Loving Life in Laamu
by Alex - 9th December 2021
Laamu atoll is in the south of the Maldives, and with only one resort on the island (the beautiful and…
Coral Spawning and Hope in the Maldives
by Alex - 22nd November 2021
I normally plan my travel meticulously, paying special attention to the season and the lunar tidal cycle. I find this…
The bearded fireworm
by Ivana and Janez - 25th October 2021
Bearded fireworm, Hermodice carunculata (Pallas, 1766) The bearded fireworm is a marine bristle worm that lives throughout the tropical coastal waters of…
Dan’s Dive Destinations: Shark Diving
by Dan - 31st December 2020
Diving with sharks in Fiji In my opinion, every single person should experience a shark dive just once. It can…
How Cara Lost Her Color
by Ivana and Janez - 10th December 2020
Ivana OK: What are you by profession? I’m a marine naturalist. In a complete leap of faith, I moved to…
A Windy Day in Paradise
by Dan - 22nd May 2020
Here's the worst case scenario. You've planned a brilliant dive holiday to the dive destination of your dreams. You have…
9 Great Liveaboard Destinations for New Divers
by LiveAboard - 27th January 2020
You’ve got your dive certification and the underwater world awaits you, but where do you dive first? Whether you want…
Revisiting a Classic: Thailand’s 8 Best Dives
by LiveAboard - 20th December 2019
For budget-friendly tropical liveaboard diving and encounters with everything from ocean giants to tiny macro treasures, you can’t beat Thailand.…
A Paradise in Paradise
by Gerald - 29th November 2019
When tropical storm "Winston" swept over Fiji on February 20, 2016, Taveuni and Paradise Taveuni Resort were particularly hardly hit.…
Love Bull Sharks? Try These 5 Top Dive Destinations
by LiveAboard - 11th October 2019
Bull sharks might have a bad reputation as being aggressive but diving with these sharks is a truly magical experience.…
Introducing Dan
by Dan - 16th May 2019
Kia ora! (Hello) My name is Dan and I am an underwater photographer and proud Mares Ambassador from Auckland, New…
Dive into the underwater world of Milford Sound
by Gerald - 22nd January 2018
We are now far at the south end of New Zealand. More specifically in the southwest, in the world of…
Waiting with Ba(i)ted Breath
by Hannah - 2nd June 2017
We have all been waiting with ba(i)ted breath to see our first silky shark of the year here off the…
Palau: Dive Right Into The Darkness
by Herbert - 18th August 2015
Blackwater Diving – Diving Into The Pitch Black If you're feeling bored by the usual dives and are looking for…
Palau – The Ultimate Diver’s Paradise
by Herbert - 7th July 2015
Wrecks, drift drives, with lots of sharks, manta rays and macro life – Palau has everything that divers would wish…
The Little but Mighty Yellowline Arrow Crab (Stenorhynchus seticornis)
by Ivana and Janez - 25th March 2025
For your next dive trip, don't forget to check out the wonderful range of Mares gear available to accompany you…
Porcelain Crabs: The Elegant Eccentrics of the Marine World
by Ivana and Janez - 25th September 2024
Ever heard of a crab that’s more about high fashion than high sea drama? Meet the porcelain crab, the ocean’s…
Pretty birds from the Red Sea
by Ivana and Janez - 12th September 2024
I love all the different species of wrasse, and I thought I knew them well, but this one was a…
Madeirense Shipwreck – Porto Santo, Portugal
by Ivana and Janez - 19th July 2024
For me, volcanic islands have always seemed to hold special secrets, and nothing is different with Porto Santo, Portugal. It…
Exploring Raja Ampat
by Alex - 16th May 2024
I am fortunate to dive and travel widely while running underwater photography workshop trips. Everyone is always excited before these…
5 great reasons to go diving in Japan
by Kathryn - 9th May 2024
With its rich culture, stunning landscapes, and diverse underwater ecosystems, Japan offers an unparalleled diving experience that beckons adventurers from…
Life on the Cambodian edge – Koh Ach Seh, Cambodia
by Andi - 30th April 2024
Following a grueling four-hour drive from Phnom Penh, we arrived in Kep, Cambodia. Though exhausted after our journey from Hanoi,…
Shifting Baselines – Hong Kong, Sar
by Andi - 18th April 2024
The research team had warned us upfront about the perilous diving experience ahead. One not marked by surreal encounters with…
Gobies – Small, cute and sneaky
by Ivana and Janez - 15th April 2024
There are more than 2000 species of gobies in one of the largest bony fish family, Gobiidae. They can be found…
The Ripple Effect – Negros Oriental, Philippines
by Andi - 2nd April 2024
Another day, another mission. Waking to the sound of a gong made from old kitchenware, a diverse community of dedicated…
Diving in the Pacific: 7 Idyllic Islands for Scuba Divers
by Kathryn - 27th March 2024
Diving in the Pacific Islands is a bucket list vacation for many scuba divers and unsurprisingly so. Idyllic islands surrounded…
Our Encounter with the Ocean Tigers – Fiji
by Andi - 21st March 2024
As we descended into the dark and murky waters off the Fijian coast, the weight of anticipation settled in. Immediately…
6 of the best shark diving experiences for new divers
by Kathryn - 1st February 2024
For many scuba divers, going diving with sharks is a bucket-list experience and it can easily turn into a lifelong…
Travel to a Different World
by Alex - 11th January 2024
November 2023 saw me heading off on a real adventure, destined for one of the most amazing countries to visit…
Baja California Sur Safari – 2023 season
by Franco and Sabrina - 28th November 2023
It’s easy to understand why we return to Mexico's Baja California Sur almost every year. The five destinations we visit…
Love manatees and dugongs? Here’s where you can swim with them
by Kathryn - 21st November 2023
The gentle giants of the sea, manatees and dugongs have captured the hearts of many with their endearing presence and…
Little Cayman – A special diving adventure!
