The Riviera Maya

Caribbean Diving & Diverse Cenotes

If you ask most divers to choose between fresh water diving and tropical diving, we’re sure that the majority of divers would pick tropical diving fins down; you have beautiful reefs, colorful fish, large Pelagics, and endless warm tropical destinations to choose from. We think that your first thought of freshwater diving should also be just as exciting and interesting as your saltwater choices; freshwater dive sites complete with stalactites and stalagmites. Perhaps you would like some clear water dive sites with fossils, human bones, ancient Mayan artifacts, some sites with freshwater fish, some with tropical fish, some with overhanging gardens, and some sites with amazing caverns and caves to explore depending on your certification level. You can see how now the choice between freshwater diving and tropical diving gets a little tougher to make, but to avoid making a decision, we recommend that you visit the Riviera Maya where you can combine and do both types of diving while on a single memorable dive vacation.

Before we get into mentioning some of the most popular dive sites we thought we should mention just exactly where the Riviera Maya is located. It’s in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo along the Caribbean waterfront just south of Cancun from Playa del Carmen, through Akumal, and down to Tulum. You can take a bus, shuttle bus, or private car from Cancun and be down to Tulum in around two and a half hours. So even going down to the far end really isn’t all that far, but it does include glimpses of over a thousand years of Mayan history. On the way down you have to pass several sleepy little towns along the coast lines and you are never too far from one of the thousands of life sustaining fresh water wells in this part of Mexico.

Probably some of the best saltwater activities on the Maya Riviera include snorkeling with the migrating whale sharks from May thru July near Playa del Carmen at dive sites such as Chun Zumbul. Sure, there are scattered small reef outcrops in a field of sand suitable for stingrays and small reef creature, but when the whale sharks hit the area, all eyes are on them. These gentle giants tolerate the antics of bubble blowing tourists with amazing seasonal regularity. The next biggest event comes when the waters turn slightly colder in the winter time and bull sharks put on a show at selected dive locations. Many of the sites have a sand substrate, but the dive sites may have pinnacles, arches (Los Arcos), swim throughs, caves and caverns that make each dive site unique and worth visiting. Pared Verde the most well known wall dive is a step down a sand embankment and gives rise to a wall dive from 70ft to 100ft (21-31m) before becoming a sand plain once again. The wall is home to multitudes sponges, corals, invertebrates, assorted domestic small fish as well as occasional passing large pelagics. Most of the dive sites are less than 100ft (31m) deep and average 100ft (31m), but some sites like Tortugas named after all the local turtle sightings, can drop down to 130ft (140m). If you want to see schools of sabalos, (spanish for tarpon), and a small cavern, we recommend the dive site called Sabalos. For wreck divers, there is the former shrimp boat Mama Viña that was sunk on purpose in 1995 and is now home to soft and hard corals, schools of fish and occasional passing sharks, eagle rays, sailfish, and other pelagic fish.

There are several dive sites all the way down to Tulum and sites like Stingray have interesting pinnacles, but you need dive a mere 25ft (8m) to view the pinnacles and the sea life around them as well as the stingrays that gave the site its name. There are also swim throughs at Cuevitas at 10m (33ft) with lots of hard corals, and lots of fish to view at Piscina (Pool), Tank Ha Deep, and Dreams. We should also mention that a lot of these dives are drift dives due to the north flowing currents and some of the currents are stronger at some sites than at other sites depending on the time of year.

There are more than 40 some dive sites along the Riviera Maya that are part of the second largest reef system in the world, but for many divers the real reason to dive the Maya Riviera is to dive the freshwater cenotes. This entire region of Mexico was formed out of limestone that once stood way above sea level when the sea level was some 300ft lower during the last ice age. Rain water seeped through the landscape and dissolved through the porous limestone with a little help from the formation of small amounts of carbonic acid. Great underground fissures and/or circular holes were slowly over time carved deep into the limestone and later stalactites and stalagmites tried to fill these new voids. Some of the fissures connected the eroded cavities to each other and essentially became underground streams and rivers that eventually drained out into the open ocean. Some thousands of these hollowed out cavities could no longer support their overhead roof structures and caved in forming pools of fresh water across an expanse of otherwise dry appearing landscape. To the Mayans these pools were sacred wells on many levels and they also believed that located at the bottoms of these pools were the gateways to where the underground gods resided. Mayans performed human sacrifices in some of the pools and in others left pottery, jewelry, gold, jade, obsidian, cloth, and other precious items as offerings to the gods. Fossils of earlier animals round out the picture and make each cenote entered by divers a very unique and one of a kind experience.

Of course the problem with cenotes is that once you dive one, you may feel compelled to dive others. You also might like going where few divers have gone before. It starts out simple enough by going on a guided dive to Dos Ojos and seeing interesting shapes of stalactites and stalagmites, next you find yourself swimming through the Casa Cenote that leads to a river and the sea beyond meaning that sometimes you will come face to face with freshwater fish and with tropical fish such as tarpons at other times. You also might even get a chance to swim near manatees. Next you might want to try the Gran Cenote which is famous for its easy entrance and endless white colored passageways or try Calavera with fossils, artifacts and a halo cline at 50ft (15m) of depth. Angelita is popular with tech divers as you can pass through a sulfur cloud at 90ft (28m). There of course are many other well known cenotes, but depending where you are staying may determine what other cenotes you may wish to explore.

Now you would think that with all this diving that there would be little time for anything else, but it turns out that besides all the sacred wells, the Mayans also left the ruins of three nearby major cities and temples to explore. Tulum, Coba, and Chichen Itza are all in easy reach of the Riviera Maya. The ruins of Tulum sit right on the cliffs some 13m (39ft) above the adjacent ocean. Inland, Coba has a 138ft (42m) tall pyramid to view, and of course Chichen Itza has an entire city built over many time periods and is surrounded by four main cenotes. These once vast cities all but disappeared and were covered by the surrounding jungles soon after the Spanish appeared. The Spanish soldiers and explorers were quick to collect, under pain of death, any gold and other valuables and in exchange they brought forth salvation thru religion, colds, and viruses. Unfortunately this unforeseen exchange, not to mention periods of excessive drought, decimated the Mayan population, destroyed their culture, and put an end to the ancient Mayan way of life. On the positive side, the Mayans were such great engineers, mathematicians, astronomers, architects, and artists, that we know much about them from their sculptures, artifacts, temples, and cities that still stand after so much elapsed time.

So you see, you get more than two types of diving when you explore the Riviera Maya and there is so much more than mere saltwater and freshwater diving to do on the Quintana Roo Peninsula. You can be a professional beach bum and rest in a chair while watching the tides come in and out, or you can seize the opportunity of a lifetime and explore the ancient Mayan world as a novice archaeologist. Perhaps the overall point we are trying to make here is that there are not a plethora of destinations in the world where the option to visit and dive in sacred cenotes and scuba dive in saltwater can be combined so many ways and then forged into one simply spectacular as well as historical dive adventure.

The Bay Islands, Roatan, Utila, Guanaja, and more.

The Bay Islands

Roatán, Útila, Guanaja, and more.

When you think about the second largest Barrier Reef in the world, your first thought should be, “Why aren’t my bags already packed?” We know divers and snorkelers that have been traveling down to the Bay Islands year after year and never seem to get tired of the endless dive sites, reefs, local wrecks, tropical beaches and island lifestyle. Perhaps one of the hardest decisions to make is which island to visit first. The Bay Islands consist of eight main Islands and 53 cays which are off the coast of Honduras. The largest Island is Roatán and boasts to have 176 dive sites. Guanaja claims some 50 dive sites, and Útila, the smallest of the big three, report to have 90 dive sites. On average, if you dove 4-5 dive sites a day, you could view most of the dive sites in as little as five months, but keep in mind, this estimate doesn’t include the other five islands and quite a few of the other cays. For example, many dive boat operators offer day tours over to Cayos Cochinos where 16 other buoyed dive sites are located. Underwater pinnacles and seamounts are also some favorite dive sites to visit. Also, some hotels, resorts, and dive operators boast that they have access to secret dive sites only revealed to their customers, clients, and distantly related soon to be best friends.

