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The Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in the South Pacific. The islands have many WWII-era sites. Guadalcanal, a province and one of the archipelago’s largest islands, honors fallen Allied soldiers at its U.S. War Memorial. Guadalcanal is also home to the nation’s capital, Honiara. The capital city has a bustling Central Market that is famous for the islands’ produce and traditional handicrafts.

Solomon Islanders share a diverse history and cultural background. The population is mostly of Melanesian descent but is also made up of Polynesians, Micronesians, Chinese and Europeans. There are approximately 550,000 people living in the Solomons and about 70,000 live in the capital city. The islands have been settled since at least some time between 30,000 and 28,800 BCE, with later waves of migrants, notably the Lapita people, mixing and producing the modern indigenous Solomon Islanders population. 

Located in the Coral Triangle, the Solomon Islands are known for their diverse aquatic life, ranging from macro to pelagic life. In fact, roughly 75% of the ocean’s coral species are found in the Coral Triangle. As an emerging tourist destination, Solomon’s reefs are untouched, and the waters generally aren't overcrowded with divers.

Leru Cut

Leru Cut is one of Solomon’s most famous dive sites, known for its canyon that sits high above the water and dives deep into the ocean. Ideal diving time is between 11 am and 2 pm as the sun trickles into the cut and illuminates the underwater vegetation, making this a stunning stop for photographers. Divers can search for hidden nudibranchs and octopi or swim over to the nearby wall teeming with sharks, turtles, and schools of triggerfish. The cut can only be accessed by liveaboard and is located in the Eastern Russell Islands.

The history of World War II is apparent in Solomon’s waters, with wrecks and artifacts resting on the sandy bottom. Six months of warfare took place in the Pacific, resulting in nearly 70 ships and almost 700 planes being destroyed. Currently, these wrecks live on as habitats for marine life and as sites for divers to explore. In Wickham Lagoon, there are multiple unidentified Japanese cargo vessels. In the Florida Islands, there are several Japanese and US aircraft wrecks. Hai Island’s site, White Beach, named after a US military code, has a reef constructed of trucks, tractors, bulldozers, and ammo. The artificial reef is now home to jawfish, archerfish, harlequin shrimp, and more. This site is ideal for wreck fanatics, history buffs, and macro lovers. 

Off the coast of the Florida Islands are several exciting dives like the northern wall, sandy channel, and two abandoned wrecks with countless glassfish, anthias, and damsels. There is a coral garden with giant clams, peacock mantis shrimp dens, and cuttlefish on the eastern side. The Devil’s Highway is close to the shore and is home to giant manta rays. Near this manta haven is a shallow reef where visitors often drift as they experience the pelagic life feed and swim. Divers looking for a thrill can visit Mary Island and feel the rumbles from the underwater volcano. Barracuda, jacks, and sharks are often spotted at this site. 

Book a trip to Atlantis Resort Dumaguete and participate in a coral reef restoration project..!

In partnership with the Keys’ Coral Restoration Foundation, along with the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Utah and The Mead Foundation for sustainable development in the Philippines, this highly regarded 44-room tropical resort is busy building a large coral nursery in Dauin — and inviting visiting divers to help out for a week in September 2022. Restoration dives will involve collecting broken coral fragments from the reef and placing them on the nursery trees; at the same time, there’ll be educational sessions about coral ecology and conservation techniques.

Known for its frogfish and black volcanic sands, Dauin has long been a bastion of marine preservation in a country where 98% of the reefs are currently classified as threatened. The Atlantis Dumaguete Resort is situated just minutes from more than 20 dive spots, most are marine protected areas with reefs marked by buoys, where all activity is regulated and no fishing is permitted. Day trips from the resort include nearby Apo Island, Siquijor, and Oslob for snorkelling with whale sharks.

Conservationists have welcomed the announcement by Ecuador that it will expand the marine reserve around the Galapagos islands by 60,000 sq km.

