Cabanas. Rooms typically are appointed with 1 king or 2 queen beds and all meals are included. Screened-in-balconies, air conditioning, and free Wi-Fi at the bar are just a few of the local amenities. Enjoy our blog article on Belize and Un-Belizable Diving and Adventure.

Blackbird Caye Resort Diving

There are over 70 dive sites to choose from near Blackbird Caye Resort. So, from the onsite scuba diving center twenty dive sites are less than 35 minutes away. Furthermore, they typically do 3 boat charter dives a day or 2 guided snorkel excursions. There are also over 500 species of fish, 350 species of mollusk, and 65 species of stony coral out here. The famous 400ft deep Blue Hole is less than 60 minutes away straight east and experiencing it is included in your stay. Other well-known dive sites include Light House Reef and Elbow Reef to view large pelagics. You can also view large pelagics at Pelican Wall or visit a pod of dolphins in the middle of South Lagoon. More importantly, you have to comb Lindsey’s Back Porch or The Terrace for a glimpse of the rare white spotted toadfish.

Attractions and Activities

With a nearby air strip, you can fly right over to Blackbird Caye Resort or arrive by boat. Packages include 3 meals a day at the Blackbird Restaurant. They have complimentary paddle boards and Kayaks or you can just relax at the pool or rest in your hammock on the balcony. Birding is also popular here with over 75 species nesting, residing, or stopping by the nearby Crocs lagoon. The lagoon is also the place to see crocodiles and manatees with their young offspring. This is also a great place for weddings and group activities.

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Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort

Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort has 60 luxurious villas and studios perfect for scuba diving enthusiasts staying on the southern end of Roatan Island. Roatan is just offshore and north of the Honduras mainland. In all, they have 8 different styles of accommodations ranging from 2-bedroom Beach Front Villas to Pool Side Studios. All rooms come with air conditioning. You may also prefer a kitchenette or full kitchen and much more. The resort is all-inclusive, but they also have a Premium all-inclusive plan which features even more dining options. Enjoy our blog article on The Bay Islands, Roatan, Utila, Guanaja, and More.

Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort Diving

Onsite is the Mayan Divers dive center. They have four scuba diving boats ready to take you around the island of Roatan. You can even do a day charter over to nearby Utila Island. Beside all the typical Caribbean fish, lobsters, coral, octopus, and turtles, guest sometimes encounter whale sharks. So, some of the dive sites include: Aquarium, El Aguila wreck, Turtle Crossing, and Black Hills Seamount as well as other reefs and seamounts. Typically, they offer two morning dives, an afternoon dive and or a night dive. You can also do shore diving right in front of the Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort. You may wish to hire a divemaster guide so you don’t miss viewing a single sea creature.

Rental gear/kits are available, but reserve ahead. More importantly, they also teach specialty courses such as open water diver through wreck diver, night diver, enriched air diver, and underwater photography just to name a few specialties.

Attractions and Activities

While staying at Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort You can also snorkel off shore or swim in one of two freshwater pools. Moreover, you might also like to try kayaking or paddle boarding. After a day of great scuba diving, you may wish to lounge in chairs, sit in the jacuzzi, or visit the spa. They have a Pirates Kid Club to keep those 12 and under busy. They also have night entertainment. So, Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort has 5 bars. They also have a total of 4 restaurants. The Balam is buffet style and open breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Macao, located next to the pool, serves comfort food such as burgers, pizza, and Honduran Tacos. If you choose the Premium all-inclusive package you can also enjoy lunch and dinner ala carte Caribbean food at Calkets. So, ala carte fusion food is served at San Simon Beach Club.

Above all, you are close to outside excursions such as zip lining, animal encounters, or dolphin and mangrove excursions. Finally, shuttle service can take you to and from the airport or downtown.

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Grand Park Royal Cozumel

Grand Park Royal is a scuba dive destination in Cozumel Mexico. They have 342 rooms and a private beachfront. This is an all-inclusive resort with Deluxe rooms with either a garden or ocean view. The rooms have wifi available, furnished balconies, mini-bars, and hairdryer. Flat screen TVs have cable channels. 24hr room service is also available. Enjoy our blog article on Cozumel Mexico, Always a Top Dive Destination.

Grand Park Royal Diving

Aqua World is the onsite scuba diving center. They also do snorkeling tours and may combine this tour with diving tours. Moreover, they do submarine rides and glass bottom boat tours. Finally, they also work with cruise ships and join them in with the snorkel and dive tours. They have their own jetty/dock and other charter boat operators pay to stop and pick up or drop off passengers. Snorkeling supplies may be limited by demand. It’s best to bring your own gear, as your own gear almost always fits best. Now, one street away, or a short walk away from Grand Park Royal there are more than half a dozen boutique dive shops.

For those dive shops rating between 5-4.8 stars out of 5, you might like to dive with Aldora Divers, Dive Boutique, Dive with Martin Dive Shop, Jungle Divers, Roberta’s Dive Shack, and Living Underwater. You might say, that depending on when and where you want to dive, there is a local dive boat ready to schedule and take you there. Above all, there are some 250 species of fish on or around Palancar Reef.

