Blog & News
Discover the best tips, travel guides, marine conservation news and secrets of the underwater world.
Diving the Columbretes Islands: a volcanic paradise with restricted access
56 km from Castellón. Authorisation from the Government Sub-delegation. Authorised dive centres must apply one week in advance. Protected since 1990: groupers, lobsters, superior corvinas. Visibility 25-40 m. Red and white gorgonians. No permit required for snorkelling.
TipsClaims against online diving shops: your rights as a consumer
14-day return right with no justification required (EU regulations). Some shops pass return costs to the customer. European ODR platform for disputes. Save screenshots of the product, description and all communications.
TrainingOpen Water Diver in 3 days vs 6 days: what nobody tells you
The Open Water Diver course can be completed in 3 intensive days at a holiday destination or spread across 6 days over two weekends. The difference is not academic: it affects what you retain, how safe you actually are when certified, and how confident you feel on your first independent dives. For 250–400 € more, the longer format is a decision that pays off.
TravelRed Sea, SS Thistlegorm: wreck dive it without the circus
The SS Thistlegorm is probably the most dived wreck on the planet. Loaded with British WWII military cargo, sunk by German bombers in 1941, discovered by Cousteau in 1955 and forgotten until 1992. Today half the diving world visits it, and that has created the core problem: how to see it properly when 80 other divers are already in the same hull. There are ways.
TravelPhilippines, Tubbataha: the remote atoll open only March–June
Tubbataha is a double atoll in the middle of the Sulu Sea, UNESCO World Heritage and reachable only between March and June when the monsoon allows it. 100 km southeast of Puerto Princesa, liveaboard access only, with crystal visibility, sheer walls and Coral Triangle biodiversity. It is the most prestigious diving destination in the Philippines and among the finest in Southeast Asia.
DivingBuoyancy in diving: how to master ascent and avoid uncontrolled rises
Buoyancy is the most neglected skill after dive certification. Discover how proper weighting, horizontal position and breath control prevent uncontrolled ascents and arterial gas embolism.
TravelTruk Lagoon (Micronesia): 60 WWII wrecks, one operation
Truk Lagoon — officially Chuuk, in the Federated States of Micronesia — holds what many consider the world's most significant wreck-diving destination. In February 1944, Operation Hailstone sent over 60 vessels and 250 aircraft to the lagoon floor in three days. Eight decades on, those ships remain largely intact, encrusted in coral, and accessible to recreational divers willing to make the journey.
Marine LifeSea turtles in Spain: tracking, protection and sightings
Caretta caretta is the most common. Satellite tracking with epoxy transmitters. 2019: first nest in the Balearic Islands. Keep 3 m distance, no flash, do not touch. Oceanogràfic Valencia citizen science. BOE 2023 conservation strategy.
TravelCuba's Jardines de la Reina: the Caribbean's protected lab
Jardines de la Reina is an archipelago of 250 islands off southern Cuba, declared a National Park in 1996 under one of the Caribbean's strictest protection regimes. Access is tightly capped — liveaboard only, 1,500 divers per year. The outcome is a Caribbean reef in better shape than almost anywhere else: sharks, goliath groupers, and healthy corals across 360 km of protected sea.
TravelMayotte (France): giant Indian Ocean lagoon and resident dugongs
Mayotte is a French overseas department in the Comoros archipelago (western Indian Ocean). It holds the world's second-largest lagoon (1,500 km²) enclosed by a 195 km coral barrier reef. The destination combines lagoon and open-sea diving with frequent encounters with resident dugongs — among the few places worldwide where they are reliably accessible to divers — plus humpback whale migration.
StoriesThe Bou Ferrer wreck: 2,000 years of Roman history off Villajoyosa
Discovered in 1999. Sank 64-68 AD with amphorae of garum and Nero's lead ingots. UNESCO Good Practices Register 2017, renewed 2025-2029. International model for managing an archaeological site without removing finds from their original position.
EcologyThe invasive blue crab in the Mediterranean: expansion and ecological impact
Callinectes sapidus in Spain since 2012. Mar Menor, Ebro Delta, Albufera Valencia. Among the 100 most problematic invasive species. Preys on bivalves, crustaceans and juvenile fish. Gastronomic use promoted as a control measure.
TravelMozambique, Tofo: whale sharks and mantas in underrated waters
Mozambique ranks among Africa's most overlooked dive destinations. The Tofo coast, in the country's centre, holds one of the world's largest resident whale shark populations, near-guaranteed encounters with oceanic and reef mantas, and prices running 40 % below comparable Indian Ocean spots. The logistics filter out casual travellers.
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