Nestled in Kasawari Bay, Dive into Lembeh Resort has been likened to a comfortable 'land-based liveaboard'. British owned and managed, this lovely small hotel is located on the mainland of the Lembeh Strait, Indonesia.  A true macro photographer’s paradise, the resort is just off the north east coast of Sulawesi and is famous for its 'muck diving' on black volcanic sand.  Muck diving is all about spotting weird and wonderful underwater critters, species that you would normally not find during a regular dive.

Diving in the Lembeh Strait means diving with amazing species such as frog fish, hairy frog fish, mimic octopus, blue ringed octopus, banded sea snake, mandarin fish, orangutan crabs, mantis shrimps and many other critters that are hiding on the black volcanic sand, amongst patches of rubble and coral.

Each of the nine sea view private bungalows is equipped with TV, air conditioning, ceiling fan, mini bar and safe. Every bungalow has its own Japanese 'Onsen' (hot tub) on the veranda to warm up in at the end of the day. There are also two Panorama View Bungalows available at supplement.

The Resort has an open air restaurant and bar, sea view fire pit area with comfortable chairs to relax in, a swimming pool and a fully equipped dive centre with a spacious camera room. There is also a lovely resort spa complete with sea views.

The Resort is located at the northern end of the strait out of sight of Bitung Harbor in the south, offering unspoiled views of Lembeh Island. Two of the most famous dive sites in Lembeh (called “hairball" and "aw shucks”) are nearby forming Dive into Lembeh Resort's house reef, with a choice of the black sand of “hairball", or a nice coral reef, suitable for snorkellers. The boat diving is done from newly built speedboats and the furthest dive site is only 12 minutes away. 

We are pleased to offer Twin Centre trips combining Dive into Lembeh Resort and Tasik Ria Resort, Manado. Packages including flights, accommodation, transfers and boat dives are available. Please ask a member of our team for further details.

Trip Report: Roots RED SEA and Coral Garden RESORT

Just one hour and 20 minutes from Hurghada airport lies Roots Red Sea, a small, friendly and relaxed “eco-resort” just north of El Quesir run by two dedicated Brits: Clare and Steve Rattle.

The first thing that strikes me as I arrive is how friendly the greeting is: a refreshing glass of fruit juice and the polite request to put all bags down, as someone will take them straight to our room. Following the usual check-in paperwork, we are directed to our room on the hillside of this cosy resort. A quick shower and then it's time to visit the bar to meet our hosts and fellow guests.

Steve and Clare gave us a warm welcome and shared a few beers with us as we relaxed into the laid-back Roots way of life, whilst eating the Roots’ Friday special: Fish and Chips! 

In fact the food - as with everything else at Roots - has a wonderful Britishness about it: on Sunday we enjoyed a traditional roast meal with a delicious apple crumble for dessert. Bliss!

The following morning after breakfast we visited the onsite dive centre to complete the necessary paperwork and then headed off to the house reef dive complex on the shore. A short walk across the sand and over a quiet road lies the other part of the Roots setup: a furnished kitting up area, complete with showers, benches and a collection of tanks. There are two buildings on this site; the other being the small restaurant where lunch is served.

Our first dive on the house reef was guided, to enable us to get our bearings. Plenty to see, including several large morays and the largest barracuda I have ever seen. 

The freedom to dive as and when we chose was one of the attractions of visiting Roots. Dawn dives and night dives are also available, but you need to request a night dive one day in advance, so the centre can apply for the necessary approval from the local authorities. On our second day we took a jeep trip to some sites up the coast, one of which was a stunning underwater cave system that I would recommend any diver should visit.

Another highlight was our trip to Elphinstone, which is available for a small supplement. A very early start (4:30am alarm!!!!) and an hour’s drive south to join the RIB awaiting our arrival followed. The three of us boarded and in 20 minutes we arrived at one of the signature dives in the Red Sea, hoping to see some sharks for which this site is famous.

