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Check out Scuba Travel’s latest offers

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Shark Quest, liveaboards, Red Sea, Maldives, Bahamas and a last minute place on a photo workshop in Indonesia…. check out these offers from our friends at UK-based Tour Operator Scuba Travel.

Mario’s Shark Quest – Red Sea Hurricane – 22nd November £1355 (including flights)

Dive the Southern Red Sea according to its seasonal best, with a quest to see sharks and rays. Dive fewer sites for longer with the most experienced team who will judge where the best pelagic action is at the time of travel. Photo Pro Mario Vitalini will be on board, alongside Mike’s Camera Kit Expert to share tips and offer advice on underwater photography equipment and techniques

Your seven days will be on a full board basis, aboard the ever popular Hurricane. At 36m there is bags of space and no detail was overlooked when she was built. There are plenty of places to relax after a day’s diving including sun loungers and a jacuzzi on the upper deck, and an airconditioned saloon with bar and TV. This package also includes direct flights to Marsa Alam, transfers to the boat, fully guided diving and Free Nitrox.

Click here to find out more…


Red Sea Aggressor II – Save £900 this December from £945 (excluding flights)

Dive the incredible Northern Red Sea with up to five dives per day; fill your log book with iconic dives sites, diving world class wrecks and breathtaking reefs every day. The stable Red Sea Aggressor is a spacious liveaboard which is built and powered for safety, comfort and stability. This luxurious boat has everything you will need after your day’s diving including a large sun deck, jacuzzi, bar, plentiful and varied menu and a photo / video centre.

This price does not include international flights but covers seven nights on a full board basis including tea / coffee and a glass of wine / beer with your evening meal, and up to five fully guided dives per day.

Click here to find out more…


Emperor Serenity, Maldives – 25th November only £1550 (excluding flights)

Get away before Christmas on this sleek contemporary liveaboard where fine accommodation and excellent service are standard. Get all the thrills of big fish in the Maldives with the Best of the Maldives Itinerary, diving the classic sites that make the Maldives so famous. This trip will focus on the hottest sites around Male and Ari Atolls where there are pelagics a plenty and your sightings could include mantas, sharks, and even whalesharks.

This boat only price includes return transfer from Male airport, seven nights full board, up to 17 fully guided dives and FOC nitrox.

Click here to find out more…


Moreen Beach Hotel – 24th October – Last 2 Spaces only £1145 (including flights)

Last two spaces at this welcoming hotel right on the sea front and with Orca Dive Club on site. This superb value all inclusive resort overlooks 800m of white sandy beach built on wide lush gardens. The family friendly resort has fantastic on-site facilities including a house reef, and access to the varied dive sites around Marsa Alam with the expert team at Orca.

For pre and post diving activities there is plenty to choose from at this Hotel, including four fabulous swimming pools, a variety of restaurants, comprehensive list of treatments at the Spa and a private beach.

Package includes return flights to Marsa Alam, transfers, seven nights on an all inclusive basis and five dives.

Click here to find out more…


Martyn Guess Photography Workshop, Bali – 24th October only £2295 – 9 nights (including flights)

LAST MINUTE BARGAIN!! Drop everything and head to Bali!  Last room in the resort available for Martyn Guess Scuba Travel Photography Workshop – £2295 inc flights and nine nights departing 24th October. Macro mecca off the beach – this place is heaven!!

Bali is an amazing and relaxed place, and Scuba Seraya is a fantastic and well-run diving resort right on the beach. Martyn Guess will give hands-on instruction through evening group image reviews and underwater instruction for those needing it. Martyn says: “The house reefs – Seraya Secrets and Noisy Reef – are probably the best that I have dived, with excellent macro subjects to photograph. The first early morning dive on the Liberty wreck is superb wide angle and the reefs at Ahmed blew me away! This trip to Bali has been planned to visit Bali at its seasonal best.”

Package includes return flights, airport transfers, nine nights on a full board basis (excluding drinks) 10 boat dives plus five afternoons unlimited, unguided shore diving, Plus three full days diving at Ahmed (wide angle).

Click here to find out more…


Bahamas Aggressor – 27th October save £700 only £1545 (excluding flights) 

Want to discover the Caribbean this autumn? It’s time to go exploring on the stable and welcoming Bahamas Aggressor. Warm, turquoise, crystal clear waters and drop-offs close to shore make these islands a diving dream. Mysterious blue holes and caverns, shipwrecks and vibrant living reefs, soaring wall dives and thrilling shark encounters all await both novice and experienced divers.

With just 14 guests, this comfortable boat features a roomy, air-conditioned salon and dining area, sundeck with a hot tub and a photo centre. The food on board is varied and plentiful, and evening meals are freshly prepared by the chef.

Holiday excludes International flights to Nassau; includes quad cabin only, full board including soft drinks and local alcoholic drinks, and up to 27 expertly guided dives.

Click here to find out more…


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.

Marine Life & Conservation

IUCN Spotlights Green Fins at Bali Ocean Days 2025, Calling for Stronger Business Model in Marine Conservation

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conservation

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Global Ocean Director, Minna Epps, has spotlighted Green Fins Indonesia along with a call for stronger business models that sustain marine conservation. Speaking at the inaugural session of Bali Ocean Days 2025 held on 7-8 February, Epps emphasised the need for sustainable financing to support and scale marine conservation initiatives such as Green Fins.

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Activities earlier in the week with the Coral Triangle Center in Sanur and Ceningan Divers in the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area shaped the IUCN Ocean Director’s message at the conference and showcase, aligning with the theme of the blue economy and impact finance to sustain marine ecosystems.

