News
Check out these great dive holiday deals from Oonasdivers

Fancy getting away from it all? UK-based tour operator Oonasdivers have some very tempting dive holiday offers for you to take advantage off.
Here are the details:
Oonasdivers | Red Sea | Sharks Bay Umbi Village | Sharm el Sheikh from £450
Just 10 minutes away from Naama Bay but a million miles away from the hustle and bustle, Sharks Bay is located in a picturesque bay with everything on site – its own private jetty, dive centre, boats, restaurant, Bedouin café and 3 types of accommodation. Combine this with their friendly, personal approach and this makes it the perfect resort for your next diving holiday.
November 2015
07 – 14 Nov only £555
14 – 21 Nov only £500
21 – 28 Nov only £490
28 Nov – 05 Dec only £485
December 2015
05 – 12 Dec only £485
12 – 19 Dec only £485
January 2016
02 – 09 Jan only £450
09 – 16 Jan only £465
23 – 30 Jan only £475
30 Jan – 06 Feb only £450
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights B&B and 10 boat dives. Single supplement applies.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Red Sea | Marsa Alam from £795
The popular and unique villages of Marsa Shagra and Marsa Nakari in the southern Red Sea offer unlimited and unguided diving on their beautiful and diverse house reefs. From either village you can also dive the breath-taking sites of Elphinstone, Dolphin House Reef and many more.
Marsa Shagra
Definitely the most well know of Oonasdivers’ Marsa Alam destinations, Marsa Shagra is located just half an hour from Marsa Alam airport. Shagra boasts one of the most beautiful house reefs in the Red Sea region.
October 2015
07 – 14 Oct only £825
14 – 21 Oct only £865
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights full board and 5 days unlimited diving.
Marsa Nakari
A smaller, quieter and more remote alternative to Marsa Shagra, Nakari is situated a further half an hour down the coast. Another fantastic house reef and a more personalised service. Expect the silence and serenity of the desert atmosphere and the world-renowned beauty of the Red Sea reefs.
October 2015
07 – 14 Oct only £795
14 – 21 Oct only £835
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights full board and 5 days unlimited diving.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Red Sea | Liveaboards from £670
One of the best ways to see the most awe-inspiring dive sites of the Red Sea. Liveaboards offer everything a diver needs – comfort, relaxation and lots and lots of diving.
Emperor Asmaa – FREE Nitrox
Offering genuine value for money, Asmaa is a popular liveaboard drawing diver’s back time and time again. Completely refurbished in January 2015, Asmaa offers comfortable accommodation in 10 twin bed cabins, 4 of which are upper-deck.
October 2015
14 – 21 Oct – Fury & St Johns only £995
January 2016
01 – 08 Jan – North & Wrecks only £670
08 Jan – 15 Jan – North & Wrecks only £685
15 – 22 Jan – North & Wrecks only £715
22 – 29 Jan – North & Wrecks only £745
29 Jan – 05 Feb – North & Wrecks only £755
Juliet
One of the few smaller liveaboards left in the Red Sea. Juliet takes a maximum of just 14 guests. At 28m this means more space, more flexibility and more personal attention to you.
Her amazing and attentive crew will guide you to the very best dive sites in the northern Red Sea. Juliet is a great option for small groups and clubs.
November 2015
21 – 28 Nov – North & Wrecks only £890
28 Nov – 05 Dec – North & Wrecks only £885
December 2015
05 – 12 Dec – North & Wrecks only £785
12 – 19 Dec – North & Wrecks only £785
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights full board and 6 days diving.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | South Africa from £1250
Shark Diving South Africa – Scuba Addicts Lodge
Get up close and personal with some of the world’s most magnificent creatures…… SHARKS.
January 2016
23 – 30 Jan only £1250
February 2016
20 – 27 Feb 2016 only £1250
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 6 nights B&B and 10 Shark Dives.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Maldives | Liveaboards from £1690
Explore one of the world’s best scuba diving destinations in comfort and style. Join one of Oonasdivers’ popular Maldives liveaboards and pick the itinerary that suits you.