So what can you expect to see in the Bay Islands? Quite a lot actually, marine parks and designated reserves have helped the local coral reefs stay healthy, vibrant, and home to large schools of fish, lobsters, and crabs. Groupers, dolphins, rays, and sharks are the apex predators of the reefs, turtles frequently come in to the underwater camera or video frame, and migrating whale sharks especially around the island of Útila steal the show from February to June.

Some of the most famous dive sites around Roatán include: Dolphin Den where a maze of tunnels, and caverns, and is where a collection of dolphin remains were discovered; this site leads out through the reef and into the open water. Shark Dive is a sit in the sand encounter while experienced shark divers feed passing sharks. Hole in the wall is a must visit if you like sand chutes and tunnels. Also ask the locals which dive site is best to see, seahorses, encounter hammerheads, nurse sharks, big eye jacks, or specific corals. Wreck dives include: The 100m (300ft) long Odyssey wreck and the 70m (210ft) long El Aguila wreck is currently resting in three main sections.

Dive sites around Útila include: Black Hills is a seamount dive exploding with fish and dense corals. Black Coral Wall is a wall dive like much of the local dives here, but with the extra added attraction of black coral found as shallow as 8m (24ft) . The Canyons dive site is filled with corals and small resident fish. The largest wreck dive here is the 30m (90ft) long Halliburton.

Dive sites around Guanaja include: Black Rock Canyons where volcanic flows formed cracks, caves, and tunnels and now teeming with life, and the Vertigo wall dive with mesmerizing drop- offs. The Pinnacle is known for its tendrils of black coral and seahorses. Wreck dives include: the 80m (240ft) long Jado Trader and the shrimp boat Don Enrique.

Now although the Bay Islands are part of Honduras, the Bay Islands are unique in several ways. It all dates back to Christopher Columbus back in 1502 on his fourth and final “discover the new world” tour. Because the local Paya islanders were unfamiliar with Christianity, they were by default deemed hostile, which was close enough to get one labeled as cannibals, which most definitely meant one was eligible for a sea voyage and sold to a plantation or mine where work would definitely not set one free. We can’t blame Columbus for all the islander’s deaths though, as European diseases brought by his men and others killed untold numbers of local indigents. The point is, that the island population was decimated or soon became nonexistent on some islands, and made it a great place for migrations of English settlers, pirates such as Captain Morgan, black Caribs, and lastly, Cayman islanders to call home. It is because of all this that the primary language of the Bay Islands is a blend of English and the second most spoken language used is Spanish, while on the Honduras mainland Spanish is the primary language. The local cultures and customs are also unique to certain regions in the Bay Islands, which is also kind of interesting, and lends itself to different types and amount of spices used in preparing local food dishes and cuisine. One thing to remember though, coconut and seafood dishes are king on the islands, especially conch ceviche, conch curry, conch soup Garifuna, cooked crab, and grilled lobster.

As far as accommodations go, Roatán offers the most choices and if you want your money’s worth, perhaps one of the all inclusive or all meals resorts on Roatán is the way to go. On Útila and Guanaja there are similar but less resorts although one can also stay in a bungalow on a cay or a villa on a rock in these Bay Islands destinations. The limits are only as endless your budget, time you have available, and how close you want to be to the water’s edge.

The largest number of dive shops are on Roatán, and there are two professional dive schools here that may teach year round. Students have been known to double up and take a dive-master course during the day and Spanish lessons in the evening. Other visitors come for the hiking, horseback riding or a side trip to the mainland to visit Copán and see the mysterious Mayan ruins.

Ask any whale shark and they will tell you that February through May there is less rain, hurricanes, and a plethora of plankton, but for the rest of us, the water is inviting year round. We hope by now that you have been inspired enough to check out the Bay Islands. Be careful though, or you too may become a non-stop frequent flyer to the Bay Islands and find yourself with an airline bag half packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Tobago. The Less Known Dive Vacation Island

Tobago

Drifting Along with Macros and Pelagics

From the smallest seahorse to an abundance of majestic sized mantas to gigantic groupers to perhaps the world’s largest brain coral, Tobago has something to offer just about every diver. It’s not always this black and white when you are talking about a dive destination. That is unless you are talking about Tobago’s black sand beaches being on the Atlantic side of the island and the white sand beaches on the Caribbean side, but Tobago has lots of macro sea life to view as well as an unusual abundance of pelagic life. The reason for the great quantities of reef and pelagic life is because of the out flow of nutrients from the nearby Orinoco River in Venezuela, South America which feeds the plankton who in turn feed the small fish and this process works its way up the food chain at an amazing exponential rate. This doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed to see a whale shark or school of 30 scalloped hammerhead sharks on your visit, but it does increase your chances of filling up your camera and video cards with lots of awesome images and memories.

Before you get ready to jump off the dive boat, we should probably give you some background information about Tobago and mention what you might want to see and where you might like to dive first. Tobago is the small sister island in The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is approximately 40km (25 miles) long and 10km (6.2 miles) wide. It’s where many from Trinidad come to take a leisure vacation as it is only 35km (22 miles) away; a twenty minute flight. We should mention that Tobago is only 80km (50 miles) from South America. In fact, most of the flora and fauna is identical to what you would expect to find in South America as a land bridge connected this region during the end of the last ice age.

The Arawak were the first to inhabit the island and they were later replaced by the Caribs. Columbus discovered Tobago on his third voyage and soon afterwards, in what seemed at the time like an endless rotating order, the Caribs were replaced by the French, English, Dutch, Spanish, and finally by Africans and East Indian descendants. You might say Tobago has changed hands more than any other island in the Caribbean, and yet somehow, it remarkably retained one of the oldest forest reserves in the western hemisphere starting in 1776. The Main Ridge Reserve is 550m (1804 ft) high at Pigeon Point Peak near the village of Speyside. If you want to visit this protected forest and view the beautiful water falls you’ll have to hire an official Tobagonian guide. Tobago also has some small islands off its coast that have become bird havens or sanctuaries. The south end of Tobago is low lying and is home to the Robinson International Airport (TAB). You can fly nonstop into Tobago, or go “directly” through Trinidad, or you can even take the ferry service which runs from Port of Spain, Trinidad and takes 2.5 hours to reach Crown Point, Tobago.

Back to diving that will excite beginners to the most experienced, 4km (2.5 miles) south of the airport are the sites of some of the most well-known drift dives near the island, and when it comes to drift dives, the name Flying Reef pretty much says it all. Here you can drift by at 0-2 knots down to 17m (58ft) of depth over the coral and past a ship’s anchor as you keep a look out for stingrays, turtles, schools of fish, nurse sharks, and passing pelagics. This dive site goes right into Sting Ray Alley where guitarfish, electric rays and more nurse sharks are usually spotted. Nearby Divers Dream is the site with overhangs for nurse sharks to the left, and a rock garden full of fish for those that dive to the right. Nearby Divers Thirst is where black tips, bull sharks and tiger sharks are spotted.

Mt Irvine Wall with is another dive destination where one dive site leads to another or is nearby. The Wall is where you may find lobsters, crab, shrimps, and sea horses, but over at the Mt Irvine Extension is where the grouper, eagle rays tarpon, cobia, and hawksbill turtles like to hang out. Rainbow Reef in the middle of the bay goes down to 21m (70ft) and is named for the rainbow runners that like to hang out around a 17^th century fishing anchor.

