Palau

Fish ‘n Fins and Palau Pacific Resort Dream Deal

Anonio Husadel

Soft Coral Arch Palau

Dive with Fish ‘n Fins Dive shop and stay at Palau Pacific Resort at incredible SPECIAL rate of $1650 per person!

5 days diving of 2 tanks per day (option to add more dives) with Fish …

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Yap & Palau 2016 Family Dive Special

Brad Holland

Brad Holland

Kids Sea Camp Micronesia

Manta Ray Bay Yap & Sam’s Tour Palau hosts 2016 Kids Sea Camp family dive adventure Aug 6- 13th and Aug 13-20th.

Mantas, Sharks, wrecks, reefs and some of the best diving you will ever do. Two weeks one vacation, all inclusive, dive, meals, tours, rental gear, Ocean View accommodations for 7 or 14 nights. Book both and save. Mantaray Bay Yap and Palau Royal Resort Palau, Kayak the Rock Islands, Jelly Fish Lake, dive sunken wrecks in Palau. Guaranteed Manta in Yap!

PADI courses: SASY, Seal Team, JOW, AOW. Free Sealife camera with mention of this deal when you book this trip. One per reservation.

Price Adults from $2999 Kids from $999

Package Validity – Start Date Aug 6th, 2016

Package Validity – End Date Aug 20th, 2016

Travel must be booked by Aug 1st, 2016

Website www.familydivers.com

Booking Email Address kids@familydivers.com

Booking Telephone 803-419-2556

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World’s Best Destinations for Diving with Macro Critters

Why do the Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, now in their 23rd year, still matter to divers? Because these are your picks, based on thousands of votes from the most experienced dive travelers on the planet. Why do they matter to us? Because every month you hear from our editors on what we think matters in the world of dive travel. For the January/February issue of Scuba Diving we get to listen to you, and we’re taking notes.

Here, we proudly present the No. 1 ranking destinations in the Best Macro Diving category of the awards. The full list of winning destinations is below.

Sharpnose pufferfish underwater photo Bonaire Macro Diving

Terrence Ross/Tom Stack & Associates

Bonaire

Best Macro Diving in the Caribbean and Atlantic

Think you have to book a flight to Indo to see exotic nudis, seahorses and frogfish by the handful? That ticket might be considerably less expensive than you think, for North American divers, if you aim for the island of Bonaire instead. Decades of institutionalized protection and loving management of its pristine reefs have helped to preserve an environment where nearly 400 species have been documented, most of it the small stuff beloved by underwater photographers. Looking to capture a particular subject in a specific situation? Bonaire also offers the ultimate freedom to plan your own dives 24/7, instead of waiting for the dive boat or competing with other photographers looking for the same stuff you are. Many of its resorts’ house reefs are literally alive with critters, so you don’t even have to crank up your rental truck — just fall off the dock and start shooting. — Mary Frances Emmons

Best Overall Diving in the Caribbean and Atlantic

1. Bonaire

2. Cayman Islands

3. Bay Islands

4. Mexico

5. Curacao



Macro Underwater Photography Teardrop Crab Bonaire

Terrence Ross/Tom Stack and Associates

Bonaire

Macro finds include teardrop craps in this Caribbean Island.

Squat Shrimp Underwater Macro Photography Bonaire

Jennifer Penner

Bonaire

Tiny squat shrimp are often found by sharp-eyed divers in Bonaire.

Underwater Photo Spotted Eel Bonaire Macro Diving

Wayne MacWilliams

Bonaire

Macro photographers love Bonaire’s critters like this spotted eel.

Bearded Fireworm Underwater Macro Photography Bonaire Blue Light

Barry Brown

Bonaire

These crazy critters are not glow sticks, but bearded fireworms shot under blue light at night.

Blenny Tube Sponge Underwater Photo Macro Bonaire

TimsImagesUnderwater/Alamy

Bonaire

Gobies find shelter in colorful tube sponges.

Mantis Shrimp Underwater Photo Indonesia Macro Diving

Eric Madeja

Indonesia

Best Macro Diving in the Indian and Pacific Oceans

Sure, Lembeh Strait is the world’s epicenter of macro div- ing, with enough crazy critters — hirsute frogfish, microscopic seahorses, kaleidoscopic nudibranchs and more — to fill a logbook, but don’t overlook the enchanted islands of Komodo, Bali and Wakatobi. With their eagle-eyed guides, you might not need a magnifying glass to find it all, but you will need more logbooks. — David Espinosa

Best Macro Diving in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

1. Indonesia

2. Philippines

3. Palau

4. Fiji

5. Red Sea



Wolf Eel Underwater Photo Macro Diving British Columbia

Jeff Rotman/NPL/Minden Pictures

British Columbia

Best Macro Diving in North America

Decorated warbonnets, grunt sculpins and candystripe shrimp are just a few highlights to spotlight while shooting in Canada’s westernmost province. Browning Passage, a legendary site near Port Hardy, hides so many macro treasures the challenge is not finding cool subjects but deciding which ones to skip and save for the next tank. So many pictures to make, not enough bottom time. — Brandon Cole

Best Macro Diving in North America

1. British Columbia

2. Washington

3. California

4. Florida

5. North Carolina


Nudibranch Photo Underwater Macro British Columbia Diving

David Hall

British Columbia

Nudibranchs are a favorite of macro photographers; this Hermissenda is praying on stinging hydroids.


How We Got the Numbers Thousands of Scuba Diving subscribers and online users rated their experiences at dive destinations in a variety of categories on a scale from one to five. Final scores are an average of the numerical scores awarded. A minimum number of responses was required for a destination to be included in these ratings.

World’s Best Destinations for Diving with Macro Critters Read More »

World’s Best Underwater Photography Sites

Why do the Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, now in their 23rd year, still matter to divers? Because these are your picks, based on thousands of votes from the most experienced dive travelers on the planet. Why do they matter to us? Because every month you hear from our editors on what we think matters in the world of dive travel. For the January/February issue of Scuba Diving we get to listen to you, and we’re taking notes.

Here, we proudly present the No. 1 ranking destinations in the Best Underwater Photography category of the awards. The full list of winning destinations is below.

Underwater Photographer Diving in Cayman Islands

Shutterstock

Cayman Islands

Best Underwater Photography in Caribbean and Atlantic

It’s no coincidence that Grand Cayman is home to several photo pros, and is a favorite classroom for a handful of shutter-snapping instructors. Clear skies with consistent sunlight, plus the Caribbean’s famous visibility, grant a reliable baseline, letting you focus on the good stuff — adjusting settings to capture a tarpon just as the silversides all turn, sparkling. — Brooke Morton

Caribbean and Atlantic

  1. Cayman Islands
  2. Bonaire
  3. Bahamas
  4. Bay Islands
  5. Mexico
Anemones Green Water Underwater Photo British Columbia

Shutterstock

British Columbia

Best Underwater Photography in North America

Photographers can improve their portfolios in BC’s cool, marine-populated waters. There’s a wealth of colorful photo subjects, and many animals grow to epic proportions: giant plumose anemones, playful Steller sea lions, and the eight-tentacled crowd favorite, Enteroctopus dofleini, aka the giant Pacific octopus. Don a drysuit to ignore the cold, and focus instead on creating award-winning images. — Brandon Cole

North America

  1. British Columbia
  2. California
  3. Florida
  4. North Carolina
  5. Washington
Manta Ray Underwater Indonesia Coral Diving

Shutterstock

Indonesia

Best Underwater Photography in Pacific and Indian Oceans

The problem isn’t deciding what lenses to pack for your trip to Indo, but which one to bring on each dive. If you take a macro down to shoot pygmy seahorses, you’ll regret not having the fisheye for the massive mantas. You don’t just need a second camera system — you need a buddy/porter to carry a third and fourth. — David Espinosa

Pacific and Indian Oceans

  1. Indonesia
  2. Chuuk
  3. Philippines
  4. Palau
  5. Red Sea

World’s Best Underwater Photography Sites Read More »

World’s Best Destinations for Wall Diving

Why do the Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, now in their 23rd year, still matter to divers? Because these are your picks, based on thousands of votes from the most experienced dive travelers on the planet. Why do they matter to us? Because every month you hear from our editors on what we think matters in the world of dive travel. For the January/February issue of Scuba Diving we get to listen to you, and we’re taking notes.

Here, we proudly present the No. 1 ranking destinations in the Best Wall Dives category of the awards. The full list of winning destinations is below.

Diver Underwater Palau Coral Wall

Shutterstock

Palau

Best Wall Dives in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

Palau’s world-class wall dives, with sites such as Blue Corner, Siaes Wall and Peleliu Wall, attract more species to its Pacific waters than just divers. Sharks — whitetip, gray reef, silky, bull, whale and tiger — cruise the Micronesian archipelago’s plunging, current-swept cliffs by the hundreds, along with other exciting marine life, including Napoleon wrasse, dogtooth tuna and spotted eagle rays. — Eric Michael

Best Wall Dives in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

1. Palau
2. Red Sea
3. Hawaii
4. Fiji
5. Indonesia



Sea Turtle Underwater Cayman Islands Coral Wall Diving

Shutterstock

Cayman Islands

Best Wall Dives in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean

Careful: That vertiginous feeling is addictive. That killer Cayman combo of sheer walls — especially at places like Mixing Bowl on Little Cayman — and unparalleled viz creates an environment where anything feels possible. Good news, it is. Encountering wall regulars like Nassau grouper and green sea turtles is a divers’ high in itself, but when factors align for magic in the form of a passing dolphin or hammerhead, it’s another high all together. — Brooke Morton

Best Wall Dives in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean

1. Cayman Islands

2. Mexico

3. Bay Islands

4. Belize

5. Bahamas



Underwater Photo Wall Scuba Diving Washington

Shutterstock

Washington

Best Wall Dives in North America

Walls have it all — abundant marine life, drama and challenging profiles. And Washington has walls. Two stellar sites are Day Island Wall near Tacoma, which hosts wolf eels and octopus at depths between 25 and 100 feet, and Long Island in the San Juan Islands. Spanning depths between 70 and 120 feet, the Long Island wall is famous for its stunning strawberry anemones and is best dived during slack before ebb. — Brandon Cole

Best Wall Dives in North America

1. Washington
2. British Columbia



How We Got the Numbers Thousands of Scuba Diving subscribers and online users rated their experiences at dive destinations in a variety of categories on a scale from one to five. Final scores are an average of the numerical scores awarded. A minimum number of responses was required for a destination to be included in these ratings.

World’s Best Destinations for Wall Diving Read More »

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