Choosing to join a snorkel safari that is hosted by a liveaboard as opposed to a land-based resort, or vise versa can be a tough choice, particularly if your only snorkeling safaris have been with one of the two options, or neither! Resorts can be great as they don't rock with the waves and the amount of space you get is so much more. However, on a boat you wake up in a new location each day and get to explore so much further in the area. Not to mention the novelty of being on a luxury vessel in the middle of paradise. To help you get the clearest picture possible of what each style of snorkel safari is like we've broken it down into a few key points. Space Space is one of the biggest differences between resorts and liveaboards. At a resort you have a spacious bungalow with its own veranda and large bathroom. Then there are the resort grounds which offer beautiful landscaping, pools, bars, a restaurant, spa, and quite often a private beach with a house reef. The liveaboard option does offer significantly less space than a resort, but you will by no means feel cramped, especially with the elite group of liveaboards we operate with. The boats we use range in size from just over one-hundred feet in length to one-hundred and seventy feet and offer 3-4 different decks to spread out on. The boats all feature large galleys for dining, saloons with big wrap-around sofas, sun decks, camera rooms, and large gearing up stations. Some of the larger boats even have a Jacuzzi and rooftop bar. The cabins will all be furnished with comfortable beds, some may be bunked, but all will be equipped with a private ensuite bathroom with hot water and of
Choosing to join a snorkel safari that is hosted by a liveaboard as opposed to a land-based resort, or vise versa can be a tough choice, particularly if your only snorkeling safaris have been with one of the two options, or neither! Resorts can be great as they don’t rock with the waves and the
The new year is just around the corner and as per the annual tradition of making positive goals for the upcoming year we've put together a list of snorkeling related New Year Resolutions, just incase you hadn't come up with any yet and needed a bit of help. 10. Check all Snorkeling Equipment It's always a good idea to routinely check through your snorkeling equipment, particularly if it's been a while since you've used it. One very important thing to check is to see if your mask still properly seals around your face. If you are not quite sure how to do that we have a quick tutorial here. Another thing to look over are your fins, especially those of you with the full foot fins (the kind without straps), and to make sure that the rubber pocket your foot goes into hasn't dried out and become brittle. If that's the case, it might be time to look at purchasing a new pair of fins. 9. Research Top Snorkeling Destinations Instead of just swiping through facebook and the other social media apps for hours, why not put that otherwise “wasted” time to good use and do a bit of research on where the best snorkeling destinations are. We have a full inventory of trip reviews, videos, and destination guides on our blog here. 8. Practice Duck Diving Why not hit the ground running on your next snorkeling holiday by already having the art of the duck dive perfected. If you don't have access to snorkeling sites you can easily practice at a nearby gym or friend's pool. A pool is actually an ideal place to practice diving down underwater and equalizing as there aren't any waves or current and it's a very familiar and controlled environment. 7. Find Snorkeling/Travel Buddy
The new year is just around the corner and as per the annual tradition of making positive goals for the upcoming year we’ve put together a list of snorkeling related New Year Resolutions, just incase you hadn’t come up with any yet and needed a bit of help. 10. Check all Snorkeling Equipment It’s always
On just about all of our snorkeling safari's we will always try to offer night or sunset snorkeling so you can see that amazing transition in specie's behavior as day turns to night. If you are at all curious about what night snorkeling is like you can find out more here. For this particular blog though, we're going to highlight one particular night snorkeling subject which can be found in both Triton Bay and throughout Raja Ampat once the sun sets, and that subject is a walking shark. At this point you are probably wondering what I mean by “walking shark.” Well, as it turns out, there is a species of shark which actually prefer to use their pectoral fins to walk across the reef, rather than to swim. They are a type of epaulette shark, but are commonly known to us snorkelers as walking sharks. They are found in the shallow reef of northern Australia as well as New Guinea, with one particular species endemic to Raja Ampat and another to the Triton Bay area. As both the Raja epaulette walking shark and the Triton epaulette walking shark are nocturnal species we don't often find them in the afternoon snorkeling sessions because the burry themselves in the reef, but just after sunset is when they come out to hunt for small benthic creatures and small fish. As snorkelers we have the best vantage point for finding these unusual sharks since they usually are found right up in the shallow reefs, and even in tide pools at times. As you can see from the photos these are not your typical shark with their elongated body—which is mostly tail and decorated with a spattering of ornamental spots, not to mention the general sense of cuteness these sharks exude. So there you