For specific fish destinations we recommend Arnos Vale, max 14m 45ft depth, which is a rock crevice nursery for all kinds of fish and is a great place for beginner divers as well as for night dives. Kelliston Drain near Goat Island and not far from Speyside, is home of the world’s largest brain coral at over 3m (10ft) high and 5.3m (16ft) wide; while not every diver is amazed by these measurements, at least the large number mantas who pass by here are impressed. The nearby Sisters are a group of five pinnacles that rise up from the deep and this is where you have a great chance to see scalloped hammer heads, especially during October to May, and whale sharks whenever they feel like it. Also close by is Japanese Gardens near Goat Island and it gets its name from all the soft corals, sea whips, and barrel sponges. This dive site flows right into the rock corridor named Kamikaze Cut. London Bridge is another popular spot when currents permit, and where water pushes you between two hard rock surfaces and empties you out into a 15m (45ft) deep area of sand. You’ll see where it got its name from before you even get close to the exposed topside rock formation. It’s a great spot to view black surgeonfish, trumpet fish, and trunk fish. Some of the more unique fish you may find around the island include: cherub angelfish, flame angelfish, angle sharks like the sand devil, and giraffe garden eels. As for wreck dives, the M.V. Maverick, 107m (350ft) long passenger and car ferry that was cleaned and opened up and made safety ready for divers before being sunk on purpose in 1997, has plenty of coral and animal life including: crabs, clams, schools of bonito and bait fish, turtles, and eagle rays.

Now for adventurous divers and weather permitting, there is practically untouched diving 32-64km (20-40 miles) away at the off shore reefs. Plus, there is the wreck of the S.S. Kioto, which was sunk Sept 15, 1942 by U-boat 514. After three torpedoes, it finally sunk in 12m (40ft) of water and the scattered debris are still visible.

As you can see, Tobago is a small island, but there are more than 40 dive sites to choose from. There is also bicycling, birding, exploring the old sugar mills and plantations, visiting the 1770 Fort George, or checking out the beaches in April-July to view the leatherback turtles nesting. We didn’t even have time to point out all the beaches, but Tobago is where Disney filmed Swiss Family Robinson in 1958, so you already know that the beaches are Disney approved; even the Pirate’s Beach. There is a lot to experience, so you might not be able to fit everything in on one vacation trip, but the steel drum music bands are always playing something good, the crab and dumplings “Creole style” are simmering in the pot, and to make Tobago’s sunsets complete, the island just needs you.

Thailand’s Amazing Andaman Sea

You probably already have a good idea what Thailand is like. You may not know it, but over eighty films have been shot in Thailand, so if you’ve seen The Man with the Golden Gun, a James Bond film, you’ve seen parts of Bangkok. In The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio you see Maya Beach and parts of Phuket. In Star Wars: Episode III, the Krabi Province turns into the Wookiee home world. The scenic background list goes on for Blackbeard, Cutthroat Island, Heaven and Earth, The King and I, and The Bridge over the River Kwai, to name a few. To add to what you’ve already discovered visually about Thailand, we would also like to mention a few local reference points of interest of our own before we mention where and what to see while diving the waters of this ancient and exotic country.

Thailand is a land of natural beauty mixed with captivating ancient ruins and artfully decorated temples. It’s a land of some of the friendliest people that you will ever meet. People have inhabited this area of the world for over forty thousand years with a considerable amount of early on influence from India. The Kingdom was named Siam until it was changed in 1939 to Thailand. The main language is Thai which is closely related to Lao, and the government also recognizes 62 other regional languages. They use an official Buddhist Era calendar that is ahead of the western Gregorian calendar by 543 years, so the year 2017 AD is 2560 BE. Thailand is also the land of five thousand types of rice and almost just as many types of sauces that seem to accompany each unique entrées or particular set of appetizers. There are also many mesmerizing sights to see in the city of Bangkok that you may be forced by curiosity to spend a few days in the city before taking another flight, bus, or train, out to one of the coastal towns where your real dive adventure awaits, but because there are so many islands, and so many dive sites to choose from, we thought that we would break it all down from north to south in order to help you figure out where you might want to go diving first.

We’ll start off with the Similan Islands which are about 65km (40 miles) off shore of Khao Lak and 100km (62 miles) north of Phuket, so they are easily assessable from both directions. These nine granite islands have over 25 dive sites and the west side has easy diving for new divers, plus you’ll find swim throughs, tunnels, boulders, and arches. You’ll encounter leopard sharks, turtles, and a plethora of fish. Donald Duck Bay is a great spot for macro diving and night dives. East of Eden has peacock groupers, Elephant Head Rock is where olive Ridley’s and Hawksbill turtles and the rare McCosker’s dwarf wrasse hang out. Green turtles are at North Point, and keep your eyes open for Orangespine unicorn fish at Hideaway. Stonehenge is great for soft corals and clownfish. White tip sharks, Napoleon wrasse, ribbon eels, and occasionally mantas, can be spotted at Christmas Point. Don’t let all these exotic Thai sounding dive site names distract you, if there is a certain fish or site you want to see, just ask your local dive master for more information.

Moving up North you will need a more than a four-day charter operator to visit many of the more northern dive destinations, especially if you are starting out of Phuket. Shorter trips can be arranged out of Khao Lak. Koh Bon is another hour north of the Similan Islands and is known for wall, pinnacle, and night diving. Octopus and small invertebrates like the small cove, meanwhile mantas like to hang out for the plankton and underwater cameras. Nearby Koh Tachai has strong currents, swim throughs through the boulders, and is known as one of the sites to see whale sharks, nurse sharks, and leopard sharks. 68km (42 miles) north of the Similan islands we come to the remote and less visited Surin Islands. This area has the greatest hard coral diversity in Thailand. There are lots of schooling bumphead wrasse and Spanish mackerel passing by in this national marine park. Gray sharks, eagle rays, and shovel nose rays are also spotted here as well as ribbon eels, pipefish, Andaman sweetlips, rabbitfish, and cowrie shells. The forest of Surin Island is home to crab eating macaques, flying foxes, flying lemurs, deer, hornbills, seahawks, and kingfishers; so, the view can be both spectacular simultaneously above and below water. We should mention that 15km (9 miles) east of here is where Jacque Cousteau filmed the mantas and whale sharks that made Richelieu Rock world famous. Lastly, some operators go all the way up to Burma Banks and the Mergui Archipelago. Technically, up here, you are diving off of Myanmar’s reefs, which are seldom if ever visited by throngs of other divers. The Burma Banks rise 15m (49ft) near the surface then dip down some 300 meters. You can drift dive with mantas, white tips, silver tips, and whale sharks, or hang out with nurse sharks, frogfish, crab, shrimp, and lobsters. Before we leave the north end, we should mention that if you like wrecks, the tin processor Bunsoong and the teak Sea Chart 1 wreck are near Khao Lak, and the Premchai tin dredger wreck is just a short distance south.

For central dive sites that are in easy reach of Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lok, or Ao Nang Beach, one of the most popular diving areas is the Phi Phi Islands, which are part of the Mu koh Phi Phi National Marine Park. There are over 15 dive sites around the two islands. Loh Samah Bay on the southern island of Phi Phi Lay is a popular spot to train new divers and do a night dive. Wall Maya is right outside of the famous Maya Bay where snorkeling and hanging out on the beach are a must do activity. The 47m (154ft) long HTMS Kledkeao Thai Navy transport ship was sunk between Phi Phi Lay Bay and Viking Bay in 2014. Hin Dot “Chimney Rock” is on the south side of Phi Phi Don. There are lots of caves and caverns to explore on both islands as well. An all-day excursion that typically includes three dives in one day is a trip over to the 85m (279ft) long King Cruiser; a Japanese car ferry, followed by a dive over at nearby Shark Point (Guess what you might see here) and then on to Anenome Reef, where Nemo and at least four other species of Clown fish like to hang out. Racha Yai and Racha Noi are just south of Phuket. After the tsunami in 2004 they placed two elephant statues, a clam, and an arch underwater in Siam Bay off Racha Yai island. The south side of Racha Noi is known for large pelagics, mantas, and occasional whale sharks. South of the Phi Phi islands are the two split rocks of Koh Bida Noi and Koh Bida Nok with boulders, swim throughs, caverns and overhangs. Garang Heng is a submerged reef east of Phi Phi Lay and bursting with soft corals, fish, and leopard sharks. Over by Ao Nang Beach are seven other islands frequented by divers, the most popular being Koh Yawabon for its’ long swim through, and G.K. Island for its’ sea horses. There are other submerged reefs and pinnacles to visit over here. There are also untold beaches, shore, and pier dives to do in the central area of the Andaman Sea.

