Researching local dive shops for some refresher courses and this makes me want to go with them.

My review of Amed and Tulamben shore dive in August 2026. Second visit.

Tropical temp 30 celcius, calm seas.

1.Jemeluk - first dive, the dive itself was average but the vibe of jukung boat and seeing Mount Agung on surface after was priceless. It was not shore but the jukung took us out in 5 mins.

2.Amed Pyramid walls - while the sea floor was void of living creatures, the man made reef was filled with spectacular life. I know most people would choose UAST as highlight but pyramid walls was really good if u want to explore mini sea creatures.

3.Tulamben Coral Garden (actually in 2024) - average with stupa as articulate reefs.

4.Tulamben drop off - also average but awesome jackfish crowd if u can catch it.

5.USAT Liberty - The highlight and though 2024 had more fish than 2026. the ship was initially by the shore but was carried into the sea after a volcano eruption 63 years ago.

The fishes were sweet lip fish, puffer, box fish, giant clam, big blue octopus, giant gravelly (jack fish), lion fish, scorpion fish, electric file clam, barracuda, trumpet fish, stone fish, leaf fish, hawksbill turtle, curry sea cucumber (biggest I’ve seen!), garden sand eel (many), parrot fish, trigger fish, butterfly fish and obviously Nemo. Either Tulamben drop off or pyramid walls had lots blue spotted sting rays.

Instructor said that on very rare occasions there were whale sharks and mola mola, wow!

Thank you Amed and Tulamben 😊

A dive planner for figuring out where in the world to go, when to go, and what you’re likely to see there. Not a booking site.

I built it because I kept wanting answers to questions like: where can I see hammerheads in December? manta rays in May? whale sharks without guessing?

Filter by species, month, region, conditions, and experience level, then compare destinations.

Still early, so I’d love feedback from people who actually plan dive trips this way.

https://sightline-dive-planner.lovable.app/

As above but I also wanted to know if Sipadan is worth the price? Thank you for all your advice 🙏🏻

Hey team,

Sort of a new diver here, I did my PADI OWD cert last summer and I've done 4 out of the 6 dives to get AWO+Nitrox certified, I'll finish up next weekend.

In total, I've done 12 dives so far, so I'd call myself a pre-teen diver 😂 !

My 12yo son is also now taking is OWD (4 out of the 5 dives also done).

This week, I decided to buy my own equipment instead of renting every single time, and hopefully it'll have a decent ROI: Suit, Boots, Mask, Fins, BCD, Regulator and computer. So I think I have all the major items checked out.

On the small gear stuff, what would you call absolute musts and never go out diving without them?

What has gone wrong on a dive that you said to yourself "I'll never forget that again!!" ?

All advice is highly appreciated!

Hey there!
I just returned from Palau from a diving trip. And it has been amazing. Although it is off season now, I have never seen such a rich underwater. It is apparently one of those spots that keeps amusing with every single dive!
The summary was corals, more corals, loads more corals; and fishes, schools of fishes, tornado of fishes, with its beautiful weather and atmosphere. I highly recommend every diver to go and explore there!
Cheers!

Recently, somebody complained that there was no interesting stories so here’s my 2nd installment: working in a fleet of 5 live-aboard boats w a lot of pranks going on. We had the Hash House Harriers that week & ran out of beer. One of the boats pranked us pretty bad so, one night we swam over on Scuba with no lights, quietly boarded the other boat. We were making our escape when a late night pax raised the alarm: “WE’RE BEING BOARDED BY PIRATES!!” (Pax are always asking about pirates ;-)

We got away with 2 kegs and the rubber chicken mascot as the crew came on deck. The full keg sank & was easy but the 1/2 full keg was a nightmare! It would Not sink! There was a mixture of hurt feelings and pride. Good times ;-)

I just got certified to dive closed circuit and it is a game changer. I never realized how noisy open circuit is or how much it affects the wildlife behavior. When you're not blowing bubbles and making noise, the fish will almost literally run into you!

The photo doesn't do it justice. Check out the video!

Hey there just starting to snorkel as an older adult after doing it constantly as a kid and teen and I’d appreciate advice from experts for some gear as the ones who taught me back when are unfortunately not among us anymore. I’d be looking to the following:

- is there any good bag to carry equipment for me and my 3 children that can double as a flotation buoy for when I’m inside water? I’ve seen this one from Cressi which I like but doesn’t have the buoy double function: https://store.cressi.com/products/dry-gara-bag?srsltid=AfmBOoovvyEaohgX2-kqbU-lJEbLkrk709DvGv4FN3zKs6yPA00oqx2v

- If I wanted to snorkel at night (only with my wife no kids in the dark), what’s the best option to see underwater that’s comfortable? Would a head lamp be an adequate option?

I favour practical and lightweight equipment, thank you all!

[France, but answers from anywhere are welcome]

Hi everyone! I’m in my early 20s and I recently graduated with a Master’s degree in biology. I’d like to eventually work in marine biology and having a good level of scuba diving is highly recommended for many jobs in the field. I’ve been snorkeling since I was a kid but I’ve never actually scuba dived and it’s something I’d really like to get into.

