Have you ever wanted to dive with Mola Mola? Here is your chance – these rare and magnificent creatures have been spotted by divers in Komodo!

Looking like something out of a Walt Disney cartoon, they are weird and wonderful marine animals, with wide and flattish silver bodies. After feeding in the ocean depths, they like to sun themselves near the surface over deep water, so your best chances of diving with Mola Mola is on your next Komodo liveaboard holiday.

Mola Mola, otherwise known as sunfish can grow up to 3m long and 2,200 kg! Yet they are gentle giants and finning alongside 1 is a once in a lifetime experience.

Want to book your scuba diving holiday in sunny Komodo to dive with sunfish? Contact Dive The World to find out more about our Komodo liveaboards, you can send us an email or call us on +66 (0)83 505 7794.

Misool Eco Resort is not going to be the best kept secret for long, especially not after being featured as 1 of National Geographic’s Best Beach Adventures.

The unspoilt and pristine condition of Raja Ampat’s dive sites is a major reason for Misool Eco Resort‘s inclusion. The sheer quantity of healthy marine life at dive sites like Fiabacet is mesmerising. Says Andrew Miners, the owner, “We hung in mid-water watching this spectacular dance unfold. I realized that not only had I stumbled upon a place of spectacular beauty, but, aside from a few intrepid divers, I had arrived before anyone else.”

Another consideration is Misool Eco Resort’s dedication to conservation. At a time when “green” travel is becoming trendy, it is really great to be associated with a resort that offers Raja Ampat diving which benefits the environment. From using salvaged driftwood for the buildings, collecting rainwater for showers and implementing a Marine Protected Area, they really do go the extra mile.

If you are interested in taking your next diving holiday in Raja Ampat at Misool Eco Resort, then best be quick before the secret gets out. Contact Dive The World on +66 (0)83 505 7794 or you could send us an email.

Are you contemplating giving MV Mermaid I a try for your next holiday scuba diving in Komodo? These improvements should tip the balance in her favour as your number 1 choice.

New nitrox membrane system: unlimited nitrox is available to all divers now with a new system which supplies refills at 600 litres per minute! Nitrox is €6 per fill or choose the “all your dives on nitrox” package  and get 20% off!

Extra camera tables: the space afforded by the nitrox membrane system has enabled MV Mermaid I to add 2 new camera tables and fresh water rinse tanks to make your underwater photography experience more enjoyable.

Warm towels: imagine finishing your dive to be enveloped in a warm and toasty towel, freshly tossed in the dryer. Just another added benefit the Mermaids are giving you.

Kayak fun: it’s been said you can get too much of a good thing, so if you’ve had enough diving for 1 day you could try something different and climb into a sea kayak to explore the calmer waterways.

Breakfast eggs to order: expanding their breakfast buffet, you can now order your eggs sunnyside up or anyway you wish and they will be freshly prepared for you. Enough to put a smile on anyone’s face.

Does this sway you in the direction of booking MV Mermaid I for your next holiday scuba diving in Komodo? Contact Dive The World right away to discuss your liveaboard cruise on +66 (0)83 505 7794 or you could send us an email.

Note: All prices quoted are per diver sharing and subject to currency fluctuations.

Looking for reasonable rates while getting the best diving in Komodo? We now offer a new liveaboard in Indonesia: MV Queen Scuba will be leaving Thailand behind for a few months and cruising into Komodo from May to October. In order to enhance your diving pleasure she will be raising her games with a few tweaks and changes.

MV Queen Scuba will be based in Bali taking you on 7 night cruises to dive the many sites at Komodo National Park. To complement the experienced team they are welcoming a new Indonesian Captain and Dive Guide, so you won’t miss out on local expertise.

The boat will be fitted with an EPIRB radio beacon and diver tracking system to comply with international safety standards. The Komodo trips will be longer so they are also installing a water maker to provide you with fresh water at all times.

Other changes that will affect your diving are 5mm long wetsuits to keep out the chill and the pleasure of a maximum of 17 guests onboard. So you will have even more room on her 40m² dive deck and won’t have to queue to have fun on the underwater scooters.

Looking to dive in Indonesia? Find out more here:

• MV Queen Scuba Special Offers in Indonesia

Want to have the time of your life? Book your next holiday diving in Komodo with MV Queen Scuba. Contact Dive The World to find out more: call us on +66 (0)83 505 7794 or you could send us an email.

Note: All prices quoted are per diver sharing and subject to currency fluctuations.

Want to take a virtual dive into Komodo‘s warm waters from a professional liveaboard? Watch this video to see Komodo Dancer in full sail, explore her destinations and see Komodo Dragons.

