Blog & News
Discover the best tips, travel guides, marine conservation news and secrets of the underwater world.
Great Barrier Reef, Australia: what's left after bleaching?
The Great Barrier Reef has endured five mass bleaching events between 1998 and 2024. The question divers keep asking is fair: is the trip still worth it? The short answer is yes, but with caveats that matter. Knowing where to go — and where to avoid — is what separates a disappointing week from diving that rivals the reef's best years.
TravelSaudi Arabia, Red Sea: emerging destination with pristine reefs
Saudi Arabia opened to tourism in 2019 and is developing 1,800 km of Red Sea coastline that remains virtually untouched for recreational diving. The NEOM zone (Tabuk) and the Farasan archipelago hold reefs in pristine condition, free from Egypt's tourist pressure. It's tomorrow's Red Sea destination: expensive now, unmatched in biodiversity, and completely crowd-free.
TravelYucatán cenotes, Mexico: freshwater, haloclines and limestone caves
The cenotes of Yucatán tap into the largest flooded cave system on Earth — over 1,500 km of mapped passages beneath the limestone peninsula. Expect crystal-clear freshwater, dramatic haloclines where fresh meets salt, and stalactites formed in dry air thousands of years before the sea reclaimed them. Cavern diving is open to Advanced Open Water divers; full cave diving requires a cave specialty certification.
TravelEritrea, Dahlak Archipelago: the forgotten African Red Sea
Eritrea sits on the Horn of Africa along the Red Sea, with 1,000 km of coastline and the Dahlak archipelago (350 islands). It is one of the least-explored Red Sea destinations: colonial Italian wrecks, pristine reefs and virtually no tourism. Operations are difficult due to political restrictions, but the 2025-2030 window allows access via Massawa. A destination for patient explorers only.
TravelMyanmar (Burma), Mergui Archipelago: the forbidden dive frontier
Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a Southeast Asian country bordering Thailand and Bangladesh. The Mergui Archipelago (Myeik), over 800 islands in the Andaman Sea, was closed to tourists until 1997. It ranks among the least-dived destinations on earth: pristine reefs, abundant marine life, and the Moken sea nomads. Access is exclusively by liveaboard from Thailand.
TravelMalapascua, Philippines: thresher sharks at dawn on Monad Shoal
Malapascua is a small island north of Cebu with one compelling draw: Monad Shoal, a seamount where *Alopias pelagicus* thresher sharks ascend to 25 m every morning at first light to be cleaned. Nowhere else on the planet can recreational divers reliably encounter thresher sharks. Boats leave at 5 a.m., the window closes by 7. Everything else about the island is secondary to this single, repeatable ritual.
TravelVietnam, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc: French wrecks and recovering reefs
Vietnam's 3,260 km of coastline along the South China Sea offers two main diving hubs: Nha Trang in the centre with colonial French wrecks, and Phu Quoc island in the south with reefs recovering from decades of destructive fishing. At 15-25 € per dive, it ranks among Southeast Asia's most affordable destinations, combining Indochinese historical interest with growing biodiversity since marine protected areas were established in 2001.
TravelDiving in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean: Cuba, Honduras, Colombia and more
Jardines de la Reina, Cuba: fishing banned since 1996, bull sharks, crocodiles. Bay Islands, Honduras: Mesoamerican Reef, low prices. Dominican Republic: humpback whales Samaná Jan-Mar. Colombia: Providencia, Islas del Rosario.
Marine LifeSea turtles: all 7 species and how to tell them apart
Seven species of sea turtles exist worldwide, every one of them threatened or endangered. For observant divers, being able to identify them sharpens encounters and feeds citizen science. This guide covers the 7 species with their key field marks, core habitats, and where to find them. Knowing a green turtle from a hawksbill from a loggerhead is not academic trivia — it is the foundation of meaningful wildlife observation underwater.
TravelPanama, Coiba: the underrated marine park of the eastern Pacific
Coiba is an archipelago of 38 islands in Panama's Pacific, a UNESCO national park since 2005. A penal colony until 2004 that kept its reefs isolated for 80 years, it is now one of the best-preserved marine areas in the tropical eastern Pacific. Hammerhead schools from June to November, oceanic biodiversity, and an accessible alternative to Cocos and Galápagos at moderate prices.
EquipmentSpring straps for fins: real upgrade or overpriced gadget?
Spring straps replace the rubber fin straps that come standard with most fins, and they've been one of the most argued-over kit changes in diving for the past decade. Advocates call them essential; skeptics call them an expensive gimmick. The answer is more nuanced: they genuinely help certain divers and make no difference for others, and the decision hinges on specifics that most gear reviews gloss over.
HealthEye problems and diving: contact lenses, LASIK and underwater vision
Can you dive with contacts, after LASIK or with glaucoma? DAN recommends soft lenses only.
TravelMadeira: giant dusky grouper at the Desertas and warm water year-round
Madeira rarely appears on diving destination lists, which is precisely what makes it worth considering. Water stays between 19 and 23 °C throughout the year, visibility reaches 25–35 m, and the strictly protected Desertas Islands marine reserve holds the largest concentrations of dusky grouper left in the eastern Atlantic.
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