Best Places For Scuba Diving: Part 2

Best Places for Scuba Diving: Part 1

Remember that scene from the movie Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara where an aqua phobic Hrithik overcomes his fear after deep sea diving in Spain? The experience changes him for life. That is just the thing about scuba diving. If you put your heart and soul into it, you will undoubtedly fall in love with the deep mysteries of the sea.

Just as any experienced diver will tell you, scuba diving requires a little bit of briefing, a training dive and oodles of self belief. It is a supremely relaxing sport and very beginner friendly. Skeptical still? I am sure I can change your mind with these awesome destinations and their enchanting underwater world of fish, corals and wrecks for a phenomenal diving experience.

Hawaii

Thousands of miles away from any mainland, the Hawaiian Islands offer a whole other world underwater ready to be explored. Shielded by cliffs, the Kealakekua Bay promises calm waters and magnificently abundant marine life. Honaunau Bay or Two-steps as it is called for the neat wearing away of volcanic rock to form a two step entry point to the sea, offers an abundant variety of fish. The crescent shaped Molokini Island offers colourful reef, rich and pulsating with life. Oahu offers plenty of wreck diving opportunities. Many of the fish found here are found nowhere in the world. Diving in the Hawaii is a rare treat with its rich and diverse world of fish, corals and other sea dwellers that are sure to take your breath away with their impressive display.

 

Indonesia

Part of the most diverse marine ecology of the ‘coral triangle’, scuba diving in Indonesia is competing with the best in the world. From the bright reefs alive with innumerable varieties of fish in the shallow tranquil waters to the deep sea full of pinnacles, mounts and walls guarded by sharks, Indonesia has something for everyone. The most popular places for scuba in Indonesia are Raja Ampat islands, Bali islands and Komodo Islands.

 

Belize

Belize is famous for the Blue Hole, a submarine sinkhole that is one of the most well preserved marine ecosystems in the world. It attracts all kinds of large and small fish that keep adding to its marine diversity. The sinkhole is recommended for advanced divers only as the sheer drop of the hole is a daunting 124 meters. Inside the sinkhole, multicolored stalactites and stalagmites, submerged caves, depressions and fish hideouts are waiting to amaze the seasoned diver.

The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.  Belize also has three atolls surrounded by thick mangroves that are wonderful for shallow water diving. The Lighthouse Reef offers fantastic diving opportunities with clear water and abundance of marine life like angel fish, parrot fish and squids. In the deep waters, giant Groupers, Reef Sharks and Nurse Sharks are found strolling in their natural habitat.

 

Fiji

Fiji is made up of so many small islands that one has to decide in advance where to begin the adventure from. Which is why the best way to explore the marine ecology of Fiji is a Live Aboard Cruise. This will cover more locations than is possible from land and reach the remoter islands as well.

Underwater sights vary from place to place in Fiji. Some places are tranquil and therefore great for learning. Other places experience very strong currents that sweep up plankton and nutrients towards our corals, causing them to bloom even more beautifully. Fiji is known as the “soft coral capital of the world”. Some great places to dive are the Great Astrolabe Reef in Kadavu, shark diving at Viti Levu and Beqa Lagoon with its pinnacles, wreck dives and fabulous displays of soft corals.

The grandeur of scuba diving at Fiji lies in exploring The Great White Wall, Taveuni. You swim through a cave, assisted by strong currents and emerge on the other side to face a huge white wall of corals descending into an abyss. The most interesting part of this wall is that the corals are actually mostly lavender in color. The whiteness is an optical illusion created by the light filtering through the turquoise sea and converging towards a dark bottom.

 

Cozumel, Mexico

At Cozumel lies the six hundred mile long Maya Reef that stretches all the way to Central America. It is a technicolor profusion of coral and fish, breathing and pulsating with marine life and activity. Cozumel ranks among the best dive sites in the world for its incredible visibility, spectacular wall dives and rich underwater ecosystem. Moral eels, brilliant queen Angelfish, sea turtles, a variety of sponges and plenty of other vast coral heads are easily spotted along the steep ocean walls that caved into the abyss forced in by the strong currents. There are also several tunnels and caves twisting and winding under the reefs that provide a rich environment for the underwater life.

Cozumel Island has over hundred dive operators and they offer all kinds of deep dives, wreck dives, night dives, and underwater photography dives.Some of the interesting dive sites around Cozumel are the minesweeper wreck of Felipe Xicotencatl, the Maracaibo Reef, the Santa Rosa Wall and the Tormentos Reef. The peak diving season is May-July, when water temps are 75 to 80 degrees and the hotel prices fall.

Scuba diving is the best way to explore the majestic underwater world for those who have never let go the comfort of solid land. We have picked our favorite places to take the plunge and now it is your turn to take your pick.