Why Go?

Scuba diving in Cuba has become hugely popular in recent years, and it’s easy to see why. The water is warm and crystal clear, and the vibrant underwater wildlife and excellently preserved coral reefs make it a key destination for avid scuba divers.

The sheer number of great dive sites in Cuba is staggering, far too many to explore in a single Cuba diving holiday. Many keen scuba divers return to the island year on year to explore some of the more out of the way places. The sites also present a good variation in their level of difficulty, so diving in Cuba is suitable for both beginners and veteran divers.

Scuba diving in Cuba is a big business and there are plenty of companies to choose from, especially around the most popular dive sites. Note that if you have dived before, you must bring your certification card with you. If you are a beginner, many companies run courses that will get you certified in a few hours.

When Should I Go?

The rainy season runs from May to October; the most popular (and expensive) time to go diving in Cuba is between November and May. Plenty of good diving can still be done all year round - the average water temperature is a balmy 24 degrees Celsius. Be aware that once every two years or so Cuba experiences a hurricane between August and September along its east coast, so it is worth researching if a hurricane is expected to hit before you book your holiday!

Where Should I Go?

There are great dive sites suitable for Cuba diving holidays around the entire coast of the island, but the resort of Cayo Coco is a particular highlight. Located on the north of the island, a magnificent coral reef is half a mile from the coast and this particular part of the Cuban coast is teeming with tropical fish, giving divers plenty to see underwater. Out of the water, Cayo Coco features the finest beaches in Cuba, and the numerous hotels and dive companies that are set up at this resort mean that you’ll have little trouble finding places to stay and companies to dive with.

Maria la Gorda is equally popular, and is regarded as one of the best sites for scuba diving in Cuba. Situated in the midst of a national park, Maria la Gorda provides a more secluded experience than Cayo Coco - there’s little here except for natural beauty, a few apartments and restaurants, the dive centre and some of the best diving on the island. The dive sites are characterised by steep drops, and sheer walls that are riddled with caves and tunnels to explore.

If you’d prefer to go diving amidst ship wrecks rather than coral reefs, then Santiago de Cuba is the place to go, as there are a number of well preserved wrecks that are safe to explore.

How Much Will It Cost?

Naturally, the cost of scuba diving in Cuba will vary depending on the season you visit and the company that you go with. Single dives typically cost between $25 - $50 US, with discounts available if you buy several dives at the same time. Many companies now offer Cuba diving holiday packages, including flights, accommodation and diving costs, which can offer good value and save you the hassle of putting everything together separately.

Emma Lelliott is the general manager of Captivating Cuba, an independent Cuba holiday specialist. With offices in Havana and the UK, Captivating Cuba are experts in putting together the very best Cuba diving holidays.

The Sipadan Island has arguably the best dive sites in the world to the extent that most divers rate it as a top must-dive destination. The huge diversity of marine life here has made it rated at the top of Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine Gold List for ‘The Top Dive Sites in the World’.

This dive mecca is a tiny oceanic island located off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia’s eastern most state, and lies on the north-eastern corner of Borneo Island, the world’s third largest island. This ‘untouched piece of art’ is just less than an hour from the mainland and has rich currents sweeping through it. The rich currents bring lots of fish which attracts bigger creatures like sharks, barracudas, bumphead parrotfish and turtles.

The overwhelming list of attraction is staggering and to make it more exceptional, it involves a wholesome of big fish encounters. At South Point, a dive site typical of Sipadan, you will be amazed by colorful abundant walls, schools of barracuda, sharks, turtles and exotics like hammerheads and thresher sharks. With a rich macro life like the nudibranchs and pigmy horses on the rich coral garden, divers often found themselves in a dilemma whether to poke around in the wall for macro beings or keep an eye for the bigger stuff.

One of the favorite sites here is the Barracuda Point where divers will find hordes of turtles, vast schools of jacks, bannerfish and snapper. A variety of the shark families are also often spotted here. However, the real stars of this site are the spiraling vortex of barracudas, so large that the sunlight is often clouded out.

The Turtle Cavern site is well worth a visit as it is unlike other sites in Sipadan. Divers often bumped into massive marauding hordes of huge bumphead parrotfish as they sink down the wall, before approaching the cave entrance. Looking into the cave entrance, you will see turtle skeletons resting on the sea-bed. Apparently, the turtle seems to meet their dead-end in the small and confusing passageways of the caverns.

