News
Scuba Travel now offering dive holidays to Lanzarote and other great deals
Here are the latest offers from UK-based dive tour operator Scuba Travel:
Dive Lanzarote from £570 inc flights
Scuba Travel has announced it is now working with North Diving in Lanzarote.
North Diving Lanzarote is the only dive centre in the north of the island, which means guaranteed unspoilt and uncrowded dive sites. Diving the northern dive sites is an adventurous experience with a huge amount to discover underwater. The lava formations, arches, caverns, drop offs and swim throughs are simply amazing. There are wrecks, schooling fish and even angel sharks.
So if you are looking for somewhere new to escape for a long weekend’s diving or fancy making a week out of it close to home, it’s time to take the plunge in Lanzarote.
Arrieta is far away from the mass tourism sometimes associated with Lanzarote and so there are no hotels. However there are a large range of fully equipped apartments, all around a 5 minute walk from the dive centre. Scuba Travel have picked just a few of the best in the region to offer you complete choice. So if you a single diver, buddy pair or group, talk to Scuba Travel and they can help you select your ideal base. If you prefer, the closest hotels are 20mins away which Scuba Travel can also arrange with transfers
Find out more here.
Hurricane / Southern Red Sea / Save £300 / Only £845 / 25th May
Come face to face with big fish at famous Brothers Islands, Daedalus and Elphinstone.
Fly direct to Marsa Alam and avoid long transfers.
7 nights full board. All fees, 12L tanks and weights and Free Nitrox Included.
Dive the fabled Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone with the most experienced team on board the stable steel hulled Hurricane.Look into the blue for sharks, manta and dolphins as you drift along pristine drop offs. Spend more time diving and less time travelling with Scuba Travel’sMarsa Alam departures. Aida & Numidia wrecks at the Brothers.
Find out more about this trip here.
Solitude One Liveaboard / Phillipines
Solitude 1 is a true ocean going liveaboard, which makes her the ideal boat for cruising the the Philippines on the search for pelagics. There are 10 cabins across Solitude 1, sleeping up to 22 divers, in bright, airy cabins. All are beautifully finished.
This is a scuba diving holiday of pure escapism and breathtaking moments underwater and only dived when at its seasonal best. Home to literally hundreds of fish, shark, dolphins and coral species, the Tubbataha itinerary will deliver inspirational diving, all from the comfort and luxury of your liveaboard home. Caroline from Scuba Travel has just returned from Solitude One and is raving about it – give her a call to find out why.
Find out more about this trip here.
Virgo / Maldives / Save £350 / Only £1545 / 7th May
7 nights on board on a full board basis (twin/double share cabin) . Virgo dives the seasonal hot spots with an average of 3 fully guided dives a day and all diving is from a dhoni tender. All marine park fees, 12lt tank and weights inc and Nitrox FOC.
The Best of the Maldives Itinerary does just what it says on the tin – you dive the best and most famous dive sites of the Maldives in a single week of sublime liveaboard diving across Male and Ari atolls. Virgo is an outstanding vessel. She sleeps only 15 divers over a generous 32m length. All of the cabins have the creature comfort you would want – en suite bathrooms , TV and DVD player, safe and mini bar. The cabins are light and airy and the upper deck cabins have large windows to let all that Maldivian sunshine in.
On the main deck there is a large saloon with welcoming sofas. The bar on board is fully licensed so you can enjoy your favourite tipple as the sun sinks over the horizon. The upper deck has loungers for sun worshippers.
Find out more about this trip here.
To find out more about Scuba Travel, 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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