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“Tourism has such a big impact on marine biodiversity, and we need it to adhere to a certain code of conduct,” Epps said. “That is why through our funding facilities, we worked with The Reef-World Foundation advancing Green Fins so dive operators can become certified with standards. But this kind of initiative has been around for a long time and it’s also a tool used to improve [MPA management], but it needs to come with a business model. I also believe in market-based instruments to evolve this programme.”

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IUCN’s visit is part of their Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility (BNCFF), which supports at least 21 projects around the world, building the business case for investing in the future of our ocean.

In Indonesia, the project supported by IUCN was developed in partnership with The Reef-World Foundation, the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) and the Coral Triangle Center, which serves as the local implementing organisation for Green Fins. The initiative engages marine tourism businesses through voluntary sustainability certification based on the only internationally recognised environmental standards for diving and snorkelling operations. Green Fins’ activities aim to reduce negative environmental impacts associated with marine tourism activities as well as improve the management of marine protected areas.

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IUCN’s promotion of Green Fins in Bali Ocean Days signals the need for greater private sector engagement in marine conservation across Indonesia and beyond.

Investors, donors, marine tourism operators and stakeholders looking to support scalable marine conservation solutions are encouraged to explore opportunities with The Reef-World Foundation, the international coordinator of the Green Fins initiative. To learn more about sustainable marine tourism and how to get involved, visit www.reef-world.org.

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About Reef-World

The Reef-World Foundation is a registered UK charity which delivers practical solutions for marine conservation around the world. The charity promotes the wise use of natural resources – particularly coral reefs and related ecosystems – for the benefit of local communities, visitors and future generations. It is dedicated to supporting, inspiring and empowering governments, businesses, communities and individuals around the world to act in conserving and sustainably developing coastal resources.

Reef-World leads the global implementation of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative, which focuses on driving environmentally friendly scuba diving and snorkelling practices across the industry globally. As such, the charity provides low-cost and practical solutions to local and industry-wide environmental challenges associated with the marine tourism industry. It provides education and capacity-building assistance to empower environmental champions (within the diving industry, local communities, authorities and governments) to implement proven coastal resource management approaches.

Visit www.reef-world.org to learn more or follow them on Facebook, Instagram and X.

About Green Fins

Green Fins is a proven conservation management approach – spearheaded by The Reef-World Foundation in partnership with the UN Environment Programme – which leads to a measurable reduction in the negative environmental impacts associated with the marine tourism industry. The initiative aims to protect and conserve coral reefs through environmentally friendly guidelines that promote a sustainable diving and snorkelling tourism industry. It provides the only internationally recognised environmental standards for the diving and snorkelling industry and has a robust assessment system to measure compliance.

Green Fins encourages and empowers members of the diving industry to act to reduce the pressures on coral reefs by offering dive and snorkel companies practical, low-cost alternatives to harmful practices – such as anchoring, fish feeding and chemical pollution – as well as providing strategic training, support and resources. By reducing the local direct and indirect pressures tourism puts on coral reefs, it helps make corals healthier and more resilient to other stresses such as the effects of climate change. Look for the Green Fins logo when booking your next dive trip.Visit www.greenfins.net to learn more or follow the initiative on Facebook, Instagram and X.

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Filming 360 in The Bahamas

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In December 2024, the Shark Trust had a very special opportunity to film sharks and rays in The Bahamas. Frogfish Photography are the Bahamas Dive Ambassadors for the UK. And Caroline, Deputy Editor at Scubaverse, is the Marketing Manager at the Shark Trust. So, when the need arose to film footage of several species of shark and ray for a new Shark Trust project, The Bahamas seemed the perfect fit. A huge thank you is needed here to the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. As they stepped in to fully support the trip both financially and practically. Ensuring that the filming expedition ran smoothly, and that we got as much time as possible in the water with sharks and rays, during the 10 day, 3 island trip.

The Bahamas is famous for its sharks and rays. Divers flock there to experience getting up close to a range of species. Our itinerary saw us visit Nassau, Bimini and Grand Bahama. It packed in as many in-water experiences as possible and had us dive, snorkel, and even take a submarine to experience them in a variety of different habitats and to capture them on film. We saw 148 sharks and rays from 8 different species (all of which have been logged on the Shark Trust Shark Log!).

But why were we there? The expedition was designed to fulfil the needs of two new projects being launched by the Shark Trust in 2025. The filming done underwater on this trip was the start of creating OneOcean360: A Shark Story. A new 360 immersive experience designed primarily for immersive domes and planetariums. The film will be the nearest experience to getting in the water with sharks and rays without getting wet! It will bring the world of sharks to an audience that may never get the chance to experience it first-hand. A Shark Story aims to deepen people’s understanding of sharks, uncovering and illustrating why they are so wonderful as well as being vital to marine ecosystems.

The film is being made in collaboration with Real Immersive. Also based in Plymouth, they have an immersive dome and are providing the technical expertise behind creating this unique experience. Reviewing the footage in the dome has been an invaluable part of the process. Both inspiring the team and allow us to refine the filming techniques to suit this immersive theatre.

You might imagine that we are using expensive cameras and even more expensive housings. But this is not the case. The entire project is being filmed using Insta360 X4 cameras. With only a few simple additions to the standard dive setup. The INON weight plate allowed us to attach this camera to a dive weight, set it down on sand or wreck, and then swim away and let the sharks be the stars. And the results are very exciting. The film will be ready this autumn. It will be accompanied by an educational pack for teachers to take away after school trips to see the film. Encouraging all those that see it to continue learning about these incredible animals.

You can support the creation of OneOcean360: A Shark Story by heading to the crowdfunder page and donating or selecting a reward.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/a-shark-story


Read about the shark and ray dives we did on Nassau, Bimini and Grand Bahama in our next blog post coming soon on Scubaverse.

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