A colourful, but shark-free, first dive along the reef followed. During our surface interval moored up to a liveaboard, we noticed an Oceanic White Tip swimming around the back of the liveaboard and directly under our RIB. “This bodes well” we thought…

The three of us dropped back in the water and hung around the back of the liveaboard at 10m, as three white tips took turns to cruise past us. For 50 minutes! And just the three of us were in the water. Simply stunning! This was one of my most memorable dives in many years of visiting the Red Sea.

Following a final dive at a local site in El Quesir, it was time to say goodbye to our friends at Roots and hello to Coral Garden Resort in Safaga.

North of Roots and only one hour from Hurghada, Coral Garden Resort is a small hotel and dive centre (run by Orca) right on the shore of their house reef: Gassous Bay. This is one of the best house reefs that I have ever dived and I would recommend that any diver spends some time at Coral Garden just to visit Gassous Bay. 

The team at Orca are rightly proud of their house reef and it shows. There are various areas worth exploring, including several purpose built metal frames that are already displaying some impressive coral growth and marine life and a seagrass area with two resident turtles.

As with Roots, you can dive the house reef whenever you feel like it, with dawn dives and night dives also available for the keen diver. In fact the well-run dive centre is set up for this: divers just kit up, collect a full tank from the appropriate area and wander into the sea. On return, simply drop your tank off at the empty area, collect a full tank and set your kit up ready for your next dive.

Coral Garden is a well-designed resort with the dive centre, bar, upper floor restaurant and spa all conveniently located in a central area. Breakfast and evening meals (buffet style) are taken in the upstairs restaurant (complete with cheeky sparrows on the scrounge), with a lunchtime menu available at the beach bar offering pizza, burgers, wraps and toasted sarnies.

Another highlight for us was the big fluffy black and white cat that followed us around and often visited our room in the evening for cuddles and some milk that we saved from breakfast. She probably realised early on that she had encountered a pair of suckers!

Roots Red Sea and Coral Garden lend themselves perfectly for a twin centre holiday which would suit buddy pairs and larger groups. In fact, Roots is already set up for school and university groups, as they host the Marine Biology students from Glasgow University for six weeks every year.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a laid-back diving holiday with no other distractions, then give Roots Red Sea and Coral Garden Resort your serious consideration.

RESORT DETAILS

Roots Red Sea is a small friendly resort ideally suited to divers & snorkellers wanting peace and quiet, but with the convenience of the small traditional town of El Quseir on its doorstep.  The resort is surrounded by magnificent colourful mountains on one side and unspoilt Red Sea beaches on the other, making it a wonderfully relaxing destination. Pharaoh Dive Club has a base both at the resort and on the beach allowing divers to come and go as they please with easy access to a beautiful house reef. The centre runs daily shore trips to over 50 different dive sites as well as having their own zodiac and hard boat for full day excursions.

Roots Red Sea has 29 rooms, consisting of Eco Huts, Deluxe Chalets and Superior Boutique Rooms.  We offer Deluxe Chalets, which can be either twin or triple rooms.  Superior Boutique Rooms may also be booked at an additional supplement. All rooms are built using natural materials, a mixture of wood and local red stone. The wooden furniture and tiled floors enhance the authentic natural feel. The gardens have been cleverly created to minimize water usage, but at the same time with some careful lighting help create a wonderfully relaxing ambience.

Coral Garden Resort is a true divers resort. Situated 22km south of Safaga, Coral Garden Resort is a true divers resort. Located on the northern end of a long sandy beach by the beautiful Gassous Bay, Orca Dive Club is based on site. The resort provides a relaxing stay with superb views over the bay and to the western mountains. Gassous Bay offers a fabulous house reef, ideal for both divers and snorkellers.

Rooms are arranged in a bungalow village style, set in beautifully landscaped gardens. A total of 39 rooms provide spacious and simply furnished accommodation, all with air-conditioning, satellite television, safe, twin beds and a great view. The hotel has a popular beach bar with its own pizza oven, pool and table tennis and a shisha bar. The buffet style roof top Al-Saif restaurant boasts great views of Gassous Bay and serves both authentic Egyptian and Arabic food along with international cuisine. 