Moving on to the southern Andaman Sea you can choose dive operations from Phuket, Krabi, Koh Lanta, and Satun to name a few places. Koh Ha is an island group of five rocks that barely break the surface, but below are home to swim throughs, caverns, drop offs, chimneys, pinnacles, and caves off of Koh Ha Yai where you can come up inside an air pocket to gaze at stalactites. Koh Rok is comprised of two islands with white sand beaches, steep cliffs, and soft corals galore. Moving on to the Mu Koh Lanta National Marine Park we find two islands. Hin Mueng is called the “Purple Rock” because of the predominant color of soft corals and is home to the areas 60m (196ft) long vertical wall dive. Hin Daeng “red rock” is known as one of the top three spots for sighting whale sharks. South of here we come to the Tarutao Marine Park with more than 30 islands to choose from. Koh Lipe has some local dive sites, as well as being one of the starting points for excursions out to 8 Mile Rock to see pelagics, diving sites such as Stone Henge, 6 Mile Rock, and 7 Rocks, or perhaps local dive spots of the big islands of Koh Adang and Koh Rawi ; these dive sites are actually in the Adang Archipelago and the Satun Sea. There are a few more southern islands to dive, but you would be diving in Malaysia if you went any further south, as well as on your way through the Malacca Strait separating Malaysia from Indonesia.

As you can see, diving all the sites in Thailand’s Andaman Sea in one trip would be like visiting all 50 United States in one week long trip. Dive liveaboards are the best way to experience the best dive sites that Thailand has to offer. You can separate the excursions out by starting your dives from a northern point and then planning to visit the southern sites from a southern starting point. You can do a couple of longer multiple day charters from Phuket with at least one charter going north and a separate charter going south to give you some of the highlights of the most popular dive sites. But you will still have to return again and again, especially once you have met the Thai people and become enchanted by their culture, lifestyle, and friendliness; plus witnessed firsthand the exquisite and unique natural bounty of local ocean life, and have become captivated by the spectacular natural beauty of the temples, islands, rocks, pinnacles, reefs, and isolated beaches.

Cayman Brac – The Adventure and Tranquility Island

Cayman Brac

Divers, Hikers, Bikers, and Cliff Hangers

Cayman Brac is an island barely 19km (12 miles) long and 2km (2 miles) wide and is situated 8km (5 miles) east of Little Cayman and 145km (90 miles) northeast of Grand Cayman. This small island that is sea level on the southwest end has a limestone outcrop “the Bluff” that rises some 43m (141 ft) on the northeast end. There are some sandy beaches in front of some hotels and resorts, but for the most part, the less frequented beaches require good walking shoes to traverse. Good shoes are recommended to hike on the trails that take you past the 180 acre parrot sanctuary; mornings and evenings are the best time to see the parrots in flight. The shoes will help climb the stairs and walk inside various caves where pirates once hid their booty, and along the lighthouse path to view the birds such as frigates and brown boobies nesting on the cliff sides. Brown boobies are easy to identify, just look at their chest. A horizontal straight line separates their chest region from their absolutely white underbelly. Their lightly yellow colored beak and feet tend to get over looked. Good shoes may also come in handy if you plan on cycling around the island, renting mopeds, rock climbing, or hanging over the sides of cliffs too.

Diving is a must for this small island as here you will find walls, sand chutes, tunnels, and caverns to explore much like one would expect to find on Grand Cayman, plus Cayman Brac is home to at least four wrecks including the 330ft long 42ft wide M/V Capt. Keith Tibbetts which was formerly a Russian Brigadier Class frigate #356. It was sunk in 1996, sitting straight up in about 27m (89ft) of water, but mover nature tried to rip off the from end and eventually tilted the front of the ship over at a 45º angle, and the middle section was torn up and scattered. The aft section still sits straight up. It rests 200m (660ft) from shore, and you may see people snorkel out to the wreck, but it is easier to save time and energy by diving the wreck from a boat. Some 24 of the 46 dive sites around the island can be reached as shore dives, and many of the diving areas are great for snorklers too. Over the last 20 years, The M/V Tibbetts has turned into an artificial reef and is home to hundreds of different forms of fish and invertebrates.

If colorful corals, tube sponges, soft corals, nurse sharks, reef sharks, sea turtles, tarpon, goliath groupers, stingrays, lobsters, octopus, and green moray eels are what you want to see, photograph or video, then Cayman Brac has got you covered. One of their most popular dive sites is East Chute. This is really a two for one dive site as you can descend past the eel gardens down the wall through semi-closed tunnels down to 90ft and look for life on the wall as well as pelagics off the wall and then come up the east chute to the 65ft long Mariner wreck in 45ft of depth for a little macro photography. The Gilembo dive site is reported by an honest fisherman friend to have a “super male” 5ft long rainbow parrotfish. Treehouse Reef is noted for its two pinnacles and sandy bowl, Treasure Trove is known for its staghorn, elkhorn, and sponges, Bert Brothers Boulders also has large elkhorn coral heads on top of grooves and ridges with soft corals and sponges in the gullies. Wilderness Wall is known for rope vase and tube sponges, snapper, and angelfish,.

Now, Radar Reef used to be the place to go to do a night dive to find shrimp, arrow crabs, lobster, and tarpon next to the Jetty at Stake Bay, but the local artist named “Foot” built the Archway to Atlantis, the Elder Way (statues with local faces), and the Circle of Light and the area became renamed as Atlantis. of course a hurricane came through and had to mess things up a little, but it is still a very surreal or dream like site.

Oh, the other wrecks are the 60ft long Kissimmee tug boat that lays upside down in the sand and Prince Federick’s Wreck, a schooner, that sunk in the 1800’s. Most of the wood has been eaten away, but parts of a mast, anchor chains, four anchors, and boilers are still 20-40ft underneath two hundred years of coral growth.

We should mention, that because Little Cayman Island is a mere 5 miles away, dive trips over to Bloody Bay Wall can also be arranged (weather permitting), but book in advance!

Back to land activities, bring your dive light along if you want to explore the caves. Skull Cave or Half Ground Cave has Jamaican fruit bats that you can see if you shine your light overhead. Peter’s Cave has a nice view of the town and was once the gathering point of the islanders during the 1932 hurricane. You can learn more about this catastrophe by visiting the oldest museum of the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Brac museum in Stakes Bay. There are some 2100 residents on the island and there is also a hospital and chamber. There are small grocery stores, 16 restaurants on the island offering a variety of local Caribbean and international cuisine as well as mandatory after dive or activities libations. So if you plan to explore by cycle, moped, car or on foot, the roads are pretty much yours. The beaches and hiking trails are pretty much yours too. You may have the urge to go deep sea fishing or rock climbing or you may want to hang from ropes over a cliff or during lobster season go catch a lobster as no license is required but one thing is certain, you will quickly adapt to waving back to the locals. For such a small friendly island there is lots to do at your pace, but here, among all the activities, diving is a must; formality not so much.

Little Cayman’s Big Time Diving

If you are looking for a dive destination that even Phillipe Cousteau considered one of the top three dive destinations in the world, yet it is still not inundated with tourist galore, then you can’t find a bigger island with more magnificent and mesmerizing dive sites than the island simply known as Little Cayman.

The island population has exploded since the early nineteen eighties and now there are close to 170 some people living on the island, and although you might think this number is a lot, it is nothing compared to the two thousand rock iguanas living on the island which have the right of way around the island. Now take the total number of locals and all the tourists and this total will still be so small that the vast majority of red footed boobies are unaware that humans are even on Little Cayman. We’re not exactly sure how an ornithologist arrived at 5,000 pairs of red footed boobies. This round number makes us wonder, did they just stop counting when they reached this number and then head for the reef where the hawksbill turtles like to hang out? We may never know the answer, but if you are like most “Birders” we had you at “red footed” and most photographers will agree that there is nothing more picturesque than a pair of boobies posing for a camera. Of course, we almost sincerely apologize for this blatant misuse of fowl humor.

