Mexico’s Sardine Run

Although striped marlins (Kajikia audax) are slower than some of their billfish cousins, their 50-mph speed is plenty fast for me. I try to swim alongside this stealth bomber of the sea as it works a baitball to separate individual sardines from the silvery mass. While getting outpaced by sailfish and black marlin might be […]

Diving in the Turks and Caicos Islands

DIVING IN THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS guarantees plenty of beauty and excitement. This British overseas protectorate entices tourists with the slogan “Beautiful by Nature.” The Caribbean waters throughout the islands offer breathtaking vertical walls, frequent close encounters with pelagics, and opportunities to observe an incredible diversity of fascinating marine life.

A diver poses with a massive tube sponge at Double D dive site.

California’s Channel Islands

It’s 5 p.m., officially boarding time, and the floodgates have opened. Eager, impatient divers synchronously emerge from their cars and begin to haul carts full of gear down the dock. We’re right there with them, jostling to get a prime spot for our tanks.

California Sea Lion

Bay Islands of Honduras

Explore the Bay Islands of Honduras, home to stunning reefs and vibrant marine life. Discover underwater wonders waiting for you.

Caribbean reef squids measure up to 12 inches (30 cm) long and frequently change colors and patterns, including when interacting with others.

Destination Antartica

WHEN I STARTED DIVING, I fell in love with colorful coral reefs and marine life. If you had told me that Antarctica would someday become a favorite destination, I might have laughed and said I’d never …

Palau

I WAS READING SYLVIA EARLE’S FOREWARD TO Our Ocean, Our Future: Palau, a lovely coffee-table pictorial book by Michael Aw, David Doubilet, and Jennifer Hayes. Earle opened by remarking on when she’s asked about the best place to go diving. Her usual answer is, “Almost anywhere, 50 years ago.”

An aerial view of Palau’s famed Rock Islands.

Kimbe Bay and Beyond

From recent travels I sensed that a lot of liveaboards are now deployed worldwide. I was curious to know the exact numbers, and an online search showed that there are 69 in the Red Sea, 64 in Raja Ampat, and even the Galápagos Islands have 10 dive liveaboards now.

Red soft corals form a colorful foreground for The Arch in Fathers Reefs.

Cayman Brac

THE CAYMAN ISLANDS CONSIST OF THREE ISLANDS — Grand Cayman and Little Cayman; Cayman Brac, however, is not as well-known among dive aficionados despite the island’s infrastructure and …

The Two Faces of Tobago

DIVING IN TOBAGO is defined by the abundance and diversity of marine life in its surrounding waters. Tobago, one of the two islands comprising the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is about 30 miles long and more than 10 miles across at the widest point. It is geographically unique because of its location where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea. 

green moray eel

Malapascua

About 7,641 islands in the western Pacific Ocean comprise the archipelagic state of the Philippines. The country’s waters are integral to the Coral Triangle and feature some of the world’s most incredible biodiversity and eclectic dive attractions. 

Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier)