Hawaii’s Oahu have many fascinating scuba diving locations and perhaps the most popular dive site in Oahu is the Hanauma Bay. Hanauma Bay was formed by the erosion of one side of a volcano crater and is very well protected from the trade winds and surf making it a fantastic scuba diving and snorkeling site in Oahu.

Hanauma Bay’s crystal clear water and diverse coral reef are good introductions to Hawaiian marine environments and its waters are seldom considered to be dangerous to scuba divers.

After the Hanauma Bay are the sea cliffs of Koko Head where scuba diving is done almost exclusively from liveaboard diving boats out of Hawaii Kai. The deep blue color of the water here contrasted beautifully with the mesmerizing white water cascading down the dark brown hilly cliffs.

As you round out Koko Head, you will come into contact with the gusty trade winds. However, the wind will subside when you cruise into Maunalua Bay.

The waters of Maunalua Bay are a lot calmer than the windward side of Oahu. There is even a WW2 fighter plane wreck for those who love wreck diving, an artificial reef of hundreds of concrete modules and even sunken barges. The bay ends at Diamond Head, the final windbreak before the calm waters of Waikiki. There are also some good scuba diving locations off Waikiki on some outer ledges and artificial reefs.

On Maunalua Bay is the Fantasy Reef. Erosion has created many places for the fish to play hide-and-seek. Although live coral coverage is not that high in Fantasy Reef, the corals are healthy and undamaged and thus can be considered as one of the better scuba diving spots in Oahu. Marine life is plentiful here with eels, barracudas, octopus, turtles and sharks are often seen.

There are supposedly 4 barges sunk in Maunalua for the purpose of creating artificial reefs and the largest of these is the Kahala Barge which is 165 feet in length.

However coral growth here is sparse, however, the wreck is choked with soldier fish which make their characteristic grunting sound when disturbed by scuba divers. Many eels and large crabs can also be found here. There are also many sea turtles and white tip sharks making this artificial reef their home.

A mile off Portlock, about a hundred feet deep is a plane wreck. This is a great wreck diving location in Oahu. The cockpit is the abode of 2 thigh sized thick yellowmargin moray eels.

Here, scuba divers will see brilliant red encrusted sponges and bi color anthias harems hovering above picking off planktons. Nearby is a colony of fascinating dancing garden eels and big horned helmet shells. Water visibility in this area is superb. If you are in Hawaii for a spot of scuba diving, try these scuba diving sites at Oahu South Shore.

Chris Chew

http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/oahu-scuba-diving-vacations-126058.html

Contrary to what many scuba divers may think, a liveaboard scuba diving in Bali may not necessarily be more expensive relative to conventional scuba diving vacations. As a matter of fact, liveaboard scuba diving, if well planned may even save you money and hassles.

Firstly, you will save a lot of transportation time and costs, such as traveling to your dive operator’s boat and then after your dive, returning to your hotel or resort, lugging your cumbersome scuba diving gear to and fro, then repeating this same process for the next couple of days during your scuba diving vacation in Bali.

Next, you save money from hotel or resort accommodation because since you are living on the liveaboard dive boat, there will be no need for hotel or resort bookings. On top of that, you do not need to hunt for expensive meals in your hotel or resort since all liveaboard scuba diving packages will include meals. This will also mean that you will be probably having very fresh and succulent sea food caught by the crew while you are enjoying your scuba diving.

The highlight of your liveaboard Bali scuba diving vacation is that you can dive in many exotic dive spots instead of the ones near where you stay. This is because you need not return to your resort hotel to retire for the day, the liveaboard dive boat will cruise to far flung scuba diving locations while you are sleeping, again saving you time and best of all, you get to save more money by diving in more dive locations for the same price.

Below is a typical liveaboard Bali scuba diving package offered by quite a few Bali dive operators.

Day One-Visit one of Bali’s most interesting street on the way to Pemuteran & Menjangan North West Bali which will also include a stopover in View Point Restaurant Sanda. Dive Sites: Pemuteran House Reef & Reef Project or Secret Bay in Gilimanuk

Day Two-After breakfast, you will hop onboard for a dive boat trip to Menjangan Island. Dive Sites: Menjangan – National Park, Walls, Anker Wreck, Coral Garden, lunch and surface rest on a white sandy beach.