On the more serious side, the Cayman Islands are actually a collection of three separate instances where the peaks of the Cayman ridge broke through the Caribbean Sea’s surface. Little Cayman tops the surface by a mere 40ft (12m). On the north side of this ridge lays the Yucatan Basin and on the south side is the Cayman Trench. Little Cayman is approximately 80 miles (129km) east of Grand Cayman and 5 miles (8km) from Cayman Brac. Little Cayman is directly south of Miami with a little plane hop over or around Cuba, but typically, flights to Little Cayman arrive several times a day direct or non-stop via Grand Cayman.

Southeast of Little Cayman is Jamaica which tends to shield the Caymans from most hurricanes. Around these three exposed island peaks are fringing reefs, coral heads, sand plains that over time deposit vast amounts of sand down chutes that form between finger shaped coral canyons and ridges. Around, between, and hidden by the coral outcroppings you may encounter pinnacles, arches, tunnels, chimneys, mini-walls, caves, and eventually walls that descend downward into the deep blue.

Back to the area which makes Little Cayman such a famous place to dive we have to go to Bloody Bay on the slightly northwest side of the island. The wall starts at a mere 18ft (6m) of depth, but it is such a long shallow swim from shore before you reach the edge of the wall that may descend eventually down to 3,000ft+ (1,000m) and this is why some 99% of all local diving is facilitated by boat. To visit some 76 different local dive sites is quite an undertaking and since most visits are from Saturday to Saturday on Little Cayman you might as well plan a second trip or extend your first excursion.

There are some 24 dive sites on Bloody Bay and the adjacent Jackson Bay, but the favorite dive site of all for divers, underwater photographers, videographers and instructors alike has to be Mixing Bowl; aka (Three Fathoms). If you are facing Three Fathom Wall on the left side of the wall is a sand chute that descends down to 110ft (34m). A short distance more is a coral arch and to the left of a flat coral head is a cave that leads to a second canyon. To the right of Three fathom wall is Marylyn’s Cut which is where a large mushroom topped pinnacle is cut from the surrounding wall and goes down to 80ft (24m). Just to the right of the pinnacle is a cave where light filters in the open roof area and air bubbles filter out. Randy’s Gazebo is similar to Mixing Bowl with structural features on both sides of the wall, but on a smaller scale so you can explore this site on a single dive.

Besides the rock formations, there are myriads of yellow and red tube sponges, elephant ears, gorgonians, invertebrates of all sizes and types, schools of reef fish such as grunts and snappers, barracuda, sharks, rays and Nassau groupers. Grouper are found off Little Cayman in great abundance because of the long standing designated grouper spawning areas off both the west and east end of the island. Although, how they get the grouper to adhere to these specific courtship coordinates is beyond the scope of this article.

Now if you are into wreck dives several dive charters cross the short distance over to Cayman Brac, weather permitting, to spend a few dives visiting the 300ft + (91m) long former Russian Destroyer Keith Tibbetts. This dive descends down to 97ft (30m) and recently the Tibbetts broke into two pieces making it easy to investigate the engine and control rooms.

In addition to scuba diving, you can jog, bicycle around the island, go birding, or go kayaking, but the biggest non-diving sport on the island has to be blue water fishing. Little Cayman is well known for its mahi mahi, tuna, marlin, wahoo, and sailfish, and has been a sportsman’s dream out here since the 1980’s.

So now you know that Little Cayman is a secluded uncrowded island with world class diving, lots of iguanas, and tons of birds including thousands of pairs of red footed boobies. The island may be only 10 miles (16km) long, a little over a mile (2km) wide, and just above sea level, but if you think you can see it all in one week, then think again . . . or better yet, plan on staying longer or coming back again, but whatever you decide, we know you are going to enjoy your small island dive adventure experience in a very big and memorable way.

Dominica The Nature Island

Dominica the Nature Isle

If you immediately think this island is adjacent to Haiti and next to Puerto Rico, this is not the island you’re looking for. Dominica “the Nature Island” can only be found by traveling over to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea and there between Guadelupe and Martinique close to half a dozen volcanoes rose up from the deep sea floor and separated the Caribbean from the Atlantic ocean by forming one of the youngest islands in the Lesser Antilles: approximately 290 sqmi (750 km squared). Three of these volcano peaks rose above 4,000ft (1220m) in height. Morne Diablotin (Diablotin Mountain), the highest, stands at over 4,692ft (1430m) tall and has been inactive since the Holocene epoch or last 10,000 years. Morne Trois Pitons erupted a mere 920 years ago. These tall mountains collect moisture from passing clouds and disperse this mist over the island in the form of rain, streams, and rivers, making Dominica one of the most prolific and relatively untouched rainforests in the Caribbean. There are many rare plants and birds on the island. In fact, the Sisserou Parrot (Imperial Amazon) is only found on this island and on Dominica’s flag as well.

By the way, Dominica is pronounced with the stress on the second “i” as in DOM-i-NEE-ka. We think that the stress on the island name Domin”í”ca will perhaps be the only stressful event you encounter when visiting the island.

One last note on the natural pristine beauty of this island is the fact that both Pirates of the Caribbean movies two and three were filmed here because, even Hollywood can’t make a background as cool as the naturally occurring settings on the beaches and along the Indian River.

As far as the historical background goes, Columbus discovered the island on Sunday November 3rd, 1493 during his second voyage and therefore named it Dominica which in Latin (dies dominica) apparently means “Professional Sport’s Day” (our Latin may be a little rusty). Fortunately he didn’t discover more islands on Sundays or there would be more confusion on which island was which, than there already is. The Spanish never did much with the island and that upmost remarkably includes not slaughtering or dislocating every member of the local population of Island Caribs or Kalinago, as happened on most other Caribbean Islands. Even to this day on the northern end of the island there is a reservation similar to U.S. and Canada for indigenous islanders. Next came the French who in 1727 harvested timber and set up coffee plantations with the help of enslaved West Africans. The West Africans quickly made up the majority of the Island’s population and a dialect of French Antillean Creole became the dominant language. In 1761 the English invaded and ever since then, English has been the official language. There were more fights and squabbles between the French and English, but this is the quick cliff note version for scuba divers who prefer their history not too dry.

As for divers, the young volcanic nature of the island lends to black sand beaches, swim throughs, crevices, tunnels, corals growing on granites, deep walls, canyons, finger like ridges, and unique warms spots where volcanically heated water is swept up between fissures and cracks and in one location is known for the sulfur tinted bubbles that rise towards the surface in what appears to be an endless procession.

As for the fish and invertebrates, this secluded island boasts vast schools of jacks, grunts, big eyes, flying gurnards, squirrelfish, frogfish, angle fish, blue chromis, seahorses, eagle rays, spotted rays, southern sting rays, turtles, tube sponges, a wide variety of soft and hard corals, octopus, lobster, crabs, and flamingo tongue shells to name a few.

As for the dive sites, the unique volcanic past has created some one of a kind dive spots at the south end of the island. The Scottshead Soufriere Marine Reserve encompasses three miles of coastline and a large submerged crater. One of the most famous dive and snorkel destinations is in the most northern area of the marine reserve and is called Champagne Reef. The entrance is from shore via a long wooded walkway to help avoid the long rock strewn beach. Divers typically do a leisurely swim around the fish and corals and perhaps take in a view of a prevalent school of reef squid. Then at around 15ft (5m) while relaxing at a deco stop you can view what appears to be champagne bubbles seeping out from the sand and up between the rocks. This hot water and bubbles can burn your hand if you place it too close to the sub-aquatic hot springs, but the scene is a mesmerizing sight to witness. The repeatedly requested dive site Swiss Cheese with three swim throughs and two large granite rocks that form an arch way that leads to a coral area and across to a famous spot called Scottshead Pinnacle with a swim through at 35ft (11m) that exits to a wall that drops down to 120ft (37m) should not be missed. Another popular spot is Dangleben’s Pinnacle which is a series of five swim throughs that you can circumnavigate down at 80ft (25m) and the area is filled with colorful vertebrates and invertebrates alike. Also well known here is L’Abym with a wall that descends straight down to 1500ft (457m).

