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United KingdomThe Perrone
(30m) 320ft long, torpedoed by UC-65 in 1917. An interesting dive as the wreck lies in two halves, with the stern section lying alongside the starboard side, can be difficult to see the whole wreck on one dive. Some nice swim-throughs on this wreck, can be dark.
You can dive this wreck from the dive boat Sunfish. You can contact Mike of Sunfish Charters on 07968-262421 or email
click here to email or visit
website Never been on Sunfish before, then check out our Testimonial page on
website more info about Perrone including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United KingdomThe Galicia
(18m) 400ft long, hit by a mine in 1917, then 'dispersed' in 1923. As a result she is fairly flat despite coming up to 5m proud of the bottom, but is a large site and a nice dive. Well worth a good rummage, still 'ship shaped' bits to see, various things are still on her (although ideally not removed). Lots of congers, pollack, usual pout, wrasse etc.
You can dive this wreck from the dive boat Sunfish. You can contact Mike of Sunfish Charters on 07968-262421 or email
click here to email or visit
website Never been on Sunfish before, then check out our Testimonial page on
website more info about Galecia including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United KingdomThe Britagne
(28m) 232ft long, sunk in 1918 by being rammed by another ship (you can see the gouge in the starboard side). Sits upright on a shell bottom. A little bit of superstructure, but generally whole. Still has it's prop & rudder, with a spare prop on the stern deck.
Ideal for all levels of diver, whether it's a non-stop 20min dive or a full 60min dive (in 60mins you will see ALL of it). For advanced divers there are some nice penetrations. Lots of fish (and snagged fishing line), HUGE crabs live near the bow.
You can dive this wreck from the dive boat Sunfish. You can contact Mike of Sunfish Charters on 07968-262421 or email
click here to email or visit
website Never been on Sunfish before, then check out our Testimonial page on
website more info about Bretagene including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Cayman islands Caribbean SeaMy wife and I have been diving on Little Cayman since 1989. We've dived throughout the Caribbean and also two trips to the Bligh Water in Fiji. I can't imagine a more dramatic wall dive anywhere, at least in the western hemisphere. Bloody Bay Wall crests in water less that 20 feet deep, then goes vertical to 2000 feet deep. It's like floating along the walls of the Grand Canyon, with deep ravines and undercuts, and marine life of all forms just teeming on the wall and on the colorful coral gardens on top. There are enough swim-throughs, arches, and other formations to keep anyone in awe. As great as the wall is for wide-angle photography, I've taken some great macro shots here too.
A site that has to be seen to believe!
more info about Bloody Bay Wall - Little Cayman including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Mexico PacificIsla Guadalupe, Baja's best kept secret! Visited by fewer than 50 scuba divers per year, this electric destination is as remote as it is large.
The island lying 215 miles due south of San Diego, California and 150 west of the Baja, Mexico peninsula is comparible in length to California's Catalina Island, yet it's overall size is tremendous. This offshore mountain rises over 4000 feet from the ocean floor to more than 4200 feet at it's highest peak. A true ocean mountain!
The scuba diving here is not for novices as current, distant to civilization and overall dive conditions may be very strenuous at times. Yet even so, the diving here has been compared to CoCo's and the Revillagigedos for excitement! Large animals are the order of the day here as encounters with Pacific bottlenosed dolphin, California sea lions, Guadalupe fur seals and the ruler of the roost, great white shark are the marquee atractions. The chance of being engulfed by a school of marauding yellowtail or yellowfin tuna is always a possibility as well!
The underwater topography is astounding and unique. Beautiful walls, spire pinnacles, caves and granite plateaus are the typical topography. The giant kelp of California does not make its home at this island, yet there are areas that are covered with a taller version of California's palm kelp.
There is a diverse mix of temperate and tropical species at this destination as you'll quite often find a garibaldi next to a red tailed triggerfish or a swallowtailed damsels mixed in with a cloud of blacksmith. Parrotfish, scythe marked butterflyfish, leopard grouper and even and occasional Clarion angelfish are seen at this dynamic dive destination!
The only way to access Guadalupe Island is via a live aboard dive vessel and Horizon Charters Live Aboard Adventures is the only company offering regularly scheduled scuba dive departures to this destination. During the height of the great white shark migration, this company also offers cage diving itineraries.
For information on scuba diving Guadalupe Island go to:
website and for information on GREAT WHITE SHARK DIVING GO TO: SHARKADVENTURE.COM
more info about Isla Guadalupe, Baja including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Mexico PacificBaja, Mexico is surrounded by some of the most biologically diverse water in the world. San Benito Islands is a small slice of this pie and is a blast from the past! I like to compare it to California diving of 75 years ago, California diving is fantastic, but the environment at San Benito Islands is like California on steriods!
