 |
|
 All the holiday news...
|
Zabargad Dive Lodge is a new Red Sea resort in the deep south of Egypt at Hamata, 110 miles south of Marsa Alam. It provides access to the Fury Shoals, with 35-plus dive sites within a
two-hour boat ride. Tour operator Regaldive says the area has "virgin reefs showing the quality of the Red Sea's diving as it was years ago", and variety in the form of wall, cave and reef dives. Prices for a seven-night half-board stay start from £539 per person (two sharing), with flights from Gatwick to Marsa Alam and transfers. A five-day dive pack consisting of 10 boat dives costs £159.
• www.regal-diving.co.uk
|
Dive Worldwide has added another destination to its 2006 programme, the remote Cape Verde archipelago, 250 miles off Africa. The island of Sal, the holiday base, is said to offer the sort
of Caribbean-style underwater scenery rarely found on the West African coast or Canary Islands, with plentiful marine life and big caves, canyons and walls. Seven nights with breakfast at the four-star beachside Hotel Belorizonte in Sabased on Sal (left) costs £999, with scheduled flights with TAP via Lisbon, transfers and a 10-dive package.
• 0845 1306980
|
An addition to Snooba Travel's roster of destinations is the Caribbean island of Montserrat, home to the active Soufriere volcano. When it erupted in 1997 it devastated the island and its tourist industry, but businesses and homes are said to be back to normal and the surrounding seas and corals to be virtually free of pollution of any kind. You can buy a seven-night package for £930 per person, including flights via Antigua, double-room B&B at the Vue Pointe Hotel, 10 dives with Sea Wolf Diving, and a trip to Plymouth, described as the "modern-day Pompeii". Find out more at Snooba's recently redesigned website.
• www.snooba.com
|
The 2006 SanDisk Red Sea underwater photography competition, held on 24-29 April in Eilat, Israel, opens for the first time to competitors from all over the world, both amateur and professional, film and digital. Entries can be shot at any time and from any location, and submitted by mail. First prize is
US $10,000 cash, with two additional prizes of $3000 and 1000 bottles of beer for the best single shot (that should be fun to take through customs!)
• www.sandiskredsea.com
|
Top-end charters to Galapagos and Cocos & Malpelo with Scuba Tours Worldwide still have some places available in 2006. Trips to Darwin and Wolf in the Galapagos aboard Deep Blue and Daphne and to Cocos aboard Sea Hunter
run in June and October. Meanwhile sister-operation Maldives Scuba Tours has temporarily taken on a third boat, Sea Quest, to meet what is reported to be high current demand for diving with manta rays and whale sharks in the Maldives - a one-week trip to the end of March starts from £1395 including flights.
• 01449 780 220
|
From May, divers in Anglesey will have another boat at their disposal, as Scott Waterman's Quest Charters operates a 7.5m RIB in addition to its 40ft hardboat. The twin-engined RIB can be chartered by small groups and individuals on a £17.50-per-dive basis, picking up at various locations around the Anglesey coastline.
• 07974 249005
|
JA Diving of Poole is replacing its charter boat James Alexander after 22 years of service with
a purpose-built Rodman 41 motor cruiser. The twin-engined boat is capable of more than 30 knots and has a diver lift, three cabins, en suites and up-to-date electronic positioning gear.
• www.jadiving.co.uk
|
The big dive cruiser Thorfinn, which operates around Truk Lagoon in Micronesia, has returned to year-round service following an extensive structural refit in the Philippines, says Seaward Holidays. The liveaboard has a redesigned guest lounge, anti-roll stabilisers and two new 30ft RIB dive launches. A range of Sunday-Sunday packages aboard Thorfinn starts from US $1295.
• www.thorfinn.net
|
|
|
