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Bermuda Field Trip / Bermuda Travel / Island Travel / Snorkeling / Sports Travel / Active Travel / SCUBA / → All Tags

Diving Bermuda: From Vintage Wrecks to Rocky Lighthouses

During the height of summer, all we want to think about are islands. All this week, Jaunted's transatlantic attaché Kai MacMahon will fill us in on what's up with Bermuda lately.

The Bermuda Triangle remains one of the world's most enduring and intriguing legends. For those who haven't caught a History Channel documentary on it, the triangle is an area around Bermuda where hundreds of ships and planes have disappeared over the years, all under darkly mysterious circumstances. These disappearances have been chalked up to everything from aliens to paranormal activity, and even blamed on leftover technology from the lost island of Atlantis!

To quote Wednesday Addams, “nobody gets out of the Bermuda Triangle, not even for a vacation. Everyone knows that.”

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Strange Scuba Spots / SCUBA / Scuba Dives / Snorkeling / Active Travel / Texas Travel / Water Sports / → All Tags

Aquarena Springs is One of Texas' Strangest Scuba Spots

For quite some time, Aquarena Springs was home to an amusement park in San Marcos, Texas, but unfortunately that’s no longer the case. However, the place is now run by Texas State University and they’re happy to show you all of the treasures found under the sea.

To keep things preserved for future divers you are not just allowed to jump right into the water here, as you need to take one of the monthly dive authorization courses. Hit the water with conservationists and dive experts to learn the dos and don’ts diving in this area—like when to keep your hands to yourself. Just be prepared to shell out around $230 for the pleasure to do so.

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Strange Scuba Spots / SCUBA / Scuba Dives / Snorkeling / Active Travel / Alabama Travel / Water Sports / → All Tags

'The Pelham Keys': An Unlikely Winter Dive Spot in Alabama

We understand that it’s hard to get the money together to head to the Caribbean to dive, but there’s always plenty of underwater options here in the good ol’ nifty fifty. If you’re looking for something a little more unique and affordable there’s always “The Pelham Keys” in Pelham, Alabama. It might be a strange scuba spot, but all that means is that the diving fun is just a little different.

The place is just around 20 minutes south of Birmingham, and it’s an over 26-acre limestone quarry that has now been filled in with over 850 million gallons of spring fed water. Expect clear waters as you swim through and explore some of the park’s undersea treasures. No coral reefs here, but there is a school bus, sailboat, and two different fire engines.

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Strange Scuba Spots / Snorkeling / Active Travel / Palau / Island Travel / → All Tags

Swim with the Weird Fishes at Jellyfish Lake

Palau may have gotten its big break at show business and tourism when the cast and crew of Survivor stuck around for a season, but the island nation has plenty of cool stuff to make it stand out on its own. There’s great year round weather, lush scenery, and beautiful beaches; however, the best thing going might just be its strange scuba spot.

The country is home to Jellyfish Lake, which is a spot that offers an experience that justifies its name. Located among the Rock Islands, it features thousands and thousands of jellyfish that move about the lake on a daily basis. It's a snorkeling-only location, but we think that hardcore divers won’t mind shedding all that gear for a unique experience within this underwater world.

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Water Sports / Active Travel / Snorkeling / Scuba / Diving / → All Tags

Find Freedom Under The Sea With A Freediving Class

Scuba diving is definitely a great way to get in touch with your inner Flipper, but all that equipment is a drag on your freedom and anyone who has ever gone snorkeling wishes that there were a way to just have a few more seconds underwater. Well, if you decide to take a class with Performance Freediving, the dream can come true.

Instead of just seconds under the sea, you’ll now be breaking personal records of both time and depth. Some people easily hold their breath for over five minutes and can dive to over 100 feet below the surface. There’s even classes that focus on spear fishing, in case you get bored during your dive and want to hunt for some dinner.

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Key West Travel / Spring Break / Beaches / Food Travel / Drunk Travel / Kayaking / Snorkeling / Water Sports / → All Tags

Key West Spring Break Part 3: The Pirate Craze Will Never Die

Wanting to do something active to counterbalance all the beer and pie, we bought tickets for an adventure cruise on a big catamaran called Island 'Ting. Casting off from the docks at 10:00 a.m. under the guidance of Captain Johnny, we broke our fast with scrambled eggs and juice and headed to an offshore reef for snorkeling. As was the case with the previous evening's sunset cruise, it was interesting to get to know the crew, which generally consisted of lifestyle junkies who take fun, low-paying, seasonal jobs around the world. Our snorkeling instructor Misty, for example, alternated between sailing jobs in Key West and Maui, and a fire fighting job in Oregon.

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Animals / Aquariums / Sharks / Adventure Travel / Swimming / Scuba / Snorkeling / → All Tags

Where to Swim with Whale Sharks and Downward Dog with The Fishes

When the Animal Overlords take over, we can rest assured that our own Shira Levine will be safe from persecution.

