Diving Archives - Dutch Mermaid

Dive report: Juliet Liveaboard in the Bahamas

February 6, 2020February 6, 2020 Rianne

In November 2019 M. Kruk and his wife boarded the MY Juliet. A sailing and scuba diving yacht, that moves around in the Caribbean. Their itinerary was sailing and diving around the Bahamas. M. Kruk wrote up this Dive Report and is sharing it with the readers of Dutch Mermaid. Enjoy! Ps. also all pictures are taken by the Kruk’s! Sailing and Diving in the Bahamas My wife and I recently completed a Bahamas trip on the Juliet which departed November 2 – 8. It was a wonderful and truly…

Spinner Dolphins in Rabaul Kokopo, Papua New Guinea

February 3, 2020 Rianne

The Spinner Dolphins of Papua New Guinea One of the main attractions in Rabaul-Kokopo are the Spinner dolphins. Every morning approximately 200 to 300 show up. Ready to play at the bow of the boat! With the dive Rabaul-Kokopo Dive I went there one morning and shot this little video ❤ Spinner Dolphins are quite small dolphins that live off-shore in tropical waters. They’re known for jumping out of the water and “spinning”. Sometimes they’re also called Long-Snouted dolphins. They’re on avarage 130cm upto 230cm and weight anywhere between 23kg and 79kg.…

Great Liveaboard deals to the Maldives with Emperor!

January 30, 2020January 30, 2020 Rianne

An absolute bucketlist destionation for any scuba diver is ofcourse the Maldives! Right now Emperor is having a bit of a sale on a few of their boats in the Maldives – so if you were looking to book your next scuba diving holiday to the Maldives… Look no further! The Pelagic life in the Maldives …. Eagle Ray Grey Reef Shark Sea Turtle Eagle Rays Nurse Shark Manta Ray How to get to the Maldives Most Emperor liveaboards depart from the capital Male. This makes travelling very easy as…

Safaga – Egypt’s best kept scuba secret

January 11, 2020January 11, 2020 Rianne

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…

The invisible Leafy Seadragon’s of South Australia

January 4, 2020January 4, 2020 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…

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

December 31, 2019December 31, 2019 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…

Red Sea on Strike – No scuba diving this weekend!

December 28, 2019February 8, 2020 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…

11 Scuba Records from the Guiness Book of World Records

December 23, 2019December 23, 2019 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…

Scuba Dive Trip Report: Saba & St. Kitts

December 12, 2019January 1, 2020 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…

Finding a dive buddy in Bonaire

February 28, 2019March 11, 2019 Rianne

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…