President Guillermo Lasso announced the move at the COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow. Mr. Lasso told the BBC that his government wanted to show that action rather than words was the most effective way to fight climate change. Conservationists called it "a brilliant first step". The existing marine protected area around the Galapagos measures 133,000 sq km and was one of the first large-scale marine conservation areas to be created. It is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. Conservationists hope that its expansion will protect the migration routes of endangered species such as the whale shark and make the reserve more resilient to climate change.

Among those praising the move is Sarah Darwin, the great-great-granddaughter of biologist Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution was inspired by the biodiversity he found on the Galapagos. Sarah, a botanist and an ambassador for the Galapagos Conservation Trust, told the BBC that she was "very, very excited that President Lasso is taking the Galapagos so seriously".

"We're really looking forward to taking further conservation measures forward with him both in the marine reserve and the islands themselves," she said. "This is a real commitment, I think." But the CEO of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, Sharon Johnson, said it was important that the resources be put in place to adequately protect the newly enlarged reserve. In 2020, a huge number of Chinese fishing boats were spotted in waters off the Galapagos with conservationists accusing the fleet of "pillaging" the area for squid.

President Lasso denied that the expansion of the marine reserve was a response to the Chinese fleet's movements, insisting it was "an autonomous decision of the Ecuadorean government". Mr. Lasso said that in his most recent conversation with the Chinese president he sensed "a clear commitment to respect Ecuador's maritime" and that he, therefore, hoped there would be no repeat of the scenes which had played out in 2020. He added that his government would swap debt for conservation to create a fund that would allow Ecuador to beef up navy patrols to protect the area and to provide artisanal fishermen working outside the marine reserve with support. 

The Galapagos and the seas surrounding them are a unique ecosystem home to whales, turtles, and tuna, explain Prof Sandy Tudhope and Dr. Meriwether Wilson from the University of Edinburgh. The fact that they are so rich in commercially important species is also what makes them so attractive to fishermen, say the two scientists, who were part of the team whose research underpinned the decision to expand the reserve.

Check out our Galapagos Liveaboards -->  Ecuador Liveaboards

Our thanks to Vanessa Buschschluter - BBC News for this article. Full article HERE.

Located in the province of Negros Oriental, Dauin is ideal for photographers and lovers of macro life. Underwater creatures often seen include seahorses, pipefish, nudibranchs, blue-ring octopuses, mandarin fish, and more. Not only that, but there is a unique collection of experiences that will be sure to excite any visitor such as muck diving and pristine coral reefs. Diving in Dauin is great all year long with the dry season lasting from December to May and the wet season lasting from June to November. Dauin is famous for its often cheap, always luxurious beachfront resorts. Photo courtesy of Dumaguete.com

Puerto Galera

As a vibrant town with diverse waters, Puerto Galera is perfect for any level of diver. The diving experience can vary greatly — ranging from canyons to wrecks to muck diving and just about everything in between. The location is also perfect for macro and wide-angle photographers alike due to the coral reefs’ rich biodiversity. Some of the reefs are even considered to have the most biodiversity in all of Asia. The town is also home to plenty of dive schools that are perfect for beginnings and advanced divers looking to expand their skills. Guests have just as much to explore on land as they do in the water as there are stunning mountains and waterfalls to explore. Guests are often able to see creatures such as nudibranchs, frogfish, seahorses, cardinalfish, and more. Photo courtesy of Asia Divers.

Subic Bay, Luzon 

Nestled just about 100 kilometers away from Manila Bay is Subic Bay on Luzon Island. The bay has a history of serving as one of the largest US Naval Bases in Asia and is thus home to more than 20 interesting shipwrecks. These wrecks are unique due to the volcano Mount Pinatubo that has coated the wrecks in ash. The USS New York is perhaps one of the most well-known wrecks in Subic Bay due to its pristine condition and canons. The ship is only available to explore during select times due to its proximity to the pier. For technical divers and divers experienced in deep water diving, the F-4 Phantom wreck is a dream. At 45 meters deep, the plane is often teeming with fish in the calm waters. Diving in the bay is great all year round but is ideal during the November to May dry season for greatest visibility. Photo courtesy of Arizona Dive Shop, Philippines.

Tubbataha Reef

World Heritage Site

With the most biodiversity in Asia, divers can encounter 600 species of fish and 360 species of coral in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park. Tubbataha is the largest marine park in the Philippines at 970 square kilometers. Guests can only experience the lively waters on a liveaboard during the calmer months of March to June. Diving experiences often include wall diving as well as exploration of the two atolls, Jessie Beazley Reef, lagoons, and coral cays. Perhaps the most exciting experience from exploring the park is the chance to see large marine life such as whale sharks, tiger sharks, and manta rays. Photo courtesy of Philippine Tourism USA.

Anilao, Batangas

Famous for its muck diving and blackwater diving, Anilao is an ideal destination for those looking to get up close and personal with the smallest of critters. Macro photographers will love swimming through the pinnacles, walls, and coral gardens to get the perfect shot. Some of the critters include elusive subjects such as the Ambon scorpionfish, Bobbit worms, and stargazers. The best time to dive in Anilao is from October to June, and April and May are considered to be the peak of the season. However, diving is available all year long with colder temperatures from December to March and rainier weather from July to September. The location is extremely convenient as it is just two hours away from Manila and has access to all of the dive sites from Balayan Bay, Batangas Bay, and Maricaban Island. Photo courtesy of Mike Batrick / Crystal Blue Resort.

Bohol, Central Visayas

Learn how to make the best of your underwater camera with TAUCHEN – Magazine -Photographer Timo Dersch August 21, 2021 to September 01, 2021 

12 Days, 11 Nights

$3,165 USD Per Person Double Occupancy

Take your photography skills to the next level on this 12-day wildlife safari and photography workshop in Costa Rica, a bio-diverse country in Central America home to amazing marine life and unique tropical wildlife. Join Timo on a 12-day photographic adventure through stunning Costa Rica as you learn what it means to shoot underwater, and how to use wide-angle and macro lenses to capture a diverse array of sea life such as sharks, schooling fish, turtles, eagle rays, and humpback whales. On land, we will search out hummingbirds, resplendent quetzals, toucans, other colorful birds, sloths, monkeys, frogs, flowers, and much more.

DAY 1 – Arrive San Jose - Guests will arrive in the capital city of Costa Rica in San José where you will be met by your driver for the short trip to your San José hotel. If you arrive early you will have time to explore the city at your own leisure, before you meet for a group meeting This will be a great opportunity for you to get to know your guide and fellow travelers, as you discuss the itinerary for the days ahead. It is the perfect time to ask any questions that you may have before the tour well and truly begins.

DAY 2 – Guanacaste - We will get an early start as we head north to the beach town of Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste. The beaches here are beautiful, with gorgeous scenery and blue waters.
On the way, we will make a stop for lunch and a visit to the Llanos de Cortés Waterfall. a spectacular cascading waterfall with a nice pool for a quick swim before reaching our hotel at the beach.
In the afternoon we will have a dive briefing and introduction to the underwater workshop over the next few days.

DAY 3 to 7 – Guanacaste - Spend the next 5 days diving the waters off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica rich with marine life, (10 dives in total) Information will be given daily on topics such as wide-angle underwater photography, ambient light shots, diving with large animals, strobe exposure, and positions, avoiding backscatter and composition. You will dive for 3 days locally throughout the Papagayo area, 1 day at Catalina Islands off of Playa Flamingo, and 1 day at the Bat Islands National Park area famous for the Bull sharks that frequent the area.

