Top 10 Scuba Diving Sites in France

James    scubadivingholidays     diving, Diving Holidays, diving in France, Scuba Diving, scuba diving holidays, scuba diving in France

Last week I sent a friend a text for some tips on fine French diving. He misread it and gave me the address of a Bistro on the Rue de Rivali. Let’s be honest, our Gallic cousins are best known for their gastronomy, but the country boasts almost as many great places to dive as to dine.

Scuba diving in France Image: © ATOUT FRANCE/Palomba Robert

So if you like your moules to be found clinging to the side of wrecks and prefer your fish swimming off the Cote D’Azur rather than swimming in garlic, check out our “menu touristique” of the top 10 scuba diving sites in France.

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Scuba Diving Holidays : Don’t Drink and Dive!

James    scubadivingholidays     diving, PADI, Scuba, Scuba Diving, scuba diving holidays, Scuba diving in Egypt, Scuba Diving Tips

If your going to have a drink then don’t get behind the wheel. Equally important should be the message to everyone with a PADI qualification off on scuba diving holidays to lay of the juice before they head below the waves: An obvious message but one that sometimes is not taken seriously.

Diving in Egypt leave the booze till later. Image Flickr/Derek Keats

For many, the whole concept of a holiday is to go somewhere hot on the coast and pass the time either in the water or at the bar – looking out the window onto a drizzly, cold, grey European winter, who came blame them.

However, if part of your holiday by the sea involves scuba diving then you have to take responsibility over your condition before you go swimming with the fishes, or you may find yourself down there for good…

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A scuba virgin diving in Australia

Robert Ince    scubadivingholidays     australia, diving, great barrier reef, Scuba, Scuba Diving, shark diving

I think I’ve been forgotten. I’m sitting at the back of the boat, wetsuit-clad legs dangling into the Pacific, and attempting to look back with a heavy oxygen tank on my back to see if I’m going to get a partner for the dive or not; my first scuba dive, and I’m diving in Australia. You see, one must go down in a pair, but due to travelling alone the odd numbers in the group means I’m waiting for someone to accompany me. The rest have already gone ahead.

Scuba: More fun and safer in a group. Image; Flickr/ Daquella manera

My nervousness is palpable, but I’m also possessed with a sense of excitement and anxious anticipation. Scuba has its dangers, as does the Pacific… The laid-back tour guide eventually, and somewhat reluctantly, offers to join me and we’re soon off into the deep blue below.

This is the Great Barrier Reef, one of the wonders of the world, it’s a few kilometers off the coast of tropical North Queensland in Australia, and I’ve come on a day trip from Cairns to the Outer Barrier Reef – ideal for the traveller short on time and perfect for anyone new to scuba diving. Many day trips will focus on the Inter Reef Gardens, and reefs close to places such as Michaelmas Cay, Fitzroy Island and Green Island. In short, diving paradise.

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The world’s top 3 dive sites

James    scubadivingholidays     diving, Diving Holidays, diving sites, Scuba Diving, shark diving, snorkelling

What makes a great dive site. Fish? Wrecks? Clear blue water? Here is my choice for the best three places in the world to rubber up and get wet.

3 – The Great Blue Hole – Caye Caulker – Belize

There are many Blue Holes around the world but this is the best. The reef at 14m is great but in the centre is the hole that drops 150m throughit. At 25m there is an overhang with stalactites and stalagmites as well as reef and hammerhead lemon sharks welcoming you into this strange subterranean world. With 60-metre visibility, water doesn’t get much clearer than this paradise for divers.

2 – The Thistlegorm – Ras Mohamed – Red Sea – Egypt

In 1941 a Scottish supply ship went down off the coast of the Sinai Peninsular. The Allied Forces loss was a wreck diver’s gain. This 131-metre long wreck contains all its original cargo including rifles, trucks and even full train carriages. It lies in only 20 metres of water, on a fish-covered reef in the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea. And there is over 30 metres of visibility. The currents can be strong around the wreck so it has some technical challenges too.

1 – Barracuda Point – Sipadan Island – Malaysia

Sipadan is a Mecca for divers. Limited numbers of permits ensures this tropical dive island remains an isolated paradise with 14 main dive sites, many of which could make a top ten list. Barracuda Point is alive with white tip sharks, clown fish, countless turtles, parrot fish and many more. An incredible diversity of fish inhabit this wall of reef that that drops off 2000ft into the abyss below. It gets its name from the swarms of Barracuda that hang like a silver living.

Welcome to our NEW Blog!

Tim B    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     diving, Scuba Diving

Welcome to the brand spanking new scubadivingholidays.net blog. Each week we will be posting articles from guest writers and our own inhouse team about the latest news & views from the scuba diving travel world.