I suppose many people would ask if they should believe the hype about Palau and is it worth going halfway round the world to visit? The answer to both questions should most definitely be 'yes'. So, it takes a couple of days to get there, but when you see the beautiful islands and slip beneath its clear blue waters, you will soon forget your journey. 

Due to Palau flight schedules, I had the chance for some nice day boat dives from the capital Koror, before joining the liveaboard. This served me well in getting back in the water after a few months without diving and gave a good taste of things to come. I then joined the Palau Siren a lovely boat with a helpful crew, and a great way to explore the best diving around Palau. 

I had heard of many of the dive sites before, such as Blue Corner and German Channel, so I was looking forward to experiencing them for myself. The first part of the week was out on the extreme west edge of the islands, where you will find Blue Corner and other great sites like Big Drop Off and Ulong Channel. I defy anyone to dive those sites and not have them go straight into their top ten favourite dive locations. Blue Corner involves dropping down to a shear wall, then going onto the top and hooking on with a reef hook and watching the shark show. You will probably see more Grey Reef and Whitetip Sharks than you have ever seen in one place before. You just hang there and watch them cruise by, losing count at around 25.

I'm sure you know that sharks are protected in and around the islands of Palau, a wonderful situation that started 15 years ago and culminated with the creation of the world’s first shark sanctuary in 2009. It was so nice to see so many sharks on most dives during my visit. In fact I saw sharks on every dive except the night and wreck dives. 

But of course there is plenty more to see. Some sites had some beautiful hard and soft corals, rivalling the best you'll see anywhere in the world. We also spent half an hour watching a Manta Ray at a cleaning station and often saw Eagle Rays and Stingrays. There was plenty of little stuff to keep the macro lover happy, from Frogfish to lots of different Nudibranchs, many I'd never seen before. 

The wrecks of Palau mustn't be forgotten either. We dived four different wrecks during the week and although not so much of a destination for the hardcore wreck diver like Truk, there are quite a  few wrecks there to keep you happy. Like Truk, most are WWII Japanese vessels, some so big that they take a couple of dives to explore. They are mostly cargo ships, but there is also a very interesting dive on a small seaplane, known as Jake from its American code name. 

One last dive that is worth a mention is Chandelier Cave. Although you would normally think that a 70m long cave would require cave dive training, this one is great for those without, as there are four chambers where you can pop up and breathe the air without your regulator. Its very strange to see the amazing stalactite formations above you with your torch, whilst being entertained by your dive guides silly stories about the cave monsters that supposedly live there! Plus there’s a few tiny Mandarin Fish to hunt for in the coral on exiting the cave. 

Was there any downside with Palau? Of course there was. I was disaapointed that my stay there was limited and I had to leave it behind for the trip home!

To find out more about diving in Palau, please call our friendly team on 01353 659999. If you would like to speak to John about his trip, he would be delighted to share his experience and help you plan your diving adventure in Palau. 

On 20 August 2016 the former supply vessel “Trinity” was carefully sunk on the southern side of Batteaux Bay. Having been stripped and cleaned prior to sinking, this new 100ft wreck sits in 75 feet of water and is suitable for intermediate and advanced level divers. Access points for divers have been created to ensure a safe dive environment and being only a short boat ride from Blue Waters Inn, this wreck is bound to provide an exciting new opportunity for divers visiting Tobago. The wreck is destined to become an artificial reef that will contribute to the existing natural ecosystem of the area.

Blue Waters Inn is a beachfront resort tucked away in its own secluded bay amongst 46 acres of lush tropical grounds. Located in Batteaux Bay - Speyside, far from the tourist trail, Blue Waters Inn is a great place to relax and a superb base from which to discover some of the finest diving in the Caribbean. As the new Trinity wreck is located just in the front of the Blue Waters Inn Hotel, adjacent to the stunning Batteaux Reef, divers have convenient access to great wreck and reef diving. Guests normally dive with the Blue Waters Dive'n dive centre on-site at the hotel.