Diving season in Sipadan Island is all year round with the best condition between April and December. There are no liveaboards offered here. However, there are some excellent resorts which divers can choose to stay. The nearest resorts are on the Mabul and Kapalai Island. Visibility can range from 10 meter to more than 40 meter. Depth at Sipadan can range from 5 meter to more than 40 meter. Recommended length of stay on Sipadan is 5 to 14 days including the nearby Mabul and Kapalai islands.

http://www.bellscubadiving.com

Scuba diving is a great sport among water sport enthusiasts. In fact, it is among the growing sport community enthusiast around the world. This is no surprise since the earth, is in fact two-thirds water than land.

Scuba diving, as opposed to some people may think, is quite easy to learn. Once you know the right diving equipment to use, the rules, and the basic lessons, you’re off to scuba diving! Of course for beginners, it is important that you have an expert scuba diving guide to help you out in your first lessons.

Unfortunately, there are still a significant number of the world’s populations who frown upon scuba diving, chiefly because of water fright. As there are reasons to be apprehensive in diving into the unfamiliar world of the ocean, there are more reasons why you should try scuba diving. Here are some of them:

The ocean is a diversified land of wondrous creatures.
The underworld will definitely take your breath away as there are a hundred and more unique, never-been-seen creature species in the ocean. You will be in awe of the perfect color combinations of fishes, and the brightly hued water plants. It’s going to be a great out of this world experience for anyone up for adventure.

Scuba diving builds lung endurance.
This sport will enable you to develop lungs endurance as this teaches proper breathing while under the sea. Aside from that, your legs and arm muscles will be honed for swimming and staying under the water. All in all, scuba diving, just like most sports activities, is good for your health.

It helps the local tourism.
Participating in scuba diving meets, and joining scuba diving clubs in your local community is good publicity for your locality. It helps in promoting local tourism. These days, the tourism agencies are tapping scuba diving as a key asset in spreading the beauty of their beaches and under water sceneries.

A great way to spend family time, doing something fun and adventurous is going on a scuba diving holiday. With good planning, this can be an adventure of a lifetime. Keep in mind that planing a scuba diving holiday does require a little more attention to detail, particularly if you plan to travel out of the United States. However, this type of holiday is fun and exciting.

When planning a scuba diving holiday, the most important thing is to determine where you want to go. The goal is finding a destination that will fit within your set budget, but also one that offers diving for the type and experience level you need. Taking all this into consideration will ensure a perfect balance so your vacation time is excellent. This coupled with the assistance of a travel agent that specializes in dive trips is recommended.

In addition, you might consider locating a professional dive shop, asking them for destination recommendations for your upcoming scuba diving holiday.

Since your focal is to go scuba diving, you want to make that your primary focus but you should also consider other adventures you could do while on land. Typically, destinations for diving are exotic and surrounded by natural beauty, which means you can take in gorgeous views along the way.

During the planning phase, we suggest you make a list of everything that you will need to take specific to diving equipment and in accordance with your certification. Now, if you plan to go out of state, then of course you would also need to have your Visa intact, make sure you have any needed vaccinations, understand local currency, and so forth.

Doing research on each of these aspects of the trip will make things go much smoother. The good news is that finding information about diving is a breeze using the internet. In fact, everything you could possibly need to know so you have an incredible trip is available online.

To help you get started, we wanted to provide you with a partial list of some of the things you would need to consider for a scuba diving holiday to include:

* Determine the date you plan to travel, allowing for some flexibility should flights be limited

* Make sure you look at all the diving packages available, enjoying safety and saving money

* Be sure any diving equipment you take with you is carefully marked so you know it is yours

* Consider the purchase of travel insurance, a policy specific to scuba diving

* Bring any medications needed for the trip, as well as doctor’s orders

* Any important documents for the trip should be copied, keeping one on your person and another with family or friends at home

* Talk to the airline to learn about any restrictions pertaining to taking scuba diving equipment on the plane

Obviously, you want your scuba diving holiday to be something special, a time to remember. Once a person experiences the wonders under the ocean, there is no turning back.

