South Africa's Bitesize Shark Breaks!

BBC2’s Oceans series recently searched for Great White Shark (Caraharodon carcharias) in the Mediterranean which experts now believe provides a nursery for birthing and raising young. Join Dive Worldwide for a rush of adrenaline during a 5-day Great White Shark Weekend in South Africa. PLUS, right now get more South African Rand to the British pound whilst exchange rates are favourable. Holidays depart London daily throughout 2009 – best time to see Great White Shark - May till September.

The Atlantic and the Indian Oceans meet at the Cape Peninsula, the resultant differences in sea temperature promote a huge diversity of marine-life. Forests of kelp, abundant reef walls and caves - host to corals, sea anemones, sponges, seafans and nudibranches (sea slugs), local wrecks providing challenging dive experiences. Divers have an excellent chance to see Great White Sharks, as well as less dramatic but equally spectacular dolphins, seals and penguins. Both divers and non-divers can enjoy exhilarating and unforgettable shark encounters, either from the boat, as sharks frequently swim at the surface, or from cages. After arriving in Cape Town, non-divers follow a one-day PADI Discover Scuba course which involves a one-hour introduction to diving, a pool dive to become familiar with the equipment and a dive at a suitable dive site around the peninsula. Here, new divers will be able to enjoy the marine life and become accustomed to the sensation of being underwater in preparation for cage diving next day.

The ‘weekend’ costs £1,455 p/p (non divers £1,520) including international flights, pre-paid taxes, transfers, 3-nights B&B hotel accommodation, lunch on diving days, 2-days shark diving and a PADI Discover Scuba course for non-divers.

Click here to see more South African dive holidays.

NEW - SUN, SCUBA AND SAN SALVADOR

The latest episode of the BBC’s Oceans series investigated the depths of the Atlantic from a group of islands in its western reaches - the Bahamas. To experience a diver’s paradise of pristine reefs, historic wrecks, spectacular walls, blue holes, fantastic caves along with the opportunity to dive with diverse sea life, join Dive Worldwide on its NEW 10-day Riding Rock Resort & Marina dive holiday based on San Salvador – the Bahamas’ most south easterly island. Holidays depart London daily throughout the year.

Just twelve miles long and five miles wide, San Salvador is quiet, friendly and unspoilt, with endless deserted beaches and over 50 internationally renowned dive sites! With shallow reefs, stunning water clarity and more than 20 miles of dramatic vertical walls, beginning in as little as 40ft, the island offers a wealth of attractions. Divers are based at Riding Rock, a custom designed, oceanfront diving resort perched on a pinnacle washed by warm breezes and clear azure waters - ideal for watersport enthusiasts, complete with onsite dive centre. Also on offer is an impressive trio of custom dive boats with deep V-hulls, walk-through transoms, dive platforms with extended ladders, camera rinse stations and plenty of shaded deck. Back on land, enjoy freshly prepared Bahamian cuisine in the resort’s restaurant then relax in the Driftwood Lounge – taking in the magnificent ocean view. For time out of the water - visit San Salvador's other local attractions - 'Blackbeard's Castle' (he may once have held court here!), Dixon Hill Lighthouse - one of the last hand-operated, kerosine-lit lighthouses in the world, or Columbus Monument, commemorating the landfall of Christopher Columbus in 1492…

The holiday costs from £2,005 p/p including international flights, taxes, 7-nights full board hotel accommodation at Riding Rock Resort and 1-night (RO) on Nassau, plus 10 dives package with tanks and weights.

Click here to see more Bahamas dive holidays.

NEW DIVE WORLDWIDE 2009 BROCHURE

The team at Dive Worldwide has been busy researching and testing (yes they do get their feet wet) lots of new and imaginative watery destinations for 2009! The result of their endeavours to find the next diving hotspots, is a bulging new brochure packed with innovative new itineraries and ideas for Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, the Maldives, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Tonga. Particularly notable for 2009 is the introduction of both Sudan and the Cook Islands into Dive Worldwide’s portfolio.

After great success with more extreme underwater experiences, including ice diving in Russia, Dive Worldwide now offers cave diving courses and holidays, accompanied by world-renowned cave diver extraordinaire, Martyn Farr – ideal for divers who thrill to cold, dark sub aqua, subterranean spaces!