Is Bali as exotic as the brochures portray it? Is the quality really noticeably different on a Peter Hughes liveaboard? Well, best see for youself. The Komodo Dancer is a traditional Buginese schooner catering to serious divers with technical diving certifications and Jobo film processing available. Simply don your wetsuit, the attentive crew do the rest even giving you an après-dive back rub.

You will encounter Komodo Dragons on land and explore the Komodo National Park, 1 of the most biodiverse oceans in the world. Dive with leopard sharks and manta rays, then discover pygmy seahorses in the flourishing coral and sponges.

Do you want to experience Komodo diving from a professional liveaboard? Contact Dive The World to book your next liveaboard diving holiday on Komodo Dancer call us on +66 (0)83 505 7794 or you could send us an email.

Note: All prices quoted are per diver sharing and subject to currency fluctuations.

If you have ever noticed the after effects of explosive fishing techniques on coral reefs then you will understand why Misool Eco Resort is eager to extend their no-take zone to include the Daram Islands and protect them from illegal fishing.

Now you can bid on a 7 day cruise to the remote and pristine Raja Ampat reefs of Misool and the Daram Islands aboard The Seven Seas and Misool Eco Resort have added a 7 night stay at their exclusive resort and conservation area. The proceeds of the auction will benefit the Daram Marine Area.

Now that’s a great idea. You get 14 days of sublime diving, a cruise on a superb liveaboard and save the dive sites you love at the same time!

Details of Daram Project Auction

14 Night Combination Trip
You will be joined by Conservation International marine scientists Drs Mark Erdmann and Gerry Allen. Your trip includes full board accommodation for up to 14 guests and unlimited nitrox diving.

04 – 11 Feb 2011
7 Nights on The Seven Seas

11 – 18 Feb 2011
7 Nights at Misool Eco Resort

Bidding starts at:
US$ 96,500
Auction closes on:
31 May 2010

Want to go diving for a good cause? Your bid could help Misool Eco Resort extend their conservation area from 426 km² to 1,200 km².

Please email Daram Project to place your bid right away!

Do you want to book your own remote Raja Ampat diving holiday aboard The Seven Seas? Contact Dive The World on +66 (0)83 505 7794 or you could send us an email.

The documentary ‘Ondinesia’ has won the Independent Category at the North Sea Film Festival, which took place 6 – 8 Nov 09.

Starring SMY Ondina, ‘Ondinesia’ is a collaboration between Enrique Rubio of SMY Ondina, Bruno Vanherck and Tommy Vuylsteke from Aquacam

Enrique met Bruno in Antibes a few years ago and they became firm friends.

Their mutual passion for underwater photography, diving, marine life and the ocean motivated them to host joint underwater photoworkshops and special cruises.

This naturally lead to the idea of creating a top quality documentary. Their Goldwave award is not the first validation of their achievement: earlier this year ‘Ondinesia’ won Bronze at the World Festival of Underwater Pictures held in Marseille, France 31 Oct 09.

“This is only the beginning!” enthuses Enrique.

Excerpts of ‘Ondina’ will be added to SMY Ondina‘s site soon, but in the meantime here is a clip for you of other footage filmed during their partnership.

Do you want to join Bruno Vanherck aboard SMY Ondina for 1 of her special photoworkshop cruises to Rajah Ampat? Call Dive The World now on +66 (0)83 505 7794 or you could send us an email.

Just as we think we know the oceans, something new crops up.

A recently discovered frogfish that bounces up and down on the ocean bed, it turns out, is in fact a new species.

Not unlike a funky rubber ball, the bouncing frogfish is covered in splattering of trippy patterns. Peach psychedelic stripes melts into a molten toffee coloured background and apparently aides the frogfish to blend in with the coral landscape.

The fish has been named psychedelica and is a member of the antennariid genus. It’s similar to other frogfish in that it has leg-like fins on both sides of its body. Unlike other frogfish though, it ‘bounces’ on the seabed by pushing off with these fins and propelling itself with water expelled by tiny gill openings.

The erratic movements, aided by an off-centre tail, serves to camouflage it against predators, but aids in its own predation of unsuspecting soon-to-be-meals swimming by.

Initially discovered by dive instructors working for a tour operator off Ambon island in eastern Indonesia, the unusual fish was classified as a new species by Ted Pietsch, a professor at the University of Washington.

Said Pietsch of his unusual find, “It also speaks to the tremendous diversity in this region and to fact that there are still a lot of unknowns here — in Indonesia and in the Coral Triangle in general.”

Email Dive The World to find out more about how a liveaboard diving safari is the perfect way to discover your own unknowns in Indonesia and the Coral Triangle.

The newly opened Misool Eco Resort promises to herald a new era in responsible dive tourism. The doors have just been opened a couple of weeks and, ever on-the-ball, Dive The World have already run the rule over the place just for you! This brand new Raja Ampat dive resort could be the next big thing….

