SCUBA Travel

"My theory on choosing dive companies via the internet is simple: if the pictures of divers have happy expressions and there is at least one photo of an ocean-loving dog on the site, the dive shop has to be good" writes Karen Begelfer in her book Manta Rays and Margaritas.

There are some great dive highlights to enjoy during April. Manta ray season is just beginning in Egypt and large pelagics can be spotted at deeper, pinnacle dive sites. The dry season is well underway in Belize and April offers the best weather conditions and visibility for some of Belize’s top wall and reef dives.

Is shark cage diving scarier than rock climbing?

Intense exploitation over millennia has depleted Mediterranean Sea species from the large to the small. What would a ‘healthy’ Mediterranean rocky bottom look like? There are no pristine sites (i.e. undisturbed by humans) left in the Mediterranean against which to compare the health of current ecosystems. SCUBA divers surveyed the rocky reefs throughout the Med, from Morocco to Turkey.

Number of divers a day at Sipadan to increase from 120 to 176, but the total number of dives in a year to stay the same. Protecting the dive sites but allowing more people to visit.

Up until recently diving on the Fu Shan Hai, Europe's largest wreck, was prohibited. Now though, after a project by Danish Technical Divers, the...

Israeli and Jordanian scientists has developed the Red Sea's first artificial coral reef. Take a dive off the coast of Eilat these days and...

Kadmat is one of the larger islands of Lakshadweep, 400 km off the west coast of India. It is 8 km long and 500...

The Giant Manta Ray is the largest living ray and a very impressive sight underwater. Mantas migrate vast distances, crossing international boundaries, in search of food. Products from manta rays have a high value in international markets, and targeted fisheries hunt them for their valuable gill rakers used in traditional Chinese medicine. Monitoring and regulation of the exploitation and trade of manta rays is urgently needed, as well as protection of key habitats.

July is busy with shark events around the world, including the ever-popular Shark Week and Shark Awareness Day. Let’s not forget to celebrate their fantastic flat cousins, rays and skates, and some of the top places to dive with them.