On just about all of our snorkeling safari’s we will always try to offer night or sunset snorkeling so you can see that amazing transition in specie’s behavior as day turns to night. If you are at all curious about what night snorkeling is like you can find out more here. For this particular blog
At the beginning of December 2020 I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to Misool Resort in Raja Ampat to take a short (ten day) tour of their iconic resort island. Long story short I was absolutely blown away in just about every possible way. The location—of a remote tropical island in the heart of what is widely considered to the best snorkeling in the world is the first thing is the first that made my jaw drop. My mouth remained in this position as we settled into our eco-elegant water bungalows where dozens of blacktip reef sharks and juvenile green sea turtles paraded about below. I did eventually have to close my mouth around a snorkel though as Montse—my fiancé and snorkel partner for life—and I proceeded down our bungalow steps into the pristine waters for a snorkel session on their famous house reef. Through a combination of eco-awareness, natural and creative aesthetics, and world class service Misool Resort has cultivated an experience and atmosphere at a level like I've never quite seen before, and right now I want to highlight those different elements in detail for you. Arrival in Sorong I'll be the first to say that arriving to Sorong in West Papua—the port town to Raja Ampat—is not quick hop, not even from Bali. I promise you though the trip is well worth the reward and the moment you collect your bags at the carousel in Sorong you can begin to relax as the Misool staff pick us up in comfortable Air Conditioned vans and drive us around the corner to their own Cafe for a complimentary breakfast. While we relax in their cozy cafe the resort's staff load our large bags into their custom built 1,500 horse power luxury transfer boat—Merantau. After breakfast we'll be
At the beginning of December 2020 I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to Misool Resort in Raja Ampat to take a short (ten day) tour of their iconic resort island. Long story short I was absolutely blown away in just about every possible way. The location—of a remote tropical island in the heart
Here's 5 reasons why I've had a great year leading snorkel tours for Snorkel Venture. Below you'll find a collection of my favorite photos and video segments of my year in 2019. 5. The Reefs Just about every one of our tours we spend a lot of time around reefs and the life that buzzes around these phenomenal underwater structures. Regardless if it's Raja Ampat, Alor, Komodo, or Belize there's nothing like exploring the world's most pristine reefs. 4. Komodo's Mangroves Before I joined Snorkel Venture I used to work on a liveaboard that transitioned between the Raja Ampat and Komodo seasons as they are opposite of each other. In the five years on board, I dreamt of exploring the mangroves that fringed several of the islands in Komodo, but I was just never able to do so as it was a diving boat and the mangroves can only be snorkeled. One I joined Snorkel Venture, and with the help of our friends and Komodo resort we were finally able to make into the mangroves on several of our Komodo Snorkel Venture safaris, and the reward of doing so was well worth the long wait. 3. Local Communities Alor is an extremely special location as it's still really quite off the beaten track as far as tourism is concerned. Not only are the reefs exceptional, but the coastal villages still function more or less as they always have prior to technological advancements. One of the most amazing and unique things to witness in Alor, outside of the mind blowing marine life, are the local fishermen who fish with hand made wooden spears and wood goggles. These well seasoned fishermen will dive down to incredible depths on a single breath to hunt right in front of us. Upon surfacing they graciously
Here’s 5 reasons why I’ve had a great year leading snorkel tours for Snorkel Venture. Below you’ll find a collection of my favorite photos and video segments of my year in 2019. 5. The Reefs Just about every one of our tours we spend a lot of time around reefs and the life that buzzes
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