Safaga – Egypt’s best kept scuba secret

Rianne
Hammerheads Egypt

Where can you see Manta Rays, Whalesharks, Hammerheads and Dolphins? In Safaga, Egypt! Safaga is a small little beach town, about an hour from the International airport of Hurghada. There are some resorts and hotels but it’s a nice combination of local Egyptians and tourists in one spot. Without the noises and shopping malls of Hurghada. Without getting harassed on the street to get you to buy something. No, it’s all very easy going and oh yeah, the diving… it’s breathtaking! Last year I was lucky enough to do 2…

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The invisible Leafy Seadragon’s of South Australia

Rianne

Last month me and my boyfriend went on a road trip through Australia. One of the places we decided to stop was Adelaide. The reason? Leafy Sea Dragons. What are Leafy Seadragons? Leafy Seadragons are beautiful mystical creatures that really exist. They can grow as big as 43cm but usually when they’re spotted they’re around 30cm. They live in and near seaweeds and seagrass beds often at edges of the reef or near jetties. They blend in really well with their surroundings and that’s a good thing because they’ve nothing…

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4 Liveaboards in Djibouti that take you to snorkel & scuba dive with whale sharks!

Rianne

Djibouti! Where? Djibouti! A very very unknown country in the horn of Africa. I first heard about this place when I was on a trip in Indonesia. There I met Mat, an American guy who had worked in a dive center down there. He told me the diving around there is something different – something unique. Especially as there are apparently many many whale sharks! Encounters with Whale Sharks are especially common from October to February, whilst year round there are sightings of dolphins, manta rays, pilot whales and many…

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Red Sea on Strike – No scuba diving this weekend!

Rianne

Suddenly on Friday night (last night at the time of writing this), posts started to appear on Facebook from several dive centers in Egypt that they were going on strike this weekend. The reason? The Egyptian government announced new scuba diving and snorkeling taxes a day earlier. When these taxes are starting, you ask? Today! (28 Dec’ 19). Yikes!! The new Dive and Snorkel Taxes in Egypt So what taxes are we talking about? Glad you asked! Diver/snorkeler on a day boat: $5,- per dayDiver on a liveaboard: $10,- per…

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11 Scuba Records from the Guiness Book of World Records

Rianne

The Guiness World Records book holds many different records, including some scuba diving related! Dutch Mermaid took the time to go through the book and found 10 interesting records obtained by scuba divers! 1. Largest Underwater Human Pyramid; 62 people! On the 15th of October 2013 there were 62 divers in Koh Tao Thailand that created together the largest underwater pyramid registered in the book. When researching more about this on the internet I also found an attempt in 2016 in Egypt with more than 100 divers, but no records…

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25 Scuba Diving Christmas Ornaments on SALE on Amazon

Rianne

Every year I see pictures posted on Facebook and Instagram where divers have decorated their christmas trees with scuba diving ornaments. This year I decided to sit down (during a long road trip) and searched all over Amazon for the most unique and beautiful ocean christmas ornaments. My efforts paid off! After a few hours I had a total of 25 ornaments that are on sale right now on Amazon! If you happen to have Amazon Prime, you can have them in your house, hanging on your tree… tomorrow! Will…

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Scuba Dive Trip Report: Saba & St. Kitts

Rianne

Liveaboard trip; from Sint Maarten to St. Kitts (stopping at Saba) Just a little bit to the right of Puerto Rico you’ll find the British and US Virgin Islands. A little bit more to the right from the Virgin Island lie the beautiful islands Sint Maarten, Saba and St. Kitts & Nevis. Three very different islands that are located very close together and all offer excellent Caribbean style scuba diving!   Liveaboard trip with Explorer Ventures A great way to explorer all three islands, comfortably in 1 trip, is to…

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Finding a dive buddy in Bonaire

Rianne
dive buddy

The last few weeks several people have contacted me and asked me how you find a buddy on Bonaire…. Realizing this is a hot topic I decided to do a bit of research and contacted several dive shops on Bonaire for their input! After reading this article you’ll know exactly how to find a dive buddy on Bonaire. When you’re on your own on a boat dive, you often get paired with another “solo” diver or if everyone brought their friends with the dive guide. But that doesn’t really work…

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PADI Sea Turtle Awareness Specialty in Bonaire

Rianne
Green Sea Turtle in Bonaire

One of the most fun dive courses that I ever took was the “Sea Turtle Awareness Distinctive Specialty” with Dive Friends Bonaire. Together with PADI and the NGO Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire this specialty was designed in 2014  and it’s a great way to learn about Sea Turtles in Bonaire! Before I tell you more about the PADI specialty in detail I’d like to take a moment to emphasize on the collaboration between several parties in Bonaire to make this course the success it is. First of all there’s Dive…

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VLOG: Scuba diving in Vilanculous – Mozambique

Rianne

Wow! Only had time for 2 days of Scuba Diving in Vilanculous Mozambique and it was great. Check out all the awesome stuff that I saw. One of the dive sites we went to was Two Mile Reef. Two Mile Reef is an excellent dive site for all levels of divers. A barrier reef protecting a narrow channel between the sand dunes of Bazaruto Island and the white beaches of Benguerra Island. On this site you can expect to see the following sea life: Potato bass, Guitar fish, Devil ray, Manta ray,…

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