Find the latest information on scuba diving visit Scuba Diving Holiday as well as Scuba Diving Package

Visual tank inspections are required in many places every year, in Australia they are required every 6 months, so what are they looking at when they do a visual inspection of your tank?

The first thing they will do after they empty all of the air out of the tank and remove the “head” , tank valve is tip the tank upside down and place their hand under the hole to see what comes out, hopefully just a little bit of water will come out. Most tanks that have been in service for awhile and have been refilled on a regular basis will have a very small amount of water normally less than a teaspoon and some of which will be there from the emptying of the remaining air from the tank to do the service.

Another common find is some aluminum speck’s these are formed when the tank is filling they move the little bit of water that gradually accumulates and bangs the water droplets under pressure inside the tank, picture a steel ball bearing in a dryer bouncing around which will cause some small pits over time. When the pits become a certain size the tank needs to be sent for a hydrostatic test.

The next thing they will do is sniff the inside of the tank to see if there are any strange odors this normally points at a problem with the compressor filters rather than the tank.

Most tanks today are aluminum so they don’t rust which was a big concern with the steel tanks and the main reason why steel tanks are going the way of the K valve. For certain circumstances they offer enough benefit to override the rust issue (steel tanks can be rated to higher working pressures & are lighter making them attractive for some specialized uses).

The tank vales are made of brass which is a softer metal that aluminum or steel the idea is it is cheaper to replace a valve than the tank. Because there are two different metals you get electrolyses in sea water this will cause the metals to fuse together. If you take the valve off on a regular basis, it is much easier to remove and the likely hood of doing damage to the value, or the tank is greatly reduced.

Another one of the checks is to look at the tank threads if there is damage beyond a certain percentage, the qualified technician will need to send the tank for a hydro, or they will allow it to continue in service based on what see. The qualified technician will measure the damage and note it on the tanks history record and keep an eye on it in future inspections.

They will also feel the water to see if it is oily this is not a good sign as it means that the filters on the compressors were not serviced enough, or the compressor needs to be serviced, which means in many cases that the compressor needs to be rebuilt.

If you own your own tanks in between your visual inspections keep an eye on your filter on your first stage, if it turns rusty or green it is a sign that the tank should be inspected. Also if you get a bad smell you need to have your tank inspected and notify the location where you got your last fills that you noticed a bad smell or taste. If you notice a bad smell or tastes do not go scuba diving with that tank! Remember only let a qualified technician examine your tanks, working with pressurized air and gases can have fatal consequences if done improperly for you, or the unqualified individual!

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Fred’s new project http://www.CheapCharliesHotels.com/ where he reviews cheap hotels , budget guesthouses, discount accommodations and cheap international flights, but is really an excuse to go scuba diving on vacation more, Fred is in Phnom Penh Cambodia planning his next adventure travel tour. Keep up to date with Fred and to view some great pictures go to

Fred Tittle has lived and worked in holiday vacation resorts his entire life, from Lake Geneva’s Playboy Club, as a rock jock for KSPN FM in Aspen Colorado, he became a PADI Pro Scuba Diver in Hawaii, diving on Maui, Kauai, Kona on the big island, and Waikiki on Oahu. He founded Eco Adventures South East Asia in Sihanoukville Cambodia. he still teaches SSI and PADI scuba diving courses and runs liveaboards in the gulf of Thailand and Asia adventure tours, http://www.ecosea.com/ Fred is currently in Bali Indonesia

Puerto Vallarta, say it to yourself, songs nice does it not, the way it rolls off your tongue, Puerto Vallarta. Well, what if I tell you it is one of the premiere tourist destinations in the world, even better than it songs, that is of course if you pronounce it properly. It is a place that offers all that a tourist can possibly want, archaeological sites for the just plain daring, adventurous, with a love for knowledge, rolling beaches for the pleasure seekers, and most important friendly and welcoming people to guide you along the way. Snorkelers, you are most definitely not left out since this is an absolutely incredible place for a snorkeling experience with a whole new exciting existence just right below the surface.

Puerto Vallarta located in Mexico, is a seaside resort city sitting on the Pacific Ocean’s Bahia de Banderas, where its’ industry is largely dependent on tourism. Travelers from all over world are welcomed and if Spanish is not your native tongue, no need to worry. There many people across the island that are multilingual and speak other languages besides Spanish, so there is always someone to communicate with.