San Benito Islands is 279 miles south of San Diego, California and is only accesible from a live aboard dive vessel and typically on a trip with a minimum of a 7 day itiinerary. Horizon Charters Live Aboard Adventures is the only live aboard company that is regularly servicing this amazing destination, and has been doing so since 1994.
San Benito is not for the novice diver and takes a full day of travel to reach. Regular departures from San Diego, California take place during the best months to dive this amazing destination during the months of June - September.
When diving San Benito expect to be surrounded by life on every dive. Not only are the kelp forests absolutely amazing, the mixture of temperate and tropical species of fish, as well as three different species of pinneped are quite often too much to absorb on every single dive!
Even though San Benito is far south of sunny Southern California, do not sign up expecting to encounter large pelagics, i.e., whale sharks or mantas. We have seen these animals here, but they are not an animal that frequents San Benito's waters.
For more information about this truly unique biologically diverse destination go to:
website more info about San Benito Islands, Baja including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United States PacificSan Clemente Island is just one of the eight islands that make up the Channel Island chain off of the coast of California. Each island is uniquely different and amazing to behold above and below water.
Kelp diving is the order of the day at San Clemente, and the best way to get to this offshore oasis is onboard a live aboard dive boat. Horizon Charters Live Aboard Adventures has been taking divers to the Channel Islands since 1981, and through there customer service and attention to safety and detail is one of the best live aboard operations in the world.
The kelp forests of San Clemente are an underwater oasis, where you'll be able to encounter sea life as small as a nudibranch to the goliath giant black sea bass (Up to 500 pounds!). The vibrancy of color underwater during a dive through one of San Clemente's kelp forests is truly amazing. The sunrays penetrating through a kelp forest on a beautiful summer or fall day add an element of awe to any diving experience. I like to compare kelp forest diving to a stroll through a healthy redwood forest, with one exception. Instead of looking up at the trees from the bottom, you can fly through the forest tree tops looking down at the sea floor that can sometimes be 100 feet away! A truly amazing experience!
Night diving in a beautiful kelp forest adds another element of wow to the entire experience. Mix in some California sea lions, maybe a 1000' fish school of mackerel, and an occasional 5 - 8 foot soupfin shark and you've completed the total California and San Clemente Island kelp forest experience!
Check out Horizon Charters Live Aboard Adventures at:
website more info about San Clemente Island, California including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Cayman islands Caribbean SeaA great shore dive operated by Divetech in Grand Cayman. Mini wall ranging to 60 feet jsut minutes off shore offers a large variety of sponges, gorgonians, corals and reef fish inlcuding a tarpon cavern. The deep wall is accesible from shore (starting at 60 feet and dropping into the abyss) - about a 10 minute surface swim. All ameneties needed are onsite including setup benches, shade, Restaurant, retail shop, showers and restroom facilities, rental equipment. Great marco opportunities in the shallows are afforded. Rebreathers welcomed. Open 7 days a week from 7am to 5pm.
more info about Turtle Reef including maps, reviews, and ratings...
SwedenA small and very nice Swedish lake with alot of marinlife and good visibility (compered to other sites in Sweden).
Swedish freshwaterfish: Gadda(pike), Abborre(perch), Mort(roach) and Krafta(crayfish).
A long canoe trail goes through this lake, it starts in Akersstyckebruk and ends in the town of Trosa, so be caerful when you surface and look up as they are nearly soundless.
+ Easy entry and exit as the road goes just besides the lake. Good camping ground.
- Far from Diveshops and compressor nearest is aprox. 80km away in Stockholm, the capitol of Sweden.
more info about Mellan Marviken (Krempan) including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Ecuador PacificExploramar Diving is the only PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center authorized in Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, also DAN Business Members (Divers Alert Network). Our crew with PADI Instructors, Divemasters and Marine Biologists highly qualified guarantee a first class service and a safety dive. All of our tours are conducted by experienced guides and are carried out in your own language.
website WOLF AND DARWIN ISLANDS Wolf and Darwin are the north western islands of the archipelago, famous because they are the most exciting and desirable dive sites in the world. Strong currents are the ruling feature of these singular dive sites, where a diver can station himself at a rock to watch giant schools of every kind of fish drift past. The sites are especially known for the high presence of hammerheads and big galápagos sharks as well as marine turtles, various types of rays, mantas, dolphins, moray eels, and invertebrates. Here, you may live the unique experience of finding yourself with the greatest fish of all, the Whale Shark, between June to October.
ACADEMY BAY At Santa Cruz Island. This is the bay of Puerto Ayora at Santa Cruz Island, offering 5 dive sites within 10 or 20 minutes by boat from our Dive Center . Three of the sites are generally calm with little current; ideal for students or novices. At the other two sites the dives could be a little more complicated if there is current, so they are suitable for intermediate or expert divers. It is possible to see reef fish, sea lions, sting rays, golden rays, eagle rays, invertebrates, morays, garden eels, turtles, marine iguanas, and white tip reef sharks.
SANTA FE ISLAND This island is about an hour away from our Dive Center, and offers 4 dive sites. Generally the waters are clear and the currents mild, so they are ideal for novices. At the same time, the animals and topography make them interesting for intermediates and experts. We can see reef fish; sting and eagle rays, garden eels, turtles, sea lion colony, invertebrates, morays, pelagic fish, maybe white tip reef sharks or hammerheads.
FLOREANA ISLAND Floreana is about 90 minutes south from our Dive Center. The 9 dive sites usually have calm water but when we find strong current at one we can quickly move to another. This makes Floreana ideal for all levels of divers. You may see coral heads, endemic black coral, reef fish; sting and eagle rays, turtles, sea lion colony, barracudas, pelagic fish, white tip reef sharks, galápagos sharks, hammerhead sharks, sea horses, morays, garden eels, invertebrates.
NORTH SEYMOUR ISLAND This island is about 90 minutes north of our Dive Center. There are 5 dive sites suitable for all levels of divers, although sometimes the currents can be strong. We can see reef fish; sting and eagle rays, a large garden eel colony, turtles, invertebrates, sea lion colony, morays, pelagic fish, and usually white tip reef sharks and hammerheads. Occasionally the galápagos sharks.
GORDON ROCKS This rock formation is a world famous dive site close to Plazas Islands, about one hour from our Dive Center. There are 5 dive sites in the area, but only the three at Plazas are for novices. The other two sites are for intermediates and experts because there can be strong currents and surge. The Gordon Rocks dive sites are mostly walls with a deep bottom. Reef fish, large pelagic fish; golden, sting and eagle rays, turtles, sea lion colony, endemic galapágos fur seals, morays, invertebra
more info about Galapagos including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Brazil Atlantic (South)Situated in the Região dos Lagos, the city is famous among the scuba divers and those who love the sea. White sand beaches and crystal clear waters are an invitation to relax.
Arraial is strategically located near to Cabo Frio and the sophistication of Búzios. All this intense night life is close to the charming comfortable pousadas of Arraial.
Distance (approximately): 180km from Rio de Janeiro. 15min from Cabo Frio and 30min from Búzios.
How to arrive:
Bus: regular lines leave the Terminal Rodoviário Novo Rio (bus station)
Car: use the Via Lagos highway until Cabo Frio, then take the proper exit to Arraial do Cabo.
More than 40 dive points scattered around the small bay formed by the continent and the Cabo Frio Island. The map above indicates just a few of these points.
Depths can vary from 12m to more than 50m in some spots.
During the dives you will be able to observe turtles, moray eels, large schools of fish, sea horses, rays, octopus and much more.
For the experienced diver we offer the chance to explore underwater caves, historical shipwrecks and submersed canyons.
The rocky bottom is covered by rigid and soft corals, sponges of many different shapes and colors.
Making the submarine scenario very special.
Dive Center:
Dive Point Atividades Subaquaticas
click here to email website If you fly into Rio de Janeiro and have a little time, it definitely pays to visit this dive shop before planning your diving in Brazil.
The friendly staff will gladly help you book your trip and can tell you about other great dive destinations in Brazil as well.
more info about Arraial do Cabo including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Italy Mediterranean SeaPool Diving offer the best cave diving in the Mediterranean Sea at very low prices. We are open all year around and we have 1 large steel boat (17mts) and 2 dinghies. We provide a transfer service and we also help our customers to choose the most suitable accommodation according to their needs. For more info: 0039 079 979229; mailbox@pooldiving.com;
website more info about Alghero and its dive sites including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Portugal AtlanticIt's THE MAGICAL PLACE. At 13 meters you have a seamount with hidrotermal activity. This brings lots of live to the surface and unique life forms in shalow vents. Schols of Barracuda, tunas, bonitos and other pelagic fish are a certain! Be carefull with boilling water, gas, ammonia and currents or swells. Once I broke a camera there! Check out some photos at http:andrebarreiros.blogspot.com
more info about D. João de Castro Bank including maps, reviews, and ratings...