In the middle of the island on the west side we have well known dive sites such as sloping Nose Reef, and Rina’s Hole with a swim through, black coral, azure vase sponges, golden crinoids, and if you see a thing in the reef with bright shinny teeth, that’s a moray. Actually, here there are several moray eels. Rodney’s Rock is considered one of the best critter dives around and a good spot to find assorted crabs and spiny as well as slipper lobsters.

Up by Portsmouth, Cabrits Dive Site is a great drift dive over barrel sponges and schools of creole accented fish. Douglas Point is known for its abundance of flamingo tongue shells, Pointe Ronde and the Craters has hot bubbles percolating out of the sand at 120ft (37m), Toucari Bay has coral covered rocks at 40ft (12m), two tunnels plus multiple caves, and Five Finger Rock in the Cabrit Marine Park appears mostly submerged in the shape of its name sake with lots of critter life as well.

For wreck divers, there is the 55ft long (17m) Canefield Tug Wreck sitting almost perfectly upright at 90ft (27.5m) and the links of chain from the 18^th century Cottage Point Wreck in less than 30ft (9m) has some interesting pinnacles close by..

As for night dives, there is Newtown Dropoff, Sea World Pinnacle, Fort Young Flats, or a second round at Rodney’s Rock.

There are over thirty official dive sites around the island, as well as “secret spots” which can be experienced when weather and currents permit exploring.

For a non-diving day, you still will want to remain on the water as whales are prevalent throughout the year. Whale watching tours go out to see, hear, and record the sounds of sperm whales; the largest toothed whales in the world who can be seen from October to March. The nomadic males get up to 60ft long (18m) and don’t socialize until they are 30 years old. Females form natal family units that encompass several generations and may consist of 70 year old grandmothers, mothers, and male and female calves that enjoy the gentle deep waters off the west coast of Dominica. The waters offshore dip down to over 3,280ft (1,000m) and this is where sperm whales are presumed to hunt for giant squid using their spermaceti organ in their oversized nose region as a sonar system in the deep dark waters to locate their prey. They also make social noises “codas” with different clicks, sounds, and dialects around the world. Using a boat’s hydrophone you can hear these sounds miles or kilometers away. For an extra treat, Humpback whales can be heard in January and February. We like to think of these boat trips as the beginning of Eco “Echolocation” Tourism. There are some twenty other mammal species that frequent the islands including: spotted and spinner dolphins that roam in mixed pods of over 500 members strong, pilot whales in pods of 50 members, and bottle nose, risso’s, and other dolphins in smaller groups.

Now if you would like some time off from getting wet, then we recommend hiking some 300 miles (500km) around the island and visiting Trafalgar Falls, Victoria Falls, and Emerald Pool. We recommend taking a poncho and sweater with you as it can get cold, and the rain falls over five times as much up in the mountains as it does near the beaches. Hiking in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park rainforest is a must to see Boiling Lake; the second largest boiling lake in the world. On the way up to this site, tourists often stop in the Valley of Desolation to boil an egg in the sulfur laden springs or creek. Personally, we prefer eggs at a table setting with a pinch of salt, sometime before the eight mile (130km) return hike begins. You also have the chance to rest in relaxing hot springs along many trails, so in Dominica you never really have to miss being out of water any day during your entire stay; it’s your choice.

There is much here for all to discover as Dominica is a remote volcanically formed island lush with tropical rainforests, rivers, waterfalls, friendly people and abundant sea life. You have to change planes from one of the nearby Caribbean islands to reach one of the two local Dominica regional airports, and you also have to stress the way you say the island name, but coming here is definitely worth the effort to have a chance to explore what is rightly called the nature island, and dive literally some of the hottest dive sites on this planet.

For additional information on Dominica and various special dive and vacation packages, Click here.

Turks and Caicos

Turks and Caicos
White Sand and Wicked Wall Dives.

There’s a group of islands just over an hour’s flight from Miami and they are so much more than their ancient Lucayan name for red blossomed topped Turk cactus and string of islands (caya hico) implies. The low lying limestone islands here are bordered by white sand beaches and while at least one of them you can walk across to at low tide, a few are separated by the 7,200 plus feet deep Turks Island passage. Huge pelagics such as North Atlantic humpback whales pass between the islands during their annual migration from January to March. The passage also divides the main eight islands with West Caicos, Providenciales (Provo), North Caicos, Middle Caicos, East Caicos, and South Caicos on the west side, and Grand Turk and Salt Cay on the east side of the passage. Some 299 uninhabited islands help round out the rest of the island chain.

Whales aren’t the only thing that has passed by these islands. Christopher Columbus passed by here in 1492 on his first voyage to discovering a western route to Asia. He may have been off on his calculations by a continent and an ocean or two, but had he known how far the circumference of the Earth really was, or that the Vikings had made settlements in the New World already for some 500 years, Columbus might not have been able to talk anyone into joining him for the first of four total expeditionary cruises. Another explorer passing by Turks and Caicos, astronaut John Glen, orbited Earth three times in 1962 before making a splash near the islands and coming ashore for some rest and relaxation at Grand Turk.

Now it’s easy to reach the shores of Turks and Caicos by scheduled airlines to the international airport with ongoing inter island flights or cruise ships. The Grand Turk Cruise Center is home to a 3,000 foot pier and the recreational and shopping center is home to the largest “Jimmy Buffet” Margaritaville in the world. If you want to visit somewhere less crowded, take a short trip over to Salt Cay and do some whale watching from the ruins at Taylor’s Hill or take a short excursion over to Gibb’s Cay to see the stingrays swim right up next to the beach. Don’t forget to visit the Columbus National Marine Park complete with 25 dive site moorings to visit with corals, garden eels, turtles, nurse sharks Nassau groupers and a host of smaller fish species.

Some 13 miles south of Salt Cay exists an ocean pinnacle and at 40ft of depth (12.5m), is the wreck of the HMS Endymion, a British fifth rate 49 gun warship that sunk in 1790. Ironically an early diesel five-masted schooner General Pershing wrecked here at Endymion Rock as well in 1921, and now you can see the chains running over from General Pershing’s anchor towards the Endymion’s anchor. As far as ship wrecks go, Turks and Caicos has the oldest wreck on this side of the pond. The Molasses Reef Wreck dates back to 1505. Many wrecks came to rest on Molasses Reef, but this Spanish ship was thought to be Columbus’s famed Niňa and so some divers in the 1970’s blew this historical artifact up in search of treasure. They didn’t find what they were looking for, but cannons, crossbows, and crew personal effects are now on exhibit at the Turks and Caicos National Museum built before 1885 and located near the seat of the government since 1766; Cockburn Town on Grand Turk. There is also a lighthouse built in 1852 with cast iron tower worth a sightseeing visit while on Grand Turk.

The ages may seem old, but when you consider that the Arawaken speaking Tainos lived here from 500 AD to 800 AD, and the classical Tainos moved here in the 1200’s, then anything after 1500 AD doesn’t seem so long ago. In fact, the classical Tainos had a good thing going for close to 300 years until Juan Ponce de Leon recorded the islands in 1512 and introduced the locals to a work abroad program that he just wouldn’t let them refuse. By 1513, His work and no-release program left the islands once again uninhabited until the salt collectors appeared in 1645. Pirates used the islands for awhile; the most notable being Anne Bonny around Parrot Cay in the 1720’s. Loyalists from America fled to the islands from 1775-1783. Also since Britain abolished slavery in 1833, many slaves that were shipwrecked or intercepted in transit in near waters were freed, and the population of the islands modestly grew once again. So now knowing the brief history of the islands, you are now able to appreciate the local architecture, the local island culture, cuisine, and part of the geography.

Across the Turks Island Passage you’ll find the Providenciales International Airport on Provo (Providenciales Island). Provo is the home of several major all inclusive and independent resorts. Some of these resorts cater to families, others to adults only, and all with miles of spectacular white sand beaches, beautiful pool settings, pool bars, and many with their own or otherwise serviced by dive operators with boats to take you to some of the hottest dive sites around the Caicos side of the islands.

Now, although thousands of boats have sunk around the islands, the main attractions are the reef and wall dives. That is except for the Mad Max style Thunderdome that was used for the pilot of a French game show. The thunder dome collapsed during hurricane Francis in 2004. But at 20ft from the surface and 35ft at depth, it makes a great swim through to view shrimp, scallops, clams, barracuda, queen angelfish, gray angelfish, lobster, and schools of snapper, goatfish, and others will surround you on this one of a kind dive.
Many of the dive sites here are named after what you expect to see at the site: Hole in the Wall starts at the top of the reef at 55ft and a tube goes down to and you exit out onto the reef at 90ft. The Crack cuts down the reef at 55ft down to 100ft, Eel Garden…take a guess at what is found here besides peacock flounder, and nurse sharks. The Amphitheater is a wall dive with an under hang that goes back about 15ft at the base at 85ft of depth. Perhaps Becky’s Beautiful Bottom doesn’t quite describe the huge coral heads off West Caicos, Brandywine doesn’t quite showcase the sand chutes at this site. G Spot doesn’t at first invoke images of Gorgonian soft corals. Double D off French Cay might not readily conjure up images of two pinnacles, but other dive sites such as Shark Hotel, Elephant Ear Canyon, Aquarium, Football Field, Graceland, Grouper Hole, and Highway to Heaven may appear less scandalous when mentioned in your log book and social media posts. Oh, and expect to see big eye jacks, grouper, rays and schools of smaller fish just about everywhere you go. Some sites such as the Molasses Reef, a wall dive, is south of Provo by French Cay and takes awhile to get there, so it’s usually part of a two or three dive excursion that may leave in the morning and not get back until 5pm. The two and three dive boat trips are the best way to see the sights at the farthest ends of the islands. For extended liveaboard trips around the islands may we recommend the Turks and Caicos Aggressor II or the Turks and Caicos Explorer. Remember that the winter months are peak tourist season, and dive boats may fill up fast. It doesn’t help when these islands are getting so much good press as being one of the top dive destinations but the reefs are available every month.

Turks and Caicos has several marine and shore preserves and national parks to see on your non-diving days and besides viewing birds such as frigates and flamingos at the parks, there is a Rock Iguana preserve on Long Cay. You can get around the islands by car, scooter, TCI Ferry system, and other boats.

The Caicos Conch Farm on Provo is the only place in the world where they raise queen conch for local consumption as well as export. This ten acre oceanfront aqua culture farm has 65 acres of adjacent circular pens where queen conchs graze and grow. People will think you’re a marine biologist after a short tour at this site.

And speaking of conch, no trip to Provo would be complete if you didn’t stop for conch served at Bugaloos Conch Crawl or da Conch Shack and Rum Bar. Fried or marinated, you “conch” go wrong man, with this delectable and renewable island resource.

So there you go, islands filled with tourist attractions, cruise ships, shopping and dining, islands uninhabited, islands with long white sand beaches to relax on, or get up, dive and explore almost endless miles of reefs, walls, wrecks, with extensive marine life such as turtles and corals. So no matter how or what century you get here, Turks and Caicos has something for everyone.

110,000 Reasons to Go Liveaboard

110,000 Reasons To Go Liveaboard

There are more than 110,000 islands in the world and many pinnacles that rest just below the surface and each and every one of them may be filled with multitudes of critters and creatures that seldom come in contact with humans. Sure, some of these islands may be inhabited, but most require transportation via some sort of marine vessel to get there and it may take a day or two to reach some of these remote destinations. Even destinations that are not remote, but are near other dive sites, may require a liveaboard to maximize your dives as you simultaneously minimize your back and forth to port travel time. Weather, animal migration patterns, multi-nation destinations, and toys/technical gear supplied, are other considerations for choosing liveaboards.

While many of these liveaboards offer first class dinning experiences with remarkable onboard chefs and while many of these vessels are built using iron wood hulls and beautifully hand crafted teak interiors or modern steel designs with the latest in furnishings and electronics, we will restrict this article to dive destinations, as well as mention some of the experiences you may encounter while being a guest on one or many of these luxury liveaboards vessels.

Starting off down under, Mike Ball offers great expeditions to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia for three nights/12 dives, or to the Coral Sea for 4 nights/14dives, or a combination of 7 nights and see both incredible dive destinations on one spectacular trip aboard the specifically designed twin hull Spoilsport. It’s just impossible to do so many dives at so many remote Great Barrier Reef dive sites from a shore-based resort or per day dive charter.

How about diving one nation, but with thousands of islands? The MV Pindito , Msy Seahorse, Komodo Dancer, Raja Ampat Aggressor and the Pelagian are just some of the vessels that cruise though the 15,00 plus island of Indonesia. Indonesia is the epicenter of marine biodiversity. These vessels have different itineraries depending on the time of year to maximize your visit and to view an unforgettable as well as incredible amount of sea life.

How about diving three different nation destinations on one liveaboard trip? The M/V Caribbean Explorer II travels 8 days/ 7 nights to SABA, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. Perhaps you would prefer one island chain like Turks and Caicos, where the Turks and Caicos Aggressor II and the Turks and Caicos Explorer peruse some 70 miles of reefs, walls, multiple cays and islands, as well as visit when possible the 22 mile long Columbus passage that is 7,000ft deep and right on the migration route for Atlantic humpback whales from January to March and large pelagics the rest of the year.

Speaking of seasons, the Rocio Del Mar is either in the Sea of Cortez around the Midriff Islands or near Revillagigedo-Socorro islands from November to May. The Sea of Cortez also called the Gulf of California; Jacques Cousteau called this area the Galapagos of North America.

The Nautilus Explorer also leads expeditions to Socorro Island as well as Guadalupe Island, San Bernitos Island, and even all the way over to a seldom visited exotic destination of Clipperton Atol. Guadalupe Island gets the most notoriety as these crystal clear waters make it easy to view some 108 different great white sharks each year. Nautilus Explorer uses double decker descending cages to make your experience with these apex predators unobtrusive, and arguably second to none.

The Solmar V is also at Socorro Island from November to May and at Guadalupe Island during great white shark season. They are also part of the Dive Encounters Alliance. All vessels are independently owned and they have eight liveaboard destinations including Galapagos, Cocos Island, Maldives, Indonesia, Palau, and Honduras Bay Islands as well as Guadalupe /Socorro Islands.

For some, the ultimate dive sites are in the Galapagos Islands for this is where Charles Darwin first observed how cormorants had evolved into flightless birds, and Iguanas had evolved into ocean going reptiles. Galapagos penguins and tons of fish, silky and Galapagos sharks round out the rest of the underwater one of a kind marine environment and make this dive adventure so inspiring; the Galapagos Aggressor III and the Humboldt Explorer journey to these enchanted waters.

Now, as they “sea” it, sharks don’t care if it rains, but the time of year you plan your liveaboard trip can greatly effect what you see on your dives. We could be more precise, but generally fish and whale sharks alike rely on the phase of the moon, water temperature, hormonal changes, and Neptune’s will. Then again, you could book the same trip three separate times of the year and end up with three unique diving experiences.

For wreck divers we recommend diving the 50 mile wide Truk Lagoon where you can dive some 60 ships from WW II. This former southern fleet headquarters of the Imperial Japanese fleet is a historical graveyard and with a ghost fleet of submarines, destroyers, cargo ships, Betty bombers and more sunk during two raids in 1944. The Truk Odyssey ventures here. For those that are into tech diving and rebreather diving you might like to journey on the SS Thorfinn.

Palau also has sunken WWII wrecks as well as a freshwater jellyfish lake. The reef and manta cleaning stations are a big hit with divers, and night dive spawning trips are coordinated with local marine biologists and tour guides from Palau.

The Aggressor and Dancer Fleet Boasts 22 itineraries from East Flores, Belize, Maldives, Myanmar, and to the Red Sea. Their Kona trip will let you dive sites too remote for most one day charter trips and their Cayman Aggressor IV will allow you to dive, weather permitting, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman all in one trip; Saturday to Saturday.