We're going to try to be more thoughtful the next time we eat sushi and just stick with the faux crabmeat after indulging in peaceful day at the Georgia Aquarium. This the only place in the world where you can swim in a giant fish tank with a couple of 23-foot long whale sharks.

The Atlanta fish farm hosts "Swim with Gentle Giants," swimming and diving tours in their football field-sized, eight-million gallon Ocean Voyager tank. To say the underwater experience is thrilling is an understatement.

These fish (which include massive manta rays and sting rays, guitarfish, zebra sharks, cownose rays and wobbegong sharks) are as friendly as puppies and kitties. They like to swim up really close and skim along your body before darting off into the faux deep blue.

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Adventure Travel / Big Island Travel / Hawaii Travel / Snorkeling / → All Tags

Nightswimming With Manta Rays in Hawaii

Much like we found something to do in Las Vegas during the day, we have a suggestion for exploring Hawaii at night.

If you’re on the Big Island of Hawaii and somehow find yourself tired with the usual surf and sand activities, then you may want to check out some of the island’s undersea offerings once the sun goes down.

Join one of the many guides off the Kona coast and get down with the manta rays. No need to fear these big critters as they don’t have any teeth or barbs--maybe they're even friendly? There are plenty of opportunities for both snorkelers and divers, so there’s really no excuse to dive in after hours.

Once the sun sets, you’ll meet your guide and review the do's and don'ts. Most of the tours offer up a midnight plankton snack for the rays as well as underwater lighting to get their attention. All you do is float, watch, and try to stay calm as the rays “fly” past you. Depending on your guide, it should set you back about $100 a person.

Related Stories:
·Manta Ray Dives Hawaii [Official Site]
·Jack's Diving Locker [Official Site]
·Big Island Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: TANAKA Juuyoh]

Hawaii on the Cheap / Big Island / Hawaii Travel / Snorkeling / → All Tags

Our Three Favorite Big Island Snorkeling Spots

This week, Kyle Brown updated us on the budget-friendly scene in the islands. Catch up with his adventures in our Hawaii on the Cheap guide.

We quickly got hooked on snorkeling on Oahu, and soon it was the only thing on our minds when we were searching for a place to spend our time. Thankfully, the Big Island didn't disappoint. The snorkeling spots here were just as great as those on Oahu, if not even more impressive. Here's a look at three of our top picks:

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Global Warming / Barrier Reef / Snorkeling / → All Tags

Can Britain’s Coral Farmers Save The Maldives?

With natural spectacles like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef under threat from global warming, we know there’s a rush on to visit them before they’re destroyed forever.

But there is another way. Over in Britain, growing your own Great Barrier Reef has become a trendy hobby of late. Yep, the "home-grown coral farm" craze is sweeping the nation with new farming techniques making it possible to grow your own coral reef in a tank in your yard.

All we need now is for some of these hobby coral farmers to make their tanks big enough for snorkeling and tourists will be flocking in. Or make even larger coral reefs and when the Maldives disappear, there'll be somewhere just like home for the Maldivians to move to--after all, they're now saving cash for the day when rising sea levels obliterate their country.

Related Stories:
· Great Barrier Reef in Garden Shed [Ananova]
· Maldives Saves for New Homeland Amid Flooding Fears [AFP, via Google]
· Water Hazard [Jaunted]

[Photo: stuandgravy]

Hawaii on the Cheap / Oahu Travel / Hawaii Travel / Snorkeling / → All Tags

The Three Best Places To Snorkel On Oahu

Kyle Brown just got back from a budget-minded trip to the islands and is sharing his discoveries all this week...

With the vacation budget in mind, we rented snorkel equipment for the week before heading out. It turned out to be a good decision, as it made it easy to stop the rental car and be in the water within minutes. Best of all, we didn’t catch any diseases (yet) from using someone else's snorkel!

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Active Travel / Diving / Snorkeling / Snuba / → All Tags

Take It Underwater with Snuba

There's no doubt that scuba diving is one of the most amazing ways to experience the ocean. But you can't just jump in off a dock with a tank of air and start exploring, and pre-dive safety training isn't exactly our idea of a vacation. Snorkeling is a pretty good stand in but lacks that adventurous feeling. That's where Snuba comes in.

Snuba combines the best of snorkeling and diving into an underwater sport that allows anyone to enjoy the sights up to 20 feet below the ocean's surface. You're always connected to an air tank that sits above the water and you aren't weighed down by cumbersome diving gear.

Experiences with Snuba are available in Florida, Hawaii and many of the Caribbean Islands. If you're going somewhere warm with sandy beaches, odds are that you'll be able to find a tour guide to take you under.

Related Stories:
· Snuba [Official Site]
· Active Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]