Other exciting developments include a new collection of whale and dolphin watching holidays, thanks to an invitation from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society for Dive Worldwide to operate their dedicated whale-watching programme Out of the Blue.

Looking ahead, with far fewer liveaboards being licensed to dive the more remote islands of Wolf and Darwin in the Galapagos archipelago, Dive Worldwide is delighted to announce it has secured four sailings on the M/V Sky Dancer, for prime weeks in 2010 and 2011 – early booking is essential!

Plunging into the pages of Dive Worldwide’s new brochure, readers will notice that there have been some big changes, including more in-depth information about the regions offered, together with relevant climate charts – always useful when planning where to go and when! All of this is backed up by a dedicated team of experts who know their product and are always happy to discuss ideas and concepts to make the perfect dive holiday a reality.

New holidays for 2009 include:

• SUDAN: Royal Evolution from £2,449 p/p. The price includes flights, taxes, transfers, 14-night liveaboard, full board and diving.

• COOK ISLANDS: Cook Islands Explorer from £3,535 p/p. The price includes flights, taxes, transfers, 9 nights on Rarotonga (room only) with 14 dives and 5 nights on Aitutaki (breakfast) with 6 dives.

• THAILAND: Koh Ngai Diving from £1,335 p/p. The price includes flights, taxes, transfers, 7-nights hotel accommodation plus a 10-dive package with tanks and weights.

Click here to see the full range of dive holidays.

ESCAPE TO STINGRAY CITY!

If the financial ‘crunch’ and the onset of short winter days are a daunting prospect – fear not. Dive Worldwide’s 9-day escape to Grand Cayman – an island of pristine beaches and superb marine life - comes with a saving of £150 p/p on the cost of luxurious beachfront accommodation if travelling before 19th December 08! Tours depart London four times a week – best time to go – NOW!

Nestled amongst the calm, turquoise waters of the western Caribbean, Grand Cayman is the largest of three Cayman Islands. Guests stay in luxury beachfront accommodation at The Reef Resort, located on 1,450ft of pristine white sand beach. The resort’s on-site dive operator, Ocean Frontiers, offers boat trips to diverse dive sites including the famous Stingray City - for close encounters of Southern Atlantic Stingray, to the less developed east end and Jack McKenny’s – at 25,000ft it is the northern hemisphere’s deepest drop-off. Bathed by prevailing currents and with visibility of up to 150ft, divers may also encounter sharks, turtles and Moray Eel amongst the teeming marine life. For time on dry land, follow the Mastic Trail through ancient forest where endemic animal species, including rare Blue Iguana, may be spotted, visit the Turtle Farm for further close-ups of Green Sea Turtle or simply relax back at the resort’s hot tub! After a full day’s activities, enjoy freshly prepared meals from Castro's Hideaway Ocean View Restaurant, then take in the magnificent Caribbean sunset from Castro’s Hideaway Beach Bar.

The holiday NOW costs from £1,485 p/p (was £1,635) (based on two sharing) including flights (BA), taxes, fuel surcharges, 7-nights hotel Studio Room accommodation at the Reef Resort (RO) and 5 days of 2-tank boat dives (10 dives), one night dive, plus tanks and weights.

Click here for more dive holidays in the Cayman Islands.

MANTA RAY OR HAMMERHEAD? - TAHITI - RANGIROA

Tahiti and her islands are definitely the underwater destination for observing anything ‘big’ and in large numbers. If the watery depths are calling, join Dive Worldwide on a 10-night dive holiday, based at Kia Ora Village Resort on the Rangiroa atoll, for exceptional year-round diving. From now till mid-October Rangiroa offers peak viewing of Manta Ray, then throughout January and February, large numbers of Hammerhead Sharks congregate to breed. Holidays depart London daily – best time to see Manta Ray – NOW!