For something completely different might we suggest one of the 7 trips available by Oceanwide Expeditions to dive the Arctic waters of Spitsbergen using zodiacs to take you close to spider crabs, soft corals, peacock worms, dogfish, and walrus from a safe distance during the warmer summer days when the sun shines 24/7. They also dive in the Antarctic where you’ll see penguins, leopard seals, krill, and fur seals. These dives are for more experienced drysuit trained divers.

We ran out of space before mentioning the Okeanos Aggressor and the hammerheads of Cocos Island off Costa Rica. The M/Y Sun Dancer II is a great way to experience the diving off Belize such as Turneffe Reef and the world famous Blue Hole. The Caribbean Pearl II explores the Honduras Bay Islands. Both the Nai’a liveaboard and the Island Dancer II cruise through Fiji. The M/V Atlantis Azores allows you to dive with ease off Tubbataha Reef and the colorful corals off Anilao in the Philippines. The M/Y Spirit of Niugini lets you tour the muck diving sites of Papua New Guinea. The MV Bilikiki and the MV Spirit of the Solomon Islands let you dive 1500 miles west of Fiji and 1,200 miles northeast of Australia, and just like Fiji, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea, you are still diving within the Coral Triangle. In the Maldives you may like to try an adventure aboard the Carpe Vita Explorer, the Maldives Aggressor, or the MV Emperor Voyager. We just might have to write a book to let you know everything about these spectacular world class dive destinations.

Having mentioned all these destinations and luxury liveaboards, we have to admit, that, one of the best reasons to go on one or all of these diving excursions is a chance to meet and dive with other divers that share your level of enthusiasm and passion for the sport; some of these people may become life long friends. Some of these individuals may be professional underwater videographers, photographers, or marine biologists, while others may be relatively new to the sport, and just fun to be around, talk about diving, share past dive adventures, share good food, and most importantly share incredible experiences on a planet mostly covered by water, yet still called Earth.

To access additional information on these and other dive liveaboards as well as their destinations click here or to view possible exclusive deals click here.

North Sulawesi, Indonesia Part Two

North Sulawesi, Indonesia

The Center of Life’s Diversity

Part Two

As you last recall, we tried to include all 50,000 miles (70,000km) of shoreline of Indonesia in one article, then we briefly mentioned three dive resorts on the northern edge of Sulawesi Island where some 390 species of coral, 90 resident species of fish, and where some 1,650 species of fish commute to work daily to and from the Bunaken National Park which is considered Grand Central in the incredibly bio-diverse Coral Triangle which stretches from the Philippines down over to Malaysia and across to the Solomon Islands.

One of the most famous dives here at Bunaken Park is Lekuan 1, which is a 120ft (40m) wall dive where away from the wall you might see pelagics as big as whale sharks.On the wall you might find pink pygmy seahorses, and small orange colored orangutan crabs, colored corals, sponges, and perhaps a turtle resting on a ledge. Sachiko’s is another wall dive where you might encounter black tip sharks, schools of bumphead parrotfish, or napoleon wrasse. Ron’s Point is a site for advanced divers where two currents entwine and tunas, black tip sharks, leaf scorpions, and pontohi seahorses are spotted. In addition, at any of these sites, you may see emperor anglefish, bluestripe snapper, pinkish basslet, two-lined monocle bream, frogfish, and a plethora of small shrimps, crabs, and other invertebrates.

The resorts we mentioned were the Eco Divers Lembeh and Minahasa Lagoon Resort and Eco Divers Manado. From Singapore, Bali, and Jakarta, as well as several other airports you can fly right in to Manado, the capital city of northern Sulawesi. It’s a big bustling modern city with KFC and McDonalds, innumerable blue taxi buses filling the streets, yet there are also regions where you can taste cooked to order local foods from outdoor vendors, visit street markets, and enjoy a ride on an ornate decorated horse drawn carriage.

We think that there is something for everyone in Manado, but if you came here to completely relax at a secluded dive resort or do some serious muck diving, its time to leave the big city.

Minahasa Lagoon Resort and Eco Divers Manado, is within 90 minutes of Manado. This oceanfront property with several types of accommodations and expansive beach is surrounded by a tropical rain forest. It is highly rated on TripAdvisor with modern amenities, spa services, local and international cuisine.

Besides the dives at Bunaken Park, the Minahasa Lagoon Resort and Eco Divers Manado has a house reef that is ideal for divers and snorkelers. Some of the other boat dives in the area include City Extra, which is a muck dive with seahorses, ghost pipefish, and down the slope you might find frogfish, mimic octopus, and black and blue eels. At Tanjung Bulo there are some 15 different species of nudibranchs, cuttlefish, harlequin shrimp, and sea snakes. Molas Wreck is a Dutch cargo ship that 70 years later has lots of coral growth and sponges. After diving the wreck divers typically go check out a nearby reef.

Here you will see tons of coral that make up the fringing reef and tons of sea life as well. Batu Goso is a boat site with several steep pinnacles (5- 35m). It’s a drift dive where you can see white tips, black tips, turtles, grouper and multi-colored corals. Across the waterway on the Sulawesi coastline is Paradise Pier. This is a muck dive site at the old paradise hotel pier. Hot springs are located at the bottom of the steps. Frogfish, seahorses, octopus, squid, and batfish apparently don’t mind the warmer water. Sabora has nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses and a great place for night dives. Sahuang has jacks, dogtooth tuna, barracuda, red-toothed triggers and colorful corals.

Their is also a combination two resort package that lets you stay 7 nights at Minahasa Lagoon Resort and Eco Divers Manado, then a land transfer of 2.5 hours to Eco Divers Lembeh for another 7 night stay. This gives you the opportunity to experience the best diving that Manado and Lembeh can offer. For every divers piece of mind there is a hyperbaric chamber within 90 minutes of both resorts. When you depart it is a about a one hour van ride back to Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado.

Eco Divers Lembeh uniquely offers the comfort of a land based resort and all its amenities and services with the convenience of a stationery day dive liveaboard. A maximum of 16 divers can relax, eat and depart in smaller dive boats to over 60 dive sites in Lembeh Strait. But just to inform you, don’t expect 100 plus feet of visibility here. What you will see is a black sand and silt substrate with patches of reefs, discarded man made objects, lone anemones, a few wrecks, and even small rocks with absolutely breathtaking rare creatures of every size, color, and texture. This is Mecca for underwater photographers. An anemone with clown fish, an old bottle with a blue ring octopus inside, or a rock with a frogfish leaning against it fill your camera frames and image cards on almost every dive. And when we say frogfish, we are talking hairy frogfish, clown frogfish, painted frogfish, or the newly discovered Lembeh frogfish to name of few. Fish moving across the sand or mimic octopus or mantis shrimp burring themselves in the sand are common sites too. Keep in mind that there are also multiple species of shrimp, octopus, pipefish, and nudibranchs often seen on the same dive. Some oddity fish you will find include: stargazers, crocodile fish, Pegasus sea moths, bobtail squids, devilfish, rhinopias, and candy crabs, but it’s not just about these fish, as the strait is also home to juvenile pelagic fish that are drawn here for safety and plentiful amounts of zooplankton.

Some of the other favorite dive sites include Nudi Falls (nudibranchs), Jahir (night dives), Tk 1 (everything in this village bay), Hairball (frogfish), and of course the Mawali, a Japanese cargo wreck, which sunk in 1943 and now resembles a coral reef with occasional straight edges.

As you can see, we’ve run out of space again, and we haven’t even mentioned land activities such as jungle tours, guided treks into rainforests, volcano trekking, white water rafting, or birding to see the endemic species of birds found no where else in the world. Also, the 6 national parks, 19 nature preserves, and 3 marine preserves of Sulawesi along with the freshwater fish, freshwater shrimp, and the highly cave adapted freshwater crabs will have to wait for another time. Sulawesi has so much to see and explore, but none of these spectacular marine creatures can truly shine unless immersed by the light from your own camera or dive light.

For more information on exclusive dive travel offers, competitive airfare, and how you can visit North Sulawesi, Indonesia, please contact us or CLICK HERE