Temperature, no problem, the daily average is usually about a nice cool 86° F, sloping probably to about 70° F, can you say, good weather. If you are a snorkeler, is there any better weather more perfectly and satisfactorily matched than this. The thing is when comes to Puerto Vallarta the winter months are usually the most popular season for visiting, for visibilities sake, I suggest that you travel there in the summer months considering the visibility is incomparable and you can see down to 150 feet. This is especially great for those who want to see Puerto Vallarta’s snorkeling prize, the exquisite Moorish Idol.

Transport

Question. How are you going to get where you want to go to do your snorkeling. Answer. There are several options to that question. For one thing, there are numerous beaches in Puerto Vallarta where snorkeling can be done, but for those wanting immediate access to the ocean might want to take in mind renting a boat to get there. Others however, find it much more comfortable with having others handling the matter and choose to take on their journey with an eco-tour company.

Finances

Prices, as with all other tourist activities are spread right across the board, in different ranges dependent on the where or who you do the activity with and how long it takes. For example at Los Arcos a very popular destination, snorkeling trips lasting about four hours can be around $30 of course dependent the company you enlist. Included is usually all your snorkeling equipment and transport to get there and back.
For the more risqué of the bunch who prefer a more deluxe adventure you can combine your snorkeling experience with a whole entire day or aquatic activities and joy riding, with lunch included in the package. This would normally run you a price tag of $50 a day with snorkeling, whale watching, and pirate themed shows for the kids to enjoy in one complete package.

Snorkeling highlights

What really makes Puerto Vallarta the snorkeling hit it is, well one name alone has to be mentioned Los Arcos Marine Reserve.

First, Los Arcos a brilliant geological formation of caves and arches, compounded with numerous types of fish that can be even seen at night. For your own pleasure you might even see stingrays, puffers, sharks, of course while viewing caution should be taken at all times, parrots, and much, much more, too much to mention.

Puerto Vallarta a place if you are in for a big snorkeling adventure or just adventure, you should not hesitate to visit.

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Snorkeling is an excellent activity to take part in. Its something that no matter age or sex, everyone can join the fun and enjoy themselves. A place snorkelers from novice to expert can find their answers. Shinkeno Snorkeling Solutions

The world’s oceans take up approximately 70% of the Earth’s surface. Imagine how much stuff lies underneath it. Since the beginning of time the waters of the world have been an unexplored realm that has remained mostly untouched until recently. The invention of scuba has opened up the possibilities of not only exploring, learning, and enjoying the underwater world, but also recovering what has been lost and hidden beneath its deep expanses.

Treasure hunting has a mysterious ring when it rolls off your tongue. It’s an intriguing diving job that will take you to the far regions of the earth in search of buried treasure, but will also have you huddled in the corner of the world’s best libraries researching everything and anything about your newest treasure quest.

Countless hours of intense research will often lead you to buried treasures that have been lost for centuries. It’s a profession that is truly hit or miss. The majority of the time you will come up empty handed, but when you do find the lost treasures of long departed pirates you will be more than pleased with yourself.

Unfortunately, treasure hunting is more of a hobby than an occupation. Being the Indiana Jones of the seas is definitely a lucrative hobby if your research is correct, but it is just as likely that it will be wrong. That is why it is important to have a “real” job that pays the bills and puts food on the table.

If you want to be a treasure hunter, which we all do, a great day job to have is that of a salvage diver. Salvage diving is the art of recovering things from underwater. It may be a car that ran off an icy road in the mountains of Colorado or a millionaire’s yacht that sank off the tropical paradise of Tobago.

Water is everywhere and that is why you can work as a salvage diver absolutely anywhere. Salvage diving is fun and takes plenty of skills that are not only fun to learn, but are fun to apply to your cool career.

You’ll be using lift bags, ropes, and who knows what else to recover planes, cars, boats, people, and anything that sinks. Your job is to first locate whatever has sunk beneath the water’s surface. Next dive down to find it. Then figure out the best way to bring that sunken object back to the surface and to its rightful owner. And then your job is done… until someone else sinks something valuable.