Blue Waters Inn is a lovely boutique hotel with 38 rooms, all with ocean views. The Captain’s Table restaurant offers a changing menu of local and international specialities including fresh seafood, in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. The breakfast buffet is also served here and guests can enjoy their meal out on the deck overlooking the sea. The Shipwreck Bar is an ideal place to enjoy a beachfront cocktail and is renowned on the island for the quality of its lunch specials. 

The hotel has a lovely swimming pool, right on the beach, and kayaking, snorkelling and tennis are also available. The hotel is located just over an 1 hour away from Crown Point International Airport.

For more details, contact our specialist team on 01353 659 999 or by email, or visit Blue Waters Inn

The video below shows the sinking of the Trinity and gives a taste of exploring this exciting new wreck:

Beauty Has an Address

Oman offers great diving variety. Its waters are known for colourful hard and soft corals, as well as numerous species of ray, including stingrays, eagle and torpedo ray. Leopard sharks are regularly spotted, along with moray eels, especially honeycomb and yellow mouth eels. Divers can also encounter green and hawksbill turtles, reef and schooling fish. Whale sharks are seen during summer months. 

Visit the pristine Daymaniyat Islands, or join a liveaboard to discover the Hallaniyat Islands. Combine all this with our 'Mountain, Desert and Sea' tour to discover even more of this fascinating country for a true Arabian adventure...

Diving in Muscat

Divers of all experience levels can enjoy the dive sites accessible from Muscat, the capital of Oman. The diving here is well established, with over forty recognised sites including the renowned Daymaniyat and Fahal Islands. There are few currents and dives range in depth from ten to thirty metres, along coral flanked stoney walls. Plankton rich waters attract a large amount of marine life, which includes many pelagic species. The Daymaniyat Islands helped place Oman on the world dive map. This string of offshore islands north of Muscat offers pristine coral gardens, dramatic walls and abundant fish life.

Diving in Salalah and Mirbat

Situated in the southern area of Oman's Dhofar region, the unspoilt coastline stretches as far as the eye can see, offering sheltered bays to explore in an area steeped in history and heritage. Set against the stunning backdrop of deserted beaches and the high Jebel Al Qara rising steeply out of the Dhofar mountain chain, this area offers a level of excitement and adventure hard to find in other destinations so close to home.

Liveaboard - MY Oman Explorer

Join the MY Oman Explorer Liveaboard to discover the extensive reefs of southern Oman and the Hallaniyat Islands! Departing from Mirbat’s small harbour, the itinerary will be exploratory in nature, for divers comfortable in a relatively remote location. Sitting in the waters straddling the north Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, the Hallaniyat Islands comprise five islands lying in an east to west string in the south-eastern waters of Oman’s Dhofar district.

Refurbished in 2015, the spacious MY Oman Explorer is a 34 metre, steel hulled vessel which very comfortably accommodates 22 divers in 10 spacious twin cabins and one Master Cabin. Diving is done directly off the dive deck or from a RIB, dive site dependant and Nitrox is available. The MY Oman Explorer follows different itineraries depending on the season, including some trips that depart from Muscat.

Contact our friendly, specialist team on 01353 659999 to book your diving adventure in Oman...

With its on site dive centre, Tasik Ria Resort is a comfortable diver's resort. The management have a hands on, personal and friendly approach, making your stay a very welcome one. The resort has undergone substantial investment, with a fantastic dive centre upgrade and new facilities.

Our special offers packages allow you to explore beautiful Bunaken National Park from  Tasik Ria Resort for 7 nights, or combine Tasik Ria Resort with Lembeh for a 10 night trip. Packages are available with or without flights.

