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 All the holiday news...
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Remote Atlantic archipelago the Azores Islands have long made claims for the quality of their diving, but have proved difficult to access for UK-based divers. Local dive centre Nerus says that this no longer need be a problem, with direct SATA flights from London Gatwick to Sao Miguel Island every Tuesday from April through to late October (at other times a connection via Lisbon is required). According to Nerus, divers can expect a relatively unexplored destination with warm waters, volcanic scenarios and beautiful coastal and oceanic wildlife at shallow depths. Packages including airfare and transfers, seven nights B&B in Ponta Delgada and 10 dives range from around £670 to £1020. Nerus can also arrange whale and dolphin-watching trips.
www.nerusazores.com
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Every June and July, the adventure dive and research vessel Undersea Explorer undertakes six-day dwarf minke whale expeditions to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. In one six-week period this year it had in-water encounters with more than 200 of the whales, which seem to seek out divers and snorkellers. It has yet to fail to find whales on any trip in the past nine years. Guests also enjoy discussions, lectures and dining aboard with dwarf minke whale experts. Rates per head for the seven trips in 2006 are Aus $2600 per person (about £1100).
www.undersea.com.au
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Red Sea specialist Oonasdivers has produced its 2005/6 brochure and it features a range of themed workshops in areas such as Underwater Photography, Wreck Diving and, new this year, Marine Awareness. Its Sea & Shore tours, combining both land and liveaboard diving, are now available in the northern Egyptian Red Sea as well as the south, and next spring it will be representing a new liveaboard. Groups will be able to charter the Panorama Explorer to dive southern sites such as the Brothers, Daedalus Reef and St Johns.
01323 648924
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Here's something different: Romanian dive sites have been only partially explored and range from the Black Sea, with its ancient and modern wrecks and even sunken cities; high-altitude lake-diving and cave-diving in the Carpathian Mountains; and even the wild but not necessarily high-viz Danube delta. Respiro Dive Centre (PADI/NAUI) has designed a tour taking in three days of Black Sea wreck and marine-life sites (below) and another three exploring the Topolnita and Isverna caves. It is looking for groups of six divers (787 euros per person), or 12 (677 euros). This rate includes microbus transport over 1000 miles, all accommodation, meals and soft drinks, 11 dives and local dive guides (no flights).
www.respirodiving.ro
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Bohio Resort in the Turks & Caicos Islands is now offering diving. The area accessible from Grand Turk's Pillory Beach is claimed to be relatively undiscovered, and diving attractions are said to include "vertical walls, tunnels, vast coral gardens that are teeming with fish life, sharks, rays, dolphins, and rare black corals". From January to April, there is also the chance of seeing migrating humpback whales. A seven-night stay with 12 boat dives and unlimited shore dives starts from US $1016
per head (two sharing, no flights or transfers).
www.bohioresort.com
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A new programme of seven-night liveaboard cruises in the Maldives is on offer from Dive Worldwide. The vessel is the 110ft purpose-built Ocean Dancer, part of the Peter Hughes fleet. It takes 16 guests in air-conditioned cabins with en-suite bathrooms, and up to three dives a day take place from its support vessel. Packages include scheduled flights from London with 30kg divers' baggage allowance, transfers and seven nights aboard including meals, weights and fills, and start from £1815 per person.
0845 1306980
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Jack Ingle's "South Coast Diving Expedition" programme for next year consists of five three-day dive trips aboard Voyager out of Littlehampton. The boat is equipped for technical diving and will, it is hoped, drop divers on the P&O liner Moldavia and cargo liner the Mexico among other wrecks. The Duke, British Commerce, Donegal, Zanstrum, Basil and submarines, all usually in the 35-50m depth range, are other possibilities. Diving cost is £310, including air and nitrox fills, deco support, spare deco gas and lunches. You pay for accommodation on land. The first trip is on 23-25 May.
020 8650 6089
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Coral Cay Conservation (below) is seeking volunteers to help collect biological data for its Philippines marine conservation project. It is surveying Sogod Bay, an important feeding ground for species including pilot whales and whale sharks. You pay from £700 for two weeks (the minimum period of involvement) to cover all training, food and accommodation. Flights and insurance are extra.
www.coralcay.org
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Tour operator Mark Warner, which specialises in luxury resort holidays with an emphasis on watersports and childcare, has extended further beyond Europe with the addition of the Hilton Dahab in Egypt and flexible packages at the Beach Hotel at Negombo in Sri Lanka. Seven nights in Dahab cost from £775 per person and at the Beach from £976.
www.markwarner.co.uk
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- West Midlands dive school Hidden Diving of Shirley says it is the only centre in the Midlands offering PADI National Geographic Diver courses. Hidden Diving is also a 5-star PADI Instructor Development Centre. 0121 7441526
- Philippine Travel's new range of package dive holidays in the Philippines and Palau features, it says, every major dive operator in the area, with liveaboard safari, wreck, reef and whale shark-sighting trips included. www.philippine-travel.co.uk
- PADI 5-star centre Scuba Cancun, celebrating its 25th year of operation in Mexico, is offering 10% off all dive trips until 20 December. www.scubacancun.com.mx
- Looking for a holiday property to suit groups of 10 divers or more? A new website for activity groups covers the UK and Ireland and is expanding worldwide. Booking directly with property owners through the site saves on agency commission charges, it says. www.Groupaccommodation.com
- New Sharm el Sheikh dive centre Pirate Divers is holding a weekly treasure hunt with cash prizes. Entry costs 35 euros, of which 10 goes into the prize pot. Pirate offers PADI and SSI training as well as regular diving. www.piratedivers.com
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