by Alex - 13th October 2023
As I’ve written before, Grand Cayman is one of my favourite places to teach underwater photography. The conditions are inviting…
Hanifaru Bay: In a flying vortex
by Franco and Sabrina - 10th October 2023
Are you looking to be enveloped in a flying vortex of Mantas? Get ready, it doesn't happen often. Have you ever…
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conservation, diving, fish, freediving, Hanifaru Bay, manta, Mares, ocean, photography, research, SSI, underwater
conservation, diving, fish, freediving, Hanifaru Bay, manta, Mares, ocean, photography, research, SSI, underwater 
Summer Holidays
by Alex - 6th October 2023
In August, I travelled to Grand Cayman. I was down to head there to run a photography workshop at Ocean…
The new Mares X-Wing C-S and X-Wing C-Evo carbon fins – A review
by Nik - 1st September 2023
I was very curious about the new X-Wing Carbon fins and chose the longer X-Wing C-Evo fins because of my…
Red Sea Heat
by Alex - 30th August 2023
We tend to think of coral seas as being close to the equator and therefore changing little through the year.…
Barracuda
by Ivana and Janez - 17th August 2023
Barracuda are extremely attractive, impressive fish. They are carnivores with long lifespans and can live longer than 14 years. The…
Tubbataha Dreams
by Alex - 4th August 2023
When I think of diving in the Philippines, I tend to think of amazing reef critters: frogfish, nudibranchs, ghost pipefish…
Magic Muck
by Alex - 30th May 2023
Lembeh, in Indonesia, is one of the world’s most celebrated dive destinations. This 10 mile long sliver of sea is…
Are you looking for a mermaid?
by Franco and Sabrina - 26th May 2023
Okay then, get ready and hurry up before it's too late. Mermaids? Are you sure? All right, well, let's look…
The Leopards of the Seas
by Ivana and Janez - 24th April 2023
Leopard sharks are one of the most common sharks in the Eastern North Pacific. Their scientific name, Triakis semifasciata, means “half…
Eilat, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea – A winter adventure in Israel
by Ivana and Janez - 11th April 2023
This year's first diving expedition took us to the Israeli resort of Eilat, on the coast of the Red Sea.…
Dances with Stingrays
by Alex - 7th April 2023
Crystal clear turquoise water crammed with circling stingrays - there can be few more iconic images of the Cayman Islands.…
Simply the best?
by Alex - 20th March 2023
It would be a great conversation topic over dinner with diving friends: What is the world’s best diving resort? I…
Dan’s Dive Destinations – Sydney
by Dan - 1st March 2023
Sydney, Australia, is better known for its fantastic food, nightlife and surfy vibe, but not many people know that it…
The Scribbled Leatherjacket (Aluterus scriptus)
by Ivana and Janez - 6th February 2023
Scribbled leatherjackets can be found in the lagoons and reefs of subtropical seas all over the world. Even though some…
Canada: Bursting with Life
by Alex - 16th December 2022
For my final blog post on my visit to Canada, I want to turn my attention fully to the attraction…
The white-spotted octopus (Callistoctopus macropus)
by Ivana and Janez - 1st December 2022
The white-spotted octopus lives predominantly in the shallow waters of the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, but can sometimes be found…