Day Three-Dive Sites: Amed or Tulamben or Secret Spot, Drop Off, Liberty Wreck Dive and Wall Dive

Day Four-After breakfast drive to East – Bali and stop over to view Bali Islands famous terraced rice fields. Dive Sites: Blue Lagoon & White Beach including a night dive in Blue Lagoon

Day Five-Dive Sites: Gili Mimpang & Gili Tepekong or Gili Biaha

Day Six-Dive Sites: Gili Biaha or Nusa Penida or Nusa Lembongan 2 Speedboat Dives.

Day Seven-Dive Sites: Blue Lagoon – White Beach – Chanel

So if you want to save time, money and hassle during your Bali scuba diving vacation, why not try liveaboard scuba diving?

Chris Chew

http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/bali-liveaboard-scuba-diving-vacation-128596.html

Florida’s Miami not only offer wonderful, white beaches and bikini models, but also features myriads of event and activity options including skydiving, kayaking and snorkeling. As for events, the International Hispanic Theater Festival is considered as one of the biggest Hispanic events in America while the largest festival called Carnaval Miami is observed for nine days.

Hot Miami in Florida is the spot to be visited. It lies at the southeastern end of the southeastern state of the US. The city has a remarkable influence of Latin America as fifty percent of the populace is Hispanic. For some laidback visitors, the city is all about music, Latin American gastronomy, and language. Yet for millions of guests, Miami is all about impressive art deco architecture, dashing night life, bikini models, parties permeated with glitterati, and sure enough, white beaches! The majority of guests take a break at Miami Beach which is an exclusively independent town of mainland Miami. The Miami Beach or billed by the folks as the “Billion Dollar Sandbar.”

Best Time To Visit

The peak season in Miami is during winter seasons. The months of August until November offer an assortment of beguiling events and it’s easier to make reservations. November’s White Party and March’s Calle Ocho celebration are crowd pullers.

Events

a. During the months of May though middle of June, the International Hispanic Theater Festival is celebrated. It is considered as amongst the biggest Hispanic events in America. This festival showcases Latin American, Caribbean, US, and European theatre organizations.

b. At the start of March, the largest festival called Carnaval Miami is celebrated for nine days. The event covers a beauty and inline skating contests, jazz musicale, shows at the Orange Bowl, and a Latin drag program.

Activities

Miami puts forward so many activity choices. The following are just some of them.

? Kayaking

You don’t have to an expert to be able to do kayaking or canoeing. You can opt for the Wilderness Waterway shore or the Everglades to row on all sides of the 10,000 Islands. Just rent equipment and you’re up to a thrilling kayaking exploits through the mangroves.

? Skydiving

A lot of exploration businesses provide gears and chartered planes so that tourists can savor the energizing air in Miami. Homestead General Aviation Airport grants training to better equip you with skydiving proficiency.

? Air Adventure

Dade County put together a ground exclusively for Homestead General Aviation Airport’s small aircrafts because light airplanes have turned into trendy.

? Snorkeling

The east of Key Biscayne offers a fantastic diving and it’s the area where Biscayne Wreck situates. On Key Biscayne’s southeast portion is where John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park sits and Key Largo is the ideal origin for walking around the park. This park is a protected area of the Florida Reef. The park’s Schooner Wreck Reef and Elkhorn Reef have the best snorkeling and diving offerings.

Miami’s Deco Architecture

The city is prominent for its Art Deco architecture some of the most beautiful structure in the US. The Art Deco Welcome Center has a Deco-styled permanent exhibit. Sitting next to it are three archetypical models of Deco hotels-Cardozo, Carlyle and Leslie. The chic Cardozo flaunts curved, smoothed edges and was fabricated by Henry Hohauser. The avant-garde Carlyle was included and highlighted in the movie “The Birdcage” while the Leslie has a form likened to a box.

Weather

Generally, Miami has a warm climate. The months between December through May are just perfect. During these times, Miami Beach’s rain is limited and temperatures are normally between 15°C and 30°C. Summer seasons can be extremely searing and sultry, with August as the hottest month. From July until September, typhoons and hurricanes are frequent while June offers the most rainfall.

David H. Urmann

http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/travel-guide-for-magnificent-miami-678797.html

This week’s PADI newsletter had a great article about Wreck Diving. I agree that its one of the most exciting types of diving, it’s like going back in time, discovering things that were lost underwater so many years ago. Like the article says, it’s usually much easier to find a place to wreck dive, than to find a coral reef ( although, where I live, it’s not far to drive:-) The newsletter talks about a TV show all about wreck diving, which looks like an exciting show. Here’s some more information and videos about it.. Deep Sea Detectives