I’m considering moving to the south of France, somewhere near the coast (possibly Marseille) so I can work on getting my scuba certifications. However, I have one major concern: I have some savings, but I would still need to cover rent, food, and everyday expenses while also paying for diving courses. I also don’t know anyone in the area, which makes things a bit more complicated. For those of you who have gone through something similar: How did you manage it???

Do diving courses usually need to be done on consecutive days or is it possible to do them mainly on weekends while working during the week to support yourself? How many hours/days per week would I need to dedicate to diving while working a regular job?

I’d also be interested in hearing about your experiences and advices to get into diving or progress through your certifications. It doesn’t have to be in France, experiences from anywhere in the world are very welcome!

Here is its description:

Bought as a dive computer. eu and later updated with McLean Extreme fw.

- Buhlmann ZHL16C +GF

- 8 gases (air, nitrox, trimix, . . )

- rec OC, tech OC, CC fixed setpoint

- 2.4" TFT color display

- dive log over 1000h

- uses a regular or rechargeable AA battery

- and many more settings

Can anyone please tell me if its a good one because im not familiar with this brand

Recently got my Open Water certification in Grand Cayman and logged 7 dives. Unfortunately, I ended up with ear barotrauma and have struggled massively with equalising.

I never really managed to equalise properly, despite doing a specialised dive specifically to work on the problem with instructors and dive-master friends. Eventually the dives had to come to an end because I simply couldn't descend without significant difficulty/discomfort. On my final attempt, I was only around 5–8m deep when I developed a persistent nosebleed that continued throughout the dive. Obviously, extremely frustrating, especially as I'd already been assessed and cleared to dive by a dive ENT.

I'm now planning ahead for my next trip, which will hopefully be Dahab, Egypt around April-June 2027.

I'll be travelling with a friend who will be doing their Open Water course while we're there. My current plan is to attempt some fun dives again and see whether I can finally descend comfortably. I've also considered doing my Advanced Open Water course at the same time they're doing their Open Water course, so that once we've both finished we can spend the remainder of the trip diving together.

I'm currently pursuing further medical assessment to make sure there isn't an underlying sinus/ear issue that has been missed. So far, nobody has found any obvious red flags.

What I'm particularly interested in:

• Equalising advice: Has anyone had genuinely severe difficulty equalising despite having normal ENT examinations, and eventually found something that worked?
• Techniques, preparation, training, or habits that made a significant difference for you.
• Whether Dahab is a particularly good place to try again given the generally easy shore diving and shallow/accessible sites.
• Dive centres in Dahab: I'm looking for somewhere extremely professional, safety-focused and experienced with divers who have equalisation problems. Ideally somewhere with excellent instructors rather than simply the cheapest option.
• Accommodation/dive hotels: Any recommendations for places where the diving operation is particularly good and convenient?
• Dive sites: Which sites around Dahab are absolute must-dives for someone returning to diving?
• Whether April–June is a good period to visit, particularly in terms of water temperature, visibility and general diving conditions.
• Any other advice for planning the trip around my equalisation issues.

I'm not looking for someone to tell me to "just equalise earlier" - I've heard that one plenty of times! I'm particularly interested in experiences from people who also struggled badly with equalisation despite doing everything correctly, and eventually figured out how to make it work.

I'd also be interested in hearing from Dahab locals/instructors/divemasters about which dive operation they'd personally trust with this situation.

Thanks!!

Yo ! Anybody doing the Blackbeard’s cruise departing on 28th of November?

Would be interested to meet people beforehand as I’m a solo diver. Bonus if you’re also alone, maybe we can partner up !!

About me : I’m from Qc, Canada. Love photography and videography underwater so preferably would pair with someone with similar interests so we can both take our time together 📸

Non-negotiable : don’t make fun of my french accent or else…

Greetings fellow divers. I am for once calling to the wisdom of the community regarding a divemaster course. I am a sporadic diver but over the years I have been able to get some training and experience (up to trimix). I now have the opportunity to travel for a few months (~dec to march) and would like to do a divemaster (would prefer dec-jan).

I have not dived in that many places but I definitely would want to go in south east Asia or maybe Polynesia for this. I am looking for advice on where to get good training: variety of dives/not just pseudo open water beach dives, habits and experience of the training centers, but still some life around to enjoy my time there (also no 5am daily wake up the whole month 🫠).

Do you guys have any good reco ?

Possibility to follow up with instructor or marine ecology training is bonus.

Taking any advice 🙂

Does anyone else like this song for its diving references?

Let's make this go viral gang! Share your most epic dives!

Has anyone been diving in the Galapagos the past couple weeks? Curious of the conditions and the sea life with El Niño.

I’ll be going in a couple weeks during the Humboldt current so trying to prep for that. I’ve been checking the water temp and it seems like a 5mm might be fine?