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 All the holiday news...
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More and more people want the flexibility of being able to book flights independently of a holiday operator. Now the cost of flights to the Red Sea, already seen as a bargain by most divers, has been slashed with the arrival of the first scheduled service to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. Started in late 2004 with a Boeing 737 operating out of Gatwick, Explorers Tours is offering one-way tickets for as little as £69 (taxes excluded) through its e-ticketing system.
Explorers Tours, www.redseaflights.com
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Three months after Hurricane Ivan did its worst to the island of Grenada, hotels and other services are again open and ready for guests. True Blue Bay and the Aquanauts diving centre are well-suited for those who want to dive both the Atlantic and Caribbean sides of the island, including the famous wreck of the Bianca C, the "Titanic of the Caribbean". With 30 different dive sites, none of them subjected to any great tidal surge during the storm, Grenada should still have what it takes to be a top-notch dive destination.
Aquanauts, www.aquanautsgrenada.com
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No, we don't mean diving for no charge! If you're interested in learning the techniques of breath-hold diving, DeeperBlue has a programme of free-diving courses to be run at the 30m-deep Submarine Escape Training Tank in Portsmouth. They are taught by suitably qualified AIDA instructors, it says, and the £250 cost includes all you need for a weekend other than overnight accommodation.
Deeper Blue, www.DeeperBlue.net
While everyone else seems to have latched on to the idea of sinking old ships to make artificial reefs, the people at SEAruba Fly 'n Dive have gone sky-high in their aspirations - and sunk a passenger airliner. The 20m-long YS-11, formerly of Air Aruba, now lies on a sloping seabed just off the coast. With its nose lying at 13m and its tail at 23m, it looks as if it's ready to take off.
SEAruba Fly 'n Dive, www.searuba.com
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Coral Cay Conservation, which organises overseas environmental field trips for students and others, has relaunched its website. It says it makes it easier to navigate and provides more helpful information about the organisation's conservation work abroad.
Coral Cay Conservation, www.coralcay.org
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International dive centre operator Werner Lau opens a new centre in Hotel Traders Ridge, Yap in Micronesia in February. Yap is famous for its manta rays and grey reef sharks as well as Japanese World War Two wrecks. Free nitrox, already available at Lau's centres in the Red Sea and Bali, is now to be available at all four of his Maldives centres, as well as in Yap.
Werner Lau, www.tradersridge.com
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Now with Red Sea special offers from £399, Dive Sportif offers diving-holiday packages in Egypt at locations from Dahab through Sharm, El Gouna, Hurghada, Safaga, El Qesir and Marsa Alam. There are liveaboard holidays too. Add to that a choice of locations in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, and there should be something to suit most divers in its 2005 brochure.
Dive Sportif, www.sportif-uk.com
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The Daily Telegraph Adventure Travel & Sports Show is held at Olympia in London on 14-16 January and promises something for everyone, including divers. It is also offering special entrance fees for readers who book in advance (adults £8, children £6.) Call 0870 060 0199 and quote " Magazine".
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