DAY 8 - Palo Verde National Park- Today starts the land portion of the trip and we will explore three unique and different ecosystems over the next four days. Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before we head out for a wildlife boat trip on the Tempisque River. Palo Verde National park is an exceptional place for birdwatchers and nature lovers in general, a two hours boat trip will introduce us to these important ecosystems, gigantic crocodiles, monkeys, iguanas, and more wildlife than you ever imagined may be spotted. Great bird-watchers prizes can show up, such as the Jabiru, osprey, the white ibis, tiger herons, and scarlet macaws amongst others.

DAY 9 – Monteverde Cloud Forest - On day 9 we will head inland as you head up the continental divide to the misty cloud forest of Monteverde offering great views and a number of landscape compositions as we change from dry forest to cloud forest. A stop will be included at the Llanos de Cortés Waterfall where waters cascade into an incredible pool below before we arrive at Monteverde. In the evening we’ll again see what surprises the night time cloud forest has for us on a guided walk with one of the local guides followed by dinner at a local restaurant in the mountain town of Santa Elena.

DAY 10 - Monteverde Cloud Forest to Arenal Volcano
You will spend the morning exploring the misty cloud forest and on the lookout for the famous Resplendent Quetzal that is endemic to the region. Among the subjects will be the high elevation hummingbirds. Capturing these tiny birds takes some skill as they flit from flower to flower feeding on nectar. After the cloud forest visit, you will continue your adventure towards the Northern Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica, home to the iconic Arenal Volcano and lots of tropical birds and wildlife. The focus for the next few days will be exploring the volcano area and wildlife photography as we immerse ourselves in the tropical rainforests of San Carlos.

DAY 11 – Arenal Volcano

After breakfast, we will head out to explore the Arenal Volcano. There will be many opportunities to photograph the extraordinary Arenal volcano, surrounded by lush rainforest and tropical scenery We will visit the hanging bridges and the La Fortuna waterfall as we capture the volcano from different angles along the way. We will get the chance to have lunch and homemade tortillas with Dona Mara followed by a relaxing evening in the volcanic hot springs amidst a variety of abundant tropical gardens.

DAY 12 – Departure

You will have the morning to relax and explore the photographer-friendly grounds before packing up for your departure flight. We will head back to San José for drop off at the San José International airport for your evening departure home.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an estimated schedule & we’ll do our best to stick to this itinerary, but certain conditions may necessitate changes. Good photographic experiences & plenty of chances to view wildlife will be our goals at all times.

• Participants are required to bring an underwater camera, laptop for editing
• Optional recommended equipment: Memory Cards, battery, Battery charger, Flash and Macro Flash, wide-angle lenses, Macro, Telephoto, additional lenses, power cord, drone (optional)
• Once you have booked your trip you will receive an equipment checklist
• Itinerary works for flights in and out of San José (SJO) Costa Rica
• Must be certified Diver to participate.

Four uninhabited volcanic islands make up the Revillagigedos: Socorro, Clarion, San Benedicto, and Roca Partida. They raise up from sea level from 100 to 3,800 feet out of the water from the seafloor, creating exceptional walls, pinnacles and sheer drop-offs that act as cleaning and feeding stations for oceanic mantas and half a dozen shark species, including mass aggregations of scalloped hammerheads.

Revillagigedos is an oasis in the middle of the eastern Pacific. The four islands sit at the convergence of the cool California Current flowing from the north and the warmer North Equatorial Current, creating an ideal spot for nutrients to rise from the deep and attract passing pelagics. This makes Revilla a hotspot for manta rays, humpback whales, whale sharks, dolphins, hammerheads, Galapagos sharks—nearly every variety of hungry traveler.

The Revillagigedos are part of a unique chain with amazing undersea volcanic mounds. Because of the remote nature, there’s just not a lot of pressure on the sites.

Cabo Pierce, the Aquarium, and El Canyon dive sites offer the chance to see just about any big animals you can imagine—humpback whales, pacific bottlenose dolphins, whale sharks, the list goes on.