When you set foot on the jetty and make your way to the central restaurant of the resort, the view tells a story. A small shallow bay where turquoise waters gently lap a fine sandy beach is the first to catch your eye. Then you see the two rocky arms of the bay stretching out with delightful chalets lining the shore. Beyond, you gaze out across the remote, rich waters of Raja Ampat to distant verdant islands on the horizon.

Knowing what we do about the quality of the diving around Raja Ampat generally and Misool particularly, could you imagine a better location? Up until now we have only recommended liveaboards for this incredible region but we have had a rethink…

In a time when the word ‘Eco’ appears everywhere, it is great to see a resort with credentials including:

• Every single piece of lumber used in building has been milled from salvaged driftwood and free-fallen timbers collected in Raja Ampat
• Collected rainwater is used for showering
• Grey water is processed with waste water gardens and then redirected to flush toilets
• The resort has implemented a community agreement for a 200 sq km Marine protected Area (no fishing zone)
• The Misool Conservation Centre is being registered as a UK-charity, and will provide a well-equipped, functional base for scientific research and conservation projects, both social and environmental
• There is an emphasis on employing and buying from local people as well as implementing social projects to provide alternative means of income to local people

Note that all this good work is in addition to providing you with some of the best diving you can imagine. Dive sites like the legendary Fiabacet come within the Marine Protected Area. The fabulous Farondi island and The Passage are both within easy reach, plus the house reef provides the type of night dive any other resort would kill for. There are so many excellent diving spots nearby that the list is practically inexhaustible.

In short, Misool Eco Resort will soon become a place that tops every serious diver’s ‘Must visit’ list. If you go now, you will have bragging rights forever more!

Due to the remote location, the resort is run a little like a liveaboard with set trips:

Misool Eco Resort offers 11 night holiday packages. Transfer to and from this private island is free for guests on scheduled departure dates. Departures are from Sorong on alternate Sundays, arriving early evening at Misool Eco Resort. Return to Sorong Thursday.

2008 15% OFF all trips completed before end Dec 2008. Contact us!
November 30…………………… December 11
December 14…………………… December 26 *12 nights*
December 28 ………………….. January 8

2009
January 11……………………… January 22
January 25……………………… February 5
February 8………………………. February 19
February 22…………………….. March 5
March 8 …………………………. March 19
March 22………………………… April 2
April 5…………………………….. April 16
April 19…………………………… April 30
May 3……………………………… May 14
May 17……………………………. May 28
May 31……………………………. June 11
____________________________

Misool Eco Resort is closed July, August, and September each year for maintenance.

2009 RATES
(NOTE there is 10% OFF if you pay in full before 31 Dec 2008 for all trips beginning 3 May 2009 an onwards)
11 nights, unlimited diving per person prices

LOW SEASON: Jan, Feb, March and June.

Reef View Cottage: Air € 2,340 / Nitrox € 2,570
Water Cottage: Air € 2,980 / Nitrox € 3,210
___________________________

HIGH SEASON: Oct, Nov, Dec, Apr and May

Reef View Cottage: Air € 2,676 / Nitrox € 2,830
Water Cottage: Air € 3,280 / Nitrox € 3,535

This is just a taste of the resort and the prices. If you are interested then let us know and we can give you more details. Just don’t tell too many people or the resort will be full all year round. OK? Our little secret.

For enquiries or bookings, please call Dive The World on +66 (0)83 505 7794 or you could send us an email

Ah, Manado; deep water paradise, smack in the middle of the Coral Triangle, home to the highest levels of biodiversity in the world, oodles of fish varieties and top-shelf wall diving.

And, Lembeh; muck diving capital of the world where you can be sure of spotting a brain-scrambling number of mid-boggling creatures more alien than the best sci-fi writers could ever dream up.

If you’ve ever wanted to go on a diving trip to Manado and/or Lembeh, but thought flying to Manado airport was too much trouble, then Dive The World brings you good news: Manado is easy to get to.

That’s right, not only is Manado now more accessible than ever, it’s a good deal too. AirAsia, that low-cost carrier we all know so well, flies to Manado from Kuala Lumpur three times a week.

And if you don’t mind paying a little extra for your frills, then Silk Air flies to Manado from Singapore, four times a week too.

So, for dive enthusiasts transiting through Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, or who are based in the region, the wondrous diving of Bunaken, Lembeh and all the other magical dive sites of North Sulawesi, are now mere hours away on any given day.

Grab your passport and contact Dive The World, because you’re flying to Manado for an awesome diving holiday. Phone us on +66 (0)83 505 7794 or you could send us an email.