October 2015
09 – 17 Oct – Emperor Voyager (The Best of the Maldives) £1755
16 – 24 Oct – Emperor Atoll (The Best of the Maldives) £1750
November 2015
27 Nov – 05 Dec – Emperor Atoll (The Best of the Maldives) only £1760
27 Nov – 05 Dec – Emperor Voyager (The Best of the Maldives) only £1835
December 2015
04 – 12 Dec – Emperor Atoll (The Best of the Maldives) only £1690
04 – 12 Dec – Emperor Voyager (The Best of the Maldives) only £1760
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights full board, 17 dives and FREE Nitrox.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Caribbean | Tobago from £1035
Fancy a diving holiday with a difference? Sample the true Caribbean in Tobago – soak up the island’s warm atmosphere whilst diving in the colourful waters. Perfect for non-divers too.
Blue Waters Inn
Tobago’s best kept secret, Blue Waters Inn is perfectly located in Speyside. Access the top dive sites whilst enjoying the beauty of your surroundings.
October 2015
02 – 09 Oct only £1185
09 – 16 Oct only £1165
12 – 19 Oct only £1155
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights B&B and 10 dives including full equipment.
Chic Boutique
Introducing you to the unique, intimate and stylish Chic Boutique. Located in Pigeon Point you are just minutes from the best dive centre in the area, Undersea Tobago, who will guide you to explore the stunning underwater world.
October 2015
02 – 09 Oct only £1095
09 – 16 Oct only £1075
12 – 19 Oct only £1035
January 2016
11 – 18 Jan only £1095
18 – 25 Jan only £1095
25 Jan – 01 Feb only £1095
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Sudan | Royal Evolution from £2530
Embark on an adventure into the pristine Sudanese waters. Join one of the most sophisticated liveaboards in the Red Sea for her extended 13 day cruise.
November 2015
25 Nov – 09 Dec – Abington Reef, Shaab Rumi & Umbria Wreck only £2530
February 2016
24 Feb – 09 Mar – Abington Reef, Shaab Rumi & Umbria Wreck only £2600
Prices are per person and include 14 nights full board and 12 days diving.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Canary Islands | El Hierro from £665
Dive El Hierro with Shane Gray
El Hierro is the smallest of the Canary Islands, with an extraordinary and captivating landscape both above and below the water. This trip is fully guided by Shane Gray, a well-known figure in the Irish diving community, and his wife Ollie.
November 2015
09 – 16 Nov – Dive El Hierro £670
23 – 30 Nov – Dive El Hierro £665
February 2016
22 – 29 Feb – Dive El Hierro £710
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights self-catering and 10 dives.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
To find out more or to book, contact the Oonasdivers team now by calling +44 (0)1323 648924, email info@oonasdivers.com or visit www.oonasdivers.com.
Photo: Gavin Parsons
Gear Reviews
Gear Review: Mares EOS LRZ Torch Range

What does LRZ stand for I hear you ask? The answer is: LED lights, Rechargeable, Zoomable. Mares have created a versatile set of seven underwater lights in the new range to suit all needs and budgets.
I tested the most powerful of them – the EOS 32LRZ at Capernwray on a cold but bright spring day. I was diving with Alex Mustard, and so all the underwater images are by him, showing me trying out the torch in both the shallows and in some of the wrecks at this site.
All the torches in the new line have an LED visual battery charge indicator that allows you to keep the battery level under control.
Want to use it out of the water? No problem! The new EOS LRZ torches feature an innovative temperature control system that allows you to use them both underwater and on land. I can see myself using this on gloomy dog walks later in the year!
As you can see from the video I filmed just after getting back from a dive, the torch is easy to use, even with thick gloves in cold water. The zoomable light beam means that you can highlight a particular spot, or have a wide beam, which is great for both modeling for a photographer, and exploring different underwater environments.
The EOS 32LRZ has a powerful beam with 3200 lumens of power and 135 minutes of burn time. Perfect for some of the darker dives you can experience in the UK, but also for exploring overhead or enclosed environments. I easily got 2 long dives out of a single charge, and then was able to recharge it in my car using a USB cable on the way home, ready for the next day of diving.
The look and feel of these torches are great. In your hand you can feel the quality of the torches. They are solid and well built. They also look great. Each torch in the range comes with a padded case to keep them safe during transport.
For more, visit the Mares website by clicking here.
All underwater images by Alex Mustard
Marine Life & Conservation
Reef-World launches Green Fins Japan!