Attractions and Activities

At Grand Park Royal, they have 2 a la carte evening restaurants: El Mexicano and El Italiano. La Veranda is the onsite buffet restaurant serving breakfast lunch and dinner. El Carbeño is open for lunch and dinner. Café Solé offers pastries and coffee for breakfast. Grad Park Royal is also known for their tacos and other snacks by the poolside at the Bikini Bar, and El Marlín Azul bar. As for drinks, they have five bars including 2-swim up bars, sports bar, and lobby bar. Oh, and don’t forget the nightly entertainment at the open-air amphitheater. A private underpass leads you across the street to the private beach area and Paradise Reef. Here, you can rest in a lounger near two pools, enjoy a hot tub, snorkel, or play volley ball.

Finally, the Royal Village Shopping Center, Atlantis Submarines, and Hard Rock Café are a short walk away down the street.

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Papua Paradise Eco Resort

Papua Paradise Eco Resort is a scuba diving destination. They are located on Birie Island in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. So, they have 26 overwater wooden bungalows. More importantly, the rooms reside right above and against the house reef. Now, the Superior Overwater Bungalows have queen beds, a veranda. the also come with an ensuite bathroom. However, the Deluxe Overwater bungalows are slightly larger. They have a king bed, and sundeck with sun beds. Oh, and mini-bar.  Above all, the Deluxe has a private semi-open bathroom. This bathroom comes complete with an outdoor rain style shower. All rooms at Papua Paradise Eco Resort come with an ocean view desk. Wifi is available in the dive center lounge. Also enjoy our blog articles on North Sulawesi Indonesia-Part One.

Papua Paradise Eco Resort Diving

Gangga Divers is the onsite scuba diving center. They have a fleet of 10 dive boats.  They are also a PADI 5 Star dive center. The dive center also has a marine library, class room, and locked storage room. Most importantly, they have an air-conditioned camera room with work stations. They also have rental gear and Nitrox up to 32% is available. 75% of all known coral species can be found near Papua Paradise Eco Resort. Moreover, there are over 1300 species of fish in the area. Expect to see mantas, turtles, cuttlefish, and sharks. Smaller fish such as mandarin fish, pipefish, and sea horses are quite common. . The House Reef has two snorkeling sites plus a dive site. The Passage dive trip includes two dives in the mangroves at Yangeffo. There are also trips to MansuarKri, and Fam Island.

Attractions and Activities

The Sea View is the restaurant at Papua Paradise Eco Resort. They offer buffet style European and Indian cuisine. Vegetables come mostly from local gardens and villages. Pasta and ravioli are made fresh onsite. As for activities, you might like snorkeling. You can also go kayaking or bird watching. Island excursions include Wilson’s Bird of Paradise tour. You might also like to visit the Batanta Island waterfalls.  The Arefi Village tour is a great cultural adventure. However, the Hornbill Island sunset cruise and the Mangrove River bird cruise are for the birds. Finally, you may also like to take a break and relax at the Spa in Paradise.

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Gangga Island Resort

Gangga Island Resort & Spa is a scuba diving destination. They are northeast of Manado in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Pulau Gangga, or Gangga Island, is near Bangka Island. They have 30 well-appointed rustic wooden bungalows. The majority of the bungalows are right next to the beach. Most Superior Villas have a double bed with draped mosquito nets. The rooms have a desk, complimentary wifi, satellite tv, and a mini-bar. All bungalows have an ensuite bathroom. The Deluxe Bungalows are similarly furnished, but have an additional veranda with a day bed. Enjoy our blog article on North Sulawesi Indonesia Part One and Part Two.

Gangga Island Resort Diving

Gangga Divers is the onsite scuba diving center. They are also a PADI 5 Star dive center. So, they have a fleet of several boats. Typically, they take out 4 divers on the faster boats.  The largest boat holds 12-15 divers. The longest dive trip is a 3-tank excursion. On this trip they offer a lunch box and afternoon tea. They also provide snacks. The Bunaken National Marine Park is within easy distance to Gangga Island Resort. The list of possible dive sites out here is enormous. So, wall dives around the Bunaken National Marine Park may be deep. More importantly, the area contains 390 species of coral and over 2000 species of fish. So, you may see seahorses, frogfish, sharks, and whale sharks. You might also see dugongs too. In addition, near Gangga Island Resort, chambered nautiluses rise up from depth at night.

Down below 100m, a brown species of coelacanth lobe fin fish somehow thrives. They  hide in caves and under overhangs. So, they were thought extinct for some 65 million years until seen in a fish market. Above all, nearby Bangka Island is home to pinnacles, drift dives, and muck dives. Some of the local larger creatures include: pilot whales, dugongs, sharks, and dolphins.

Attractions and Activities

At Gangga Island Resort, Tuturuga Restaurant is the place for breakfast buffet style. Lunch and dinner are ordered by menu. They offer International cuisine, as well as feature Indonesian favorites with emphasis on freshly caught fish.  As for activities, you can try fishing with local fisherman. Moreover, you can play billiards, volley ball, or table tennis. Now, the snorkeling is great, but lounging near the salt water infinity pool is divine. You may also like to visit the Minahasa Highlands. Excursions to Tangkoko National Parks, private tours to outer islands, and volcano trekking are also available. The resort is also the home of Pasung Spa.

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