When we're thinking of a great place for a diving holiday, we're afraid to say that mighty ol' England doesn't exactly spring to mind. But the UK Times has pointed out that there are actually dozens of great spots to go diving and snorkeling around Britain--as long as you've got a thick wetsuit.

Some of the highlights are wrecks from both wars and from careless ships running aground, like the Lucy, a ship that beached itself off Pembrokeshire and now sees divers as well as dolphins and porpoises that play nearby. Off Cornwall, experts recommend a few good snorkeling spots although we're not quite sure that seeing giant jellyfish is the kind of highlight we're after.

Now it might go without saying, but the tipsters do recommend only snorkeling in summer off Britain, and even then, as they carefully point out, "It'll be colder than snorkeling in the Seychelles". No surprises there.

Related Stories:
· Britain's 10 Best Sites for Diving and Snorkelling [UK Times]
· Snorkeling coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: mafic]]]> amandak 2008-09-04T11:00:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/15/81242/0418

We always thought that Belgium was only famous for its tasty chocolate, but it's also home to the world's deepest swimming pool--and you're welcome to go SCUBA diving there.

The 105-foot-deep Nemo 33 has a tropical feel with the water kept at 33 degrees Celsius (91 F). You can learn to SCUBA there or just enjoy your own dive while your non-diving friends sit in the restaurant and watch you descend into the human aquarium.

A safety warning: We recommend diving in Nemo 33 first, before consuming the required ton of Belgian chocolate. Eating the sweets first could lead to serious sinking problems.

Related Stories:
· Nemo 33 [Official Site]
· The World's Deepest Swimming Pool [UK Times]
· How to Do a Belgian Chocolate Deal [Jaunted]

[Photo: medialoog]]]> amandak 2008-08-15T09:00:10-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/10/151851/276

We like to think of extreme sports as those that involve gravity and humans flying through the air in unnatural ways. But lately scuba diving is looking more and more like a high-risk endeavor, too.

First there was the report of the Australian couple left by their tour operator in shark-infested waters for 19 hours. Then this past weekend we learned about the group of five divers in Indonesia that got pulled away from their wooden boat by a strong rip current, survived 12 hours in shark-infested waters and then landed on the island of Rinca to confront an aggressive Komodo dragon.]]> DanielR 2008-06-10T16:01:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/2/26/12230/7866

An Austrian tourist died on Monday after a shark attack in the waters between Fort Lauderdale and the Bahamas. Markus Groh was out on a shark-spotting trip with Scuba Adventures, which sails seven-day live-aboard cruises out of Riviera Beach, Florida.

Unlike some tour operators, Scuba Adventures doesn't send its divers under in a cage. The outfit's website says:

We regularly encounter tiger sharks from 6-18 feet in length. The giant of the tropical shark world, this awesome predator will sometimes cruise past in bulky silhouette, approaching the baits with fearless purpose, an exhilarating experience!

To insure the best results we will be "chumming" the water with fish and fish parts. Consequently, there will be food in the water at the same time as the divers.

Though the company says it has crew in the water "to insure diver safety," it's apparently going to take a fatality to remind them that there's no stopping a wild shark from doing whatever it wants.

Related Stories:
· Diver in Chummed Waters Dies After Shark Bite [AP, via CNN]
· Scuba Adventures [Official Site]
· Killer Beaches of 2007 [Jaunted]
· Shark Attack Travel: Mexico's Hungry Great Whites [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ben McLeod]]]> pbb 2008-02-26T12:24:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/1/22/105746/273

After running all those seasons of The Amazing Race and Survivor, seems like CBS has finally run out of places to film. The upcoming Fans vs. Favorites season of Survivor will return to Palau, where season 10 was shot a few years back. The producers are hoping that we don't catch on by calling it Survivor: Micronesia.

While you know what to expect from the competitors on the show--now in its 16th iteration--you probably don't know as much about the South Pacific archipelago. First and foremost, it's a long way from, well, everywhere, and that keeps tourist traffic relatively light. That said, you can get there from New York in about 26 hours, from Houston in about 20 hours and from Sydney in about 19 hours.

Once you're in the islands, the thing to do--if you're not on a hit reality show--is go scuba diving. The Palau Visitors Authority has a big list of all the local outfitters. You can also check out WWII history: The islands of Peleliu and Angaur are littered with materiel from fierce battles that killed thousands in 1944.

Related Stories:
· Palau Visitors Authority [Official Site]
· Survivor: Micronesia [Official Site]
· South Pacific Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikipedia]]]> pbb 2008-01-22T11:00:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/1/14/10958/6355

The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association has launched a new initiative--and released a commercial--that they hope will lure you to the sport. DEMA's $1.2 million "Be a Diver" campaign is the biggest, most expensive program so far to encourage more people to become certified scuba divers. Should be a useful skill when global warming one day leads to Biblical floods!

The campaign's main goal, of course, isn't just to up the number of certified divers, but to increase the sale of scuba-related supplies. Though the campaign promises info on diving education and destinations, DEMA also wants you to try out all sorts of fancy, must-have scuba gear at its traveling road show. This past weekend, for example, they set up a shallow swimming pool at the Adventures in Travel Expo in NYC.

We're still waiting to see what the full "Be a Diver" website will look like. When we checked in for a preview earlier this morning, the new site was still unavailable. Definitely not a good way to kick off a campaign.

Related Stories:
· Be a Diver [Official site]
· Diving coverage [Jaunted]
· Tourism Marketing coverage [Jaunted]]]> laurenuta 2008-01-14T13:00:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/11/2/145437/032

So hunting for 844-pound sharks is too extreme for you? And you don't feel like pioneering the Iraqi shark fishing industry? Then you might want to reconsider your trip to Mexico's Isla Guadalupe with SharkDiver.com.

Passengers and crew on a recent excursion got plenty of action when they witnessed a great white attack a fur seal, says dive master Luke Tipple:

We were in the middle of cage diving operations on the back deck of the MV Islander when all of a sudden a 6 foot geyser of black foam and red blood erupted 50 yards from our position.

While the boys at Shark Diver have been working these waters for years, a surface attack like this surprised even them.

Of course, there's no guarantee you'll see great whites on any particular trip, but Shark Diver CEO Patric Douglas says the odds are good, especially in the winter months:

We have research data showing these sharks actively stalking the smaller Guadalupe fur seals early in the shark season. By November these pups are quite big and begin to play offshore, which is the equivalent of ringing the dinner bell for larger female whites.

Related Stories:
· SharkDiver.com [Official Site]
· Sharks coverage [Jaunted]
· Adventure Travel coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2007-11-02T15:00:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/