STAY AT TASIK RIA RESORT - Save up to £185 per person

From £742pp - Includes: Transfers, 7 nights full board twin share, 18 boat dives, 50% discount on nitrox fills, Free Sea View room upgrade (subject to availability), 1 hour massage, 1 night dive

From: £1,462pp - Includes: International flights, transfers, 7 nights full board twin share, 18 boat dives, 50% discount on nitrox fills, Free Sea View room upgrade (subject to availability), 1 hour massage, 1 night dive

Book by 31 January 2017 for travel to be completed by 31 December 2017.

Combo Trip: Tasik Ria Resort & Dive Into Lembeh - SAVE up to £185

From £1,275pp - Includes: Transfers, 5 nights Seaview Room at Tasik Ria on full board basis, 12 boat dives, 1 hour massage + 5 nights in Sea View Room at Dive into Lembeh on full board basis, 12 dives by speedboat, 50% discount on nitrox fills

From £1,995pp - Includes: International flights, transfers, 5 nights Seaview Room at Tasik Ria on full board basis, 12 boat dives, 1 hour massage and 5 nights in Sea View Room at Dive into Lembeh on full board basis, 12 dives by speedboat, 50% discount on nitrox fills

Book by 31 January 2017 for travel to be completed by 31 December 2017.

Please Note: No further discounts (Dive Show / Affiliate partnerships etc) are available with these packages.

Boutique Beach is a small hotel built by divers for divers. British designed and managed, this 'boutique style' hotel has only six rooms ensuring personal service for every guest that aims to deliver the best diving experience possible. 

Save over £300pp on 7 Night All Inclusive Stays + Diving

Book by 15 December 2016. 

All Inclusive refers to room, all meals, unlimited soft drinks & water, local juices, mocktails and up to 3 dives, along with boat charges, or excursion and snorkeling.

ALL INCLUSIVE ACCOMMODATION AND DIVING PACKAGES 

• 22 October 2016 to 29  December 2016 - from £1,013pp 
• 11 January 2017 to 30 April 2017 - from £1,198pp

Includes: Boat transfer, 7 nights twin share in a Double Deluxe room, 3 meals per day, Unlimited soft drinks & water, 2 dives per person per day, Tanks & weights

ALL INCLUSIVE ACCOMMODATION AND DIVING PACKAGES WITH FLIGHTS

• 22 October 2016 to 29  December 2016 - from £1,865pp
• 11 January 2017 to 30 April 2017 - from £2,049pp

Includes: International flights from UK, boat transfer, 7 nights twin share in a Double Deluxe room, 3 meals per day, Unlimited soft drinks & water, 2 dives per person per day, Tanks & weights

To find out more, call our friendly team on 01353 659999 or see: Boutique Beach

Discover The Forgotten Islands from aboard Indo Aggressor for adventure, unknown dive sites and spectacular scenery off the beaten track... 

The Forgotten Islands are part of Indonesia’s south Maluku province, a region located at the extreme south eastern boundary of the country and less than 200 nautical miles from the northern tip of Australia. These cruises offer you the opportunity to dive some of the most unexplored regions of  Indonesia.

Itineraries include the fabulous sites of East Nusa Tenggara around Lembata, Pantar and Alor, as well as exploring the fascinating reefs, walls and topside scenery of the islands further east, the mysterious and rarely visited Forgotten Islands.

The beautiful 124 foot Indo Aggressor offers 11 nights with 10 days of diving on The Forgotten Islands itinerary and takes 16 guests and 15 crew.

Special Offers on Selected April 2017 Sailings - Save up to £830pp!

• 5 April 2016 sailing,  11 night Forgotten Islands trip is currently reduced to just £2,491 per person (boat only), twin share cabin with ensuite, chef-prepared meals and snacks, soft beverages and local beer and wine. 
• 18 April 2016 sailing,  11 night Forgotten Islands trip is currently reduced to just £2,756 per person (boat only), twin share cabin with ensuite, chef-prepared meals and snacks, soft beverages and local beer and wine. Book by 15 October 2016.

Call our friendly team on 01353 659999 to find out more.