The Reef-World Foundation, the Onna Village Diving Association, the local government, and Oceana are delighted to announce that Japan is now the 14th country globally to implement the Green Fins initiative – a UN Environment Programme initiative. Onna Village in Okinawa is the first Japanese tourist destination to adopt Green Fins environmental standards to reduce the threats associated with diving and snorkelling on the marine environment.
Green Fins is piloted in Onna Village, Okinawa prefecture, an area renowned for its marine sports and has been working to protect its reefs for many years. Green Fins is implemented as part of the national Sustainable Development Goals project, which aims to manage and illustrate to the local industry how sustainable tourism can play a role in reef conservation. The economic benefits of the reefs benefit not only the fisheries industry but also the tourism industry as it has rocketed in recent decades.
If the project is successful – proving the value of sustainable tourism – the model has the potential to be escalated to a national level. A wide rollout would allow Reef-World to focus on uptake and expansion into other marine tourism and biodiversity hotspots across Japan. Green Fins implementation in Japan would provide practical solutions to many of the common problems faced in the area. It would also help to promote high standards for diving in the country. Improving the quality of the diving industry through Green Fins would demonstrate the added value of Onna Village’s tourism product. This, in turn, will encourage tourists to spend more time and money diving in the region.
Following a week of training by Reef-World (23 to 28 May 2022), Japan now has a national Green Fins team comprised of four fully certified Green Fins Assessors and two Green Fins Coordinators from Oceana and the local government. They will be responsible for recruiting, assessing, training and certifying dive and snorkel operators to become Green Fins members in the country. This involves providing training about the ecology and threats to coral reefs, simple and local everyday solutions to these threats and Green Fins’ environmental standards to dive and snorkel operators. Green Fins membership will help marine tourism operators improve their sustainability and prove they are working hard to follow environmental best practices as a way of attracting eco-minded tourists.
James Harvey, Director at The Reef-World Foundation, said: “We are really excited to finally introduce Green Fins in Japan. We have been planning this for almost three years, but the travel restrictions related to the pandemic hindered progress. The diving industry in Okinawa and the marine life upon which it has been built is so unique, it must be preserved for generations to come. The Okinawa diving community is very passionate about protecting their marine environment, and Green Fins has given them an opportunity to collectively work to reduce their environmental impact and pursue exemplary environmental standards.”
Diving and snorkelling related damage to sensitive marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, is becoming an increasingly significant issue. This damage makes them less likely to survive other local and wider stressors, such as overfishing or plastic debris and the effects of climate change. Based on robust individual assessments, the Green Fins initiative helps identify and mitigate these risks by providing environmental consultation and support to dive and snorkel operators. Through Green Fins implementation in Japan, Reef-World aims to reduce negative environmental impacts in the region by reaching 10 marine tourism operators, training 50 dive guides and raising awareness of sustainability best practices among 10,000 tourists in the first year.
Yuta Kawamoto, CEO of Oceana, said: “Green Fins will help to unify all the conservation efforts in Okinawa by applying the guidelines in many areas and raising tourists awareness. We hope this will increase the sustainable value in the diving industry and in turn increase the diving standards in the country.”
Green Fins is a UN Environment Programme initiative, internationally coordinated by The Reef-World Foundation, which aims to protect and conserve coral reefs through environmentally friendly guidelines to promote a sustainable diving and snorkelling tourism industry. Green Fins provides the only internationally recognised environmental standards for the diving and snorkelling industry and has a robust assessment system to measure compliance.
To date, four dive operators in Onna Village have joined the global network of 600+ trained and assessed Green Fins members. These are: Benthos Divers, Okinawa Diving Center, Arch Angel and Pink Marlin Club. There has also been significant interest from other operators, even those that are not located in Onna Village, for Green Fins training and assessment.
Suika Tsumita from Oceana said: “Green Fins serve as an important tool for local diving communities to move towards a more sustainable use of their dive sites; so that they can maintain their scenic beauty and biological richness to provide livelihoods for many generations to come.”
For more information, please visit www.reef-world.org or www.greenfins.net/countries/
Dive and snorkel operators in Japan interested in signing up to be Green Fins members can contact the Green Fins Japan team at japan@greenfins.net.
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