The Rangiroa is the largest atoll in the South Pacific, offering a gigantic lagoon up to 28 metres deep, measuring 75km across and 25km wide - so large that it's impossible to see from one side to the other. Rangiroa's most famous diving spots, Avatoru - the best place to see Manta Ray, and Tiputa - also known as the ‘Shark Caves’ for obvious reasons, open on to the Pacific Ocean. Here, twice-daily tide surges allow for exceptional drift diving in crystal-clear waters, known as ‘shooting the pass’. A short distance out into the lagoon, the reef drops to 1,200 metres where sharks and other pelagics congregate, including Eagle Ray, Jackfish, Barracuda, Turtle and Dolphin. Divers are based at Kia Ora Village resort, consisting of Polynesian-style bungalows set amongst a large coconut plantation on the lagoon's edge. Although scuba diving is the major attraction, there are also great sites for snorkelling, swimming and relaxing around the vast lagoon and for time out of the water, choose from tennis, bike rides and glass bottom boat tours.

The tour costs from £4,135 p/p including scheduled flights, taxes, transfers, hotel accommodation with breakfast, plus 16 dives with equipment.

Click here to see more dive holidays in Tahiti.

PNG DIVE PACKAGE – SAVE £710 PER COUPLE

Dive Worldwide is offering a great diving deal in Papua New Guinea based on two divers travelling together. Book two seven-night accommodation and diving packages at the Tawali Resort and get the second one for half price - PLUS each diver receives £100 discount off the total holiday price. Tours depart London daily, throughout the year.

Tucked away on a volcanic bluff overlooking the clear protected waters of Milne Bay, accessible only by boat, is Papua New Guinea's best kept scuba diving secret - Tawali Resort, Tawali's unique location offers a multitude of attractions; the best exotic 'muck diving' in Milne Bay, reef diving and prolific blue-water diving with schooling pelagics and larger predators like sharks, rays, and even small whales. Big animals often seen include Hammerhead Sharks, Giant Manta Rays, and occasionally Whale Sharks and Minke Whales. There are over 25 dive sites within a 5-minute boat ride of the resort and unlimited shore diving is available from the dive dock. The spacious guest accommodation features two queen size beds and what may be the ultimate private balcony, overlooking a reef-fringed bay framed by tall tropical trees. There is a variety of non-diving activities around the resort, including hiking to waterfalls and caves and village visits.

The holiday now costs from £4,660 per couple including flights and taxes, transfers and a 7-night full board accommodation and dive package.
(The holiday normally costs £5,370 per couple – representing a saving of £710 p/p).

Click here for more Papua New Guinea dive holidays.

MICRONESIA - MANTA RAY BAY HOTEL YAP

Not only is Yap famous for its large population of resident Manta Rays but during filming of the BBC's current wildlife series, Pacific Abyss, new discoveries of fish were spotted including a large, slate-blue Chromis Damselfish, along with other more likely residents such as Silvertip and Grey Reef Sharks, Lyretail Angelfish and Yellow-striped Squirrelfish. For the opportunity to get immersed with some of world’s most spectacular marine life, specialists Dive Worldwide offer 11-day holidays incorporating 7-nights at Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap with a 10-dive package – tours depart London NOW!

Guests are based at the Manta Ray Bay Resort, designed by, and built for divers. Choose from elegant and spacious en-suite, air-conditioned rooms complete with mini bar, safe, balcony and satellite television or deluxe ocean view with private roof jacuzzi and sun deck! Enjoy delicious meals and lagoon views at Manta Ray Bistro, the finest restaurant on the island, and a refreshing cold drink by the water’s edge in the Nautical Weaver Bar. Resident 5-star PADI diving facility, Yap Divers, offers world-class diving and a full lineup of diver education programmes along with five radio-equipped twin engine dive boats - to get divers quickly to where the underwater action is - including sharks, turtles, Pipefish, Frogfish, Nudibranches and Mandarin fish. Topside, Yap is the most intriguing of the Micronesian Islands, with its giant stone money, grass skirts and traditional Men’s Houses. Other activities on offer include sea kayaking, hiking and village tours.

The holiday costs from £2,059 p/p including scheduled flights, transfers, 7-nights B&B accommodation at the Manta Ray Bay Resort, 1-night in Manila with breakfast and a 10-dive package, tanks and weights.

Click here to see more Micronesia dive holidays.