New Zealand PacificBeneath the waves at the Poor Knights an ocean of diving has been compressed into a relatively small area. The caves, arches, tunnels and sheer cliffs provide a great variety of habitats to explore.
From turbulent sunlit waters and kelp forests on the upper reaches of the tumbling "giant staircase," to the dark waters of the islands' many caves, the Poor Knights offer an extraordinary variety of underwater experiences. Sponge gardens and gorgonian fields are inhabited by a myriad of fish, shellfish, urchins and anemones, with black coral found in deeper waters.
The steep cliffs, which fringe the islands, plunge 100 metres below sea level in places before reaching a sandy seafloor.
The arches are some of the most interesting places to explore. A rich nutrient soup is washed through them, feeding the countless animals that compete for space on the walls. Squadrons of stingrays can also be found cruising the waters of the archways during warmer months.
Many of the subtropical fishes living in the marine reserve are found nowhere else in New Zealand, having found their way to Poor Knights on the subtropical East Auckland current. Some of the fish include subtropical species such as spotted black groper, mosaic moray and Lord Howe coralfish. They are renowned for their friendly nature and make visiting the marine reserve a truly memorable experience.
Nursery Cove, The Gardens and some of the shallower parts of the South Harbour are the best places for novice divers. Experienced divers can find spectacular and challenging dives all around the islands.
more info about Poor Knights including maps, reviews, and ratings...
MexicoSitting in the middle Baja California Sur's premiere marine reserve, this site sits in shallow water giving plenty of bottom time. On a good day, all that bottome time is needed to fully take in all there is to offer at this site. The water temperature ranges between 60F and 90F, giving an amazing variety of life during a year.
You can find everything from the tiniest Nudibranch and shrimp, to the largest Whale Sharks and Manta, depending on the time of year.
Shoals of a variety of fish abound, including shoals numbering well into the thousands of Jacks. Occasionally Sea Lion grace the waters as they feed in the waters.
A large variety of Eel, and tropical fish are to be found on the reef all year round.
Rays of several varieties, including impressive shoals of Bat Rays, Golden Cow Nose Rays and Mobula Manta can be seen during the year.
There is a variety of both hard and soft coral abounding the structure surrounded on all sides by sand. The site is not the largest, however there is so much to see that you have more than used your botom time before coming to the end.
The people at Vista Sea Sports, located in Buena Vista (about 1 hour north of San Jose del Cabo) are a great friendly bunch and are willing to help in any way they can.
website For the non diving member of the group, they offer snorkelling trips to a nearby remote beach. The ride is about an hour by "Panga", and during the cooler season, whales are often seen on the journey. Dolphins occasionally make their apearance in the waters on the way to and from the dive sites.
Although El Bajo has the most life, there are several other fascinating sites in the area. All dive sites in the area are very distinct from one another in their structure.
more info about El Bajo, Cabo Pulmo Marine Reserve including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Australia Indian OceanShip was a salt carrier until during a cyclone in may 1988 Unladened and unable to manouver was washed onto the cliff face , despite the best efforts of the crews of both the ship and the tug boats she was wrecked and broke up. Now sitting in 10-12 meters of water it has become a haven for large cod and groupers as well as tons of other marine life.The wreck itself has broken up quite a lot over the last 5 or so years but still parts of the ship defy mother nature and remain in tact.
Diving this wreck brings its own unquie problems and barriers. The swells that crash into the coast line are at time incredible and claim the lives of fishermen every so often. Access into and out of the water is the most difficult part of this dive, it is in short a calculated jump to enter the water and a mad scramble between the crashing wave to exit. NOT FOR THE INEXPERENCED OR FAINT HEARTED. Must only be attempted in times of minimal swell.
Other problems include surge and the ever present sharks that seem to frequent the area (the famous Garths Rock is 500 meters to the south).
more info about Korean Star Quobba Station WA including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Tanzania Indian OceanDiving expedition liveaboard in the Northern part of the Mozambique channel, for active diving holidays in a heavenly setting.
Have you ever dreamt of taking part in an oceanographic expedition? Yes? Then you are most welcome to The Kairos Company.
The Kairos Company organises 4 expeditions a year, each spanning a two or three month period, with a real mission, a goal you’ll help achieve as part of a team comprising the Expedition Leaders, the technicians, and the crew, all united in the same spirit of adventure.
Each expedition is divided into periods of 7 to 10 days, enabling you to bring your own stone to the final result. You will be given the opportunity to act as a scientist, an explorer, a discoverer, and will never forget it.
more info about The Kairos Company including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Egypt Red SeaEel Garden dive site is located in the Ras Mohamed Park. The site is right in between Jackfish Alley dive site (north) and
Sharks Observatory (South). The dive can be done by boat or shore. The dive normally starts at a shallow cave, 0.5 meters
at the surface down to a depth of approximately 5 meters. Starting from the entrance of the cave, there is a sloping sandy bottom with a huge population of Garden eels (which are endemic to the Red Sea). Once you have seen the Garden eels and cave, you can then either move north towards Jackfish Alley or south towards Sharks Observatory. The current can be
in any direction and if diving from boat it is better to do the dive as a drift dive, as the current can be strong at times.
If moving north towards Jackfish Alley, you will find a wall type reef, starting at the surface dropping down to about 13 meters, from this depth it becomes a sloping reef with coral pinnacles and sand down to a depth of 35 meters.
At 35 meters is basically a sand "road", approximately 50 meters wide. If you continue into the blue will you find satellite reef, which varies in depth from 26 meters to 40 meters +. I have encountered Grey reef sharks and huge shoals of
barracuda / jacks on the satellite reef. The main reef itself offers lots of caves, with glassfish, groupers, lionfish, moray eels, scorpionfish, crocodile fish, turtles etc. If you do this dive in the afternoon, you will find many jacks passing by in the
blue.
If moving south towards Sharks Observatory, you will find a wall type reef, starting at the surface dropping down to 50+ meters. Approximately 30 meters from the eel garden at a depth of 18 meters, are some nice pinnacles with lots of glassfish and groupers. Moray eels, lionfish, scorpionfish, snappers, napolean wrasse, turtles, eagle rays, electric rays, blue spotted rays have all been spotted at this site. If you keep your eye on the blue you will see jacks and barracuda passing by.
The reef to the south also have lots of caves and overhangs.
more info about Eel Gardens, Ras Mohamed Park including maps, reviews, and ratings...
East Timor Banda SeaLocation: 9.5 km West of Dili. A few hundred meters after passing the Pope's monument and right before the big rock turn right on the dirt road to the water's edge.
Entry : Big rocks on entry then sandy bottom to a gradual drop with the reef to the west
UW profile: Initially, sandy bottom with coral cover on the slope ranging from 5 - 21 meters.
Points of interest: Coral garden slightly West of the entry point at 3-5 meters depth. Coral head at 20 meters with interesting mix of fish, moray eel, groups of 5-7 lionfish. Also seen: Puffer fish, turtles, ghost pipe fish, stone fish, frogfish.
Great place for night dives since it is only a 15 minute drive from the center of town.
Topside: Open expanse with no trees.
Go to
website for a list of dive operators in the area.
more info about Popes' Monument including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Egypt Red SeaSharks Observatory is located at the famous Ras Mohamed Park - Sinai, very close to the resort town of Sharm el Sheikh.
The site can be dived from shore, dayboat or live aboard safari. In spite of its name, Shark Observatory is not noted for its sharks. Despite this, it is possible to see sharks at the site, white tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, black tip sharks, tiger sharks (during summer months) and if you are lucky, whale sharks as well, have all been spotted at the site.
The dive normally begins on the western side of the corner / point. From shore it is an easy entrance "through a man-hole
type entrance, descending into the reef plate, that leads into a big cave (about 7 meters deep / 10 meters long). Once you exit the cave you will find a big canyon, dissappearing into the blue. The cave itself has some groupers, clearfin lionfish
and also special "comet starfish" near the entrance of the reef plate. The top of the reef is abundant with fish, Arabian surgeon fish, parrotfish etc... Light filtering through the reef plate into the cave is also spectacular. The reef starts right at 0.5 meters depth, dropping vertically down to approximately 200+ meters at some spots. Once you have exited the cave the best is to follow the wall to your left hand side. Along the wall you will find good hard corals with lots of sea goldies, groupers, lionfish, moray eels, turtles, if you look into the blue, you will see jacks, dog tooth tuna, barracuda passing by. Before the corner, on the western side, at a depth of about 15 meter, are some huge fan corals and cave where we always spot hawk fish and in the cave you almost always find a resident scorpion fish and the "rare" Broad-banded pipefish. Above this cave is some "cracks" in the reef, filled with glassfish and groupers. The wall especially at the "corner" offers some of the best and most colorfull soft corals in Sinai. The area also abounds with marine life, lots of jacks, groupers etc...
Late afternoons it is also possible to spot eagle rays and manta rays passing by in the blue. Please take care as the current at the corner can be very strong at times. When diving this site in the afternoon, you will have lots of shadows, giving again excellent light effects.
Sharks Observatory always offers the "X" factor, you never know what you can expect!
more info about Sharks Observatory, Ras Mohamed Park including maps, reviews, and ratings...