News
Winter Warmers and other great deals from Scuba Travel
UK-based tour operator have some great options for those of you who are looking to escape the cold this Winter.
Here are the details:
Red Sea / Duxy’s Winter Warmer / 28th January / Only £975
Excellent value liveaboard with all creature comforts on board. Dedicated photo itinerary with photo pro Duxy on board, open dive deck at the barge & Thistlegorm. Focus on a select number of photo friendly sites.
A much loved liveaboard from the award winning Tornado Marine Fleet Departing from Hurgada, you will spend 7 nights on board on a full board basis (twin share cabin). This is a classic itinerary in the Northern Red Sea with up to 22 dives over the week.
Find out more about this trip here.
Indonesia / Scuba Seraya Bali / Now only £1550 including flights / Save £200
Scuba diving in Bali is an experience you will never forget. Stay for 7 nights full board at this intimate resort with only 12 rooms. 2 boat dives in the morning and unlimited reef dives in the afternoon.
Bali is sometimes overlooked in Indonesia, but diving here is a must for anyone that loves opulent reef diving. And Scuba Seraya has built a reputation as the area’s premier dive centre. Stay here and you dive world class sites such as the Liberty Wreck (regularly in the top 10 wreck dives of the world) as well as critters galore.
Find out more about this trip here.
Red Sea / Royal Evolution / 1st-15th February / Now only £2145 / Save £550
Royal Evolution stands out as a Red Sea liveaboard that operates one of a kind 2 week itineraries diving Egypt and Sudan. Spend less time travelling and more time diving – great for Sharks, especially hammerheads.
The opulent diving is matched by the boat herself, yet the advantages of being on board are not just limited to your comfort… Royal Evolution is also one of few steel vessels in the Red Sea, making her incredibly stable. Her powerful engines cope easily with the distance between remote dive sites. See more of the Red Sea than ever before with one of the most attentive boat crews in the Red Sea.
From the popular southern Red Sea sites of Fury Shoal to the untouched sites of Sanganeb and Abington there is some outstanding reefs. Combine this with wrecks of the Umbria, Blue Belt and Cousteaus Con Shelf for an exhilarating dive holiday. This itinerary is best suited to advanced divers.
Find out more about this trip here.
Maldives / Emperor Serenity / 25th February / Only £2275 / Save £350
Stay on board the exceptional and luxurious Emperor Serenity. Dive the famous Male and Ari Atolls, watch manta on cleaning stations and dive a range of sites suitable for confident beginners upwards. 7 nights full board on this contemporary liveaboard.
The Best of the Maldives is always a popular itinerary with year round departures that delivers what it says on the tin – the Best of the Maldives. Dive the classic sites that made the Maldives so famous. Focusing on the hottest sites around Male & Ari atolls, there are pelagics a plenty, with manta, sharks and even whalesharks.
Find out more about this trip here.
For ScubaTravel’s latest offers and newsletter click here.
To find out more about Scuba Travel and the dive holidays they offer, call 0800 0728221, email dive@scubatravel.com or visit www.scubatravel.com.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 3
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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