Because these are important waterways for endangered megafauna, the islands were deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016, and a year later were established as the Revillagigedo National Park. Even though they’re remote, they’re patrolled by the local government to prevent illegal fishing.

Because the archipelago is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site, certain protective measures are in place. Night diving, solo diving, and diving in the blue are not offered for safety reasons. Also, reef hooks, knives, dive lights not connected to cameras, and gloves are not permitted. In order to manage the number of divers on each site, liveaboards coordinate the timing of their dives. Because of this, if there are several boats at a site, they may limit the number of dives per day to three. The park has a set limit on the number of liveaboards that can visit, but flexibility is key in these parts.

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a marine protected area and world-renowned scuba diving site. It is home to more than 1,200 marine species, including sea grasses and algae, corals, sharks, rays, fishes, sea turtles, seabirds and marine mammals. The Park is an exceptionally healthy reef ecosystem and its strong no-take level protections ensure this biodiversity stays safe.

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is an important asset for global conservation, as 181 of the species found there are threatened to some degree, from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered. Tubbataha is made up of two atolls dense with biodiversity that serve as nesting grounds for endangered turtles and more than 100 species of birds. It is a breeding and rookery ground for many species of migratory and resident seabirds, including the Critically Endangered Christmas Island frigatebird, as well as the Endangered green sea turtles and Critically Endangered hawksbill sea turtle.

Because it’s so far from land, Tubbataha only started to feel the effects of human exploitation in the 1980’s. Recognizing its great biodiversity value, the government of the Philippines first protected the area through legislation in 1988. Protective regulations have only been strengthened since then, leading to international recognition including its Platinum Blue Park award. This UNESCO World Heritage Site might be your best bet to see whale sharks, manta rays, hawksbill turtles, hammerheads, spinner dolphins and schooling gray reef sharks all in one day.

Diver’s Notes

Average Water Temperature: 25° C to 29° C / 78°-85° F

Visibility: 12-36 meters / 40-120 feet

·      Amos Rock, also known as Southwest Rock, is one of the popular scuba dive sites found on the North Atoll of. It features a breathtaking wall that is covered in a variety of corals, including whip corals, and you will also find massive gorgonian fans along it as well. A variety of large fish, including groupers, snappers, mackerels, and even Napoleon wrasses are also found drifting in the currents of this dive site. During a dive, you may encounter sharks, such as grey reef sharks and white-tip reef sharks, often seen in this area.

·      Shark Airport, found on the North Atoll, is one of the best places for spotting a variety of marine life. Endangered sea turtles can be seen here, along with white-tip reef sharks and plenty of different corals. This relatively shallow site is also popular for night dives, during which you may get the chance to see eels, different types of pufferfish, and other nocturnal creatures. 

·      Black Rock is a dive site found on the South Atoll. You can follow the steep wall and see what marine life you encounter, but this site is not really known for its corals. Instead, you can wait for the sharks, particularly the white-tip reef sharks, to come out, as well as manta rays and the huge Napoleon wrasses. 

·      Washing Machine is named for the unpredictable currents which sometimes change direction in the middle of a dive, the Washing Machine is located at the exposed northeastern edge of Tubbataha. Known for having some of the best visibility of any dive site within the Marine Park, this dive site is home to grey reef sharks and an amazing diversity of tropical coral reef fish.

·      Bird Island is a very popular site that is also located on the North Atoll. There is something for everyone here, from crevices and swim-throughs to explore, as well as a steep wall with overhangs that may be home to a variety of marine animals.  Strong currents occur in certain spots, so beginner scuba divers may want to only stay in certain areas of the site or avoid it altogether. An advanced open water certificate is usually required for this site. The reef is home to a variety of different types of colorful corals, and you will more than likely find a tranquil shark resting on the sandy bottom of this breathtaking site. Eels and rays are also common here. If you get lucky, you may even see a giant ray swimming by.