Salvage diving is great because you are guaranteed an adventure ever time you go dive. You will face extreme conditions - cold, currents, and limited visibility. You will have success and you will have failure, but you have to take it all in stride. That is part of being a salvage diver.

To get started as a diver, you obviously need to become a certified diver through one of the main diving organizations. But to pursue the best training to work in the salvage diving world you should look into working with the Navy, Coast Guard, or the police. These are the most likely people to deal with hauling a yacht back to the surface or finding a lost car. When you work for one of these organizations, you will make about $35,000 a year - not bad for spending most of your time underwater doing something that makes you happy.

In this dive career you will work hard, the hours will be irregular, and you will be faced with intense situations. At the same time salvage diving is a job that keeps you on your toes, your adrenaline pumping, and your smile grinning from ear to ear.

Salvage diving gives you all the necessary skills to live the good life as a professional SCUBA diver. It also gives you the skills to pursue the hobby of a lifetime - treasure hunting. Salvage diving is a great career for someone with a curious desire for exploration and discovery. Just remember the motto of all salvage diving treasure hunters: If it’s worth looking for, it’s worth finding.

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Lisa Jenkins and writing partner Derek Lennon are gurus of far flung adventure jobs and career opportunities. Look for their work on JobMonkey, a free website covering many popular summer job opportunities and offbeat careers. Derek is trained in technical diving and writes about diving jobs around the world for oil companies, salvage operations, and recreational dive operators. JobMonkey includes an active job board and hundreds of pages of information about seasonal jobs and offbeat careers.

Scuba diving compressors are expensive and require heavy maintenance. Dive training schools purchase scuba diving compressors or rent them from various suppliers. There are many scuba diving shops in and around hotels and resorts that provide divers and vacationers with compressors for scuba diving. Manufacturers advertise products by giving dealerships to owners of scuba diving shops and training schools. Many travel magazines have information about scuba diving compressors. People interested in buying one can contact the respective individuals through e-mail. People can also get information about scuba diving compressors through the Internet. There are a lot of websites that offer scuba diving compressors at discounted rates.

Numerous scuba diving training schools offer certified courses. These schools train divers and educate them about scuba diving as a sport. The dive schools and institutes teach students the different ways of handling scuba diving equipment such as compressors.

About the Author:

Scuba provides detailed information on Scuba Diving, Scuba, Scuba Gear, Scuba Diving Equipment and more. Scuba is affiliated with Scuba Diving Vacation.

One of the most popular activities that can be enjoyed in Hawaii is scuba diving. The azure waters of the Pacific Ocean combined with the unique underwater terrain created through a combination of lava formations and coral make this in Hawaii an unforgettable experience that can be rivaled by no other.

All of the main islands of Hawaii offer beautiful and exotic dive locations teeming with marine life, colorful corals, and interesting lava formations. Visibility often exceeds 100 feet and is ideal for exploring the unique wonders of the Hawaiian depths. Here you will find delicate coral reefs, interesting lava tubes, caves and caverns for exploring, sandy bottoms, vertical drop-offs, and basalt boulders. The sheer variety of attractions to be found in the waters surrounding Hawaii guarantees that you will never become bored with scuba diving and exploring the watery wonders of the Hawaiian Pacific.

Here is a brief overview of a few of the top spots in Hawaii:

• Kaua’i and Ni’ihau - There are 10 phenomenal spots on Kaua’i and Ni’ihau. During the summer months, calm waters attract divers to the northern waters where shore diving abounds. Some of the most popular spots are the Ke’e Lagoon, Tunnels Reef, and Cannons where depths range from 12 to 65 feet. It should be noted, though, that it directly offshore is discouraged in Hawaii unless conditions are very calm. This is because high surf and turbulent conditions can make scuba diving from the shore dangerous. Advanced divers can find a challenge in the southern waters where monk seals and schools of dolphin play.

• Hawaii - Scuba diving off of the largest island of Hawaii can only be done from shore along the leeward, Kona, and Kohala coastlines. Here depths range from 10 to 130 feet with sites for novice divers, advanced divers, and anyone in between. Some of the most popular spots include Cavern Point, Kailua Pier, and Red Hill.

• Oahu - Some of the best shore diving can be found on the island of Oahu. Waimea Bay, Wai’anae, and Maunalua Bay are just a few of the top spots. Perhaps the most breathtaking of all scuba diving locations in Oahu is Hanauma Bay where scuba diving sites ranging in skill level from novice to advanced can be reached directly from the shoreline.

And if the impossible does happen and you become bored with theis in Hawaii, there’s always something to do on one of the islands. This is where the grass skirt will come in handy.

About the Author:

To obtain your 2 FREE Gifts: Special Report “Insider’s Guide to Scuba Diving Gear” and Special Report “Top 10 Ways to Make Money while Scuba Diving”, go to http://www.thatdivesite.com and sign up for the FREE Gifts.

If only it was that simple. Self improvement requires dedication, hard work, constant inner dialog - and a plan. As a diver, although it is sometimes difficult to gauge your improvement, with time, you can see results. Air consumption is an excellent tool to use to measure your diving skills and gauge improvement. Refining your buoyancy, perfecting your fin kick, and proper weighting all have an affect on Air Consumption. In short, “If your air consumption is going down, your skills are going up!”

What are the rewards for divers seeking self improvement? A sense of well being, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Self peace and confidence while exploring the underwater world. Longer bottom times is the first step to achieving this goal.

There is no better way to improve your diving skills than by diving regularly. By doing so, you keep your skills fresh. diving involves motor skills which, when repeated on a regular basis, become familiar and comfortable. Unless you play golf regularly, you’re not likely to get better scores. Unless you dive a couple of times a month, your buoyancy skills, buddy skills and diving fitness are not likely to improve.

There are several ways to maintain an active dive schedule. Dive Site Six! Although this dive site is not as good as the Florida Keys, it’s a whole lot cheaper. it provides valuable experience rigging, equalizing your ears, navigation, buoyancy control, etc. Dive Steamboat Cove! How many divers can say that they have been inside the cavern? dive Copper Canyon! Many regular divers find sun glasses, watches, rings, wallets, etc. Scheduling a dive trip is another exciting way to improve your skills. Diving over a few days with a number of dives, your familiarity with your equipment and environment will jump dramatically. I realize that some of the trips we schedule fill quite rapidly and sometimes you can’t get a spot on the trip, but it you plan early and adequately prepare for the trip, you should have no problem securing a spot.

Buoyancy Control - the art of 3-D movement with proper weighting and breathing. Buoyancy control is one of the most difficult but important skills to master. You first learned the skill in your Basic Scuba Diver course, but for many divers, it’s a skill that is quickly forgotten. by learning to control your buoyancy you will extend your time underwater by reducing your air consumption and enjoy diving that is effortless, relaxing, and more fun. Once you have reached this “effortless” diving, you can begin to enjoy the inner peace experience that all divers eventually reach.

Other ways to improve your buoyancy skills include using breath control to adjust your position in the water, distributing your weight evenly, and streamlining yourself and your equipment for better efficiency while swimming. It is important to avoid over weighting because it contributes to fatigue, rapid air consumption and damage to marine life. Consider a familiarization dive or “Dial in” dive for the first dive of your dive trip. This allows you to set your weights for the entire trip. Remember, you need to set your weight belt each and every dive trip, since many factors affecting buoyancy change with each diving situation. Most of the more experienced divers set their weights according to their gear. for example, I wear 6 pounds in salt water with a Polartec suit, 10 pounds in salt water with a Polartec suit and a 6 mm shorty, 16 pounds in salt water with a full 6 mm suit, etc.

Photographers know that in order to get close the their subject, they must fit in to the environment - become one with nature and the subject. Practicing perfect buoyancy makes you more a part of the environment, allowing you sneak up and get a closer look at your favorite fish.

Another good skill to improve your diving is self awareness. As a guideline, listen to yourself. If you feel uneasy about a particular dive, consider the reasons. Our minds have a wonderful way of reminding us that we may be stepping out of our comfort zone by producing stress. diving should be challenging yet relaxing. when it ceases to be fun, it’s time to review why. By learning to listen to yourself you will increase your performance and safely.

While doing these things won’t bring you wealth, happiness, a better sex life, or world peace, they will improve your enjoyment of life itself. Remember, improvement and self discovery are journeys - not destinations.

Dive safe and dive often